It's Only You

Chapter 5

Donovan’s thumb hovered over the telephone number on his screen for several seconds before he pressed the home button and tossed the phone on his desk. It had been three days since he had seen or spoken to Simona and exactly one week since they met. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her or the kiss. He’d known instinctively he would enjoy kissing her but never expected the onslaught of emotions that accompanied the act. They were the same feelings he’d had at the hospital last week. And, for the first time in over two years, he felt the stirrings of something more than a passing fling. She made him laugh and he chuckled, recalling some of the stories she’d told him.

Simona still hadn’t called to let him know if she would accompany him to Sheila’s concert. He was anxious to call her, but didn’t want to come on too strong. From the questions she asked about his job, he sensed some hesitancy on her part and wondered why. Donovan glanced over at the wall clock—four thirty. He still had work to do, and he wanted to leave at a reasonable time so he could stop by Terrence and Janae’s to see his little goddaughter. He reined in his thoughts and refocused on the papers in front of him. By the time he looked up again, over an hour had passed. He stood, stretched and went to the outer office where his secretary sat clicking away on the computer.

“You about ready to wrap it up, Monique?”

She paused. “Yes. I just want to print this last contract for Brad. He said he’d be by to pick it up in a few minutes.”

On the heels of her statement, Brad, who headed up the label’s legal department, entered with his wife, Audrey, director of Human Resources. Both were friends from college.

“Your ears must have been burning,” Donovan said.

“What? You’re talking about me again?” Brad asked with a laugh. He turned to his wife. “See, babe, I told you I’m the man.”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just get what you came for so we can go. You have two hours to finish that stuff. We are not taking any work this weekend.”

Donovan laughed. “Finally getting that trip to San Francisco in, huh? Brad, make sure you take her on the sunset cruise,” he added with a wink.

“We’re doing that and more,” she said with a sly smile.

Brad leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

Donovan held up his hands. “TMI, T-M-I! Monique, hurry up and give Brad those papers before they burn my office down.” He was glad to see that they were still so much in love after being together for more than a decade. He felt a pang of jealousy.

“Are you going to be here much longer, Donovan?” Brad asked as he collected the papers from Monique.

“No. I’m going to see my beautiful goddaughter.”

“We went by for a few minutes last night,” Audrey said excitedly. “And you’re right, she’s a cutie. But we’d better get going.”

“Have fun.”

“We will.” Brad and Audrey said their goodbyes, with Monique close behind.

Donovan left a few minutes later, and it took him almost an hour to get to Terrence’s with rush-hour traffic.

“What’s up, D? Come on in,” Terrence said, bringing Donovan in for their customary hug.

“Hey.” He followed Terrence to the family room and stretched out on the sofa.

“You look exhausted. Is everything going okay?”

“Yeah, fine. I was thinking we might need to hire someone else to help out, especially since I figure you’ll be spending less time at the office. And you’ll be touring again soon.”

Terrence sighed. “I’ve been thinking about that, too. But I don’t want to bring in someone at the executive level who starts trying to tell me my business.”

“I know. I have an idea I want to run by you.” He sat up. “Monique has been doing a great job fielding calls, making sure things run smoothly with the clients and generally helping me out with the departments. She just graduated in May with her degree in business, and I think she’d make a helluva manager.”

“I like it, but what about the secretarial stuff? That leaves only one person to handle that.”

“We can either move someone from another department or hire from outside. I can talk to Audrey about it next week if you’re cool with it.”

Terrence sat quietly, mulling over the proposition, then slowly nodded. “Okay.”

“Good. Now that we’re done with work, where’s Janae and Nadia?”

“Janae was feeding her when I came down. Let me see if she’s done.” He got to his feet and went upstairs.

While he was gone, Donovan leaned back and closed his eyes. Thoughts of Simona drifted through his mind. It was after seven, so he assumed she was off work, unless she was working overtime as she had last Friday. How did she spend her weekends? What kinds of things did she like to do? He thought about how her beautiful smile and soft laughter made his heart beat a little faster. It had been a long while since a woman affected him in this way, and it surprised him just how much he wanted to see her again.

Donovan blew out a long breath. Maybe it was time for him to let his guard down some. For two long years he had resisted allowing a woman into his heart—he didn’t want to feel the pain of betrayal again. Back when Terrence was fighting his attraction to Janae, Donovan had accused his friend of punishing all women for the actions of one. But he was no better. He talked a good game, but this time his heart was on the line.

“Hi, Donovan.”

He opened his eyes and stood at the sound of Janae’s voice. “Hey, Janae. How’re you feeling?” he asked, kissing her cheek.

“Tired, of course,” she said with a laugh, “but I’m enjoying it. You look exhausted.”

“It’s been a hectic couple of weeks.”

“I can imagine. Well, I know you’re anxious to hold Nadia. I’m going to head back upstairs. I know you and Terrence have a lot to catch up on.” She carefully transferred the baby.

“I’ll walk you up, sweetheart,” Terrence said, placing his arm around her shoulders. “Will you be okay alone for a minute, Donovan?”

Donovan shot him a look. “Of course. Nadia and I need time to get acquainted, so don’t hurry back.”

Janae laughed as she and Terrence left the room.

Donovan cradled Nadia close to his heart and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Just like the first time he held her, a rush of emotions flooded him, along with a flashback of what should have been. Had his little one survived, he or she would be a year and a half now. He pushed down the painful memories and stared at the baby who had her eyes fixed on him.

“Hey, Nadia. I think you’ve gotten more beautiful since the last time I saw you. How are you liking this world so far?” She stretched and yawned. “That well, huh?” he said with a chuckle. “I know you’ve got great parents, but if you ever need anything, you can call me and Uncle Donovan will be right there, okay?” He sang quietly and rocked her slowly. After a moment, she closed her eyes. Donovan kept up the rocking motion while singing.

“I see you still got it,” Terrence said, coming up behind him. “I could use another session singer for the new project I’m working on.”

Donovan turned and snorted. “I don’t think so. I only did those background lyrics for the first two CDs because you were just starting out, and we were trying to save money. But since you’re all rich and famous now, you can hire somebody. I like my job just fine.” He cocked his head to the side. “You know, I don’t think I was ever paid for my services.”

Terrence laughed softly. “Whatever. Boy, you’ve been paid that and more.” He gestured to Donovan’s arm. “What happened?”

Donovan glanced down at his arm. He had an appointment to remove the stitches on Monday, and he couldn’t wait. The itching was driving him crazy. The burn was healing nicely and barely noticeable. “I got it caught on a coffee cart at the hospital while trying to keep it from falling last Friday night after I left you.” He gave Terrence the details about what happened.

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