Page 46 of Arrogant Arrival

“I think it’s real for him.”

My heart stops. “What is?”

Bianca scoffs and I can practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Don’t even. I don’t think Jimmy is completely faking this. Maybe at first…but I don’t think he wanted to let you go earlier. The way he’s looking at you. Something has shifted.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“He’s a decent guy. He can be a little bit of a pain, but deep down, he’s a really good guy. Please don’t hurt him.”

“Bianca, I–”

“I know it’s not my place.”

“It’s just that it’s easy to get lost here. Reality doesn’t exist anymore it seems. Especially when you’re in paradise. Everything is so beautiful and vibrant. When we get back home and to our real jobs…I think then we’ll see what was real and what was fantasy.”

Bianca goes quiet, so I focus back on playing with Georgina. She tries to stick a pebble in her mouth and I try to distract her by tossing the pebbles at the waves as they come to the shore. Bianca surprises me when she whispers just loud enough for me to barely hear.

“What if the fantasy was never a fantasy to begin with…but instead it was all reality?”

I ignore her comment and close my eyes, letting the sun warm my skin. Something hard hits my knee and I’m startled awake. A gorgeous man stands before me. The sun is shining bright behind him, making him literally glow, and having me wonder if this is a dream.

“Sorry, miss. Are you hurt?”Whew. That accent.

I blink a couple of times to clear my vision. He’s tall, muscular, with a little dark hair on his chest, black wavy damp hair, and a face beautiful enough to make angels weep. He picks up a volleyball and then extends a hand to me. That must’ve been what hit my knee. I stand up and then accept his hand.

“I’m Marco.”

I smile and continue shaking his hand. “I’m Jolene.”

“Ay! You are American?”

“Yes.”

“I’m from Italy. I’m here with my brother and cousin on vacation.”

“Same.” Then I shake my head. “Not with my brother or cousin, but I’m here on vacation.”

He chuckles and looks down at our still-joined hands. “Would you like to play ball with us? I could use a partner.”

I turn to Bianca who’s biting back a smile. She nods her head and shoos me with her hand. I turn to Marco with a shrug. “Sure.”

I walk a few feet away from Bianca and wave to the brother and cousin. Wow. What a family. All three men are gorgeous and fit. I’ve only gotten a few spikes in when two strong arms wrap around me from behind, causing me to yelp.

Marco frowns at me and those playful brown eyes turn hard. I can hear the smile in Jimmy’s voice as he says, “There’s the love of my life.”

“The love of your life? Really, Jimmy.”

He chuckles in my ear. “Just letting these Italian bitches know they’re playing with what’s mine.”

“What’s yours?”

“This trip isn’t over yet, koritsi mou. You’re all mine,still.”

Deciding to mess with him, I pull from his arms so I can face him. I smirk and side-eye the Italian men. “Those Italians, though. Whew. Maybe I want to play with them?”

Jimmy frowns and pulls me to his side. He starts stomping through the sand with me firmly against him as he grumbles, “Yeah, well, you’re stuck playing with a second-rate Greek.”

Jimmy

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