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Gianna’s POV
By the time we reached out hostel in Cleveland, I was more than ready to collapse. The day had been a whirlwind of planes, calls, and emails, and Matteo’s constant stream of chatter had frayed my patience. He wasn’t unpleasant, exactly. He just had this way of filling every silence with a comment, a joke, or a question. Charming, sure, but exhausting.
The front desk was brightly lit, staffed by a young woman with a polite smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Matteo lingered a step behind me, looking around the lobby as if he’d never seen one before.
I approached the desk, pulling out my phone. “Hi, checking in. Reservation under Lorenzo.”
The receptionist’s fingers clattered across the keyboard. “Lorenzo… let me see here.” Her smile faltered.
“Something wrong?” I
