In The Arms of a Donovan: A Sexy BBW Billionaire Family Series Romance (The Donovans Book 13) (5 page)

“We can head out this way here,” he said touching her elbow to lightly guide her towards the right where the hallway opened out onto the deck. “And then, we can walk all the way up towards your room. We’ll cross over when we get close and you’ll be right there. How does that sound?” he asked, although he was actually already leading her to the outside.

“It sounds like I’ll get my steps in regardless, so why not,” she told him.

“Your steps?”

She lifted an arm and pushed the sleeve to her black jacket back a bit showing him the blue band on her wrist. “Yes, I count my steps every day. It’s a good way to tell if I’m moving enough.”

“Oh,” he said with a nod. “Is that part of your weight loss regimen?”

Amber stopped right there. A few people walked past them as she propped her hands on her hips. “I’m not on a diet,” she told him. “I’m conscious of my health and things that I can do to prevent conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. This just helps keep me on track when I’m too busy to really focus. Which I have been for the past months.”

Another thing Brandon had never mastered was the art of being subtle. He was a middle child, a book nerd and computer geek, and it had taken way too long for his voice to catch up with his tall, gangly frame, so to avoid being overrun by his very opinionated twin sister and athletic older brother, he had to be able to out talk them. Unfortunately, sensitivity had been lost on him, as he was realizing now watching the defensive stance Amber had just taken with him.

He held up both hands in mock surrender. “No offense intended,” he told her. “I was just curious. I listened to your acceptance speech and was very proud of the points you made and what you’re doing for the…” he paused and looked at her as if he were seeing her for the first time.

“You’re Amber McNair, the national spokesperson for My Big Is Beautiful Forever Foundation. You’re also a good friend of Jenise Langley’s,” he stated as he now remembered where he’d heard the name of that organization before.

“You know Jenise?” she asked him, and then looked at him with what he thought was probably the same surprised gaze he was giving her. “Wait a minute, you said your name is Brandon Donovan. You’re one of
the
Donovans? As in Savian Donovan, the producer and station owner that Jenise married a few months ago?”

Brandon nodded. “One and the same.”

Amber folded her arms over her chest. The act pushed her generous breasts up higher and his throat went dry.

“I was in Australia for Christmas so I missed the wedding,” she continued. “I really wish I could have been there. I’ve known Jenise since I first started modeling. We hit it off instantly and have been good friends ever since.”

“I didn’t stay in Miami long after the wedding, but from what I can tell she’s a fantastic lawyer and my cousin Savian really loves her,” he said.

Amber smiled then. “I’m glad she found love. If anybody deserved it, Jenise does.”

“Everybody deserves to find love, don’t you think?” he asked.

She hesitated and Brandon immediately thought some fool had probably broken her heart.

“I think everybody deserves whichever type of relationship that will make them happy. And if they’re happy without being in a relationship, well that’s just fine too,” she told him as she turned and continued to walk.

Yeah, there was a jackass out there that had been stupid enough to hurt this phenomenal woman. Brandon thought that was a pity and an opportunity. He walked alongside her now with a renewed sense of urgency.

“What type of relationship are you in?” he asked.

With a knowing gaze she looked over to him. “Ask the real question, Brandon?”

He shrugged. See, being subtle just did not work for him. “Are you seeing someone?”

“No,” she replied. “Are you?”

“No,” he answered. “Are you interested in a long term relationship?”

“No,” was her next response. “Are you?”

Now, it was his turn to pause. “I’m not into one night stands, but I’ve never been involved in a long term relationship.”

She looked surprised. “Really? How old are you?”

“I’m thirty-three. How old are you?”

Another question that a man probably shouldn’t ask a woman, especially not the first day he meets her. Still, this is where their conversation was going and Brandon wasn’t about to back down.

“Just turned thirty last month,” she said proudly.

He liked her a lot already.

“Then we should definitely celebrate,” he told her. “How about you and I have dinner tomorrow at one of the other restaurants, not in the main dining room.”

“Why? Are you hiding from someone in the main dining room? Another woman you’ve been stalking perhaps?” she asked jokingly.

Brandon shook his head. “More like co-workers I can do without seeing for a while. I told you this cruise was business for me. My company likes to reward the top executives with a moral boosting retreat each year. We were very lucky to take a cruise this time around.”

“This is a very generous reward,” she said. “My room’s right through here.”

Damn.

Brandon walked once again toward the inside of the ship, following her down a long hallway until they came to a stop at her door.

“So we’re on for dinner tomorrow?” he asked.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why?”

Amber pulled the room key card from a small black purse she’d been carrying and had already turned to insert it into the door. “We’re only on this cruise for seven nights. And you’re not into one night stands, remember?”

