AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jessie looked at him and scoffed, then turned on her heel and flounced away—no doubt running to hide in her room and cry about the unfairness of being put in her own place.
I looked over at Matteo, who was standing nearby. His face was painted in concern.
“Are you okay, veloce?” he asked, reaching a hand out to help me sit up.
I nodded. “I get a lot of anxiety about swimming even when there aren’t sharks involved,” I joked. He and Smithy both laughed as Matteo helped me to my feet and held me close to him until I felt steady.
“Do you need help to your room?” he sweetly asked.
Did I ever.
Chapter 7
Matteo held me close to him the whole way to my cabin door, carefully ensuring nobody else got too close.
“Are you okay, tesoruccio?” he kept asking.
I could barely speak I was so dizzy. I’d offer a gentle nod as I buried my face into his shoulder or chest. He leaned me against him as he helped me unlock the cabin door, then picked me up and carried me inside, setting me gently on my bed.
He walked past me into my bathroom. I heard water running, and he soon emerged with a cool washcloth to lay over my face.
“Thank you,” I said, meekly.
“It is no problem,” he answered. “You need to rest.”
I started to cry. “I don’t know why I always let myself get worked up like this,” I said. “Ever since I was a kid, I just get so anxious when put in situations I don’t want to be in. I’m never able to just say no to anything—especially not with Jessie.”
Matteo nodded. “Sleep now, caro,” he said. “I will come by later to check on you. I will bring you dinner if you want. You can stay right here and rest, yes?”
I smiled at him. “I’d really like that,” I replied.
He gave me one final smile as he left, closing the cabin door behind him. I turned on the television and found a cooking competition. One of the chefs competing was an Italian man with an accent like Matteo’s. I smiled, comforted by the sound, and snuggled into my pillow. I shut my eyes and drifted off to the sound of that Italian accent talking excitedly about food.
I was only able to sleep about an hour, though, before banging at the door woke me up.
At first, I’d smiled and rolled out of bed in an excited fluster. It must be Matteo with my meal. When I swung the door open, though, it was Jessie standing in the hallway waiting for me. My heart sank. I wanted to scream and slam the door back shut in her face, but I didn’t.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hi,” she said back, pushing past me into my cabin and setting herself on the edge of the bed. “Rested?”
“I was sleeping when you knocked,” I answered.
“Oh,” she replied. “Well, we need to talk about your buddy Matteo.”
“What about him?” I asked. My stomach twisted up, already knowing that whatever she was about to say would be unnerving. I could feel another panic attack already coming on.
“He was very rude to me earlier!” she said. “I couldn’t believe how he talked to me up there! I don’t think he’s good for you. He’s not good for our friendship.”
As predictable as it all was, I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was the Joseph saga all over again. I was not about to let her have her way this time, though.
“I like Matteo,” I said. “And I don’t think he was being rude to you. I think you took what he said as rudeness, but really it was concern for me. And you’re not able to deal with not being the center of attention.”
Jessie laughed. “Oh? Is that a fact?” she said, patronizing me. “Well, that’s funny you like him so much because I definitely think you were trying really hard to get Smithy’s attention up there, too.”
“When?” I asked. “When I looked like I was about to vomit all over him or when I hit the floor in front of him like a ton of bricks? Which part of that was me being flirtatious in your eyes?”
Jessie stood up and stormed out, slamming the door as she did. I collapsed back onto the bed, my breath shaky with tears threatening my eyes. But I took a breath.
