What Donovan Wants (The Accidental Series, Book 4)

What Donovan Wants

The Accidental Series, Book 4 (Donovan’s
Story)

By Tina Martin

Copyright @ 2014 by Tina Martin

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
prior written consent of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places and products are used fictitiously. Any
similarity to actual events is entirely coincidental.

Visit the author’s website
at:
www.tinamartin.net
.

What Donovan Wants

~ Chapter One ~

Donovan sat
immobile
, laid back in the driver seat of
his black Audi daydreaming about Teresa. He was painfully aware in
this moment of all the times he missed telling her how much he
loved her. All the times he could’ve left work early to be with
her. All the times they argued over the silliest, most
insignificant things that drove married people crazy. Now she was
gone and all those clichés about
loving
someone while there were still here
echoed
loud and clear in his head on the hot June day. Had he known the
exact date and time Teresa would’ve died, that she would pass soon
after giving birth to their son, he would have mapped out a game
plan of how they would spend each moment, up to the very last
seconds. But that’s the tricky thing about death. It strikes
unannounced, like a thief in the night and suddenly, in the
twinkling of an eye you’re gone.

Dust in the wind...

It had been five years
since he lost her and he never thought he could fall in love again.
Actually, he never
wanted
to fall in love after that traumatic experience
because when she died, something in him died with her. His desire
to love had dissipated and working, burying himself in his career,
took the place of the loneliness he felt in his heart. Then seven
months ago, something unexpected happened. He met a woman named
Shayla Kline.

Shayla had been new to the area and
interviewed with him for an accounting position in his department
at Zenadel Electronics. While she sat across from him, answering
questions about her previous work experience, her skills in
accounts receivable and data analytics, his eyes studied her. She
was a perfect catch, until he realized that she was in love with
another man, his old college buddy, Carter Williams.

He balled a fist, striking the steering
wheel out of frustration. Why did he have to fall for Shayla? In
his defense, when he first met and interviewed her, she was single,
not seeing anyone and it wasn’t until after he’d gotten to know
her, and fall for her, that she married Carter. If only he moved a
little quicker, maybe things would’ve turned out differently.

Donovan punched the steering wheel again
then rubbed his hands across his head. Starting the engine now, he
contemplated driving away from the dock and not boarding the large
cruise ship vessel docked there – the mini vacation his mother
begged him to take. She said he needed to get away, take some time
away from his highly demanding job and the strain of being a single
father. She wanted him to get out and mingle, meet someone special
and climb up out of the rut he was in. But all Donovan wanted to do
was go back home, sit in seclusion and daydream about Shayla as
he’d done occasionally and more frequently for the last two
months.

In many ways, Shayla reminded him of Teresa
and maybe that’s why he was so fond of her. Shayla was sweet,
soft-spoken, fun to be around and beautiful. She was light-skinned
with a head full of beautiful black curls that danced around her
shoulders and down her back. Dimples gave her a look of innocence
while her high cheekbones echoed sophistication. Why couldn’t she
be his?

Why?

Unrequited love was doing a number on him
mentally and physically. It was self-torture to want someone so
badly only to have them deny you time and time again, like you
weren’t good enough. Sadly, this was his reality.

Make up your mind Donovan.
Are you going on this cruise or not?
Getting some time away from his mother was the only benefit
to getting on the ship. He wouldn’t miss her constant nagging one
bit: “Son, you gotta start dating again,” and “My grandson needs a
mother.” She was relentless and Donovan wasn’t trying to hear it.
It would not have been so bad if she only said it once or twice,
but every time she laid eyes on him she brought up something about
him
needing
a
woman in his life.

Donovan blew an angry breath, took one of
his bags to check-in, then made his way through the line, finally
boarding the ship with a smaller suitcase. This having been his
first cruise, he marveled at the size of the ship. It was enormous,
fully equipped with eleven decks, several perfectly decorated
lounge areas and all the entertainment anyone could want –
swimming, golf, basketball, volleyball, tennis, live music and
dancing, just to name a few.

Donovan found his stateroom on the third
deck, scoping out the décor of the room and peeping inside the
bathroom to analyze its size, thinking to himself how tiny the
space was. Then he sat on the queen-sized bed and tested it by
bouncing just slightly. After filing his clothes neatly in the
closet, he sat on the bed again and sighed. Why hadn’t love worked
out for him? Even after he ditched the bachelor life, met Teresa,
and was supposed to live happily ever after, things hadn’t worked
out. Never did he imagine he would be a single father. But that’s
where he found himself in life. Single, and somebody’s father. And
after so many years of grieving Teresa’s death, he finally met
another woman whom he saw a future with. But she was taken.

A knock at the door interrupted his
thoughts.

“Who is it?” Donovan asked. Who could it be,
knocking at his door? He didn’t know anyone on board and he planned
on keeping it that way.

“
Sir, I think you dropped
this,” the voice of a man said from behind the closed
door.

Donovan blew a frustrated breath, stood up
from the bed and walked to the door with a lazy stroll. He opened
it and saw a man standing there in uniformed clothes holding a
shoe, which apparently fell out of Donovan’s bag as he carelessly
dragged it up to the room. Having refused service, he took his own
bags to his room.