Brandon took a step forward, until there was only a whisper of space between him and her backside. “Are you into one night stands, Amber? Would you want to have a one night stand with me?”

She’d gone perfectly still, her body probably reacting the same way as his to their proximity.

“If you’re asking am I attracted to you,” she said before taking a deep inhale and exhaling slowly. “Then the answer is yes. There’s no sense in denying that.”

Her words had him stepping closer, loving the feel of her soft bottom against his growing erection. It was his turn to inhale deeply and exhale…not slowly enough because he could swear he felt dizzy. The scent of her hair was something fruity and tantalizing.

“No,” he said slowly. “We shouldn’t deny it.”

“But this is ridiculous. As I said we’re only going to be on this cruise for seven nights and…”

“Seven nights is not a one night stand,” he said, placing both his hands on the door so that his arms blocked her in.

She shook her head. “This is crazy. I just met you a few hours ago.”

“And you wanted me then. Just like I wanted you. We’re adults Amber, there’s no handbook that says when we can or cannot enjoy each other. No set rules on how two people should interact according to some schedule.”

When she turned partially, looking over her shoulder at him and said, “Well, there’s the bible,” Brandon almost faltered.

Instead he groaned. “Don’t do that. Not here. Not now.”

With a little more maneuvering, she managed to turn around completely to face him. For a few moments she simply stared up at him and Brandon at her. What else could he say? What could he do? She lifted a hand grasping the back of his head and pulled him closer. Her lips were soft when they touched his, wet when he opened his mouth to hers, and simply delectable when the kiss deepened. His hands fell to her hips, rubbing along the soft curves as blood pumped fiercely through his veins. She leaned into him, he pushed her back against the door, thrusting his hips forward. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, daring him to touch and explore. The kiss—her kiss—was masterful, and arousing and he wanted more. It was just that simple.

Until she pulled away.

They both heaved, unable to speak for the first few seconds.

Then Amber cleared her throat. “Like you said, not here. Not now.”

She turned away from him at that point, slipping her card into the door.

“Tomorrow,” he managed to say before she closed the door.

“We’re docking tomorrow,” she told him and then as if she’d had to think about it once more and had reluctantly come to a conclusion, “Dinner.”

The door closed then, leaving Brandon to smile and shake his head. He was happy and aroused. Irritated that one wouldn’t be appeased, but relieved that tomorrow would be another day. Another opportunity.

It was always good to look forward to tomorrow.

Chapter 4

There was nothing like bad news first thing in the morning.             

Not being able to find a scrunchie to hold all her hair back from her face while she walked around the gorgeous islands of St. Maarten in ninety-five degree weather, was definitely bad news for Amber. She had a tendency to sweat, a lot. It was a horrible affliction that she blamed solely on her mother, Zelda. Summers in Chicago could be intolerable and Zelda always carried her sweat towel with her because no matter if she were walking one block or fifty, she’d probably be drenched by the time she returned home.

That was a word Amber had missed over the past year.
Home
. She hadn’t been to her house in Northbrook in far too long. So long, that her cutie-patootie Essie, probably had no idea who she was. Essie was the most adorable Teacup Yorkie imaginable and she was probably driving Zelda mad with her antics and disappearing around the Oakridge Manor house where Amber’s parents lived. Her youngest sister Fiona was supposed to take care of Essie, but she’d backed out when she was able to sub-let an apartment closer to her job which had a stern no-pet policy. So Essie had been staying with Zelda and Elder, her dad, giving them both a run for their money.

Finally settling on a rubber band she’d found in the bottom of her suitcase, Amber pulled her hair back and surveyed herself in the mirror. Today’s bathing suit was a wild and frisky cheetah print one piece, with sheer black shoulder straps. Her cover-up was a black knee length dress with fringes around the bottom. Flat black sandals, gold chandelier earrings and a chunky gold bracelet on one wrist, her Fitbit on the other, and she was ready to go. Grabbing her huge day bag she headed out of the cabin ready for a day of sightseeing and shopping. As she moved she silently gave thanks that the photo shoot originally scheduled for this morning had been postponed.

Amber felt composed and confident once again. A drastic change since last night, she thought, as she closed the door behind her and stood for a few seconds in that spot. The one where she’d wantonly kissed Brandon Donovan, for the second time. Okay, in all fairness, the kiss at the pool was just part of that little trick he’d played on her. It was simple and harmless. Even though it had whet her appetite for more. The second kiss, now that was the clincher. She hadn’t planned it, but looking back now, she couldn’t say there was anything that would have prevented her from going full steam ahead. She had a habit of doing that, which had followed her all her life.

