“Something like that,” Simona mumbled. “I can just buy it when I go shopping, or download it.”
A cryptic response. “I promise not to let anyone come near you with a camera. We can still get it now, if you want. We’ll be in and out before they start.” He grasped her hand and started in the direction of the VIP room.
“Donovan, you don’t have to do that. It’s fine. Really.”
He slowed his steps. “Is there something more I need to know other than you just being camera shy?”
“I just like my privacy. Besides, I don’t want crazy photos or anything to negatively impact my job,” she added with a nervous chuckle.
He stared at her for a long moment, not believing one word. She wasn’t telling him something...the slight trembling in her hand said so. Donovan brought her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back. He wanted to know what had happened, but dropped the subject for now. They were still getting to know each other, and hopefully she would confide in him one day. But for now, he wanted her to trust him. “Like I said, we can be in and out quickly, but if you’re uncomfortable, we can skip it.”
She smiled up at him. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Donovan searched her face for the truth and finally nodded. When they reached the VIP room, two security guards were at the door, one he recognized from previous visits.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Donovan Wright. How you doing, man? Long time, no see.”
“How’s it going, Percy?” he said, reaching out to shake the man’s hand. “Dale and Sheila in there yet?”
“Just made it.” He unlocked the door and waved them in. “You and your lady staying for the party?”
“No. I just want to congratulate Sheila. What time are you letting the media in?”
Percy checked his watch. “About fifteen minutes,” he said, and closed the door behind Donovan and Simona.
Donovan grasped Simona’s hand and guided her to the opposite side of the room where a few people stood setting up the CDs. “I want to introduce you to Sheila and her manager, Dale. Then we’ll get your CD and be out in five minutes. How does that sound?”
“It sounds good.” She stopped walking and squeezed his hand. “Thank you for understanding, Donovan.”
Her soft smile and relieved expression tugged on his heart, and he tried to push down the sensation. He made the introductions and Simona purchased a CD, which Sheila gladly signed. As they were leaving, Sheila’s manager asked to speak with him briefly.
“This won’t take long, Simona,” he told her. Donovan took in Simona’s nervous expression and mentally sighed. On the one hand, he’d promised Simona they’d be done quickly. On the other, this was part of his job, and he prided himself on ensuring he was accessible to all RC Productions clients.
* * *
Simona stood anxiously off to the side and took a quick peek at her watch, hoping Donovan would finish his conversation soon, though she couldn’t be mad at him for doing his job. It wasn’t his fault the thought of someone from the media taking her picture and linking her back to her ex freaked her out. No, that honor belonged to Travis, she thought sarcastically.
Loud voices coming from the other side of the room startled her. A stream of people entered the room. Her panicked gaze sought out Donovan, but he was quickly swallowed up by the influx of fans eager to meet Sheila Martin. Her heart raced, and she moved to a corner. Moments later, a strong arm circled her waist.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go,” Donovan whispered close to her ear.
They threaded their way through the crowd, and she breathed a sigh of relief once they exited the club.
He slung an arm around her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine—it was just all those people at the end had me feeling a little claustrophobic,” she answered brightly, praying Donovan wouldn’t know how rattled she had gotten. Simona had no desire to rehash the details of her past. “It’s nice that Sheila’s made such an impact with her music, this being her first CD.”
“She’s pretty happy about it, too. Can I tempt you into getting some dessert?”
Simona laughed. “Tempting, but I’d better not.”
“How about some coffee or tea? There’s a Starbucks up the street.”
“Okay. Starbucks will work.” It was already after ten, and she didn’t want to be out much longer. Forty-five minutes later, Donovan, seemingly reluctant, escorted her to the car.
“I’m really not ready to end the evening, but I’d better get you home,” he said with a heavy sigh.
Truth be told, Simona didn’t want the evening to end, either. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed being with a man, but she needed to get home to her niece. She still hadn’t decided how to tell Donovan about Yasmine. Tonight had made her more certain that a relationship between them could never happen. As much as she enjoyed being with him, she didn’t want to risk another chance at her quiet life being disrupted.
On the drive, Simona tried to come up with a good reason to give Donovan as to why she couldn’t see him again, but drew a blank. She had never had a problem telling a man she didn’t want to see him in the past. Then again, she’d never met a man like Donovan—a man whose very presence commanded a room and who was both strong and gentle at the same time. Why couldn’t he have a nice, quiet job? His hand settled on top of hers.
“Simona?”
“I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
“I was just asking if you were okay. You seemed to be in another world over there.”
She wished they were in another world. “I’m fine. Just thinking about how much fun I had tonight.”
“I’m glad.” He pulled into her driveway, cut the engine and rotated in his seat to face her. “A buddy of mine is having a barbecue a week from Saturday, and I’d like to invite you. It’ll be very low key.”
“Donovan, I...” She trailed off at the hopeful expression on his face.
“Please. His grandmother is on a mission to fix me up with the granddaughter of one of her friends. Can you help a brother out?” He gave her a sad expression.
