Page 36 of It's All Sun and Games

‘Such a dutiful fiancé,’ I joke. ‘I picked a good one.’

‘You really did,’ he replies with a playful smile. ‘Just wait until you taste my cooking.’

As I give his bicep (his bloody massive bicep – oh my God) a playful squeeze, I notice that I still have his mum’s ring on my finger.

‘Oh, your ring,’ I blurt. ‘Do you want to take it back?’

‘I think you’re going to have to keep wearing it,’ he replies through a chuckle. ‘It makes this whole thing more believable, no? Plus, if my mamma thinks you’ve rejected it, she might just reject you. Do you know how important it is for an Italian man to get his mamma’s approval when it comes to women?’

I assume that he’s joking – or at least kind of joking – if not, we better hope I made a good first impression earlier today.

Two things: one, how on earth could I have made a good impression, because all of the confusion just made it so, so weird. Also, was that only earlier today? Oh my God, I feel like I’ve been here forever already.

I suppose now – now that we have a plan and things are semi-sorted – the trip will probably fly by and I’ll be back home in England before I know it. Probably just in time for a season of summer storms, knowing my luck.

I need to forget that and focus on the here and the now. I’m here, I have Andrea on my side, and I actually stand a chance of achieving the things I can usually only ever dream of: (1) Impressing Rick and landing myself the lead role on a project. (2) Beating Liz, my work rival, to bag aforementioned lead role on a project. And (3) James finally seeming like he might be interested in me romantically.

If I play this right, and Andrea keeps up the high standard he’s already set, then maybe, just maybe, by the time we touch back down on UK soil I might just have everything I want. All of the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place, I’ll be taken seriously at work, Liz will back off, and James might just realise that he’s head over heels in love with me.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see but, hey, whatever happens, it’s going to be a bumpy ride and I’m ready for it.

15

Stretching out in bed, I sigh happily as I let my body explore every inch of the super king mattress.

God, I slept so well last night – I always know that I’ve had good-quality sleep when I wake up naturally, before my alarm goes off. Back at home, on work days, it takes multiple alarms (and a few snoozes) to force me awake, because I’m always so knackered.

It was warm last night, but nothing I couldn’t counteract by sleeping naked and leaving the balcony doors open. I kept the sheer curtains closed, hoping that it would keep bugs out, so I guess we’ll only know if that was a good decision when I check to see if I’m covered with bites this morning.

The soft, lightweight sheets cocoon me ever so gently, and it’s a truly glorious sensation against my skin, and I slowly open my eyes, the…

I gasp dramatically at the sight of James, crouched down next to my bed.

‘Good morning, gorgeous,’ he greets me with a cheeky grin.

I sit up abruptly, pulling the covers tightly around me – quickly remembering that I’m naked under here.

‘Oh my God, James, what are you doing here?’ I blurt out, my heart pounding for, oh, I don’t know, about four different reasons.

‘I hopped over the balconies – I was going to leave you some flowers on the table, as a surprise,’ he explains, his tone light, like that’s a totally normal thing to do. ‘But then I couldn’t help but notice that you were in here alone. Where is Andrea?’

As my brain wakes up fully, it all starts coming back to me. Shit, Andrea, right! Why wouldn’t he be here? I can’t have James thinking that there is trouble in paradise already, can I?

‘He’s in the bath,’ I reply, lowering my voice unnecessarily.

‘Well then, we’d better be quiet,’ James responds with a grin, making out like this is a secret rendezvous.

I can’t help but feel a rush of excitement – mixed with a strong dose of disbelief, of course. I knew that James was a bad boy but, oh my God, I can’t believe that he’s here now, having snuck into my room, not giving a damn that my (fake, but he doesn’t know that, does he?) fiancé is supposedly only in the next room, having a bath, and that he could walk back in here any second. It seems like he’s getting a real kick of out the danger.

As James reaches out and takes my hand, I notice his playful smirk as his eyes lock onto the engagement ring on my left hand. It’s almost like he’s admiring it.

‘I still can’t believe you’re engaged,’ he chuckles, his tone a blend of disbelief and amusement. ‘All those times you were flirting with me, asking me out for drinks… Were you ever going to let me in on the secret that you weren’t single?’

He isn’t offended, he’s into it.

‘Oh, now, now, James, you know it wasn’t like that,’ I reply, just about matching his playful tone, and ever so slightly edging into flirtatious territory.

I cannot believe the lengths I’m going to just to get his attention, but – dare I say it – it’s actually working. It’s absolutely wild that this is what it has taken to get him to notice me, but he has finally noticed me.

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