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What the hell was I doing?

I could not be thinking about doing those kinds of things with Sammie when my mother was only standing a few feet away.

‘Wait. Are you twotogether?’ Mamma’s hand flew to her mouth.

‘No,’ I said quickly. ‘My boss asked me to make sure Sammie was looked after. Love Alchemists are not allowed to date guests.’

‘Yeah,’ Sammie jumped in. ‘Romeo was just doing his job. He’s been the perfect gentleman.’

Mamma glanced at me, then at Sammie, then back at me.

I knew that look.

That was the look she gave when she was not convinced about something.

Like when I used to tell her I was going to a friend’s house to do homework when really I was sneaking out to see a girl.

‘Hmmm,’ she said. ‘Sammie, have you eaten?’

‘Er…’ Sammie’s eyes flicked to mine like she was not sure how to respond.

‘We were just about to have lunch. You should join us.’

‘Oh, no, I couldn’t…’ Sammie said awkwardly. ‘I’m sure there won’t be enough. I’m fine. I’ll just get a sandwich somewhere.’

‘Nonsense. Romeo was just saying that I’d brought enough food to feed an army. Weren’t you, Romeo?’

‘Sì,’ I said awkwardly.

‘That’s settled then!’ Mamma’s eyes lit up. ‘It’ll be lovely to speak to another Brit and find out more about you, Sammie.’

‘You can tell me all of Romeo’s secrets too!’ Sammie grinned.

‘Don’t you worry! I’ve gotlotsof those. I was going through old albums last week and took a few snaps on my phone, so I can show you old baby pictures too!’

‘Perfect!’ Sammie grinned and turned to face me.

‘Mamma mia.’ I shook my head, realising there was nothing I could do.

As I watched the two of them link arms when Mamma led Sammie to our blanket, a mixture of emotions flooded my chest.

I was glad that Mamma seemed to like Sammie. And I was happy that she was here. Especially as I had thought about inviting her myself earlier.

But I was supposed to be spending less time with her, not more.

And something told me that having lunch together and allowing Mamma to get to know her better was about to make Sammie even harder to resist…

35

SAMMIE

‘Linda.’ I wiped a paper napkin across my mouth. ‘Your hands are blessed! That was delicious!’

‘Thank you.’ Linda, Romeo’s mum, blushed.

She was an absolute darling and a total stunner. I had no idea how old she was, I guess she had to be in her late fifties or early sixties, but she could easily pass for at least a decade younger.

Linda had tanned skin, long, rich chocolate-brown hair and green eyes. And her tall, toned figure looked incredible in her bright orange swimming costume.