Page 37 of Stronger Than Fate

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

“I don’t think you’ll enjoy listening to me,” I responded without thinking.

“Which song were you playing?”

“You're beautiful” by James Blunt. Do you know it?

“Yes. Go on, I’d love to hear you,” he affirmed.

I positioned the phone so I could see him, picked up the guitar again, and began playing that song. I noticed that when I started singing, he looked surprised, but he continued watching me with great attention without saying anything. When I finished, I sat with the guitar in my arms and looked at him.

“You have an incredibly sweet and beautiful voice, and you play wonderfully. You surprised me.”

“Thank you,” I said, embarrassed.

“Wow! You really surprised me.”

“I started taking lessons when I was six, so I’ve had quite a few years of practice.”

“Well, it’s paid off because you do it very well, though the song you chose is a bit sad, or you sang it with a lot of melancholy.”

“I don’t know why I chose it,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “I picked up the guitar and without thinking much, I started playing that song.”

I was surprised that he also found it a sad song because most people I knew thought it was romantic.

“What did you do today?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Nothing special, just had lunch with a friend,” he responded naturally.

That information was enough to make my stomach suddenly tighten with an unpleasant sensation, and I couldn’t hide it. Why was I feeling these absurd pangs of jealousy? I was an idiot!

“Did you have a good time?” I managed to ask, making a great effort to stay calm.

“A very enjoyable time, as always,” he said with a smile, repeating my words.

I wasn’t able to interpret the expression on his face, but just seeing him smile like that made my heart sink into my stomach. Besides, was he being ironic? I looked at him through narrowed eyes and decided I wasn’t in the mood to put up with his nonsense. I’d already had a bad time with Sol; I wasn’t going to let him add another crappy moment and end up ruining my day.

“I'm glad for you. I have to go because I'm getting another call. Have a good one.”

I lied shamelessly and ended the call, seeing the surprise drawn on his face. Then I stared at the phone as if it could help me decipher that man. I sighed and stood up. It was better not to overthink the matter, but suddenly I felt tired and didn't feel like doing anything. I wasn't going to let myself be overcome by discouragement, so I decided to go to the hotel bar to chat with Billy for a while. Talking with him always improved my mood because he was a very funny and cheerful guy. First, I changed my clothes because at that moment I was wearing shorts. I put on white jeans and a black blouse.

I took the elevator and pressed the ground floor button. On the following floors, people started getting in and I moved to the back. Obviously, when we reached the ground floor, I was the last one to leave the elevator, but as I was about to step out, I froze in place. Henry was waiting to go up.

“What are you doing here?”

“And where are you going?” he asked, looking me up and down.

The people who were waiting to get into the elevator were watching us attentively, so I stepped out to let them pass and approached him.

“I asked first,” I said.

“I came to see you. I don't like being left hanging mid-conversation.”

“I told you I was getting another call.”

“But you were talking to me!” he exclaimed.