Page 57

SAMMIE

As I watched Romeo at the other end of the restaurant talking on the phone with his boss, I prayed that Victoria would ban him from sitting with me.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. Now the problem was the complete opposite.

I fancied the bloody pants off him.

God, I shouldnothave thought about taking his pants off…

It wasn’t the first time today that I’d thought about him, but I couldn’t help it.

Not only had he bought that pastry for me to have on the way to Matera, he’d also saved two for me this morning because he knew I liked them.

How was this man still single?

At one point I forced myself to think of Edward and what nice things he’d done for me during the short time we’d spent together and I came up with a big fat zero.

The only things I could remember were negative. How he’d food shamed me, how he’d reacted when I told him about the company I’d worked for. How he’d snarled during that volleyball match. And how he hadn’t even bothered to tell me he was leaving or message me since then.

Romeo, on the other hand, had been nothing but attentive. Always looking out for me, checking on me, encouraging me to enjoy my food, bringing me food he knew I’d like. He didn’t ridicule my job. He was interested. He didn’t make me feel stupid.

It’s his job!my brain screamed at me.

That was like swooning over a chef because he cooked a meal that you paid for.

Gah. Get it together, girl.

Romeo ran his hand through his dark, shiny hair, causing his bicep to bulge and the sexy thoughts whooshed straight back into my mind.

I knew I was supposed to be curbing my thoughts, but cut me a bit of slack. The man was the fittest guy I’d ever seen in real life.

No actually, scrap that. Name any hot Hollywood film star, musician or model and I can guarantee you that Romeo was ten times hotter.

At least.

The man must work twelve-hour days, but he always looked utterly gorgeous. His deep olive skin glowed like it’d been freshly kissed by the sun. Looking that good should be illegal.

And despite whatever supposedly went on with a guest and his reputation, something told me that he was a decent guy. I could just feel it.

Relaxing music played in the background and we were so close to the sea I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks. I tried to focus on the incredible views, but my gaze kept returning to Romeo.

Seconds later he ended his call and started walking towards me. I tried to act all cool by pretending that I’d been looking at the views and not at him the entire time, but I doubted I succeeded.

He stopped to say something to the maître d’, who nodded, then walked away. He was probably getting a waiter to clear away the extra table setting.

But then Romeo pulled out the chair opposite me.

WTF.

‘So,’ he said and my gaze flicked to him. God, those eyes. I could get lost in them for days. It was a really good thing we wouldn’t be having dinner together. I wouldn’t survive. It was kind of him to sit down to tell me the news though to soften the rejection. Little did he know that I’d be relieved to not be dining with him. ‘I have spoken to Victoria and she has agreed for me to keep you company this evening.’

‘What?’ I said a little louder than I’d intended.

‘But only if you feel comfortable. If you prefer to dine alone it is not a problem.’

‘No, I…’ Shit. What was I supposed to say now? If I said that I didn’t want to eat with him, I’d sound ungrateful and might hurt his feelings. But if I said yes, I’d end up fancying him more. And I was guaranteed to put my foot in my mouth at some point. I always did. ‘It’s fine!’ I squeaked. ‘That is if you don’t mind. You’re babysitting me so much, soon I’ll have to start calling you Daddy!’ I cackled, then cringed.

Oh. Dear. God.