Page 13

‘Oh, sorry, mate. She here yet?’ He rubbed his hands together.

‘No. Would you like a drink at the bar whilst you wait?’

‘Yeah. Nice one.’

I escorted him over to the bar and pulled out a stool.

‘How are you settling in? Is the room to your satisfaction?’

‘All good, yep.’

‘È arrivata Samanta,’ Tommaso announced and I looked towards the door.

As I took in the sight of Samantha, I swallowed hard.

She was wearing a short white and gold dress which clung to her beautiful curves and had a deep V neckline which was incredibly sexy.

I was speaking objectively of course, not because I was attracted to her, because for the reasons I explained earlier, I was not. But I was certain that anyone would agree that she was a beautiful woman. Edward was sure to be delighted with his match.

‘Grazie.’ I nodded to Tommaso.

‘Is that my date?’ Edward wrinkled his nose.

‘Sì.’

‘Oh.’ His face fell. ‘She’s got pink hair. She’s a little on the large size too. There’s not much going on in the chest department either.’

I ground my jaw.

Was the man blind, stupid or both?

Samantha was stunning.

He thought she was large? Did the man not see the beautiful curve of her hips in that dress and how the fabric clung to them like it had been custom-made for her?

Her hair was very cool and not that I had spent too much time studying her because that was unprofessional, but from what I had briefly seen, there was nothing wrong with her breasts.

Naturally, different men found different things attractive, so he was entitled to his opinion. But real men knew that small breasts could be just as sexy and feminine as large ones. In any case it was the woman that the breasts were attached to that was important, not the size.

Samantha could be his soulmate, but he had judged her on her appearance before he had even greeted or spoken to her.

This was not a great start, but once they had dinner and got to know each other better, things would improve.

‘Let me introduce you to your beautiful match,’ I said, then regretted using the word beautiful. Even though it was true and Edward clearly needed a reminder, I had promised Victoria that I would tread carefully with our guests, so I did not want Edward to get the wrong impression and think that I was interested in his match.

‘Hi!’ Samantha’s face lit up as we approached her.

‘Buonasera, Samantha.’ This time I made an effort to smile. I knew it probably did not look genuine, but it was all I could manage right now. ‘Allow me to introduce you to your soulmate: Edward.’

‘Nice to meet you.’ She stretched out her hand.

‘Pleasure.’ He shook it limply.

Although my mother was English and I had been to visit her family several times in London and Kent, it always surprised me how formal the British could be.

Edward was here on a first date with a beautiful woman and instead of greeting her with a cheek kiss or taking her outstretched hand to kiss it, he shook it like they were at a business meeting.

With his derogatory comments about Samantha’s appearance and lacklustre welcome, this match had not got off to a good start.