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With all his gym workouts and healthy eating, I wasn’t surprised that Edward was in decent shape. His body was a million times more toned than mine, so I wasn’t judging. But as I looked at him, I wasn’t overcome with desire. Instead, I was overcome with a major case of the ick.

Maybe it was the speedos or the brown and orange print, which I noticed when he turned around had an unfortunate brown stripe running down his bum-crease which made it look like he’d had an ‘accident’.

I didn’t know what it was, but all I knew was that Edward wasn’t doing it for me.

At all.

Shame washed over me.

A long-lasting relationship was about more than just lust and attraction. I couldn’t dismiss an opportunity to build a future with the love of my life just because he chose to wear a pair of speedos which looked like he’d shat his pants. That was his choice.

Just because I preferred men in swimming trunks, that wasn’t the basis for questioning our compatibility. That was shallow.

I was better than that.

‘Did I miss anything?’ Edward said as he sat on the sun lounger beside me.

‘No.’

‘I think everyone is here,’ Romeo said. ‘So, your first activity will be pool volleyball.’

That was what Stella said she did first too. Should be fun.

And with any luck, pairing up with Edward and working as a team should help us come closer together.

At least I hoped so, anyway…

8

ROMEO

As I watched Samantha and Edward in the pool, I knew there was a problem.

I first suspected it last night in the restaurant, then again at breakfast this morning. And now my gut told me the same thing: they were not bonding well.

Admittedly, I had only done this job for about eight months, so I was not the most experienced Love Alchemist, but during that time I had worked with hundreds of couples and I knew the signs.

Not all matches hit it off immediately. Some needed more time. But even though Samantha and Edward had barely been here for twenty-four hours, I had noticed a lot from their interactions.

It was not just the fact that Edward was not very complimentary when he first met Samantha or that he did not even pull the chair out for her at dinner that raised alarm bells. It was also the way that he commented on the amount of pasta she ate.

Plus, I got the feeling that Samantha wanted to stay for dessert last night, but because Edward did not, he selfishly insisted they both left.

When he arrived for breakfast this morning and I asked whether Samantha would be joining him, his reaction suggested that he had not even given her a second thought. Those were not the actions of a person who was serious about finding love.

And what kind of man left his match to eat breakfast alone?

‘How could you miss that shot?’ Edward barked at Samantha, snapping me out of my thoughts.

‘It was onyourside of the pool!’ Samantha spat back, narrowing her eyes.

‘We still would’ve had a chance of winning if you got that!’ Edward’s nostrils flared whilst Samantha’s gaze dropped to the pool and her shoulders slumped.

This was exactly what I was talking about. I did not like that he had just scolded Samantha for not hitting the ball which caused the other team to win the match.

Seeing her wounded expression made my chest tighten.

My first impression of Samantha may not have been the best, but speaking to her earlier was not as bad as I had feared. Her attempt to list herextensiveItalian vocabulary was amusing.