What Donovan Wants (The Accidental Series, Book 4) (2 page)

Donovan stared back off into the
darkness.

“
This is wonderful,”
Kamila said in a sarcastic tone. “It’s not every day I get scolded
for trying to help somebody.”

“
Your help was not needed
or solicited,” he said, looking at her again.

“
You’re mean.”

“
And you’re
annoying.”

Kamila’s mouth fell open. “Annoying?”

“
Yeah. Annoying. I didn’t
come on this cruise to make friends, nor hear little girls tell me
how they
tried
to
save the day.”

She furrowed her brows.
“And where do you see a
little
girl?”

Donovan turned his back to her and as he
walked away, he said, “I don’t see her now.”

Freakin’
jerk
, she thought, but still keeping
things light-hearted, she yelled, “My name is Kamila, by the
way.”

The man was discourteous,
but she was accustomed to dealing with men as such. Her
ex-boyfriend, Tony, was the king of the jerks. He cheated on her
and made
her
out
to be the bad one. Still, she stood strong and her best friend Lori
convinced her to come on the cruise to get away from the situation.
She wasn’t on this ship to make friends either...

~ Chapter Three ~

“
Oh my goodness. This
breakfast buffet is the truth, girl,” Lori said, sitting across
from Kamila, stuffing her mouth with eggs, chased by a generous
spoonful of cheese grits.

“
Yeah, it’s good. Who
would’ve thought that cruise food would be this delicious?” Kamila
took a bite out of a strip of bacon and saw the man who she’d
dubbed ‘the jerk’ sitting near a window with a plate of food in
front of him but he wasn’t eating. He looked like he was in deep
thought.

“
Who are you staring at?”
Lori asked her.

“
You see that guy over
there by the window?”

Lori turned around and got a quick look of
the guy. “Yeah?”

“
That’s the same guy that
was sitting by the pool yesterday...the one I went over to check
on.”

Lori looked at Kamila sideways. Was she
really interested in some strange man she met on a cruise,
especially after Tony had shattered her heart? Kamila wasn’t the
type to hop from man-to-man. She wasn’t even the type of woman who
would be brave enough to approach a man. “Well, let me wipe that
drool from your mouth,” Lori said, then laughed. “For a woman who
just came out of a bad situation, you are staring mighty hard.”

“
Oh, whatever.”

“
No, it’s not
whatever
. You are
staring at that man like you want him on your plate, laying next to
those strips of bacon.” Lori laughed while falling back in her
chair.

Kamila smiled, rolled her eyes and stood up.
“I’ll be back, silly.” She took her plate of food with her and made
a beeline for ‘the jerk’s’ table.

Donovan looked up and saw
her approaching, mumbling some unpleasantries under his
breath.
Is this girl for
real
?

Kamila sat down and said, “Hi.” She planted
a wide, bright smile on her face.

“
You don’t give up do
you?”

“
I just think it’s
completely unfair that you’re traveling alone and you look
miserable. So I’m making myself available for you.”

Donovan furrowed his brows. “You’re making
yourself availa...look, um, I appreciate what you’re trying to do,
but I’m a very grown capable man. I can take care of myself.”

“
I’m a very grown, capable
woman and—”

His laughter cut her off.

“
What’s so funny?” she
inquired, eyebrows raised.

“
How old are you?
Twenty?”

“
I’m
twenty-six.”

Donovan snapped his head back, analyzing
her. She sure didn’t look twenty-six. More like nineteen. “You look
a lot younger than twenty-six.”

“
Thanks, I think.” Kamila
picked up a strip of bacon, took a bite then asked, “How old are
you?”

“
Look, ah...” he said,
searching for her name.

“
Kamila,” she
said.

“
Right...Kamila. Listen,
I’m trying to enjoy my breakfast in peace.”

“
Me too, so things would
work out a lot better for the both of us if you pulled that thorn
out of your flesh and talked to me.” She held his gaze for a
moment, finding their exchange comical, but she didn’t crack a
smile because he looked to be seriously irritated.

“
I don’t have a thorn in
my flesh,” he snapped.

“
Okay, well the stick up
your butt, the chip on your shoulder...get where I’m going
here?”

With cold eyes, he said, “I didn’t come on
this cruise to make friends.”

“
I know. You told me that
already.”

“
Then why are you
bothering me?”

“
Why do you think I’m
trying to be your friend? That a bit presumptuous of you, don’t you
think?”

He frowned and looked out the window
again.

“
Tell you what...tell me
how old you are and I’ll take my plate, leave you to your misery
and go back over there with my friend,” she
propositioned.

“
I’m thirty-five,” Donovan
said quickly.

Kamila smiled but didn’t move.

“
Thought you said you were
going to leave?”

“
I lied.” She shot an evil
grin his way.

“
So not only are you
annoying, you’re also a liar.”

Kamila’s mouth fell
open.
Did he just say that out
loud?
She couldn’t even think of a smart
comeback for something so cold-hearted and brash.

Since she didn’t leave, he decided to.
Standing, he said, “I’m not in the mood for your frolicsomeness, so
do me a favor and please, just leave me alone from now on.”

Kamila watched him walk away. He had a sexy
walk to go along with that well-maintained body, but his attitude
sucked. He was rude and he didn’t want to be bothered, so she
wouldn’t bother him again.

* * *

Donovan returned to his room, took out his
cell and found Shayla’s number. He promised himself he wouldn’t
bother her again, but even after months of not speaking with her,
he still wanted to hear her voice, to talk to her. He needed to,
like it was an addiction and having contact with her would be his
fix. Using the phone on the nightstand, he dialed her number,
feeling his heart race as he anxiously waited for her to pick
up.

