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‘Did he call you?’ I asked.

‘No! Jasmine found his Instagram page, then I tracked down his ex’s and he was on it. Well, she’s not his ex any more. Looks like they’re together. There was no sick relative! He went back to be with her and she’s fucking pregnant!’

Sammie thrust her phone in my face.

‘Figlio di puttana!’ I swore as I watched the Instagram story.

It was the same woman who was in the photo he had shown me in the restaurant, when he was talking about how much he loved her breasts.

I had never considered myself a violent person, but right now, I wanted to punch Edward.

‘I am so sorry. He does not deserve you.’

‘Did you know?’ Sammie asked.

‘Of course I did not know that he had got his ex pregnant!’

‘But did you suspect something? When I told you Edward was sick, you insisted on going to see him. And you seemed to be angry. At first I thought you were being a dick, but now I’m wondering if you suspected something.’

I opened my mouth to speak then closed it again. I did not want to upset her more, but I could not lie to her either.

‘I had my suspicions.’ I scrubbed my jaw. ‘I saw Edward the night before he left and his ex called. And when I went to his room the next morning, he had a hangover, he was not sick. He did not care about leaving you alone and I did not like that.’

That was enough for Sammie to know. I did not see any benefit in sharing the disgusting comments he had made about her.

‘They always leave me.’ Sammie slumped onto the sand.

‘What do you mean?’ I sat down next to her.

‘Edward left because he didn’t like me and the same thing happened with my ex. I wasn’t enough. We were together for three years and whenever I discussed any kind of future that involved marriage or having kids, the blood drained from his face. I stayed, hoping that he’d change, but he never did. Then the bastard had the audacity to tell me that he’d met someone. And miraculously eight months later, they got engaged. He said he wasn’t ready to commit but what he meant was that he just wasn’t ready to commit tome.’

Sammie was always so strong and unaffected by other people’s opinions of her. So seeing her so upset and vulnerable was like a knife to my heart.

‘He was not the right man for you. Neither was Edward.’

‘But it wasn’t just them. The same has happened with all my dates. Anyone I was ever interested in always ghosted me or said they didn’t feel that “connection”.’

‘That is because they were not your soulmate either.’

The tears continued streaming down her cheeks and each one that fell was like a fresh cut to my skin.

I wanted to take Sammie in my arms, wipe away her tears and hold her until she felt better, but I could not. All of the guests were on the beach, just a few hundred metres away. I doubted they could see us, but it was still too risky.

‘Well, then who is?’ she shouted in frustration. ‘I thought that by paying all this money to come here, I’d be safe from rejection and having men disappear off the face of the earth. But I ended up getting ghosted when we were staying in the same hotel!’

As Sammie’s sobs grew louder, the pain in my chest became unbearable.

I could not take it any longer.

‘Do not cry.’ I gently wiped away her tears with the back of my hand. ‘Come here.’ I pulled her into me and she rested her head on my chest. ‘I promise, there is somebody better waiting for you. Someone who will love the way your eyes sparkle when you smile. Someone who will appreciate the way you make them laugh because you’ve said something funny or because you have put your foot in your mouth. Someone who will love your confidence.’ I stroked her curls and inhaled her sweet citrus scent. ‘Someone who will value your kind heart. Someone who will recognise how beautiful and sexy you are.’

Sammie’s head bolted up and her gaze met mine.

‘Is that whatyouthink about me?’

‘Sì.’ I cupped her chin. ‘You are one of the most amazing women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Edward is a fool. Do not waste a single tear over thatbastardo.’

Our eyes locked and our faces inched closer.