Page 65 of Stronger Than Fate

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You haven’t, but please don’t push it. I can chat and even dance with him or others, but it won’t go beyond that.”

“You’re not going to leave, are you?” she asked, concerned.

“No, I promise.”

“Dalina, would you like to dance?” Nacho asked, interrupting my conversation with Niky.

“Yes, of course, let’s dance,” I replied, giving Niky a look so she would understand that I was willing to have fun dancing, but nothing more.

“We’ll join you in a few minutes,” Niky said.

Nacho took my hand and led me to the dance floor. At that moment, “The Rhythm of the Night” by Corona was playing.

When we positioned ourselves on the dance floor, he didn’t let go of my hand and we began moving to the rhythm of the music. Nacho was a very good dancer and, every so often, he would lean in and say something in my ear, often gently brushing my hair aside.

“Are you having fun?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m having a great time,” I replied, moving a bit away from him.

“Have you known Niky for long?”

“We met recently on a trip we both took to Mykonos.”

“I remember when Niky took that trip,” he said, smiling. “I was about to go with the group of friends, but couldn’t because of work. What a shame! But the important thing is that I got to meet you anyway.”

“I’m happy to meet people and make new friends,” I said, emphasizing “friends” to make things clear, and I think Nachogot the hint because he smiled and didn’t say anything else for a few minutes.

Although I wasn’t closed to the idea of dating someone, at that moment I couldn’t—I still had the memory of Henry in my mind, my body, and my heart.

A few minutes later, Niky, along with her other friends, Gael and Laia, joined us on the dance floor. I took advantage of their arrival to let go of Nacho’s hand and dance in a circle with everyone. At that moment, “New Rules” by Dua Lipa was playing.

“I’m going to the bar to get something because I’m really thirsty,” I told Niky.

“Should I come with you?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back. Do you want anything?”

“No thanks,” my friend replied, and continued dancing.

When I turned to leave the dance floor, Nacho grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

“I’m going to get a drink.”

“I’ll go with you,” he said without hesitation.

“It’s not necessary for you to come with me. Besides, I’m going to stop by the bathroom first.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you here,” he said, releasing my arm.

I headed toward the bar, knowing I was going to take a few minutes before returning to the dance floor. I approached, trying to catch the bartender’s attention to order a drink, but as soon as I spotted a certain person at the other end of the bar, I froze. With his back to me and leaning his back and elbows against the bar was Henry—unmistakable to me. The thing is, he wasn’t alone; a very striking woman was hanging from his neck andseductively whispering in his ear. “Probably a woman his age with whom he gets along much better than with me,” I thought, remembering his words.

Even though I still had his harsh words in mind and had tried to convince myself that what we had was now part of the past, my heart sank and I had to sit down on one of the stools there because I was sure my legs would give out at any moment. One thing was to imagine it and quite another to see it with my own eyes.

The bartender approached me to take my order, and I couldn’t speak. He looked at me and smiled seductively, and at that moment I snapped out of it—the last thing I needed was for this man to think I was smitten with him.