She turned her head to hide her smile. Why can’t I tell this man no? Turning back, she asked, “All right. What time?”
Donovan unleashed his full dimpled smile. “Great! Thank you. Everything’s going to start around one. I’ll pick you up around twelve forty-five.” He hopped out of the car and came to her side of the car. Pulling Simona to her feet, he brushed a kiss across her lips. “I really appreciate you helping me out. Although, I have to confess, I just want to spend more time with you.” He took her hand and led her up the walkway.
Simona wanted to spend more time with him, too, but she couldn’t tell him that. What she should say is that the barbecue would be their last date. Somehow, she couldn’t get her mouth to form those words, either. When they got to her front door, she looked up at him. “Thank you for a nice evening, Donovan.”
“I enjoyed being with you,” Donovan said, bending to kiss her.
The moment their mouths met, he slid his tongue between her parted lips and latched on to hers. Pulling her closer, he angled his head and deepened the kiss, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her body. Simona moaned and gripped his shoulders when she felt the solid bulge of his erection against her belly. She knew she should stop him, but every coherent thought went right out the window. Her body trembled, and she felt his body shudder.
Breaking off the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’m trying to take this slow, but I want to make love to you, Simona, and if we stand here one minute longer...” He clenched his jaw, seemingly trying to gain control.
Taking her keys, he unlocked and opened the door. Good thing, because her body was so on fire that her hands were shaking.
“Good night. I’ll call you.” He placed a
quick kiss on her lips, turned and hurried down the walk.
She shut the door behind her and slumped against it. How in the world was she ever going to walk away from Donovan? Closing her eyes, she willed her body calm.
“Is everything okay, Simona?”
She jumped, and her eyes snapped open when she heard Eve’s voice from the living room couch. She nodded.
A knowing grin curved Eve’s mouth. She folded her arms. “So, Donovan must be a great kisser.”
Simona felt a rush of heat to her face.
“You don’t have to answer. I peeked out the curtains when he picked you up earlier. A man that fine probably has the market cornered on how to please a woman.”
She pushed off the door. “Yeah. Something like that,” she mumbled.
“I thought for sure you’d invite him in,” Eve said.
“I...I can’t.”
“Don’t tell me you still haven’t told him about Yasmine.”
Simona shook her head guiltily.
Eve threw up her hands. “Come on, Simona. From what I see, the two of you are getting closer, and you can’t keep something like this from him.”
“I know, I know. But I can’t let him get too close. He’s more in the public eye than I thought.” She told Eve about going to his office at the recording label and the VIP party. “When Donovan told me about his job initially, he made it sound like he was just some kind of office manager, but he’s the executive vice president! I had planned for tonight to be our last date, but somehow I agreed to go to a barbecue with him in two weeks.” Simona groaned.
Eve chuckled. “It was those kisses.”
Despite her frustration, Simona laughed. “Yeah, that, those seductive light brown eyes and that damn dimple in his left cheek.”
“Ooh. Does he have an older brother?” They looked at each other and collapsed in a fit of laughter. When they calmed down, Eve stood. “Let me go home.” At the door, she hugged Simona. “Honey, you need to talk to Donovan. From what you told me, it doesn’t sound like he’s cocky about his popularity.”
“No, he isn’t.” Thinking back, if anything, he seemed to downplay it.
“Then maybe you should think twice about breaking things off. Good men are hard to find. Night.”
“Night.”
When she crawled into bed half an hour later, Simona still had no idea what to do. She tossed and turned all night and, by morning, was no closer to making a decision. As a result, she was tired and out of sorts. Of course, Yasmine was her usually bubbly self. Outside in the backyard, Simona strapped Yasmine into her swing and pushed gently. The little girl’s giggles filled the air.
“I’m glad one of us is happy today,” Simona said. “What am I going to do, Yasmine? I promised your mom I’d take care of you, and I plan to do just that. I won’t subject you to the same type of scrutiny that followed us back home.” Studying her niece’s animated face, she said, “I wonder what Donovan would say about you.” She sighed heavily and kept up the gentle rhythm of the swing. “I really like Donovan, but I like my privacy, too.” She had no idea if he even liked children. “And the man definitely knows how to kiss.”
Simona’s mind went back to last night’s kiss. Each time he kissed her, she lost more and more of her willpower. She glanced down to find Yasmine staring at her and chuckled. “I guess you didn’t need to know that bit of information.”
Simona stopped the swing and took Yasmine out. Yasmine laid her head on Simona’s shoulder. Inhaling her sweet baby scent, Simona smiled. “You’re such a precious little one.”
But her smile faded quickly. Unless she planned for the barbecue to be her last date with Donovan, she needed to find a way to tell him about her niece. Chances were he wouldn’t want to be bothered with a woman who had a child anyway, and he would choose to stop seeing Simona.
Somehow, that thought didn’t sit well with her.
