Page 45 of My Heart's Doctor

“What’s wrong, Devon?” Orson asked.

I took a breath and looked at my friend, who was the one who knew him.

“Don’t turn around, but Cavaller just sat down at the table behind you with a woman.”

“The guy who was at the party we went to the other night?”

“The very same.”

“Can someone explain what you’re talking about and why you’re whispering?” Sylvia asked, confused, because she wasn’t aware of my escapades with that man.

“I’ll explain,” said Orson, looking at Sylvia, but then he turned back to me and added, “but first tell me why it bothers you so much that he’s here.”

“Because the night of the party, after you dropped me off at my apartment, he showed up there and... you know.”

“Nooo? Seriously?” asked Orson, his eyes wide as saucers, and I nodded.

“Please! Stop whispering between yourselves and explain to me,” insisted Sylvia, desperate to find out what was happening.

“He’s the father of one of Devon’s patients, a widower who’s crazy about her, and it seems our friend has also fallen for his charms.”

“I want all the details,” said Sylvia, who also began to whisper, while discreetly glancing toward their table.

“Don’t look, please, I don’t want him to realize we’re talking about him and even less for him to see me.”

“There’s something I don’t understand,” said Orson. “You slept together the other night and today he’s with someone else?”

“Whaaaat?” exclaimed Sylvia.

“Yes, I slept with him and I promise I’ll tell you everything when we leave here, but now let’s change the subject, please. And, Orson, don’t move so I can hide behind you.”

“Beautiful, it’s going to be difficult for him not to see you.”

At that moment I looked up and his eyes met mine. His gaze went from surprise to confusion. I saw him look at my companions and then back at me, but I decided to turn my head and look at Sylvia.

“Talk to me because he just saw me and I don’t want him to notice how upset I am,” I asked, trying to gesture as if I were talking about something else entirely.

“We’ll do this: I’m going to call the waiter, pay, and we’ll go to the nightclub. We’ll have some fun and then go somewhere to talk quietly. Do you agree?”

“Yes, I want to get out of here as soon as possible,” I confirmed.

“From what I could see, he’s an attractive guy, but quite a bit older than you,” Sylvia pointed out.

“Let’s talk about something else,” said Orson, while raising his hand to call the waiter.

I didn’t look at his table again, but I could feel his gaze fixed on me. I was upset seeing him with another woman because I felt deceived. If he wanted to go out with others, he shouldn’t haveproposed being lovers. Or had I misunderstood and his proposal didn’t imply fidelity?

How foolish I am!, I thought. I felt like an idiot and blushed to my ears without being able to help it. That was surely it, an open relationship where we could go out with whoever we wanted because there was no kind of commitment between us. But if that was the case, I wasn’t going to see that man again because I wouldn’t be able to handle that type of relationship, of that I was certain.

“Let’s go,” said Orson, standing up.

Sylvia and I did the same, and at no point did I look toward his table. We walked past them. I passed without looking at them, head held high, though I could tell he didn’t take his eyes off us. I only managed to relax a bit when we were waiting for the elevator to go upstairs to the nightclub.

“You’re not going to get away without telling me everything because that man has strong feelings for you. He couldn’t take his eyes off you and his gaze said a lot,” said Sylvia. “I swear I could observe him without him noticing because he only had eyes for you, and I could tell his companion was talking to him, but he wasn’t paying attention. He’s an extremely attractive and masculine man, but there’s something about him I don’t like, I don’t know, he seems too arrogant.”

“You’ve hit the nail on the head,” I said.

“I don’t like him much either,” said Orson, “but I must point out that I think Devon has strong feelings for him. I haven’t seen her this upset in a long time. And I warn you that as soon as we sit down in the nightclub, you’re going to tell me the details of that encounter,” he clarified, looking at me and pointing his finger at me.