Chapter 1 #6
When they separated, Baco took my hand and introduced me.
“This is Delfina Darner, she’s a great friend of mine.”
“Happy birthday and lovely to meet you,” I congratulated her while greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.
“The pleasure is mine, sweetheart. Thank you so much for accompanying my son. This rascal had already mentioned he was bringing a friend, but he forgot to tell me his friend was such a beauty,” she said, looking at me with a warm smile.
“He also told me you encouraged him to give me that wonderful painting, and I thank you for that. It was very moving to receive it, and let me tell you it holds a special place in my home and in my heart. We’ll talk about that later, Baco,” she stated, looking at her son with love.
“Whenever you want, Mom.”
“Does your brother know Delfina yet?” she asked, looking around as if searching for the cause of my nervousness. “Look, he’s over there talking. Go introduce her to him; he’ll be very pleased to see you so well accompanied.”
“They already know each other,” Baco stated, looking at me and giving me a wink.
“Are you friends with Hermes too?” she asked with surprise.
“No, ma’am, we only met once when he came to visit Baco.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake! Don’t call me ma’am. My name is Catalina, but close friends call me Cati, so please call me that.”
“Thank you, I will,” I said with a smile.
“Go have fun,” she suggested kindly.
I felt his presence before turning to confirm it, and electricity ran through my entire body.
“Hermes, darling. Look who’s here. Come say hello to Delfina and your brother,” his mother said, stretching out her arm as if beckoning him to come closer.
Baco and I turned to face the man who had lately been sneaking into my dreams and whom I thought about more than I wanted to admit.
When I faced him, I had to make a great effort to hide the impression seeing him so elegant caused me.
If on previous occasions I had found him handsome, that day, dressed in a tuxedo, he was out of this world.
“Brother, how are you?” Baco greeted, giving him a hug and patting his back.
“Baco,” he said, returning his hug, but I couldn’t help noticing that he never took his eyes off me.
“Good evening,” he greeted.
“Good evening,” I responded.
“Hermes, please, don’t be so formal with Delfina and greet her properly.”
“And what’s proper according to you, Mother?”
“With a kiss, as it should be.”
Baco was watching us but didn’t intervene. I got the impression he was enjoying the moment, probably remembering our altercation.
“If I may,” Hermes said, approaching me and leaning in to give me a kiss on the cheek.
I just stared at him completely paralyzed as he brushed his soft lips against my cheek, and I found myself holding my breath.
I swear the spot where his lips touched felt like it was burning as if he had left a mark.
When he pulled away, for a few seconds we looked into each other’s eyes, and it was as if in that room there were only the two of us, until Catalina’s voice brought me back to reality.
“Well, go have fun, don’t stay with the older folks who only know how to talk about illnesses and money,” she said with a smile, making a gesture for us to move away. “Hermes, you should do the same, stop talking about work and enjoy yourself.”
I don’t know what he answered because his brother took my hand and pulled me across the room to go out to a beautiful and immense backyard where there was a pergola illuminated with tiny lights, under which many of the guests were dancing.
The songs playing were performed by a musical group with a female singer.
At that moment, she was performing Norah Jones’s “Don’t Know Why” and doing it sublimely. Baco led me there.
“Would you dance with me, beautiful?” he asked with his conquistador smile.
“Of course, but stop dragging me all over the house because I’m not your pet.”
Baco laughed and stretched out his arms for me to take. I approached him, he put one arm around my waist and took my hand with the other. I placed my free hand on his shoulder, and we began to twirl.
“You dance very well,” I said.
“I do everything well, and there’s something I do super well that you decided to miss out on,” he said, looking at me with a smile.
“Don’t start,” I scolded him, and he laughed again.
At that moment we turned and I found myself face to face with green eyes that were looking at me seriously. Hermes was talking with a group of men and while drinking his champagne, he couldn’t take his eyes off me.
Why is he looking at me like that? Is he upset because I came to his house? I wondered, but preferred not to mention it to Baco.
“What a sweet voice the girl singing has, don’t you think?” I commented.
“She’s singing Norah Jones songs because she’s one of my mother’s favorite singers. I suppose Hermes requested a whole repertoire of her songs to please Mom. He’s always thoughtful about those details,” Baco commented.