No, she’d stopped when that reckless and careless abandon had almost destroyed her.

Yet last night that part of her had surprisingly resurfaced, snatching away all thoughts of caution and preservation she’d trained herself to have. It was him, she knew. Brandon Donovan was not like anyone else she’d ever met, and she didn’t even know why. All that she was absolutely certain of was that she wanted him, without question. How could that be? She didn’t even know the guy. Of course she’d heard of his family. Jenise had told her all about them when she’d begun working on Savian’s murder case. Amber had to admit that made her more than a little skeptical about the family, but they all couldn’t be responsible for what one of them did. As it turned out, Savian was innocent and Jenise had fallen in love with him. Theirs was the sweetest real life love story that Amber had ever heard and she’d really regretted not being at her good friend’s wedding.

Would she have noticed Brandon there? Would he have noticed her with his family and countless other guests in the midst? Well, he’d noticed her on that crowded pool deck.

Amber was no stranger to being noticed. All her life she’d been the cute big-boned girl. In school guys would even say stupid things like, “Damn she’s cute, but she’s thick.” Like that was such a bad thing. It wasn’t, as Amber had learned when the older guys began hitting on her. There were obviously some men that liked their women with some cushion. Amber had found that endearing and encouraging. She’d also realized at the almost too late point in her life, that it didn’t matter what men wanted from her. All that ultimately mattered was what she wanted for herself.

Amber came from a family of thick women. While the men carried their weight in their height and broad builds, Amber, her mother Zelda, sisters Rita, Delta and Fiona, were all big girls, and proud of it. Those four women had been a big part of the reason Amber signed that first modeling contract. She’d never seen herself as a model, never even considered it as a possibility but one day, while she was working at the make-up store she managed, a woman had come in and told her how perfect she was for the job. A week, and dozens of pictures later, a panel of three men and that same woman, unanimously approved Amber as ‘the new plus-sized face’, whatever that meant. 

“I’m not a model,” Amber recalled saying that night as she sat in her parents’ backyard.  Her father was cooking on the grill, while the women sat sipping from glasses of Zelda’s honey iced tea.

“You are whatever you want to be,” Zelda chimed in immediately. “If those people think you have something and you’re willing to give it a good honest try, then I know you’ll be fabulous.”

“Of course she’ll be fabulous,” Rita, her oldest sister added. “She’s my sister after all.”

Amber smiled. Of the sisters, Rita and Amber were the two that were always into fashion and make-up. They looked good ten minutes after rolling out of bed, a point which the others always teased them about.

Delta, on the other hand, was the contemplative one.  “How will this affect your job at the store? You certainly don’t want to throw away all that you’ve worked for to take this chance.”

When Rita looked at her sister, who was younger by two years, with a frown, Delta had held up a hand to ward off her sister’s impending tirade.

“I am not saying she won’t do well at modeling. If any of us could pull this off it would be Amber with her vivacious personality. I’m just making sure she stays grounded in this endeavor,” Delta started.

“Well, I think it’s a great opportunity,” Fiona, the youngest girl and fraternal twin to their brother Frankie, added. “It’s about time us thick-‘ems had representation on the runways and in magazines. We’re beautiful too and the world needs to know it.”

That had become the mantra Amber repeated in her mind over and over again each time she stepped in front of the camera. She was beautiful, no matter what size she wore, and the world needed to know it. Amazingly, three years after she began modeling, the foundation called her to pitch the idea of a global effort expounding on her mantra. She’d loved every second of sharing her story and motivating other plus-size people, but she was happy to see the tour coming to an end.

Amber missed being home for family dinners. She missed arguing with her brothers and sitting in her living room watching television with Essie on her lap. She was a simple girl, who liked the simple things in life. Globetrotting, always being in front of a camera or audience, and in work-mode twenty-four seven was all taking a toll on her. But she wasn’t a quitter. She was determined to see this job through until the end, or rather, until another spokesperson was named for the foundation which would probably be sometime next year. They wanted to keep the faces fresh and diverse and were even considering going with a man for the next round of publicity. Amber thought that was a fabulous idea, and not just because she would be able to return home for good. She definitely planned to keep working with the Foundation because she believed in the cause and their message, she just wanted to do so from the background.

Which was where she was planning to stay today. In the background of all the other tourists heading off the ship to see the gorgeous island. Fiona wanted a purse and her mother’s birthday was in two weeks so Amber planned to get her something special from each port of call the ship made, for her gift. It was with these thoughts in mind that Amber followed the line of people disembarking. From her bag she retrieved her hat and her sunglasses, pulling the floppy brim down to partially hide her face and slipping on the shades. She was smiling to herself as she stepped down onto the pier ready to enjoy her day.