“
Donovan,” Shayla
answered. “You
have
to stop calling me. Carter is going to kill you.”

“
I’m not worried about
Carter, Shayla.”

“
Well you could at least
have enough respect for me not to do this. I love Carter. I’m happy
with him. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

Donovan processed what she said for a
moment. “Then tell me how to fall out of love with you, Shayla, and
I’ll do it. Can you tell me how to do that?”

“
No, I can’t.”

“
Then what do you want me
to do?”

“
Maybe you should seek
counseling.”

“
I don’t need counseling.
I need you.”

“
Donovan...I—”

“
I thought you felt
something for me.”

“
I liked you as a friend
but—”

“
You know I still think
about us sharing an appetizer on the beach, holding hands, the way
you rested your head against me on the plane...I replay those
things in my head and wonder how you can say that you only wanted
to be friends.”

“
I love Carter. Please
stop calling me.” Shayla hung up the phone.

Donovan slammed the receiver down. He sat on
the bed running his hands across his face, frustrated. Why was it
so hard for him to get her out of his system?

~
Chapter Four
~

After taking a
long nap, he went to dinner alone again, and like
yesterday, he went to the top deck of the ship, staring out into
the water. The peace, the serenity of it gave him time to reflect.
Why was he so fixated on Shayla? Why was he calling her? Even after
Carter, Shayla’s husband, threatened his life, he still couldn’t
leave her alone.

The sound of sniffles and whimpers disrupted
his thoughts and he briefly looked around to see where the noise
was coming from. Then he saw her, Kamila, leaned against the
railing, same place she was last night, wiping her eyes.

He frowned.
Should I go talk to her? Try to console
her?
He wanted to walk away but something
about hearing her cry made him want to reach out to her. He took a
few steps closer and said, “Hey, are you okay?”

She looked at him with tears in her eyes,
and said, “I’m fine.”

“
Um...you don’t look
fine.”

“
Well, I am. I just want
to be miserable and alone right now. You of all people should
understand that.”

Donovan sighed and looked away. Then he
said, “Look, Kamila, I’m sorry I was rude to you before. I just got
a lot on my mind right now.”

“
You think you’re the only
person in the universe who has issues?”

“
No. I simply don’t want
to talk about my issues.”

“
What makes you think I
do? Because I’m crying? Or because I’m a weak, pathetic
woman?”

Donovan squinted at her. “I didn’t say you
were those things.”

“
You’ve said worse. What’s
a few more
choice
adjectives?”

“
Well, I don’t know you,
but I
do
know you
love to talk as evident by your stalking me for the past couple of
days.”

Kamila tried to withhold a laugh, but
couldn’t do it successfully. With tears in her eyes, she had a good
old fashioned belly chuckle. “I wasn’t stalking you.”

He grinned and said, “Could’ve fooled me.”
He watched her wipe her eyes. “Maybe we could start over. Hi, I’m
Donovan Sharper.” He extended his hand to her.

Kamila extended her right hand to connect to
Donovan’s. “I’m Kamila Jenkins. Nice to meet you, finally.” She
noticed the firmness of his large hand and something about it she
liked. Maybe it was the way he squeezed her hand, all business-like
as if they were having some important meeting up there on the top
deck.

“
So what are you doing up
here crying?”

“
It’s a long
story.”

“
We’re not going anywhere
for a while. Shoot.”

“
Well...ah...my boyfriend
of three years cheated on me. So my best friend brought me on this
cruise...said I needed to get away, start over and get him out of
my system.”

“
And you were crying
because you still love him or are you mad at yourself for loving
him?”

“
Both. We were together
for three years after all.” Kamila pulled in a deep breath. “I’ve
had enough fresh air...think I’m going to go chill in my
room.”

“
Well, maybe we’ll run
into each other tomorrow,” Donovan said.

“
Maybe...or if you like,
you can hang out with me in my room and talk for a
while?”

“
Right now?” he
asked.

“
Yeah. Right
now.”

“
Okay.”

Donovan followed her to her room and once
there, Kamila sat on the bed and watched Donovan sit on the couch.
“So, why are you bitter, Donovan?”

“
Bitter?”

“
Yeah. Why?”

“
I’m not
bitter.”

“
Oh yes you are. You were
so mean to me.”

“
In my defense, you were
bothering me, Kamila.”

“
Am I bothering you
now?”

“
No.”

“
Then tell me why you’re
bitter.”

He looked at her and smiled. What good would
it do him to talk to this young woman about his problems? But if he
hadn’t planned on talking, why did he come to her room? “It’s
nothing.”

“
Oh, c’mon...I’ve told you
about my issues, now dish.”

“
Ah...okay,” he said,
rubbing his hands together. It surprised him that he felt nervous
just now, thinking about talking to someone about his life. Shayla
was the only women he’d opened up to and he intended for her to be
the last. But nervous? He was never nervous about anything, but
this was something that weighed heavily on him. “Five years ago, my
wife died. There...I said it.”

“
Sorry to hear
that.”

“
Thanks.”

Kamila stretched her arms up in the air,
then yawned.

“
If you’re ready for bed,
I can leave.”

“
Leave? You just got
here.”

“
I know, but I don’t want
to hold you back from getting your beauty rest.”

Kamila smiled, realizing she had a charmer
on her hands. Who knew? “So what happened to your wife?”

“
She was giving birth to
our son and something went wrong.”