Chapter 20
SAMMIE
Earlier I’d spoken to Romeo about sparks and butterflies. But those sensations didn’t compare to the fireworks I felt when he held my hand to help me up the rock.
Fuck.
I thought I was worried about slipping, but when our palms connected, my brain short-circuited and my knees weakened. The heat from his hand lit my body up from the inside and when our eyes locked, it was like I was under some kind of spell.
It was a good thing that Kim shouted out, otherwise I’d still be staring into his eyes now.
This was very, very bad.
I was not a cheater.
Although me and Edward weren’t officially dating, we were still supposed to be together, so I couldn’t let these crazy feelings for Romeo swim around my mind.
Romeo was just eye candy. Yeah, he’d been kind to me, but only because he was protecting the hotel’s reputation.
I couldn’t let my attraction to him cloud my judgement.
Romeo was the kind of guy you went to for orgasms, not for everlasting love.
I mean, could the man be any more of a red flag?
Not only was he a hotter version of the good-looking guys who always ended up breaking my heart, based on what Jasmine had heard and what I’d seen he was also a flirt. The guy was called Romeo for God’s sake.
Romeo by name, Romeo by nature, right?
Ordinarily, flirting wouldn’t be a crime, but at the Love Hotel, unless it was with your match, it was bad news.
I needed to remember that saying: insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting a different result.
I couldn’t keep being attracted to the same guys. I had to break the cycle.
Anyway, what the hell was I talking about? It wouldn’t even get to the stage of Romeo fucking me over because he wasn’t interested in me.
‘The views are incredible!’ Kim said as she poked her head out from the cave.
I strode towards her and Timothy, making sure my gaze was firmly fixed on the path in front of me and not on Romeo.
When we reached the cave and saw the views of Matera on the opposite side of the ravine, I gasped.
‘Bloody hell!’ I said as I reached for my phone and started snapping away. ‘I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful.’
The view stretching out in front of me didn’t even look real. The sky was perfectly blue and the limestone buildings looked like the most intricate historical painting hanging in a museum. It really was incredible.
‘Want me to take a photo of you two?’ Kim asked.
‘Oh, no,’ I jumped in. ‘Romeo’s only babysitting me. The memory book is for photos with my match, Edward.’
‘But Edward’s not here and Romeo is.’ Kim raised her eyebrow.
‘And a memory book is for memories of this whole trip, right?’ Timothy added. ‘This will be a pretty phenomenal memory, so it’d be a shame not to capture it.’
‘Course. It’s just… it’s better if you take a photo of me on my own. Romeo doesn’t want to be roped into it. He’s already helping me out enough.’
Sweat pooled on my forehead. This was so damn awkward.
‘Go on, Romeo!’ Kim insisted. ‘Be a gentleman and get in the photo with Samantha so she doesn’t look lonely.’
Romeo hesitated and his eyes darted from me to Kim and Timothy.
‘We should take a photo of the four of us together, no?’ Romeo said.
Oh. Seeing as he was supposed to be such a flirt, I thought he wouldn’t have missed a chance to snuggle up in a photo. Clearly I wasn’t his type, which was fine.
‘Spoilsport!’ Kim said. ‘Come on then.’ She stood next to me and I thought Romeo would stand on the other side, but instead he stood next to Timothy.
Jeez. Did I have BO or something? I didn’t realise the idea of being close to me was so repulsive that he had to create as much distance as possible.
‘Say cheese!’ Kim said as I plastered on a smile.
After the stuff I’d heard, I should be grateful that he’d acted so professionally.
Jasmine warned me to be careful around him which was what I was doing. And so far Romeo had been the perfect chaperone. He hadn’t been flirtatious or shown any interest in me, which was exactly what I’d wanted.
So why did I feel disappointed?