Chapter 6
SAMMIE
‘Already?’ I groaned as my alarm sounded. This king-sized bed was so comfortable, I’d be happy to stay here all day.
I’d slept like a baby. Everything from the perfect pillows to the crisp white bed linen and the mattress which must’ve been made by the sleep angels was heavenly.
My whole bedroom was next level. It had stone whitewashed walls decorated with colourful art, vaulted ceilings and a large balcony with direct sea views. This was a world away from my flat in London. I felt like I was living like a celebrity.
I didn’t get to sleep straightaway because I was trying to work out why Edward ended the evening so abruptly. In the end I’d reasoned that he was just tired. I was too. Coming here knowing you’d been set up with your perfect match was intense.
Plus, we’d only known each other a couple of hours, which was nowhere near enough time to draw any conclusions one way or the other.
After breakfast we’d have a briefing and take part in our first couples task which would help us to bond faster. Right now, as comfy as this bed was, I needed to get my arse out of it, in the shower then down to breakfast. I was in gorgeous Italy and I wanted to make the most of this trip.
Forty minutes later I was heading to the restaurant. I didn’t know if Edward was already there yet. If he wasn’t, I’d wait until he arrived so we could have breakfast together, or call him from reception.
As soon as I stepped through the large glass doors, I saw the ma?tre d’ from last night standing next to Romeo.
Fuck, he was fit.
But he was also a dick.
Okay, he was a smaller dick last night than when we first met, but that was only because I didn’t have to spend more than a minute talking to him. Anyway, why was I even thinking about him? I was here to see Edward.
‘ Buongiorno , Samantha,’ Romeo nodded in acknowledgement.
‘Morning,’ I said flatly.
‘Edward is already here. Come. I will take you.’ He gestured at me to follow.
As he walked ahead, I attempted not to look at his arse and failed miserably yet again. He might be an arrogant fucker but his arse looked damn good in those shorts.
I was sure that Edward’s arse looked good in shorts too. Edward, y’know, the guy who was my match.
Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even look at his arse yesterday and I walked behind him twice. But that was good. My match wasn’t here to be ogled. Romeo wasn’t either. Which was why I was going to stop perving and focus on falling in love with my match.
When we got to the table, Edward was pushing his knife and fork together on his empty plate.
‘Morning!’ I smiled.
‘A Cuisine Champion will arrive shortly,’ Romeo said, before leaving.
‘Hi.’ Edward looked up and gave me a tight smile.
‘I see you’ve finished, or was that just the first round?’ I laughed.
‘ First round ?’ Edward frowned. ‘No. That’s the trouble with these all-inclusive places. They encourage overeating. Food is for fuel. We only need a certain amount of calories to function, the more we eat, the harder we have to work to burn off the excess. It’s completely inefficient.’
‘Haha!’ I laughed, thinking he was joking, then clamped my jaw shut when I realised he was being serious.
Hmmm. This was tricky because I disagreed with almost everything he’d said.
‘Course we need food to survive, obvs, but food’s also for enjoyment, right? Everyone knows it’s important not to binge on junk every day, but what’s the point of life if you can’t treat yourself to a bit of cake once in a while?’ I said.
And, hello ? We were in Italy. The land of pasta and pizza. Pretty sure it was illegal to come here and not indulge in those dishes.
If I told Stella that I hadn’t taken full advantage, she’d disown me.
‘A “bit of cake” turns into two, then before you know it, you’re overweight. It’s a slippery slope.’
‘We’re talking about cake, not cocaine, right?
’ I laughed again, thinking he couldn’t be serious.
His face turned to stone. Okay, so we didn’t agree on cake, but it didn’t matter.
In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a big deal.
‘Anyway, there’s a gym here and the sea, so there’s no shortage of ways to exercise. ’
‘I was at the gym at six. What did you do this morning?’
‘Er…’ My face crumpled. ‘I went for a walk on the beach.’
Why the hell did I lie?
I was tucked up in bed, probably snoring. That was what people did on holiday. I thought I did pretty well waking up at eight considering our briefing wasn’t until ten.
‘It’s some form of cardio, I suppose,’ he huffed. ‘After the pasta you ate, you’ll need to do much more than that. If you like, I can put together a workout regime and some tips on the food and portion sizes you should be eating.’
Wait, what? Was he seriously suggesting I follow a diet on holiday?
No chance .
‘I’m good. I’ve been choosing my own food for a while now and it’s worked out fine,’ I shot back.
‘Sorry to interrupt.’ A waitress stood by our table. ‘May I take your order?’
‘Yes, thank you. I’ll have some OJ and an omelette. Do you have any pastries?’
‘There is a selection of pastries, fresh fruit and cold meats in the buffet over there.’ She pointed. ‘If you tell me what you like I could bring some to you?’
‘I can go myself, grazie .’
‘ Prego ,’ she said before leaving.
‘You’re getting an omelette and pastries?’ Edward asked. ‘That’s a lot of food.’
Jesus. This guy was obsessed. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’ Edward pushed his chair back then stood up.
‘You’re leaving ?’ My eyebrows shot up.
‘There’s not much time before the briefing, so I should get ready.’
There was over an hour until it started. Seeing as we’d been matched and were in the restaurant at the same time I thought he’d at least sit with me and talk.
‘I guess I’ll see you there then,’ I replied.
‘Yes,’ he said, not meeting my gaze. ‘See you later.’