* * *
Later, after mingling and consuming too much food, Simona sought out a lounger and collapsed. She hadn’t known what to expect when she arrived, but had found everyone to be friendly and unpretentious. Her gaze strayed to Donovan sitting in a chair holding Nadia. He seemed to love children, which gave her hope. Yasmine would celebrate her first birthday next weekend, and if things went well, maybe she would introduce Donovan then.
Earlier, Eve had taken Yasmine to her house so they wouldn’t be home when Donovan arrived. Simona had checked and triple checked to make sure all evidence of a baby in her living room was gone. A measure of guilt rose up, but she pushed it back down. She was just trying to protect her niece, she reasoned.
She had no idea how long she lay there with her eyes closed until Donovan’s voice filtered through her haze.
“Hey, sleepyhead. You all right?” He took a seat on the edge of the lounger.
Opening her eyes, she smiled. “Yeah. I guess I was a little tired and I ate too much,” she added with a chuckle. “It was a long week.”
He stood and extended his hand. “Come dance with me.”
“Dance?” Only then did she hear the music and see the couples—Terrence and Janae, Janae’s best friend, Karen, and her husband, Damian, and Terrence’s grandparents—swaying to the slow tune being filtered through hidden speakers.
She stood, and he led her over to where everyone danced. After what happened in her house this afternoon, Simona wasn’t sure she could take being in his arms for any length of time. He’d had every molecule in her body electrified.
Now he wrapped his arms around her and started a slow grind that made her nipples hard and her center throb. Donovan stared down at her with those magnetic eyes, communicating exactly what he meant, and she had no problem interpreting the message.
“I love holding your body close to mine,” he whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait to have you in my bed. You have to feel what you do to me.”
A soft gasp escaped when she felt the solid bulge of his erection pressing against her lower belly. A shudder passed through her, and she missed a step. His gaze never left hers as one arm held her closer while his other hand burned a path down her back and caressed her hip. All Simona wanted was for him to find a bed and finish what he’d started.
Donovan’s brow lifted, and a wicked smile curved his mouth. “Don’t tempt me, sweetheart.”
Her eyes widened. There was no way he could know what she was thinking. Could he? She was almost afraid to ask. “What do you mean?”
“You’re thinking we need to find the nearest bed and finish this.”
“How...how did you...?”
“Your eyes tell me everything I need to know.” He nibbled on her bottom lip, teased the corners with his tongue and plunged inside when she parted her lips.
Her eyes slid closed. Where in the world did he learn to kiss like this? Almost immediately, sanity returned and she remembered where they were. She pushed against his chest and broke off the kiss. “Donovan, did you forget we’re standing in a backyard full of people?” she whispered.
“Nope. Believe me, those men are so in love with their wives they aren’t paying attention to us. Take a look.”
Simona risked a peek over her shoulder and saw that what Donovan said was true. The couples were totally into each other. But still...
“See,” he said, gifting her with tender kisses along her jaw and lips.
She was glad when the song ended because she needed to go somewhere and get herself together. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”
Donovan smiled knowingly, nodded and directed her inside to a cabana-like room.
As soon as she closed the door, Simona fell against it and tried to slow her heart rate. She had never had a man seduce her the way Donovan was doing, and she didn’t think she could take much more before succumbing to the pleasure he was sure to give her.
After a few moments, she felt in control enough to rejoin the party. Back outside, Simona noticed that the guys had moved to one side of the yard while the ladies all sat around on the other side. Janae’s parents and Terrence’s grandparents were nowhere in sight. She guessed they might have gone inside.
“Simona, come join us,” Janae called out, waving her over. When Simona sat in a vacant chair, Janae said, “We haven’t had a chance to get acquainted. So, how did you and Donovan meet?”
Simona stared at the smiling faces of the three women. Aside from Eve, she hadn’t developed any real friendships since coming to LA. “I was getting off work in the emergency room and wasn’t watching where I was going. Next thing I know I’m being saved from a coffee cart running me over. Coming here today, I realize it was the night Nadia was born. I think Donovan was leaving the hospital.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. Donovan’s such a nice guy,” Karen said.
“I’ve known him since college, and I agree wholeheartedly,” Audrey added. Simona found out that Audrey and Brad married after college, and also that they headed up departments at the recording company.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Janae, how did you and Terrence meet?” She was curious how Janae handled her husband’s fame.
“I don’t mind at all. This one here,” she started, gesturing toward Karen, “dragged me to his concert in San Francisco two years ago. We were instantly attracted to each other, but I had no intentions of dating someone as famous as he is. But my ever-resourceful husband enlisted the help of his best friend over there—” she pointed at Donovan “—and tricked us into coming backstage after the concert.”
“Girl, there was so much heat between them that I had to give them a minute alone,” Karen interrupted, fanning herself. They all laughed.
“Whatever,” Janae said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, Simona, to make a long story short, we dated long-distance for a while—I was a special education teacher in San Jose—and moved here when we married.”
“Doesn’t it bother you, having all the media in your business?” Simona asked.
