Chapter 3 #2
‘Oh!’ I brought my hand to my chest, pretending that I was shocked. ‘That’s a surprise. I thought from the way that you jumped in and rolled your eyes before I’d even had a chance to finish my sentence, you heard it all the time.’
‘No.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘Usually people say I look like someone else.’
‘Really?’ I put on my best bimbo voice. ‘Who?’
‘An actor.’ He paused as if he was weighing up whether or not to say his name.
‘You sure it’s not Rowan Atkinson? He’s the guy who plays Mr Bean. Honestly, you look like twins!’
‘No.’ He ground his jaw. ‘I know who Mr Bean is and it is not him.’
‘Wait! I’ve got it. I bet people say that you look like the guy who plays Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory , right? Yes! I can see it now.’
Mr I Love Myself’s eyes were now the size of saucers and I resisted the temptation to burst out laughing.
Personally, I thought that actor was kind of cute, but I could tell that this guy was insulted.
Yes, I was being petty and it probably wasn’t a good idea to make enemies with the staff when I’d just arrived, but I was tired of people taking the piss out of me.
‘No,’ he huffed, crossing his arms. ‘They say I look like the actor Michele Morrone.’
‘Michele who?’ I put on my best fake frown. ‘Never heard of him.’
His face dropped and I flashed him a cheeky smile.
I wasn’t sure if he knew that I was joking, but at least next time someone said he looked like him, he wouldn’t act so put out.
If he wasn’t so ridiculously good-looking, I wouldn’t have wound him up like this, but I was pretty sure he knew I wasn’t being serious because obviously he looked nothing like Mr Bean.
The truth was, he looked nothing like the rest of the guys on the planet.
I wasn’t kidding when I said this man was a god.
Stella’s boyfriend Max was handsome and so was Jasmine’s partner, Alejandro, but this guy?
He was so hot I was surprised someone hadn’t called the fire brigade.
WTF?
No, no, no.
What was I doing?
First up, I was objectifying him. I mean, let’s get real, we all did it, but, still, didn’t mean it was right.
Secondly, based on the smart navy shorts (did I mention how bronze and muscular his legs were?) and the crisp white branded shirt he was wearing, he clearly worked here.
Which meant he was not my match. So I had no business ogling him.
Which was why I was going to nip that shameless behaviour in the bud, right now.
‘I am sorry to disappoint you but I am not related to Mr Bean or Sheldon. I am Romeo. Your Love Alchemist.’
‘What?’ My jaw dropped. Although I knew he worked here, I hadn’t considered that he was my Love Alchemist. From what Stella had mentioned, most of them were women.
Yep. Now that I knew he was the person who’d be responsible for helping me and my match fall in love, I was definitely regretting my decision to wind him up.
No. It was fine. He knew it was just banter, right?
‘You were not expecting a male Love Alchemist?’ he asked.
‘No,’ I blurted out. And definitely not one who looked like a freaking supermodel. ‘But it’s all good. So, Mr Romeo, are we gonna continue this chit chat, or you gonna show me around this fancy joint and take me to meet my match?’ I grinned.
Romeo’s eyebrows hit his hairline.
Some people found me a little direct sometimes, but I couldn’t help it. That was just the way I was.
‘Our Suitcase Superintendent will take your bags to your room, but yes, if you follow me, I will check you in and show you around this joint .’
‘Great!’ I smiled again and followed him to reception.
The large open space had white stone walls, tall columns and plush cream sofas with metallic-blue cushions. The posh glass coffee tables had expensive-looking white bowls filled with fresh lemons which were still attached to the vine.
This place was so cool.
‘Here.’ Romeo handed me a flute of prosecco. ‘ Benvenuta .’
‘Thanks. I’m parched.’ I took a gulp. ‘Bloody hell!’ I shouted. ‘This is delicious!’
‘So, not like vinegar?’ He cocked an eyebrow and I swore I saw a glimmer of a smile tug at his unfairly full lips.
I wasn’t perving, honest. It was just that ever since I’d arrived he’d been a bit serious. I thought my Love Alchemist would be all full of smiles and sunshine like Jasmine was, but so far this Romeo was a bit of a grump.
‘Not even close! It’s much better than the one I usually get for a fiver from the corner shop too. Who made this? Angels?’
‘This is the finest Italian prosecco. You will find that all of the wine at the Love Hotel is delicious.’
‘Can’t wait to try it all!’
Foot in mouth incident number 1,001.
I was about to attempt to clarify yet again that I didn’t have a drinking problem, then decided I couldn’t be bothered. It didn’t matter what Romeo thought of me. It was my match that I needed to impress.
‘So,’ Romeo sighed, clearly not willing to justify my comment with a response, ‘your match has already arrived and you will be introduced at dinner. Your reservation is at nine.’
‘Can’t wait!’ I punched the air like a plonker. I’d never been the coolest person, but ever since I’d started talking to this guy, the cringe moments just kept on coming.
Although I was gagging to find out who my match was, Stella said they normally did the introductions at dinner, so a couple of hours wasn’t long to wait.
Once we’d gone through the normal check-in procedures, Romeo gave me a tour of the hotel including the spa, which looked like it was straight out of a luxury wellness brochure, the immaculate restaurant that had uninterrupted sea views and the enormous pool, which was flanked by the most ginormous, comfiest-looking daybeds I’d ever seen.
This place was paradise.
‘And this is your room.’ Romeo stopped in front of a white door. ‘If there is something you need before dinner, press the love heart button on the phone in your room and one of our Romance Rockstars will help.’
‘Cheers, I mean, grazie . Laters, Romeo.’
He nodded in acknowledgement.
As he walked away, my eyes dropped to his arse and I mentally slapped myself.
Romeo was my arrogant, surly Love Alchemist. I shouldn’t be checking out his butt, no matter how good it looked.
I didn’t spend my savings coming all the way to Italy to ogle another fuckboy. I could’ve done that in London by swiping on the apps for free.
I was here to fall in love.
A flutter of excitement rippled in my stomach.
In less than an hour and a half I’d be meeting my perfect match and he was going to blow Romeo and all the wastemen I’d had the misfortune of dating out of the water.
Yep.
This date was going to be epic.