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‘Yeah! One that’s being tortured by the devil,’ Samantha cackled and I could not help laughing too.

This woman.

Her personality and joy were infectious.

If I did not have to work and take care of the other guests, I would happily sit here and chat with her all night.

But that was not possible.

‘Well, now that I have confirmation that you are happy and enjoying your chair disco, I will check on the other guests. We will be arriving at our destination soon.’

‘Okey dokey!’

Samantha gave me a thumbs up and then went back to dancing. I smiled again as I thought that she was quickly becoming one of my favourite guests.

* * *

Once the coach had dropped us off, I led the guests towards our destination.

‘Isn’t this the town we came to the other day?’ one of the guests said.

‘You are correct,’ I replied. ‘We are back at Polignano a Mare, but we are going somewhere that we did not visit.’ When we stepped into the restaurant, the gasps were audible. ‘So this is Grotta Palazzese which translates to Cave Palace in English. It is one of the most iconic cave restaurants in the world.’

‘Holy crap!’ Samantha’s mouth fell open. She looked like a child who had just woken up in a toy factory. ‘This place is flipping amazing! I’ve never been to a restaurant that’s on the edge of a cliff and built inside a cave before! And the sea’s right there!’ That was true. Because the cave was open, the sea was directly in front of us. ‘I know it’s not cool, but is it okay to take photos? I might not get to come to somewhere as fancy as this again, so I can’t miss my chance.’

‘Sure.’ I tried to stifle my grin.

Samantha whipped out her phone and started snapping away at the uninterrupted sea views. The other guests did the same. I could not blame them.

Whilst Samantha was taking pictures, the maître d’ started allocating tables to the other guests.

When Samantha had finished, she waltzed over to him.

‘So, where do you want me?’ she said and the maître d’s eyes popped. ‘Oops, that came out wrong! I meant to ask what table I’m on? I’m Samantha Gordon.’

‘Sì,’ the maître d’ replied. ‘Please follow me. Here you are, madam. This is your table. The view is incredible, no?’ He stopped at a table for two overlooking the sea.

‘It’s, wow, thank you! But if you don’t mind, can you take away the other plate and cutlery? I only need a table for one.’

‘For one?’ His brows furrowed. ‘I have this table listed for two: you and a gentleman called Edward, no?’

‘Yeah, my match, he…’ Samantha’s face fell and my chest tightened.

‘Scusi,’ I said. ‘The reservation should have been updated.’ This was my fault. I forgot to call ahead earlier to tell them Samantha would be dining alone. I had been putting it off because I thought there was still a chance that Edward would have returned. ‘I will take care of this,’ I said to Samantha before I explained everything in Italian.

‘I understand,’ the maître d’ replied, giving Samantha a reassuring smile.

‘This place is stunning!’ Kim said as she pulled out a chair at the table near where we were standing. ‘You sitting here?’

‘I think so,’ Samantha replied. ‘They’re just going to clear away one setting as it’s just me, but they have a reservation for two.’

‘Why don’t you join Samantha, Romeo?’ Kim asked and my brows shot up to my hairline. ‘You can’t let the poor girl sit at this beautiful place alone. They’ve probably already catered for ten couples and you gotta eat, right? Can’t let the food go to waste.’

Although she was right that the booking was made for ten couples, there was no way that I could have a candlelit dinner with one of the guests.

Especially not one that I was attracted to.

‘The booking is for guests. I do not normally eat here. The meals are very expensive. But of course, worth every euro.’ I smiled at the maître d’.