What Donovan Wants (The Accidental Series, Book 4) (3 page)

Kamila gasped in disbelief.

“
Sometimes, I can still
see the panicked look of the doctors and nurses that day. Anyway,
um...that left me traumatized.”

“
I can only
imagine.”

“
So, after five years of
avoiding relationships and not searching for anything meaningful, I
met an amazing woman who I fell in love with.”

“
And?”

“
She’s married. Well, she
wasn’t married when we met, but she’s married now and I can’t stop
thinking about her and what could’ve been, you know.”

“
Wow. That’s
difficult.”

Donovan nodded. “I’m in love with her. I
can’t get her out of my mind and like your friend told you to do,
I’m here to try and get her out of my system, but so far it’s not
working.”

“
You sound like you got it
bad.”

“
I do.”

“
But you
do
realize you have to
let her go, right?”

“
Why?”

“
Because she’s somebody’s
wife. That’s why.”

“
But she should’ve been my
wife. I was there for her when the man she’s with
wasn’t.”

“
You know him?”

“
Yeah, I know him...went
to college with the guy. So what happened was, she was dating him,
then she broke it off, moved to Norfolk and started working in my
department. I took her to dinner a few times and then, very long
story short, she ended up back with the guy and left Norfolk to go
back to Charlotte to be with him. Soon after, they got
married.”

“
And you can’t accept the
fact that she’s with the guy?”

“
I feel like he stole her
from me. Am I wrong?”

“
Well, how you feel is how
you feel.”

Donovan loosened up a little, even shifted
on the couch so he had a good view of her sitting on the bed and
said, “I mean, I was finally diggin’ someone after all those years
and he swooped in like a hawk and took her.”

Kamila frowned.

“
What?” he asked when he
saw the disturbance in her forehead.

“
There will be other
women, I’m sure.”

“
I know, but they may not
be what I want. I’m very particular.”

What man isn’t?
“And just what does Donovan want?”

“
I want a woman I can
love...that I can connect with on every level.”

“
That’s
interesting...thought I had a man like that, but he
connected
with someone
else.”

“
Why?”

“
Why did he connect with
someone else?”

“
Yeah.”

“
I don’t know. You’ll have
to ask him that. You want his number?” she quipped. She yawned
again. “Let’s talk about something else. This is
depressing.”

“
Okay...uh...what do you
do for a living?”

“
I’m a traveling insurance
representative for LightSite Insurance Company.”

“
You?”

“
I’m head of the
accounting department at Zenadel Electronics.”

“
Zenadel...I’ve heard of
them. We tried to offer some insurance plans to the C.E.O. there a
few years ago, but he declined.” Kamila unbuckled her sandals and
sat in Indian-style on the bed, rubbing her toes.

“
Where do you
live?”

“
In Richmond. You’re in
Norfolk, right?”

“
Yep.”

“Cool. I travel there from time to time...haven’t
been there in a while, though.” Kamila glanced at the clock. “Hey,
you wanna go dancing?”

Donovan lifted a brow. “Dancing? You’ve been yawning
like a narcoleptic and now you want to go dancing?”

Kamila laughed then said, “I’m tired, but I didn’t
come on this cruise to go to bed early. I came to have fun.” She
stood up, took some black suede heels from her closet and slid her
feet into them.

“You wanna join me?” she asked, noticing he hadn’t
moved an inch.

“I’m not much of a dancer.”

“C’mon. Both of us could use a little cheering
up...might as well cheer each other up, right?” She walked over to
the couch, reached for his hand, as if she could pull his muscular
frame from the couch.

He smirked at her gesture and took her hand for good
measure. “You’re a persistent little thang aren’t you?” He stood
up.

“That’s what they tell me.”

Holding his hand, she guided him to the fifth deck,
where the dance club was located. They could hear the music right
off of the elevator.

“I didn’t know there was a club onboard,” Donovan
said, walking in.

“Me either, until my friend Lori told me. She’s a
partier.”

“And you’re not?”

