Page 58 of Too Hard to Resist

When I’d said that I was guaranteed to put my foot in my mouth, I wasn’t expecting to do it so soon.

‘It would not be the first time that a woman has called me that.’ Romeo’s eyes darkened, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

A bolt of desire shot between my legs.

Jesus.

‘Oh, yeah?’ I raised an eyebrow. ‘That sounds like an interesting story…’

‘Have you looked at the menu?’ he asked.

‘Not yet,’ I replied, getting the hint that he wanted to change the subject.

I wasn’t surprised. The man had barely sat down before I’d brought the conversation straight to the gutter.

‘So, you two are dining together! Excellent!’ Kim called out from the table behind us.

‘Victoria agreed that it is important to ensure that all of our guests are looked after, so although this is not something our Love Alchemists would normally do, because of the difficult circumstances, we wanted to make an extra special effort to make sure that Samantha is happy.’

‘Well, I think that it’s very good of the hotel to agree to that,’ Timothy added.

‘And if there’s anyone that can make Samantha happy, I’m sure it’s you,’ Kim smirked, then winked at me. So cheeky, but she was probably right. ‘Enjoy your meal.’

‘In all seriousness though,’ I said, turning back to face Romeo, ‘you don’t have to sit with me if you don’t want to. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve eaten alone and I’m sure it won’t be the last.’

‘No. I have been told to make sure that you enjoy yourself and I will not fail.’

The waiter brought over a platter of different breads and some olive oil and rested it on the pristine white tablecloth then took our order. Soon afterwards he brought over a bottle of wine and poured it into our glasses.

As I took a sip, I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘Oh my God!’ I sighed. ‘This is amazing. I think I’m going to have to buy an extra two suitcases when I go back. One to steal the pillows and the other to fill it with this wine and my favourite prosecco. It’s the best booze I’ve ever tasted.’

‘Surely not better than the many bottles of wine you drank on the plane.’ Romeo flashed a cheeky smile.

‘Oi!’ I slapped his arm playfully. Blimey, I’d forgotten how firm it was. ‘I told you, it was onlyoneminibottle of wine. Notbottles, plural. And I didn’t even drink all of it!’

‘Of course, I believe you,’ he said. ‘By the way, how is the jet lag? Have you recovered yet?’

‘You are terrible!’ I grinned, then hid my face behind my hands. ‘I didn’t mean to say I had jet lag,’ I winced.

‘I know. You only said it because of all the bottles of wine,plural, that you drank on the plane.’ This time Romeo laughed and I chuckled with him.

‘Honestly, I can’t believe some of the crap that comes out of my mouth sometimes. It’s so embarrassing.’

‘Do not be embarrassed.’ Concern washed over his face. ‘I hope I did not offend you.’

‘Course not!’ I grinned. ‘I love a bit of banter. AndBanter Romeois much better thanGrumpy Romeo.’

‘Grumpy Romeo?’ His brows furrowed.

‘Yeah. When we first met, you acted like you didn’t want to be there. I thought everyone who worked at the Love Hotel would be like a ray of sunshine and then I met you and you were all grumpy, like you didn’t enjoy your job at all.’

Romeo blew out a breath.

‘I enjoy my job. It is just that day my… Never mind. You would not understand and you are a guest. I cannot burden you with my troubles.’

‘Go on. I need to understand why you acted like such a judgemental dick.’

---