What Donovan Wants (The Accidental Series, Book 4) (5 page)

“Okay, well since you like this crap so
much, you can have the rest of mine.” Kamila pushed her saucer over
to him.

Donovan took a sip of wine.

“So when you get back home, are you going to
leave that married woman alone?”

“You make it sound so horrible. I don’t
pursue married women.”

“I know. You’ve explained it to me. I just
want to know if you plan on pursuing her.”

“No. How can I? She’s married. She chose the
man she wanted.”

With raised eyebrows, Kamila asked, “So
you’re done?”

“Yeah. I’m done.”

She glared at him with a doubtful
squint.

“I’m serious,” he followed up with. “I plan
on starting fresh when I get back.”

“Well, good for you,” Kamila told him, but
she wasn’t quite convinced he was ready to leave that woman alone.
He was so hooked on her before. How could he drop every emotion he
had for her after four days on a cruise?

“Hypothetically speaking, if you were me,
how would you start over?” Donovan asked as the food arrived.

Kamila waited until the waiter walked away
then responded, “Well, first, I would make certain that that’s what
I wanted to do. Once I confirm that my mind is made up, I’ll move
forward, slowly working on myself, my life, ensuring that I’m
bettering myself every day and working towards my achievements.
It’s like accomplishing a goal,” Kamila said, then stopped briefly
to take a swallow of wine.

“How so?”

“Let’s say you set a goal to get a degree.
You know that once you get this degree, you can build a better life
for your family because you will, no doubt, obtain a higher paying
job. You know your family is relying on you, so you would do
everything in your power to reach that goal. Of course, there will
be bumps along the way, but nothing in life is easy, and if it is,
then it’s probably not worth your time.”

Impressed, Donovan nodded, then sliced his
steak. “You are absolutely right,” he said chewing. “And I know
it’s going to be hard. I know it is.”

Kamila diced her steak as well, helping
herself to tiny pieces and mix veggies. “It’ll get better. And
maybe someone else will come along, share their life with you and
you’ll experience love again. You won’t feel the same way about
this person as you felt for your wife or this other woman, but it
will be something special.”

“You sound sure of that.”

“I am...kinda.”

“So is that what you’re waiting for? Someone
to come along and replace your ex?”

“No...I’m...I...ah...no.”

Donovan smirked at her indecisiveness. “Why
are you stuttering?”

“I’m not stuttering.”

“You were,” Donovan said, with a smile on
his face.

“I just didn’t expect that question from
you.”

“Well...are you?” he asked, studying her
while taking a sip of wine.

“No, I’m not.”

“So why doesn’t your own acroamatic advice
apply to you?”

“It does, but—”

“So if some guy comes along and try to spit
some game at you, you gon’ just fan him away, even though he may be
the right one for you?”

“I would have to examine
him to make sure he’s worth my time. I wasted three years on a man
who I thought was the
right
one, and look how that turned out.”

Donovan picked up his fork
and steak knife and while cutting a piece of steak, he asked, “Why
do women always utter how many years they
supposedly
wasted when a
relationship ends?”

“Easy...because they never expected that it
would end. Thus, it was a waste of time. Duh...”

Donovan cocked a cool half smile. “Okay, so
using your example of setting a goal to get a degree...let’s say
you get the degree after four years of schooling, but you can’t
find a job. So you go back to school to get another degree, and
this time you find a gig. Would you consider the first four years
of schooling a waste of time?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m sure the knowledge I gained in
those four years would be a supplement to my new degree and thereby
increasing my chances of landing a good job.”

“Exactly. So instead of looking at your
breakup with Loverboy as a waste of time, look at it like a
learning experience...knowledge to bring over to your next
relationship.”

“Hmm,” Kamila said. “Never thought about it
that way.”

“Something to think about, right?”

She nodded in agreement.

“Good. Now run off and tell all ya lil’
girlfriends what I just schooled you on.” Donovan grinned.

Kamila laughed too. “You’re silly.”