“No. I’m not, but tonight, I’m feeling
adventurous...and we’re on a cruise, so let’s just let loose!”

“All right. Let’s do it.”

Donovan took Kamila’s hand and walked through the
crowd to the dance floor. The two danced to some hip hop songs for
a while, then after they worked up a sweat, they went back to sit
at their table.

“I can’t believe we only have three more days. This
is way too short. Remind me to never take a five-day cruise
again.”

He grinned. “Remind me to never take a cruise again,
period.”

Kamila smiled. “Why’d you come on here if you don’t
like cruises?”

“I told you...getting someone out of my system.
Plus, my mother literally showed up to my house and shoved me out
the door with my suitcases.”

“Yeah...right...I doubt that very seriously.” Kamila
laughed.

“You don’t believe anything I tell you, do you?”

“I do,” she said, grinning. “It’s just that you’re
built like a football player, so unless your mom is a modern day
Goliath, I doubt she
shoved
you anywhere.”

Donovan grinned. “She’s a feisty one...told me she
would hold down the fort, take my son to school and take care of
the house while I was gone.”

“That was nice of her.”

“Yeah, but instead of being on this floating
building, seeing couples hugged up and happy, I’d rather be working
or spending time with my son.”

“Well, I’m glad you came. At least you got a chance
to loosen up a little bit. You were pretty stiff out there on the
dance floor.”

“Oh, you’re dissing my dancing.” Donovan laughed.
“Okay.”

“Nah, I’m kidding.”

“It’s cool. I know I’m a lil’ rusty. I haven’t
danced in...man, I can’t remember the last time I went
dancing.”

“I bet. Your life sounds very full. It’s a wonder
you would even have the time for a woman.”

“I would make time. I intentionally flood my life
with work and such just to keep my mind off of things.”

“See...that’s why it’s a good thing you came...need
to loosen up a bit.”

He smirked. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’ll drink whatever you drink.”

“Then I hope you brought your I.D. You’re probably
going to get carded.”

“No I’m not. You’re the only one who seems to think
I’m under twenty-one...told you I was twenty-six.”

“Okay. We’ll see.” Donovan flagged down a waitress
and ordered two Rum and Cokes.

When the waitress walked away without asking for
I.D., Kamila looked at Donovan and stuck out her tongue.

He smiled, then laid back in his chair and watched
Kamila as she bobbed her head to the music, her long hair waving
about. She was pretty, he concluded, but he had no interest in her.
He only had eyes for one woman, and she was not available to him.
“Can I ask you something, Kamila?”

“What’s up?”

“The guy you were telling me about...your
ex-boyfriend...how were you able to get over him?”

“I wasn’t. I mean, I’m not over him. That’s the
problem. It’s like a part of me hates him, but when I see him, I
get excited. It’s like I remember the good times we had and I
fantasize about what might’ve been and that sometimes makes me want
to give him another chance...like maybe it was my fault he
cheated.”

“You can’t control his actions, so why would you
blame yourself?”

Kamila shrugged. “I think all women who’ve been
cheated on go through that phase. Men too.”

“What phase?”

“You know...the phase when you look back on the
relationship to see if you were somehow at fault for the other
person’s infidelity. Like I sometimes think that maybe I didn’t
dress sexy enough or wear my hair pretty enough or work out
enough.”

“Those are all superficial things.”

“I know, but I still have to think along those
lines.”

“Interesting.”

“Why’s that interesting?”

He looked at her and instantly decided she was too
fragile and inexperienced to handle his dissection of her
aforementioned, one-dimensional, self-assessment. She had to be a
fool if she thought her boyfriend left her because of those things.
So instead of breaking it down for her, he responded, “No
reason.”

“Hmm.”

Shifting gears, he said, “It took me a long time to
get over my wife’s death and when I finally had the courage to love
again, the woman wasn’t available and I don’t know which feeling is
worse – losing someone in death, or having someone not return my
love.”

“Jeez...that’s a tough one.”

“Tell me about it.” Donovan rubbed his face.

