In The Arms of a Donovan: A Sexy BBW Billionaire Family Series Romance (The Donovans Book 13)

by A. C. Arthur

  “Are you enjoying the cruise so far?” he asked after giving her a few moments to accept that yes, he had sat down and yes, he also intended to keep talking to her.

  “I’m trying to find moments to myself to enjoy it. This is my first opportunity,” she told him, without ever turning to look his way.

  Brandon continued, not looking at her either. “Me too. This is a work cruise for me, but I don’t get an opportunity to visit the Caribbean islands everyday so I think I’ll have to carve out time to enjoy some sights as well.”

  She did not reply.

  “Black is my favorite color,” he said next. “I know it’s a pretty non-descript color. Some say it’s a tad morbid to actually like it, but I’ve always thought it was bold and defining.”

  She still did not reply. Even though the bathing suit she was wearing was black.

  “I come from a very large family. I’m a middle child, but I’ve never had any problems talking.”

  She remained silent as if to punctuate the fact that he was the only one talking.

  Brandon wasn’t certain what to do next but felt instinctively like he was quickly losing this round. He reached out a hand at that point and extended his arm until he could touch her fingers.

  “Excuse me?” she said sitting up with every ounce of attitude he’d predicted she would have.

  “She’s alive!” he said with feigned surprise. Then he grinned and waited for her to do the same.

  For a few stilted seconds he thought she was really going to push the rejection thing and continue to give him the silent treatment. But she didn’t. Instead she smiled and Brandon was captivated.

  “Yes, I’m alive and my favorite color is blue,” she told him as she settled back on her lounge chair.

  “Okay, that’s cool. My dad likes blue. What about days of the week? What’s your favorite?” Brandon asked. “Mine is Thursday because by that time people are so ready for Friday they don’t take any time to piss you off.”

  She turned to him then as if to say ‘are you serious?’ When he continued to look at her, waiting for a response, he supposed she came to the conclusion that he was, in fact, serious.

  “I like Saturdays because I get to sleep in,” she told him.

  “What color is that on your toes?” he asked.

  “Blushing pink.”

  “It’s pretty,” he replied.

  “What size shoe do you wear?”

  Brandon looked at her, surprised that she’d asked him a question at all. Her triumphant grin in return, endeared her to him even more. Yes indeed, he was going to continue on this track, because it seemed to be working.

  “Ten and a half,” he told her.

  “Do you like to swim?” she asked.

  “I do.”

  “Then why would you come to the pool deck completely dressed?”

  “I just came from a meeting,” he told her. “I like the way you’re dressed, by the way.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I like it too. So much so that I’m going to take a swim.”

  She was up off that lounge chair, dropping her hat and sunglasses to the cushioned seat before Brandon could say another word. Okay, actually, he’d been rendered speechless because he was watching her stand, glimpsing the sheer sides of the black bathing suit she wore and loving every voluptuous curve and angle she had on display. He continued to watch her as she walked to the water, his body reacting in full force to the gorgeous sight before him.

  “Yes,” he murmured, “this is going to be a great seven nights.”

  #

  He was not going to follow her.

  Amber was certain because he wore cream colored linen pants and a button down shirt that matched. His sandals were brown leather and looked as expensive as the gold and diamond watch on his wrist. No. He was definitely not dressed to go swimming, hence the reason she’d sought the pool as a refuge. He would probably walk away, find another target and most likely hit the bullseye because he was damn good looking. Was good looking the right combination of words? It didn’t seem like it and she almost turned around to get another look. Just to make sure she was describing him correctly. She didn’t because even though she predicted it, Amber wasn’t sure how she was going to feel confirming that he’d easily gone on to another woman. It didn’t matter if he did, she just didn’t want to know for sure. Not yet anyway.

  She was being ridiculous as she wadded through the water, moving past clusters of children and teenagers. It hadn’t been her intention to actually get into the water today. She had an acceptance speech to make at dinner in two hours so it would have been great if she didn’t have too much to do to her hair. A huge splash of water—courtesy of the young boy who had decided to do a cannonball into the pool at this very moment—succeeded in drenching the top half of her body and insured not having to do her hair was no longer an option. Sputtering and shaking her head Amber tried to move in the opposite direction. She hadn’t been paying attention and immediately stepped into a deeper part of the pool, going under water before she could blink again.

  After a few stunned seconds Amber made her way to the surface, pushing her hair back from her face and sputtering once again.

  “My name is Brandon Donovan. What’s yours?”

  When she opened her eyes he was right there. Albeit a bit blurry as she still had water in her eyes, but yes, he’d done exactly what she hadn’t assumed he would do.

  “Amber McNair,” she replied because really, what else was she going to do?

  She’d already taken the cowardly way out once by getting into the pool. Attempting to get away from him again would make her feel foolish, and depending what other incidents that might occur, she would look silly as well. No, Amber wasn’t in the habit of being anyone’s fool, at least not anymore. So, if Brandon Donovan wanted to talk, she would talk. She was on a cruise with thousands of people after all. Thinking she’d be able to stay to herself every moment that she wasn’t required to speak on behalf of the My Big Is Beautiful Forever Foundation, was probably a longshot.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Amber McNair,” he said, moving so that he was closer to her now.

