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And I could tell I was staring at him with heart eyes.

I couldn’t be arsed to crack a joke or pretend that I didn’t like him any more. I didn’t know if I’d ever been so drawn to someone before in my life.

He was already ahead of the game because of his looks, but these past few days, the more I’d got to know him, the more I’d realised he was a good guy too.

But it didn’t matter how much I liked him, nothing could happen.

Life was so unfair sometimes.

‘I… I should go,’ Romeo said as he took a few steps towards reception.

‘Yeah. Me too. Er, see you tomorrow andgrazie milleagain!’

As I shot off towards my room, I winced. I’d gone from rooted to the spot to running away like my feet were on fire in the space of twenty seconds.

Once I was in my room, I flopped onto the bed.

What the hell was I going to do? This was an impossible situation.

I pulled out my phone and jumped up with relief when I saw that Stella had messaged half an hour ago.

Without missing a beat, I clicked the call button.

‘Hey, Sammie!’ she answered. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Bad, but good, but… aaargghhh! I’m so confused! I fancy my Love Alchemist,’ I blurted out. I needed to tell someone or my head was gonna explode.

‘Shit. And still no word from Edward the idiot?’

‘Not a bean. It’s so unfair! Edward isn’t even here and clearly doesn’t give a fuck about me, but I’m feeling the sparks with someone that I really like and I can’t do anything about it. And the thing that makes it harder is that I think there’s a chance that Romeo feels something too.’

I was gutted. Most people would say fuck Edward and the rules, but I had to do the right thing.

‘Yeah? What makes you think he’s interested?’

‘Well, he laughs at my jokes.’

‘I laugh at them too!’ Stella chuckled.

‘God bless you, sweetie! I mean, he laughs at them, but it’s the way that he looks at me when he does. Like he thinks I’m amazing. He even said I was the funniest woman he’d met. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking.’

The more I thought about it, the less sure I became. Guys had told me they found me funny before, usually before they friend-zoned me…

‘Forget I mentioned it. I’m just fantasising, because I’m crushing hard on him. In my defence, the man is a freaking smokeshow. No. He’s an inferno. He’s a blaze of hotness. He’s like… you know how much I love Nando’s Peri Peri chicken?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Well, take the extra-hot sauce, multiply it by a million and that’s about 10 per cent of how hot he is.’

‘Damn.’

‘But it’s not just about his looks. He’s really easy to talk to. He’s kind and caring. He loves dogs – he was upset about his dog being ill when I arrived at the hotel – that’s why he was so grumpy. And he’s super close to his mum. And he doespottery! And he’s got great banter. And… Oh, God. I’ve got itbad!’

‘Sounds like you like him a lot.’

‘I really do. And even though Edward has made no attempt to contact me since he pissed off, I still feel bad for thinking about how much I fancy Romeo because I feel like I should only be thinking about my match. That’s why I used all my savings to come here. Because I wanted to find my Mr Right, not fall for another Mr Wrong.’

‘I’m not gonna lie, even though I can tell you’re really into Romeo, the odds are stacked against you. Not only is he your Love Alchemist, he lives in another country. At least with Max, we were both still based in London. Same for Jasmine and Alejandro. They both lived in Spain, but long-distance relationships…’