“Am I? Or am I a genius?” he asked with
raised brows.

She shook her head. “This steak is really
good, by the way.”

“Don’t try to change the subject.”

Kamila laughed again. “I’m not trying to
change the subject. This food is just off the hook.”

“Yeah it is.”

Donovan laid his fork in the plate and
stared at Kamila for a moment. He studied her lips, the dimples in
her cheeks when she smiled and her big bright eyes.

Kamila looked up, caught his stare and said,
“What?”

“Nothing.”

“What? Why are you staring at me? Do I have
something on my face?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

Donovan picked up his wine glass, sloshed it
around and said, “You have some pretty eyes...meant to tell you
that earlier.” He took a sip, watching her smile.

“You’re too kind. Thanks.”

“Welcome. Now it’s your turn.”

Kamila giggled. “My turn for what?”

“To tell me something you like about
me.”

“Um...gee...”

“That hard, huh?”

“No...you’re just putting me on the spot.”
She gave him a once over and said, “Okay, you have a perfect smile.
Your teeth are as white as these napkins.”

Donovan flashed that flawless smile for her.
“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

After dinner, they took a walk through the
casino, then Kamila suggested they go to the spa to get massages.
Then afterwards, he walked her back to her room.

“So that’s it for the night?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m a ball of wax after that massage.
I almost fell asleep on the table.”

“Well, I thoroughly enjoyed myself
today.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe, if you’re not too occupied with your
friend tomorrow, we could hang out for a lil’ while.”

“Okay. Definitely.”

Donovan brought his hands together to a
single clap. “I guess this is goodnight, Ms. Jenkins.”

“It looks that way.”

Donovan closed his arms
around her, squeezing her in his grasp. “Do you
have
to go, now?” he asked before he
knew the words had left his mouth. He sounded needful and it didn’t
bother him one bit. He enjoyed the time he spent with Kamila and
realized that she was a welcome distraction to the disappointments
in his life.

“You don’t want me to? I have no more energy
to party.”

“Then I don’t mind sleeping here again
tonight.”

She unwrapped her arms from around him and
looked him in the eyes. “Really, because somebody told me I
shouldn’t invite strange men inside my room.”

“Oh now I’m a stranger, because when I was
lying in bed with you last night, holding your hand, it surely
didn’t feel like we were strangers.”

Kamila smiled. “All right. Come in.”

Once inside, Donovan sat on the couch again.
He took the remote and powered on the TV.

“I’m gonna step in the bathroom real quick
and put on my night shirt,” she told him.

“Okay...just pretend I’m not here.”

“O-kay.” Behind the closed bathroom door,
Kamila took off her dress, slipped into a long T-shirt and brushed
her teeth. She gathered her hair into a ponytail, removed her
earrings and washed her face. When she came out, she saw Donovan,
still sitting on the couch. He had since taken off his shoes and
unbuttoned his shirt a few buttons down. “You want to go to your
room and get your pajamas or something?”

“Pajamas? What am I? Six?”

Kamila giggled. “Oh whatever, Donovan. Men
wear pajamas.”

“Well I guess I’m the exception.”

“Okay, so what do you wear to bed?”

“Boxers, preferably silk.”

Kamila walked over to the bed, pulled back
the covers and nestled in place.

Donovan powered the TV off, turned off the
lights and stumbled in the dark to join her.

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” she asked
him.

“Sure.”

“Open the curtain so the moonlight shines
through.”

Donovan carefully maneuvered around the bed
then slid the curtain open. “Is that good?” he turned around to ask
her and when he did, he noticed her eyes open, brilliantly gazing
in his direction. She was beautiful, but something about the
nighttime luminescence displayed her beauty in much greater
detail.

“That’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

With the added light, Donovan could see how
to get to the bed now so he laid on top of the covers, facing
her.

“Goodnight, Donovan,” she said in that sexy
tone he liked.

“Goodnight, Kamila.”

She scooted closer to him, nuzzling her head
against his exposed chest.