Chapter 8
Donovan adjusted the incline on his treadmill and increased his pace, trying to erase the images of himself and Simona naked and writhing in his bed that had plagued him all night long. He had never been so consumed by a woman in his life. He’d thought he was in love with Rolanda, but the emotions rising within him eclipsed those feelings tenfold. And he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to embrace them or run like hell.
His mind traveled back to the previous night. He couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with Simona. While he would rather not have to deal with the media and general public regularly, she’d appeared almost frightened by the mention of someone taking her picture.
The other thing that crossed his mind was her reluctance to invite him into her house. He hadn’t been expecting to take the grand tour when he arrived to pick her up, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated her closing and locking the door before he could get a glimpse inside her place. It was almost as if she was hiding something. Donovan shook off the thought. “Don’t go there, man,” he muttered breathlessly.
He slowed to a jog and, minutes later, the treadmill stopped. He reached for the towel slung across the top of the machine and wiped the sweat dripping from his face and bare chest.
Once he’d caught his breath, Donovan completed his workout. When he’d purchased the house three years ago, he had one of the five bedrooms converted to a home gym and installed everything he needed to get the same workout as in the high-priced fitness club where he had spent a small fortune. Not only had the equipment already paid for itself, he didn’t have to waste time waiting for a particular machine.
Finishing up his workout, Donovan headed to the kitchen for water. He had just taken the first sip when the phone rang. Walking over to a small corner desk, he picked up the handset and checked the display.
“Hey, Mom,” he said.
“Hi, Donovan. How are you, honey?”
“I’m good. Are you and Dad okay?” he asked with concern.
“Of course. I just hadn’t talked to you in a long time. You usually call me every couple of weeks.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. It’s been really busy at the office with Terrence out.” He took a sip of water. “Janae had the baby a couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” she gushed. “What did they have?”
“A girl. Nadia Elise Campbell. My little goddaughter is a beauty.”
His mother chuckled. “I bet she is. You need to send me some pictures. I bet Terrence has her spoiled rotten already.”
Donovan laughed. “He does. He wants to hold her all day, but Janae won’t let him.”
“Good for her. So, what about you? When are you going to settle down with a nice girl and give me some grandbabies? My neighbor’s daughter just had a baby boy. That brings her total to four now. She wanted to know when my children were going to bless me.”
Donovan stifled a groan. First Miss Ellie and now his mom. Beverly Wright had been waging this campaign for the past decade, and even more so since Terrence got married.
“What about Giselle?” he asked. His sister was three years younger and had gotten married six months ago. “She’s already married. You should be hounding her instead of me.”
“As a matter of fact, she and Bryce stopped by last night to tell your father and I that they’re expecting their first child. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it,” she gushed.
“Wow. I’m happy for them. She didn’t call me.”
His mother lowered her voice. “She said she was going to call you tonight, so you’d better act surprised. I wasn’t supposed to tell, but I couldn’t help myself,” she added with a giggle.
Donovan laughed heartily. “And that’s why we don’t tell you the things we want kept a secret.” He was happy for his sister, but this meant his mother was going to be harassing him more often.
“Oh, boy, hush. Anyway, back to
you. You’re not getting any younger, Donovan.”
“Come on, Mom. Don’t start...please.”
He heard her deep sigh. “All right. When are you coming to visit? We haven’t seen you in almost six months.”
“I don’t know. It may be a while, but I’ll try to get there as soon as I can.” His parents had moved from LA to Rockford, Illinois, two years ago to take care of his paternal grandmother. When she died last year, his parents decided to stay. The one good thing was that they were closer to his sister and husband, who lived in Chicago. “How’s Dad?”
“He’s fine. His blood pressure has stayed down over the past month.”
“That’s good to hear.” His father’s blood pressure had been elevated due to the stress of dealing with distant family members challenging his grandmother’s will. Thankfully, everything had been resolved, and his father was getting back to his healthy self.
“Well, I know you probably have a lot to do today. Make sure you get some rest. Don’t forget to send me the pictures of Terrence’s baby. Oh, and don’t tell Giselle I told you.”
“I won’t. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too, sweetheart. Talk to you soon.”
Donovan disconnected and replaced the phone. He couldn’t get over the fact that his baby sister was going to be a mom. A wave of loneliness washed over him. He wondered if Simona liked children. At the hospital that first night, he had gotten a glimpse of her thoughtfulness and compassion. Without a doubt, he knew she would make a phenomenal mother.
Shaking his head, he forced the thoughts away. He shouldn’t care one way or another. And he shouldn’t let her get too close.
Donovan downed the rest of his water and placed the glass in the dishwasher. Not let her get too close? Yeah, right. Something told him he was fighting a losing battle.
Hours later, he sat in his home office getting a few things done for tomorrow. He was meeting with Terrence and Audrey at seven to discuss the employee shift. Stretching, he chuckled, remembering the conversation with his sister. She had known their mother told before he could say anything. And, like his mother, she had asked whether he was seeing someone. Donovan told her about Simona, but reiterated several times that he’d known her only a short time. Her only response had been, “Ooh, I can’t wait to tell Mama.”
It's Only You Page 7
