Page 63 of Official

“Of course,” Mario says, stepping closer. “Don’t mind my wife. She has love on the brain.”

“As she should,” Sam coos. “You two are on your honeymoon. It’s all about the romance.”

The pair embraces, and Francesca looks up at him with moony eyes that most would consider sweet.

I’ve never had a woman look at me like that before, her affection and care obvious and genuine. Lust? I’ve had plenty of that. Many women I’ve been with have wanted sex from me. A good time. Some laughs.

Or they wanted me to introduce them to my mother, a producer, or anyone else who could launch their career in Hollywood.

I’ve never had anything real, and the fact that I kept getting burned might’ve been why I stopped searching for it.

“Will you come back tomorrow?” Francesca asks. “An Italian winemaker will be sharing a few stories and secrets of his experience in Tuscany. It’s going to be amazing.”

“That sounds great.” Sam turns to me. “We don’t have any set plans for tomorrow night, so we could—”

“Actually, we’re leaving in the morning,” I blurt.

“What? No,” Francesca draws out with a frown.

“What do you mean?” Sam asks, angling her body now to fully face me.

“Will you excuse us, please?” I take Sam by the elbow and lead her away, my stomach knotted and nerves rattled.

“What’s going on?” she asks from behind me.

I continue leading her away from the noise and around to the front of the resort until we get somewhere quieter.

“Xander,” she calls out and pulls her arm from my grasp. My name leaves her lips with annoyance and confusion, and I grind my teeth together in order to maintain control. “You bought us tickets to leave tomorrow? When were you planning on telling me?”

“Tonight.”

Her expression falls as she wraps her arms around her midsection.

I sigh. “We were going to have to leave at some point, Sam. We can’t stay here forever.”

“I know that.” She purses her lips and pins me with a glare. “I’m just blindsided that you didn’t talk to me first. I mean, tomorrow is… It’s so soon…”

I avert my gaze as piano music from the lobby filters through the opening doors, and a few people emerge. They’re happy, and I just wish I had something to throw at them.

Scratching my head, I say, “I’m sorry, but Teddy called earlier and insisted we come back. He was already suspicious of our relationship announcement online, and I didn’t want to give him any more reason to think something’s going on between us. I panicked and promised him we’d leave tomorrow.”

“But there is something going on.”

“Yes, but—”

“Hey! Aren’t you Samantha Ray?” A woman who looks younger than both of us appears at our side, her smile wide like she struck gold. I swear if I looked hard enough, I’d see stars in her eyes. “Oh my God, is this yourgym baeXander?”

Sam clears her throat and snakes her arm through mine, a mask falling over her entire demeanor like I’ve seen actors do when they slip into character. “It is.”

The woman squeals every other syllable while she tells us her name is Scarlett, and she’s here with her father, a sommelier from LA.

“Can I please take a selfie with you two?” Scarlett asks. “It would make this trip with my dadsoworth it, especially since he’s spent the whole time talking about wine, cheese, and wine and cheese pairings.”

“Of course.” Sam leans in for the camera, with a smile that doesn’t even seem forced.

I blink, trying to shake off the whiplash of how we were on the verge of an argument, but she’s now laughing with a stranger as smoothly as if she were giving the girl fitness tips.

“Get in here!” Scarlett waves for me.

---