“I don’t like the spotlight at all, but Terrence is very protective of his family and he does a great job keeping our private lives private. The one time a reporter tried to stir up some trouble, I saw a side of my husband I didn’t know existed. Suffice it to say we haven’t had any more problems. Ask Donovan. As Terrence’s agent-slash-manager, he held a nice little press conference.”
Her eyes widened. Agent? That meant he was more visible than she thought. She groaned inwardly. One more thing to add to her growing list of worries. Simona thought about her own experience with the media and the stark contrast in how her situation was handled. Would Donovan be the same? And could she risk it? Memories of that time flooded her mind—cameras following her everywhere, waiting at her home and job. She glanced over at Donovan laughing. As much as she enjoyed being with him, she didn’t think she’d be able to let go of her hang-ups.
The women’s laughter brought her back to the conversation.
“Shoot, you should be thanking me, Janae,” Karen was saying.
“That goes both ways, missy,” Janae shot back. “If you hadn’t come to my wedding on the cruise, you wouldn’t have met your husband.”
Simona stared curiously.
“Amen, girl!” Karen said, lifting her hand to high-five Janae. To Simona she said, “Damian was on the cruise with a couple of his friends, and I was taking a dating hiatus. The moment I saw him, I forgot all about that hiatus.”
Simona laughed. “I can see why. He is a good-looking man.” With his towering height, golden-brown skin and hazel eyes, Damian Bradshaw could fuel the fantasies of most women.
Audrey sighed dramatically. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have a fabulous story to tell. We met in college, dated for four years and got married. No fuss, no cruise ships, concerts or knight-in-shining-armor
saves.”
Laughing, Janae said, “Maybe, but you still have a true love story. You guys have been married for almost ten years, and together longer than that.”
A smile played around Audrey’s mouth. “Yeah, you have a point.”
The women shared a smile and a moment of quiet reflection before resuming the conversation. Simona enjoyed the camaraderie she was building with these women. Her cell phone rang and she answered, still smiling.
“Hey, Simona.”
“Hey, Eve.”
“Sorry to bother you, but I thought you’d want to know that Yasmine is running a fever and she’s not keeping any food down. A couple of hours ago her temperature was one hundred and two point seven. I gave her the Tylenol, and she promptly threw it back up. I tried the Pedialyte, and she’s not keeping that down, either.”
Panic arose in Simona. “What’s her temperature now?”
“It’s almost a hundred and four, and she’s pretty listless, poor thing.”
She was on her feet. “Try a cool bath, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She disconnected and took in the concerned gazes of the other women. “I’m sorry. I have an emergency and I have to leave.”
They all stood and Janae said, “Is there anything we can do?” When Simona shook her head, she said, “Okay, but make sure you let us know that everything is all right.”
“I will.” She caught Donovan’s gaze. Evidently he knew something was wrong because he was up and striding across the yard.
Time had run out. She should have told him about Yasmine. This wasn’t the way she wanted him to find out, and now she didn’t have a choice. She could only pray that he would understand.
Chapter 10
Donovan half listened to Terrence as he stole glances at Simona sitting across the yard talking with Janae, Karen and Audrey. She fit in well, if all the laughter was an indication. But then, with her personality, he’d known she would. The other thing he was starting to realize was that she fit well with him, too. As much as he wanted to keep her at a distance, he couldn’t.
“Donovan, are you listening?” Terrence asked.
“What?”
Damian and Brad laughed.
Terrence shook his head. “Man, can you stop staring at your woman for five minutes? I said I’ll be in the office a couple of days next week and wanted to know if you’re going to Chicago with Kaleidoscope next weekend.”
“I hadn’t planned on it, since you’ve been out. Are you going to be back by then?”
“I don’t know. Don’t forget I have to do the music class.”
“Oh, yeah.” His attention shifted back to Simona.
“Donovan, maybe you should just go over there. Obviously, we’re not interesting enough,” Damian said.
Terrence chuckled. “Looks like you’re gonna be the next to fall, D. Simona seems really nice.”
“She is,” Donovan said absently.
“Take it from a group of happily married men—don’t let a good woman get away.”
Brad and Damian lifted their cups in mock salute.
“Tell it!”
“Preach, brother!”
Suddenly, Simona shot up off her chair with a cell phone to her ear, preempting anything Donovan planned to say. Her panic-stricken gaze propelled him to his feet and across the yard in a few strides. “What’s the matter, baby?”
“I...I have to go. My neighbor called and...there’s an emergency.”
“Is it your house?” She shook her head quickly. “What is it?”
“It’s my...it’s...” She swiped at the tears filling her eyes.
Donovan’s heart nearly stopped. He gathered her in his arms. “It’s okay. Let’s go.” They said their goodbyes and rushed to his car.
“We should be there in about thirty minutes,” she was saying on the phone as they drove out of the gates.
Throughout the drive, she didn’t talk, but he caught glimpses of her wiping her face. She hadn’t told him what was going on, and all kinds of scenarios crossed his mind. Every time he tried to ask her, the tears would start, so he stopped asking. By the time he made it to her house, his nerves were stretched tight. She practically jumped out of the car before he could put it in park. He climbed out and quickly caught up with her.