  Children and some adults splashed water around them, but for just a moment Amber felt as if it were only the two of them here. His broad shoulders were bare as he’d obviously removed his clothes. The cleanly shaved line of his jaw was strong, his mustache light and neatly clipped. He was very pleasing to look at with his caramel brown complexion and soulful eyes. She was willing to bet cold hard cash that his body was one that should be pinned to the wall in a woman’s locker room, but since he was in the water she couldn’t confirm.

  “Do you normally stalk women just to find out their name?” she asked because the way he was looking at her made her stomach do all sorts of flip-flops.

  Amber wasn’t shy, nor was she the nervous giggly type around handsome men. Her two brothers and her father were quite good looking, so that was not an issue. She was also used to speaking her mind or else those two brothers, combined with her three sisters would have certainly gotten over on Amber more times than she could count.

  “Only the beautiful ones,” was his smooth response, which hit its desired mark because she was now smiling wildly.

  “Good one,” she said by way of playing off the heat fusing her cheeks. “Just to be clear right off the bat, I’m not interested.”

  She wasn’t. Even though he was probably too fine to toss back, she’d learned long ago to be very selective of the men she allowed in her private space. With that in mind, she moved her hands and feet, putting some distance between them.

  He nodded, still treading water, looking around them as if something else might easily catch his attention. His way of playing off her rebuff, Amber was sure.

  “That’s cool,” he replied. “Wanna race to the other side?”

  Amber shook her head, wondering when this guy and his endless questions would eventually give up.

  “No. I do not want to
race.”

  “Because you’re afraid you’ll lose?”

  “No,” she told him with a smirk. “And I’m not easily baited.”

  He nodded again.

  “Okay, well…” He moved quickly then, reaching up a hand and slapping it over her shoulder, “Tag. You’re it!”

  He’d spoken the words so loudly that the children around them heard and immediately joined in yelling, “She’s it! She’s it!”

  Before Amber could say a word, argue, scream or simply get the hell out of the pool that she shouldn’t have gotten into in the first place, kids were swarming around, keeping their distance, and joining in the chant. “She’s it! She’s it!”

  One look at Brandon’s grinning face and Amber wanted to push him under water and hold him down. She took off swimming towards him before she could think better of it. He swam away, of course and all the kids followed suit. They were all laughing and having a good time, so much so that Amber found it hard to not laugh herself.

  “She’s it! She’s it!” sounded off again.

  It came from different children, some to the right and then some to the left, each of them waving their hands in the air as if to show her that they were standing there and she couldn’t catch them. Well, they had another thought coming. Amber swam away again, this time going under water so that she could pop up and surprise one of the smarty-pants hellions. Instead, she was the one surprised when he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her front up close with his.

  They surfaced together, his face just inches away from hers, his grin still wide, eyes full of mischief.

  “Gotcha,” he said before leaning in and planting a loud kiss on the tip of her nose.

  She didn’t pull away immediately, but instead made a big show of kissing him right back, smack on his smug lips. “No, Mr. Donovan, I got you and now you’re it!”

  The children laughed once more and began chanting, “He’s it! He’s it!”

  Amber did swim away from him this time, all the while smiling to herself as she made her way out of the pool. His hands had felt good on her and while his kiss was cute, the moment her lips touched his, something inside her was awakened. She couldn’t deny it if she’d wanted to, she thought as she made it to her lounge chair and hurriedly snatched up her hat and bag. She couldn’t deny the instant attraction, but she could certainly ignore it, and that’s exactly what she planned to do as she made her way out of the poolside area without daring a look back to the handsome Mr. Donovan.

  He was there though. Watching her walk away again. She knew because she could feel the heat of his gaze on her. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach and along every curve of her body. She felt it and she savored it because that was as much as she intended to get from Brandon Donovan. That was a fact.

  Chapter 3

  Brandon straightened his tie and tried to look like he was at least slightly interested in what Tim Chavis, another executive at TJB and the only other black man at the table, was talking about. He wasn’t sure if it was luck or some cruel twist of fate that he’d been assigned to sit at the same table as Tim, Margaret Withers—who Brandon was convinced was a closet racist--, Bob Binds—a junior fund manager that had a stroke of luck this year and landed a billion dollar client for the firm, by marrying the client’s daughter—and Kylie Brenner—an HR rep. The HR reps composed the seating arrangements and made sure that someone from their department was at each table. This way they could keep tabs on who was being a team player and who was not. Hence, the reason Brandon was even here at all. He’d much rather have dinner in his room, or at one of the other restaurants where he wasn’t forced to talk to people about work the entire night.

  As it was, they were seated in the luxuriously decorated three-level main dining room. Their table was on the lower level, one of many that surrounded a larger table beneath a huge crystal chandelier. The top brass of the company sat at the large table, all except for Tyson Braddock who owned the company. Ty and his wife Felicia were expecting their second child any day now, so Ty was—as Brandon thought he should be—at his wife’s side.

  “We should have trips like this twice a year,” Tim was saying to Kylie, who only smiled in return and nodded her head.