He quivered, felt weird
for doing so, but feeling her so close to him made him recall how
good it felt to hold a woman. But something about
this
woman was wearing
on him, something he hadn’t expected from her. He thought she would
be some ditsy, immature girl, but she was anything but. She was a
full-fledged woman who got his humor and who understood his current
relationship dilemma. She was bright, smart and pleasant to be
around. She was everything he wanted in a woman. If only his heart
was available...

~
Chapter Seven ~

Today was the
last day of the cruise. Kamila got up early to
get dressed since she was meeting Lori for breakfast. She noticed
Donovan was gone and she wondered what time he’d left. Was it late
last night or early this morning? She wanted to call him, but
instead, she took a shower, dressed and joined Lori at the
breakfast buffet.

After breakfast, they walked a few laps
around the track, not necessarily for the exercise but to get some
fresh air. Then they swam a little, played a few trivia games, got
manicures and went to lunch. Lori was so exhausted by two o’clock,
she told Kamila she was going to take a short nap. They made plans
to get together again around four to enjoy the last day.

Kamila, however, wasn’t in the mood for
taking a nap. She slept extra good last night and she wondered if
it had something to do with Donovan. Maybe so. At any rate, she
went to browse the shops when she saw Donovan walking down the
hall, looking around and checking out the scene. Caught in a trance
for a moment, she tried to look away but couldn’t seem to do it. He
was wearing a black, fitted T-shirt that showcased his broad
shoulders and muscular torso. A pair of distressed jeans dressed
his bottom half, and a pair of black Nikes completed his outfit.
Man he was hot, showing off his pecks and defined arm muscles!
Apparently, the group of rubbernecking women he’d just passed
thought so too.

Kamila ducked behind a
postcard rack, peeping around it to see if he was heading into the
shop as well. But when she stared out into the hallway, he was
nowhere to be found. Between shopping for personalized pens and key
chains, she lost sight of him. She walked closer to one of the
entrances and looked both ways to see if he was nearby. He
wasn’t.
Hmm...
she
thought to herself and when she turned around, she got the shock of
a lifetime. “Ah!” she squealed. Donovan was standing directly
behind her with a smile on his face. She slapped him on the
shoulder. “Donovan! You scared the crap out of me.”

He laughed at her. “That’s what you get. I
saw you peeping at me.”

She placed her hand over her heart. “I
wasn’t peeping at you.”

“Liar.”

“Stop calling me a liar.”

“Kamila, I saw you looking at me. Why do you
think I came in here?”

“I don’t know...to get some souvenirs for
D.J. and your mom?”

“Oh, yeah. I suppose I should. Is that what
you’re doing? Souvenir shopping?”

“Yep...they mark down items on the last day, so I
figured why not.” Kamila rummaged around a small bin of figurines.
“Hey, look at this.” She held up a toy cruise ship and said, “You
should get this for D.J. Actually, I’ll get it for him.”

“Nah, I got it.”

“No, I’ll get it. That way, you can tell him about
the crazy lady who stalked you on the cruise.”

Donovan grinned. “I was kidding when I said
that.”

“Oh no you weren’t. You were dead serious.” Kamila
laughed at him. “What’s your mom’s name?” she asked, browsing the
pens again.

“Phyllis. Why?”

“Trying to see if her name is on one of these pens.
Hmm...Phyllis. Oh, here we go...a red Phyllis pen.” Kamila took the
pen out of the rack. “What else does your mom like?”

“I’ll get her some of these shirts.” Donovan took a
couple of T-shirts from a clothing rack. He also found a shirt for
D.J.

Kamila got a couple of shirts as well and some
postcards and key chains. Walking up to the cashier, she placed her
items on the countertop. So did Donovan.

“I got it,” he said.

“Are you sure?” she asked, watching him remove his
wallet from the back right pocket of his jeans.

“Yep.” He handed the cashier his card.

“Thank you, Donovan.”

“You’re welcome.”

He took their bags and they walked out of the store
together.

“So what time did you leave this morning?” she
inquired.