The sight that greeted him when she opened the door rendered him mute. A tall, attractive woman emerged carrying a baby girl who resembled Simona and who looked to be less than a year old. His heart lurched, and his gut clenched. She has a baby? Why didn’t she tell me? His mind was bombarded with a thousand and one questions.
“Hey, sweet pea,” Simona said, reaching for the baby. “Has her fever gone down at all, Eve?” she asked with concern.
“No,” the woman answered. “And she still can’t keep anything down.”
Simona placed a kiss on the baby’s brow. “I think I’d better take her in to emergency. It’s probably a virus, but with her history, I don’t want to take any chances.” She finally turned to Donovan. “I’m sorry.” Something like regret flickered in her gaze.
The woman, whom he assumed was her neighbor, said, “Simona, I’ll go and fix a couple of bottles.” She divided a wary glance between Donovan and Simona and walked out.
Simona nibbled on her lip, something he realized she did as a nervous habit. “I need to pack her bag, but...”
“Go pack the bag. I’ll take her.” Donovan gently took the baby from her arms.
“Um...she doesn’t really do well with strangers.”
He glared at her. “Go pack the bag, Simona,” he said softly.
She nodded, turned and took off down the hall.
“Simona?”
She paused.
“What’s her name?”
“Yasmine.”
Donovan stared down at the little girl. Even though he hadn’t spent much time around small babies, he knew Yasmine didn’t feel well. Her eyes were glassy, and her cheeks were reddened. She stared up at him, scrunched her face as if she was about to cry then relaxed her features. She lifted her small hand, touched his face and placed her head against his chest. A myriad of emotions filled his heart and he fell...hard.
“Hey, Yasmine.” He used his thumb to wipe the moisture around her temple. “You’re going to be just fine, angel.” He spun around at the sound of Simona’s voice.
“Okay. I’m ready.” She accepted the bottles from her friend and added them to the bag. Simona walked over to where Donovan stood holding Yasmine and put a jacket on her.
Donovan handed her the baby. “I’ll drive you.”
Her eyes widened. “We’ll be fine,” she said quickly.
“You’re in no shape to drive, and Yasmine might need you with her,” he argued.
“Eve was going to go with me.”
He could tell Simona didn’t want to be alone with him. And with good reason.
“Ah, Simona. You go ahead with him. Call me later.” The woman walked over and extended her hand to Donovan. “I’m Eve Thompson, Simona’s neighbor. You must be Donovan. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
He stared at her questioningly and shook her hand. “Donovan Wright. Same here.”
“I’ll see you later, Simona.” Eve gathered up some papers and stuffed them in a bag.
Donovan gestured toward the door. “Let’s go.” He took a few moments to transfer the car seat and make sure they were buckled in before leaving. They completed the drive in total silence, except for the two times he heard Simona talking to Yasmine. Trust and honesty were the two things that topped his list, and he never would have expected her to keep something like this from him. More questions invaded his thoughts. Had she been married before? And where was Yasmine’s father? The fact that she hadn’t trusted him enough made his chest tighten and angered h
im further. He took several deep breaths and let them out slowly in the hopes it would ease the tension.
By the time they reached the hospital, he had found a small measure of calm. Luckily, because it was only five-thirty in the evening, the emergency room wasn’t crowded. They were called within twenty minutes. Common sense and anger dictated that he stay in the waiting room—after all, he wasn’t the father—but he couldn’t do it. Little Yasmine had tugged on his heart the moment she touched him. Donovan and Simona still hadn’t exchanged any words outside of what was absolutely necessary, but he followed them back.
Donovan listened and found out that Yasmine had been born early and had been on a ventilator for two weeks following her birth. The doctor examined her and concluded that she had a virus. But because she was unable to keep anything down, including the fever-reducing medication, the doctor prescribed a suppository, as he wanted to keep her fever from climbing any higher. Donovan tried to stay out of the way, but every time he moved, Yasmine’s eyes would follow him.
After an hour, he couldn’t take it. That little angelic face and sad eyes pushed him over the edge. Donovan crossed the room to where she lay, stroked her forehead placed a kiss there. “How’re you feeling, sweetheart? You don’t feel as warm.” When he held her hand, tiny fingers wrapped around his pinky, drawing him in even more.
“She’s really taking to you,” Simona said. “I’ve never seen her do that with anyone.”
There was a lot he wanted to say, but the words stuck in his throat. Instead he just shrugged.
It took another two hours for the fever to break, after which Yasmine was able to keep down a small amount of liquid and was released to go home. Donovan carried the sleeping baby into the house while Simona removed the car seat.
“Let me go put her to bed.”
Donovan kissed Yasmine once more and handed her over to Simona, staring after her as she walked down a hallway. He dropped wearily onto the loveseat and braced his head in his hands. He’d thought he finally found a woman he could trust and who would trust him.
“Donovan?”
It's Only You Page 9