She was so ready that when a group of excited teenagers pushed past her, Amber giggled right along with them, instead of cursing them for not being more careful. She’d even continued with her good mood when another push came from behind her. Only this time the comment that followed wiped that smile quickly from her face.

“Move it fat ass!” the man snapped.

This time Amber stopped. She pulled off her glasses and looked up at the guy saying, “You move it asshole,” before shoving him right back.

When the man, who was rail thin and had almost lost his footing with Amber’s push, turned back to her, his face had turned ruby red and his fists were balled at his sides. He headed towards her, ready to do what she wasn’t totally sure, when a strong hand grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back immediately.

She looked at the person who’d grabbed the man and felt her heart flutter once again, at the sight of Brandon Donovan.

#

Brandon was not in the best of moods. In fact, that was the main reason he’d decided to leave the ship and walk around outside for a while. He needed to clear his head after the email message he’d received this morning.

Dane wants to meet with the Seniors and take a DNA test. He wants to know who his father is. Want to get your thoughts on this since your father is directly involved.

The message was from Trent and had been sent to Brandon, Bailey, Brock, Brynne and Keysa. Brandon suspected Trent had already talked to his brothers about this issue. Out of the six Senior Donovan men, only their three fathers had been foolish enough to sleep with Roslyn Ausby. Albert was the worst because he claimed he couldn’t remember if he’d slept with her or not. Or at least that’s what he’d told Brandon when they’d both returned home to Houston from the wedding in Miami a few months ago. Brandon hadn’t planned on talking about the situation with his father that soon. He, Bailey and Brock had arranged a time for the three of them to discuss the situation first, but when he’d stopped by his father’s house to check on the property because he’d assumed his father was still in Miami, Brandon was shocked to see Al sitting in his study.

He held a glass of whiskey in his hand as he sat in the old leather chair staring at the pictures on the wall. The biggest picture on the wall was a portrait of Darla Donovan on her wedding day. She was a beautiful woman with the same almond shaped hazel eyes as Bailey and straight black hair that always flanked her shoulders like a dark sheet.

“Did she know what happened?” Brandon asked after standing in the doorway for far too long. It was beyond strange to think about his father with any other woman besides his mother.

“I don’t know,” Albert answered eventually.

“Come on dad, that can’t be your answer for everything. Did my mother know that you’d slept with your brother’s ex? It’s a simple question,” Brandon stated.

Albert had turned quickly in the chair to glare at his son. “Nothing about this is simple, Brandon. Not a damned thing!”

“Then explain it to me,” Brandon continued, not willing to back down. “Explain to me how this could happen. Tell me how three intelligent and wealthy men could allow themselves to be caught in a trap as old as time?”

Albert finished that drink and then he threw the glass at the wall. They both watched it shatter just beneath the picture of their entire family. Darla and Bailey sat on the old burgundy studded couch in their living room, while Albert stood in the center, Brandon and Brock on his sides. They looked like the perfect African American family. Educated, good looking, focused, loving, happy. It hurt to believe that it had all been a lie.

“She drugged me. I hate to even think of something like that happening, but that’s how it was. She walked right into this room and sat across from me. I poured the drinks for crying out loud,” Al cried. “I fixed drinks for her and for me. Then I drank it and…and the next thing I know she’s naked in front of me.”

Brandon shook his head.

“Naked, Brandon. This woman that I knew my brother had been involved with was in this room, in my house, climbing all over me. I know what I should have done. I know what she expected me to do. But I swear to you on all that is holy, on your mother, Brandon, I don’t know what I did.”

Al put his head down then, shaking it from side to side as he continued to say, “I don’t know what I did.”

“What happened after she was standing naked in front of you?” he’d asked, hating like hell that he was having this conversation with his father.

After a few seconds of silence, Al lifted his head, scrubbing his hands down his face. “I remember waking up in my bed, naked. Your mother, my sweet Darla, she found me just like that.”

Brandon cursed and turned away. He’d wanted to hit his father at that moment. Yes, that had been his immediate reaction to finding out that his mother had walked in on a scene like that. He wanted to beat the daylights out of Albert Donovan for being so foolish and for no doubt hurting his mother deeply.

“I was naked on the bed and delirious, saying all kinds of things,” Albert continued. “That’s what Darla told me. She said I was sweating like a hog so she called the paramedics and they took me to the hospital. That’s when they did the blood work and found the remnants of that drug.”

“How did mom respond to that? Did she ask you what happened in her bedroom?” Brandon could just hear a woman’s questions to this scenario. He couldn’t imagine her simply walking away and not giving a damn.