Chapter 9
SAMMIE
I flopped on the bed and blew out a frustrated breath.
The pool volleyball was a total bust.
Me and Edward just weren’t in sync.
We should’ve worked together as a team to get the ball over the net, but instead he tried to hit it all the time, so it was like I wasn’t even there. And then when he missed the shot that caused us to lose the game, he blamed me .
We were supposed to stay until the end to see the winners crowned, but Edward stormed off early because he said he had to make an ‘important call’.
Talk about a bad loser.
I still had no idea how Edward felt about me and to be honest, right now he wasn’t at the top of my Christmas card list.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t thinking about throwing in the towel. Like I’d said to Romeo, Edward had a lot of the qualities I’d asked for. But some of the things he did cheesed me off.
My mind was more tangled than a bunch of computer cables. I needed a second opinion.
After picking up my phone, I dialled Stella’s number. Luckily, she answered on the third ring.
‘Hey!’ she chirped. ‘I’ve been waiting to hear from you! How’s it going? How’s your match?’
‘He’s…’ I paused as I tried to search for the right words, ‘fine.’
‘ Fine as in, girl, he is fine ,’ Stella put on a terrible American accent, ‘or fine as in, yeah, whatever ?’
‘As crappy as it sounds to say it out loud, it’s more like he’s fine as in, meh .’
‘Thanks for that extremely detailed explanation.’
‘I know that meh isn’t the most descriptive word in the dictionary, but it’s how I feel. I’m kind of indifferent. It’s strange because he’s decent-looking, has a good job, lives in London, wants to settle down and he likes swimming.’
‘That all sounds great! So what’s the problem?’
‘I’m just not drawn to him. I don’t feel that attraction. There’s no spark.’
‘Not all romances are insta love. Some are slow burns. It’s only been twenty-four hours. There’s loads of time for those feelings to grow. Look at me and Max. I hated him on the first day. It was a week until we really connected.’
‘When you say connected, you mean, shagged !’ I cackled.
‘Oh, sweet memories…’ Her voice turned wistful. ‘Anyway, it wasn’t until our first excursion outside of the hotel that things started to change, so you never know, maybe that’s when it’ll click for you too. When’s your first outing?’
‘Tomorrow. According to one of the other guests I was chatting to, we’re going to Alberobello.’
Apparently the Love Alchemists didn’t usually tell us where we were going in advance as they preferred the locations to be a surprise, but this woman overhead Romeo talking about it to another staff member.
‘That place rings a bell. I think it’s the town with those cute cone houses. That’ll be the perfect place to help you connect. You’ll see.’
‘I really hope so. After everything you and Jasmine told me about the Love Hotel, I was so excited about coming here. Then when I arrived and saw how hot Romeo was, I was even more excited because I thought if I could feel a spark with someone like him then the whole place must be powered by some kind of magical romantic electricity and that when I met my match, the connection would be ten times stronger and…’
‘Wait, hold up, rewind.’ Stella raised her voice. ‘Who the hell is Romeo ?’
‘Shit,’ I muttered under my breath. I shouldn’t have mentioned him. Now she’d get the wrong idea. ‘He’s just my Love Alchemist. My very arrogant and judgemental Love Alchemist.’
‘You have a male Love Alchemist?’ Stella replied, completely ignoring my descriptions of his personality.
I mean, he wasn’t so judgy today. Bantering with him was kind of fun, but still, he was ridiculously good-looking and I’d dated enough of those kind of guys to know how self-absorbed they were.
‘Yeah.’
‘And what, you felt sparks with him ?’
‘No…’ I lied. ‘I just thought he was hot, that’s all. But then he opened his mouth and I realised he was a dick. Didn’t matter anyway because all I was interested in was meeting my match. It’s just that I thought when I met my Mr Right, I’d feel something. Y’know?’
‘I hear you, but it’s still early days. Like I said, everything could change tomorrow. In the meantime, try and focus on all the great things about Edward, like the things you have in common and why he’s the right man for you. Did they give you your Love Tasks?’
‘Yep. And I’m already struggling. I’m supposed to do a playlist with at least five songs that convey how I feel about him, but my mind’s more jumbled than a bowl of spaghetti soup. I can’t think of a single song.’
‘I loved doing the playlists! At first when they told us about them, I thought it’d be a nightmare, but then I really got into it. I’m sure that whatever you choose won’t be as bad as the songs I chose for Max during those first few days!’ She laughed.
That was true. At the beginning, she still hated Max because of the way things ended between them so I remember her choosing songs like ‘Dickhead’ by Kate Nash and ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ by Taylor Swift.
But despite those angry early playlists, they fell in love again, so it all worked out in the end.
‘At least he sparked some kind of emotions from you – even if it was hatred. I don’t even have that. I don’t feel anything . At the moment, the only song that comes to mind is “Numb” by Linkin Park.’
‘Wow, okay…’
‘No, wait. I’ve thought of a second song.’
‘What is it?’ Stella replied excitedly.
‘“Don’t Blame Me” by Taylor Swift, because it wasn’t my fault we lost the volleyball game like he accused me of!
’ My cheeks heated with anger as I remembered how much I hated how he glared at me in the pool.
‘Oh and I just remembered that earlier I thought that “All by Myself” by Celine Dion would be a great choice too.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Because he left me to eat breakfast alone this morning.’
I explained to Stella what happened and, like me, she thought it sounded strange and rude.
‘And he seems kind of obsessed with calories, which is fine if that’s what he wants to do, but I didn’t like his comment about the amount of pasta I ate. He made it sound like I was a greedy pig. He even asked if I wanted him to create a diet plan for me.’
‘What the hell?’ Stella gasped.
‘Exactly.’
‘That’s a definite red flag.’
‘I know, right?’
‘Hmmm, well, I’m not liking the way that he left you for breakfast, blamed you for missing a volleyball shot and his food-shaming vibe, but because it’s the first day and we trust the matchmakers, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.
See how things go tomorrow and if you’ve still got concerns, then speak to your Casanova guy. ’
‘ Romeo ,’ I corrected. ‘Although the ladies do seem to love him and he didn’t seem to mind them fawning over him, so Casanova is an accurate description.’
‘Oh!’ she said, sounding like she’d just had a brainwave. ‘Was Casanova taking photos of everyone during the pool volleyball match?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Great. So when I was at the Spanish Love Hotel and I went to collect the photos of our pool volleyball match, I was convinced they’d be terrible and all be shots of me and Max scowling at each other.
But when I saw them, they were all surprisingly gorgeous.
I was looking at Max like he was walking on water and he was looking at me like I was freaking Beyoncé, but neither of us had realised.
I reckon that also helped us to see that there was something brewing between us, so it could be the same for you and Edward too.
When you see the memory book pics that’ll definitely help you to bond.
Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll all work out. ’
‘I hope so.’
‘Anyway, hon, I better get back to work, but good luck with the playlist, stay positive and let me know how the excursion goes tomorrow.’
‘Will do.’
As I hung up, another song came to mind.
‘Cold’ by Maroon 5.
So based on my song ideas so far, when I thought of my ideal match I felt wrongly accused, cold, numb and lonely.
Obviously, I wouldn’t include any of those tracks on my playlist because I didn’t want to be rude, but I was worried.
You didn’t need to be Einstein to work out that feeling that way about a guy who was supposed to be my perfect match wasn’t good.
But like Stella said, tomorrow was a new day and my feelings could change.
And after I’d spent time and every penny of my savings coming all the way here to find love, I really hoped she was right…