The waitress came over with their drinks and placed
the glasses on the table.

“I do know that it’s detrimental to put yourself
through that kind of heartache unnecessarily. I mean, if you love
someone and they don’t return your love, you need to move on.”

Donovan took a long swig of his drink. “Moving on is
easier said than done, sweetheart.”

“Don’t I know it. I’m having a hard time moving on
right now. Tony still calls me and tells me that he’s sorry...that
he wants me back, but I can’t take him back. I just can’t.”

“You shouldn’t. You’re too sweet and beautiful to be
with someone who hurts you.”

Kamila blushed. “Thanks.”

Donovan took a sip of his drink and bobbed his head
to the music. “So what’s on tap after we leave here?”

“Look at you getting into the groove,” she said,
gently slapping his forearm. “I like it.”

“Told you I wasn’t a jerk.”

Kamila giggled. “You sure was a couple of days ago.
Shrew!”

Donovan smiled and Kamila could swear she saw stars.
The man was gorgeous, his smile impeccable and there was something
about his presence, his swag that made him much more appealing than
other men his rank. He was serious, but had an incredible sense of
humor. Handsome, but not stuck on himself. Cautious but not
rigid.

Kamila checked her watch. “I’m gonna head to my
room. I’m tired, and this drink is going to put me right out.”
Kamila turned up the glass and finished it.

“Okay. I’ll walk you there.”

On the walk, Donovan spoke briefly about his son,
even digging a picture of his little boy out of his wallet and
showing it to her. When they stopped in front of her room door, he
was surprised she invited him in.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah. Come on in. I know you’re not ready to go to
your room just yet.”

“Yeah, but there are plenty of other things I could
do instead of being in your hair, little lady.”

“You’re not in my hair, big man,” Kamila said,
taking his hand and leading him to the couch.

Donovan sat down there while she kicked off her
shoes and laid on the bed. He watched her eyes close then got up
from the couch and walked over to the bed, kneeling beside it.
“Kamila,” he whispered. “I’m going to let you get some rest.”

“No, don’t go,” she told him. “I got a spot for you
right here.” She pat the area of the bed next to her. “Lay
down.”

“Kamila, you don’t have to—”

“Shh,” she told him. “Lay down.”

And he laid down next to her, feeling the warm
exhales from her calm breathing brush up against his face. It
soothed him to be this close to a woman again. At the same time, he
felt out of place. What was he doing in this woman’s room? Laying
on her bed?

“Do me a favor,” Donovan said.

“What’s that?”

“Don’t invite any other guys to your room...this is
pretty dangerous, you know. I mean, I’m a model citizen and
wouldn’t do anything to cause you any bodily harm, but not all men
are as chivalrous as me.”

Kamila laughed hard. “Now who sounds like cruise
ship security.” She chuckled more, watching him smile. “But I get
what you’re saying, and in my defense, this is completely out of
character for me to do something like this.”

“I know. I can sense that much.”

Kamila took a deep, relaxing breath and asked,
“What’s your son’s name?”

Donovan didn’t respond. He was still in disbelief
that he was even in her room, lying next to her.

“Hey,” Kamila nudged him.

“Yeah?”

“What’s your son’s name?”

“He’s a junior. The family calls him D.J.”

“Little Donovan, Junior. Nice,” she said, groggy.
Lazily.

Donovan loved her tone when she was sleepy. It was
notably sexy. “Yeah. It’s funny because I was adamantly against
naming him after me.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not something my father, my
grandfather, or great grandfather ever did, but it’s what Teresa
wanted. Now, I don’t mind it. I’m glad she convinced me to do it
because I can tell D.J. that even though he’s named after me, it
was his mom’s idea.”

“That’s nice.” With her eyes closed, she felt around
until she found his hand and fiddled with his fingers. “So D.J.’s a
good kid?”

“Ah...yeah...he’s a great kid...plays soccer and is
well-behaved in school...must’ve got that from his mother’s side
because I was terrible in school according to my mother.”