Chapter 21
ROMEO
‘The views are amazing!’ Samantha said as she took in her surroundings. We were at Belvedere di Piazza Giovanni Pascoli, a popular terrace in Matera.
After we had finished taking photos with Kim and Timothy, I had invited them to join us (I wanted to create some distance between me and Samantha) but they said that they wanted to spend some time alone.
‘ Sì , it is another great place to get a good view of the cave houses.’
‘It’s really pretty. Is this where you take all the girls then?’ Samantha grinned.
‘No.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Why do you think that I have had a lot of women?’
That was the second time today that she had made a reference to me being a womaniser or as she would call it a fuckboy and I did not understand why.
‘Er, hello . You’re not exactly ugly and no offence, but your name’s Romeo, so…’
‘Wow. Remind me to add “I am not exactly ugly” to the top of the list of my best qualities.’ The corner of my mouth twitched.
‘Well, I’m not about to say you’re good-looking, am I? If I said that, your head would never fit inside these caves!’ She laughed and I shook my head whilst I tried to fight the smile that had formed on my lips.
‘I did not choose my name, you know that, right?’ I cocked an unimpressed eyebrow.
‘No?’ She did a dramatic gasp. ‘You mean you didn’t come into the world and demand that you be given a name which implies that you love the ladies?’
‘Strangely not. It was of course my father that chose it. Originally he wanted me to be called Casanova.’
‘No way!’ Samantha laughed as I led her away from the terrace. We would return here later to watch the sunset with the rest of the group. In the meantime there were more places to explore, so we continued walking.
‘It is true, but Mamma said no. She was not keen on Romeo either because like you, she assumed it meant a man who was a womaniser, but Papà told her that it was given to someone who came from Rome and because that was where I was conceived, she thought it would be fitting. But I still think that Papà chose it because he wanted me to follow in his footsteps in all aspects.’
‘So was he a womaniser?’
‘Unfortunately.’
‘But you’re not ?’ Samantha pressed.
‘Believe it or not, I was happy to just stay with one woman for the rest of my life, but then she betrayed me.’
I squeezed my eyes shut, partly because it was a painful memory, but mainly because it was not really something that I should discuss with a guest.
‘What happened?’ Concern washed over Samantha’s face. ‘Sorry. I’m just being nosy. Tell me to mind my own business if you want.’
‘It is okay.’
Maybe if I told her, she would realise I was not the man she seemed to think I was. Her opinion should not matter to me, but for some reason it did.
Perhaps it was because I had a feeling that Edward was not a good man and I wanted to show her that not all men were dishonest.
‘I had a girlfriend, Greta.’ I took a deep breath.
Just saying her name made anger simmer beneath my skin.
‘We started dating when I was twenty-four. It was serious. Well, I thought it was. We dated for four years and I had an opportunity to travel to the US for three months as part of an exchange programme. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, but Greta said she did not want me to go. She wanted us to settle down. Move in together and think about marriage and children. I loved her, so even though I really wanted to go, I gave up the opportunity because I wanted to make her happy. Then I worked night and day to afford the apartment that she wanted.’
‘Where were you working?’
‘In hotels, mainly. The company I worked for was part of a chain with locations around Italy. They asked me to cover some shifts in Rome and I accepted. The money was good because I would be doing lots of late nights. I was supposed to work for a week, but in the end they only needed me for six days, so I came home early to surprise Greta. But I was the one that got the surprise.’
‘Oh, no.’ Samantha’s face fell. ‘What happened?’
‘When I got home, she was in bed. With my best friend.’
‘Fuck!’ Samantha’s jaw dropped. ‘That’s awful.’
‘It was the worst. When I asked him to look out for her whilst I was away, I did not expect that he would do that . I trusted them and they both betrayed me. Later I realised that Terzo – the man who had been my friend since we were seven years old – did it deliberately.’
‘What? Why?’
‘He was convinced that I had done something with his girlfriend. She used to talk a lot to me and ask for advice and he did not like that. He was convinced that the reason she broke up with him was because she was in love with me. I told him I had done nothing to encourage her and had no interest in her, but he did not believe me. So the minute my back was turned, he slept with my girlfriend as revenge for something I had not even done.’
‘What a dick.’ Samantha shook her head.
‘ Sì . I found it hard to deal with the betrayal, so I did not go to work and I lost my job and so all of the money I had saved went straight to pay the rent and bills and I gave up the opportunity of a lifetime all because of a woman. Just because I wanted to make her happy. That is why I cannot make that mistake again.’
‘I’m so sorry that happened to you,’ Samantha said sympathetically. I had definitely shared more than I should with a guest, but she was easy to talk to. ‘I’ve been cheated on too and it’s the worst.’
‘It is. So going back to your original comment, it is true that when my ex cheated, once I had dragged myself out of my hole, there was a point that I did sleep around. I trusted Greta. I thought that we were forever and I thought, if I cannot trust her, then I cannot trust anyone. So I just had one-night stands. I did not want to ever get close to anyone again.’
‘But you can’t stay like that forever, right?’
‘Perhaps not forever, but certainly for the next few years. Being single works for me. I am too busy working to have time to date anyway. And there is also an exciting career opportunity coming up and it is important that I stay focused for that.’
‘Ooh, that sounds amazing! What is it?’ Samantha’s eyes widened with interest.
‘The Love Hotel is expanding. Soon they will open a resort in California, which will be their biggest and most prestigious and if I continue to do well here, Victoria said that there is a chance that I could apply to work there for a few months.’
‘That’s amazing!’
‘ Sì . I have always wanted to work abroad. It is my dream. They will open applications soon and because there are only three Love Hotel resorts, I have a good chance of succeeding. Once the business expands, it will become almost impossible, so seizing the opportunity now is important. That is why it is easier to be by myself, so that I am free and do not have to answer to anyone. This time I will not let anything stand in my way.’
‘Fair enough,’ Samantha nodded.
‘Come,’ I said, changing the subject. I needed to steer the conversation back to professional ground. ‘There is one more place I want to show you before we meet the others.’
‘Okey dokey!’ Samantha chirped and I couldn’t help but smile at her interesting saying. I had noticed I smiled a lot when I was around her. ‘Lead the way.’