We ended up in a compact rental that looked like it had been born in 2003 and hadn’t been cleaned since. Five of us. Luggage piled like a Jenga tower between seats. Elbows in ribs. Knees jammed against dashboards.
And of course, Matteo ended up next tome.
Because the universeloveda good joke.
I turned sharply when his thigh brushed mine. “Can you not?”
“What?” he said, way too innocent. “My leg’s just existing. You’re the one taking up all the space with your overpacking.”
“Why don’t you crawl into the glove compartment then?”
He grinned, infuriatingly unbothered.
Lucia choked on her water. Alexander laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
I shot Matteo a look that could curdle milk. He just smiled wider, resting his arm behind me like he owned the air I breathed.
By the time we got to the hotel I was ready to throw myself into the sea. Lucia and Alexander, however, seemed blitzed out. Maybe if my thoughts would be quiet, I would feel the same.
“Ah, Mr. Wright,” the front desk receptionist smiled apologetically. “We’ve had a slight issue with the room allocations. Unfortunately, only the Lemoné Villa is available, which is a two bedroom villa. Each room has just one king-sized bed.”
“That’s fine, we’ll make it work,” Alexander smiled graciously while alarm bells began going off in my head. Sharing a room with Matteo? Sharing a bed with Matteo?Fuck me.
“Excuse me?” I snapped, voice too sharp, too mean. I immediately felt guilty knowing it wasn’t the poor receptionist’s fault.
Matteo whistled under his breath. “Guess we’re bunking together, Nic.”
When I heard him call me Nic, shot ice straight through veins. “Don’t call me that, and no, we’re not sharing a bed,” I seethed.
“Well, there’s always the floor,” Matteo shrugged, “But I’d hate for you to hurt your back.”
“Here is the second room key…” the receptionist cleared her throat.
I forced a smile to the woman, then leaned into Matteo. “You are being an unbearable idiot.”
“She’s with me,” Matteo announced and slings an arm around my shoulders. I tensed like he’d poured ice water down my spine.
“I amnotwith you,” I hissed.
“Technically,” he whispered, mouth way too close to my ear, “You were with me. Multiple times.”
My entire body flushed.
Lucia coughed behind us. “We’ll, uh, see you two later.”
I sent her a ‘What the hell’ look and she just shrugged with a soft smile and sent me a thumbs up. I clenched my fists and followed Matteo to the elevator, praying I wouldn’t strangle him before the trip was over.
Or worse—let him kiss me again. Because deep down, under all the snark and fury, my body still ached for him. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget how good it felt to let him ruin me.
“Are you done being moody?” Matteo asked in a surprisingly soft voice.
“And what of it?” I snapped at him, staring at my phone to ignore him and scrolling through work emails with the charity team.
“Hey,” his voice was low and soft; it was enough to make me turn and look at him. I wasn’t wearing heels, so my head barely reached his chest. His finger hooked my chin and he ever so softly pushed with the pad of his finger to get me to look up at him. I was met with his eyes, all soft and concerned. I hated how my belly flipped at the sight. How he could see past my normal jabs and annoyance.
“What’s going on?” His thumb brushed my cheek. I couldn’t help but pull away as I felt the hurt radiate off him. We were not in public, we were in a damn elevator, and sometime during the last few weeks, private spaces became where we gravitated toward each other, not away. I didn’t have time for feelings or being distracted, not when I was just finding my place in this cutthroat world. Planning a huge fundraising campaign and gala had taken up most of my mental space. And I needed to ask Matteo about doing some promos and if he’d be willing to help out with the media. No driver wanted to do more media, but somewhere deep down I knew if I asked, he would say yes. And yet my anxiety bloomed just thinking about asking.
We walked in silence to the villa. When he unlocked the door and held it open, I was hit with the reality of the one bed conundrum. There it was in all its glory: soft white sheets, a fluffy duvet, and giant pillows. I felt my anger bubble to the surface as I tossed my bag onto the floor and spun to face him. “I’ll take the couch.”