“Do you think he’s bothered that I came? Because he looked at me very seriously.”
“Oh, gorgeous, as my best friend… actually, you’re my only friend, you’re going to be around my family and you’ll have to get used to Hermes’ seriousness. I told you I’ve rarely seen him smile.”
“If you say so.”
“Still, let me tell you that I don’t think he’s looking at you like you’re an insect. I think he’s looking at you for what you are, a beautiful woman.”
I didn’t say anything and we continued dancing in silence for a few minutes while I felt Hermes’ gaze upon us.
“Your mother is very nice,” I commented.
“She is, and also a wonderful hostess. Even though this is Hermes’ house, I assure you that every guest will feel grateful to her for her hospitality and friendliness.”
“I don’t doubt it. She made me feel welcome even though I was terrified of your brother.”
“Why are you so worried about Hermes?” he asked, looking at me curiously.
“Not worried, but I am in his house, and let me remind you that the other day I kicked him out of mine.”
Baco looked at me in surprise and burst out laughing.
“I didn’t know you kicked him out. I missed that part and would have loved to see his face,” he said, still laughing.
At that moment I looked back to where the host was and spotted him talking with a woman who was seductively caressing the lapels of his tuxedo.
The woman was around 35 years old, tall, slim, and pretty.
Her skin was tanned, though it seemed like an artificial tan, and she was wearing a very tight, short gold dress.
Her hair, dyed a very light blonde, contrasted with her skin color.
I tried to forget about them and forced myself to look away from the couple.
The singer began to sing “Come Away With Me,” also by Norah Jones.
“This song is very beautiful,” I said.
“Look at my mother,” he said, nodding toward her. “She’s dancing alone because she loves this song.”
“Go ask her to dance,” I suggested. “Don’t let her dance alone.”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all, go to her.”
Baco walked away toward his mother, and I began to walk off the dance floor with a smile as I watched mother and son dancing happily. Someone stopped me by taking my hand.
“May I have this dance?”
That question left me paralyzed. That was Hermes’ sensual voice, I had no doubt.
I raised my face to him and found his serious gaze, but for the first time I noticed that it wasn’t a seriousness caused by anger, but rather by uncertainty about my response.
He was looking at me with such intensity that I had lost my voice and felt myself weakening.
“Shall we dance, Delfina?” he asked again, and when I heard my name from his lips, my stomach did a flip. Besides, it was the first time he had addressed me informally.
I could only nod. He took me by the elbow and led me back to the dance floor.
He looked at me and put his arm around my waist, drawing me toward him, and with his other hand he brought one of my hands to his chest. I raised my free hand to his shoulder and we began to move slowly.
His closeness was too disturbing, but the sensation I felt being in this man’s arms was something I had never felt before, and I must admit that it made me tremble from head to toe.
What’s happening to me? Control yourself, Delfina! I told myself.
We weren’t speaking, but I can assure you that I had never felt so connected to someone as I felt with Hermes Darwich in that moment, and that made me even more nervous.
The song came to an end and I tried to step back to separate us, but he prevented me by pulling me closer to him.
I looked at him in surprise; he looked back at me and for the first time I saw him smile.
That dazzling smile accentuated his beauty, and if he hadn’t been holding me, I surely would have fallen backward onto the floor.
“Don’t go because I assure you the song will start again, and it’s only fair that we dance to the whole thing,” he said, and seconds later the singer began to sing “Come Away With Me” again. “I knew it! It’s my mother’s favorite song and she always asks them to repeat it.”
This man had changed; he wasn’t the ogre who had been in my apartment. Now he was behaving in an approachable way and even with a certain friendliness.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, referring to the song and just to say something, because I was finding it difficult to put together a coherent sentence.
"It certainly is," he said, but he was looking at me in such a way that, for a second, I thought he was referring to me.
"And the party is very lovely," I commented, having no idea what else to say.
"What’s going on between you and my brother?" he asked, without beating around the bush, looking directly into my eyes and completely abandoning the formality with which he had always addressed me.
"What?"
"You heard me," was all he said.