  Brandon figured Tim was an idiot on two counts. One, he was ridiculously drunk at eight thirty in the evening. And two, he was sitting right next to the HR rep that was no doubt going to report to her supervisor that he was ridiculously drunk at eight thirty in the evening. Idiot.

  “I doubt Braddock would splurge for something like this again,” Margaret said in her annoyingly nasal voice.

  “Actually,” Kylie spoke up, “Mr. Braddock is very interested in how everyone feels about trips such as this.”

  Not at all swayed by the younger and prettier woman’s words, Margaret came back with, “Then why isn’t he here?”

  Bob, whose wife was black, frowned. “His wife is having a baby, Margaret. Show a little compassion.”

  Margaret waved a hand, the huge chocolate diamond ring on her third finger, glittering in the light. “It’s not the first one and the way they are, it probably won’t be the last.”

  “The way who is?” Brandon immediately asked.

  Margaret had been with the company for a little over a year. She was a transplant from another investment firm that Ty purchased. Which could explain why she had no loyalty to the man who had kept her in the same senior fund manager position, with most likely the same pay. But Brandon knew the real reason for her hostility. Some thought that this problem had been eradicated after the Civil Rights movement, others, the ones who suffered from this type of blatant racism the most, knew a different story.

  Brandon, along with Courtney and Lester Johnson—Ty’s attorney—had been present at a meeting where complaints about Margaret’s racial slurs towards other employees had been discussed. Brandon was invited to that meeting because Ty wanted him to be on alert in case any clients had complaints about her in the future and wanted to remove their investments from the firm. It would then be a part of Brandon’s job to make sure that the separation was first, unsalvageable, and then if not, done in the most expeditious and legal fashion. As a result of that meeting Margaret had received a verbal reprimand. Brandon hadn’t been certain that would help and he figured another meeting with Ty might be necessary in the future. Margaret continually proved him right.

  “Oh whatever,” she finally said, not bothering to look in Brandon’s direction. “Pay for your own damn trip, you certainly make more money than you’re worth!”

  Tim’s response was to down another martini, after toasting his glass to the air in Margaret’s direction.

  A little later, when they were just finishing dessert, the captain began speaking on a cordless microphone as he walked through the lower level of the dining room. The guy was tall and could quite possibly be a Liam Neeson look-a-like. He didn’t speak with the accent, but he moved toward the stage area at the head of the room like a man used to being in charge. He thanked guests for coming out tonight and expressed his hopes that they were enjoying their meal, all that kind of stuff. Brandon was beyond ready to leave. He was also worried about his father and thinking about a woman who he probably wouldn’t see again for the duration of this trip. To say he was distracted was an understatement. He’d just finished the glass of soda he ordered instead of an alcoholic beverage because one person wasted at this table was definitely enough. Bob was saying something about Tim slowing down and Tim made a remark, but Brandon didn’t hear it because everyone in the room had begun to applaud.

  He immediately looked toward the stage, to see who or what was getting people so excited. When he saw her Brandon felt his own type of excitement, shooting straight to his crotch.

  She smiled—a simple, yet gorgeous smile—and used a hand to push a long wavy lock of hair back from her face. The face that he remembered from earlier but now with make-up that gave her a glamorous appeal. The bottom half of her dress was an electric blue color that r
eached the floor. The top was white with a fitted black jacket. The wide belt at her waist was also black. Her silhouette was one delectable curve after another, a complete package of beauty and body, and he wanted it. He wanted with the urgency and single-mindedness of a kid at Christmas and sat up in his seat as if he might actually get up and go to her right at this moment. Of course, he didn’t. He had some sense left even though he’d swear every coherent thought had slipped like liquid from his mind, trickling down to…yes that was correct, his crotch.

  “Thank you so much, Captain Fielding, for that wonderful presentation,” she said, her voice smooth like a glass of bourbon. “I’m honored to accept Pacifica Cruise Line’s donation to the My Big Is Beautiful Forever Foundation. As I have been traveling the world spreading the message that body shamming is not a laughing matter, I’ve been pleased to meet so many wonderful and generous people, such as yourself.”

  He’d heard that name before, Brandon thought. He was certain, and while he watched her he continued to try and figure out where. She worked the crowd with her generous smile, her seductive voice and, he was mildly surprised, her words. Not that what she was saying wasn’t interesting, that was totally not the case. Brandon knew how hard it was to go through school with other children believing you should look and or act a specific way. Not that he’d been bullied or harassed, no, to the contrary, he’d simply been ignored. He was oftentimes the smartest one in his class, knowledge being akin to a deadly disease and all that. But there was a ‘type’ in this world, one which everybody thought each other should fit into and if they didn’t, then they were to be ostracized, criticized and basically condemned. It was all foolishness that Brandon had grown out of to an extent. Now, listening to Amber, he realized that it wasn’t that easy for some people.

  “The CDC states that there are 78.6 million adults in the United States who are obese. My Big Is Beautiful Forever declares that there are quite possibly 78.6 million adults who are healthy and heavy and proud of it,” Amber said, her voice rising towards the end of the sentence. The crowd clapped vigorously in response.