“
Yeah, that’s mine,”
Donovan said, taking the Louis Vuitton shoe from the attendant.
“Thanks.”

“
Welcome, Sir. My name is
Mark. I’ll be one of the attendants on this deck for the duration
of your cruise. If you need any assistance, please don’t hesitate
to—”

“
Okay man. Thanks.”
Donovan pushed the door closed, dropped the shoe in front of the
bathroom door then returned to the bed, just sitting there. Why on
earth had he decided to go on this cruise? Was it too late to get
off the ship?

He rubbed his hands over his head and sighed
again before grabbing his key card and taking the elevator to the
top floor. He didn’t even bother to look in the mirror or brush his
hair before he left his room. He usually gave the utmost attention
to his appearance – not in an obsessive fashion, but with the
normal amount of consideration as any other male his age.

Donovan was a handsome thirty-five-year-old
black man with a muscular build and a medium buttery brown
complexion. He was tall, towering at about six feet, two inches.
His eyes were dark brown and amazingly bright, and his bleach white
teeth were the envy of dentists. His semi-curly, jet black hair
hadn’t been cut in months but that didn’t take away from his
appearance. If anything, it enhanced it. He was one fine-looking
man – the kind of guy women couldn’t help but stare at.

Donovan found himself walking around the top deck,
staring out into the harbor. The cruise staff were kicking off a
bon voyage party, with techno music blaring from the speakers while
they served drinks in logo-imprinted cruise flutes. He took a drink
from a server, then stood next to the railing, staring out into the
water, smelling the fresh ocean breeze. Taking a pair of dark
shades from his pocket, he slid them on his face, as his white
short-sleeved, button-up shirt fluttered in the June wind. And they
were off...

~ Chapter Two ~

Donovan woke up
when he felt a soft hand against his forearm. He
was relaxed, laid back in a blue lounge chair and when he opened
his eyes, he saw a woman, about the same complexion as him with
curly, black hair that fell around her shoulders. She was beautiful
and for a moment, he thought he was dreaming. But when she waved
her hand in front of his face, he knew this was no
dream.

“Are you okay?” she asked, looking
amused.

Donovan frowned. “Uh, yeah. Who are
you?”

“Oh. Sorry. I was just passing by and you
looked like you were in distress, so...”

Donovan flashed an annoyed squint her way.
“That’s rude.”

“Rude? How’s that ru—”

“Well, as you can clearly see I’m not in any
sort of distress,” Donovan replied, cutting her off. “Now, can I
help you with something?”

She sucked her teeth and said, “Nope. Sorry
to have bothered you.” She walked away and mumbled, “Such a
jerk.”

Donovan stood up, stretched and walked back
to his room. Sitting on the bed again, he thought about the kisses
he practically stole from Shayla. Her smell, the sweet scent of
sweet flowers, still lingered in his nose. How could he let himself
become so dangerously infatuated with her?

* * *

After a two-hour nap, Donovan headed down to
the dining room to have dinner at his pre-scheduled time of 6:30
p.m. He sat alone at a two-person table near the window. He ordered
a glass of wine, chose lobster for his dinner entrée and a salad
for an appetizer. Waiting for his food to arrive, he sat there
scanning the dining area, looking at fellow travelers. A group of
women sat at a round table nearby, but he noticed the place was
mostly occupied with couples – another reason he didn’t want to
board the ship. As a single man who’d just had his heart broken,
the last thing he needed was to be trapped in open waters with
kissy-kissy, lovey-dovey couples who couldn’t keep their hands off
of each other.

He turned around in his seat to get a view
of the rear of the dining room and that’s when he saw her, the
woman who asked him if he was okay earlier. She was sitting with
another woman, chatting it up and carrying on some gesture-filled,
enthusiastic conversation. Now that he had the opportunity to see
her from a distance, she looked young, wore a dark pink lipstick,
her hair still hanging loose. He glanced away but something about
her smile made him look again and this time, their eyes connected
and he watched a magical smile fall from her face. He quickly
glanced away, took a sip of wine and looked out of the window
instead.

He finished his meal quickly then went to
the outer deck to stare at the water as he’d done earlier in the
day. Before long, he began to daydream about Shayla. He longed to
hold her that very moment, to drown his hands in her sea of hair
and kiss her lips yet again. While he was standing there with his
hands in his pocket, he looked to his right and saw that woman
again, just standing there, staring off into the darkness.

Is she following me or what?

She looked to her left and saw him looking
at her. “Well, if it isn’t the rude guy.”

Donovan smirked and coolly
slid his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “Rude? You called me a
jerk, but
I’m
rude?”

“
I called you a jerk
because you yelled at me. I was trying to help you.”

“
There was nothing to help
with.”

“
You were
talking...
loudly
...in your sleep...scared a few people. I came over to see if
you were okay.”

“
And who are you? Cruise
ship security?” he asked, looking mildly amused.

“
No. Just a concerned
citizen.”

“
Well, if you want to
police people who are speaking in elevated tones that’s ostensibly
not to your liking, try the dining room. As a matter of fact, try
every place on this ship.”