Page 67 of My Heart's Doctor

“No,” she interrupted me, “that won’t be necessary.”

“Alright,” I said, but I was certain that if she had complications because of me, I would use my influence and solve it for her. “I’ll call Alba to let her know you’ll be coming for Aurora. When could you go?”

“I’m leaving right now so Alba can get organized. Tell her not to wake Aurora because it’s the middle of the night. For today I’ll stay at your house and tomorrow we’ll come to my place,” she proposed, with her usual good sense.

“That’s fine, whatever you decide. Thank you very much.”

“No problem.”

“We’ll be in touch,” I said goodbye, although I could have stayed talking with her for hours and listening to her voice, and that overwhelming need left me restless.

A few hours later, I had organized everything necessary for Alba to travel as soon as possible with any family members she wanted to bring. I had no choice but to bother my secretary because she was the one who had the contact for the private flight company, as she had always been in charge of everything concerning coordination and contracting. I had decided to hire a private flight so she could travel as soon as possible to be with her son. Alba deserved that and much more. When I had informed her that Devon was on her way to stay with Aurora and that I had already arranged her flight, she had burst into tears with emotion, and that had squeezed my heart. I couldn’t even imagine what she was feeling at that moment, being far from her son; even though I knew he was out of danger, it was still surgery.

Everything I had experienced in those hours had left me so agitated that I wasn't sleepy at all.

I picked up the phone and called Alba again to make sure she hadn't had any issues with the flight. She told me she was on her way to the airport and that Devon was already at my house. Imagining her there made me feel an irrational happiness. Something was happening to me with this womanthat was different from anything I had experienced before. It was a new emotion that had me worried and somewhat terrified. I felt such a great longing that it was almost painful. I wanted to be with Devon, I wanted her to be only with me; imagining her with someone else turned my stomach. But could I take a step forward when I felt such great fear? She had already rejected me once—what if she did it again?

With all that spinning in my head, I picked up the phone and called her again. I didn't even check the time.

“Cavaller,” she said as soon as she answered, and although I wanted to hear her say my name, I didn't want to pressure her.

“Devon, I just spoke with Alba and she told me you were already at the house and that she was on her way to the airport.”

“That's right, I'm here and everything is fine. Aurora is sleeping peacefully,” she said, and imagining her in my house, with my daughter, sent an intense shiver down my spine, but I tried not to show her the whirlwind of emotions she caused in me.

“You don't know how grateful I am for what you're doing. How are you going to arrange things at work?” I asked, because that was another issue that concerned me.

“Tomorrow is my day off, but in the morning I'll call to let them know I need a few days of leave. When would you be returning?” she asked, reverting to formality, but I didn't say anything about it.

I had noticed that she switched from formal to informal treatment in an instant, and I had no idea why she did it. I supposed it depended on the distance she wanted to put between us at that moment, so I assumed that on this occasion she was creating distance between us.

“In three days, and only if it doesn't complicate things for you. Otherwise, I'll let Xavier handle all the meetings and I'll return whenever you tell me to,” I proposed.

“Don't worry, come back on the day you had planned. I'll call you if anything comes up.”

“Devon,” I began to say, because I felt the need to tell her to call me William, that we needed to talk about us again, but I said nothing.

“Yes?” she asked, noticing that I had fallen silent, unaware of the turmoil inside me.

“Could you stop addressing me formally? Please,” I said at last, almost like a plea.

“All right,” she responded without hesitation.

“Thank you, Devon, for everything.”

“You have nothing to thank me for.”

“I hope you find my house comfortable,” I said, and I truly hoped so. I wanted her to feel my house as a home.

Home? For her? What are you thinking?, I asked myself, but she pulled me from my thoughts.

“Actually, I don't know which bedroom to use. I forgot to ask Alba. Can you tell me?”

“Use whichever one you want; if you like, you can sleep in my bed,” I replied, knowing I was risking her being bothered by my comment, but I couldn't resist that irrational impulse to let her know that I intended to seduce her again. Yes, I was going to do it.

“Absolutely not. In fact, it's so late that I could just stay on the living room couch,” she stated, and I noticed she was flustered, which I liked.

“Of course not. Sleep in a bed so you can rest properly. My bedroom is at the end of the hallway; the other two are forguests. The staff bedrooms are in another part of the house. Use whichever one you want.”