“One of the ladies in my yoga class mentioned that her great-niece had just moved to the city. I saw a picture, and she’s absolutely gorgeous. I think she’s around thirty—”
Donovan sat up abruptly, swung his legs around and jumped up. “Um, Miss Ellie...”
She laughed. “So, we’re back to Miss Ellie, huh? All right. I’ll leave you alone for now.” Miss Ellie pointed a finger his way. “But you need a wife.”
Before he could form a response, Terrence burst through the door.
“We have a baby girl,” Terrence announced with tears in his eyes. “A beautiful five-pound three-ounce baby girl.”
“Oh, my,” Miss Ellie cried.
“Congratulations, son.” Mr. Campbell engulfed Terrence in a bear hug.
“Congratulations, T,” Donovan added. “How are mom and baby?”
“Janae is understandably exhausted, but she’s good. They’re checking the baby now. Since she’s almost a month early, they want to be sure nothing is wrong. But my girl has a set of lungs already. I think she’s gonna sing with her daddy,” Terrence said proudly. “Let me get back. I’ll come get you guys in a little while.”
Forty-five minutes later, Terrence escorted the trio to Janae’s room. Donovan hung back to allow Terrence’s grandparents some time with their new great-granddaughter.
“Donovan, come meet your goddaughter,” Janae said.
He approached the bed, leaned down and placed a kiss on Janae’s cheek. “Congratulations, Mama. She’s a beauty. Thank goodness she takes after you and not Terrence,” he joked.
They all laughed, and Terrence said, “Don’t mess around and get your godfather card revoked in the first hour.”
Janae handed him the baby. “Say hello to Nadia Elise Campbell.”
Donovan gently cradled the tiny bundle against his chest. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“Hey, Nadia. I’m your Uncle Donovan. You and I are going to have so much fun together.” He dug his cell out of his pocket and handed it to Terrence. “Get a shot of me with my little goddaughter. Oh, and take a couple extras. You know Mrs. Lewis will have my head if I show up Monday morning without pictures.” Mrs. Lewis was Terrence’s secretary, and the older woman loved Terrence like a son.
“No lie.” Terrence laughed, snapped a few pictures and handed the phone back.
Donovan pocketed the phone and adjusted the baby in his arms. She opened her eyes, stretched and then closed her eyes again. Emotions unlike anything he had ever felt engulfed him, and he couldn’t stop staring at the petite baby with a head full of dark curls framing her small face.
“You okay, D?” Terrence asked.
Donovan blinked back the tears clouding his vision, lifted his head and met Terrence’s scrutinizing gaze. “Yeah, man.” He transferred Nadia to her father.
“We’ve known each other a long time, and I know something’s up. This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed it,” he whispered.
Donovan ignored the comment. “Does Karen know Nadia came a little early?”
Terrence raised a brow, but didn’t press. “No. She and Damian are finally taking their honeymoon cruise.” Karen was Janae’s best friend. She’d gotten married several months earlier, but due to her job as an elementary school principal they’d postponed the honeymoon until after the school year ended.
Donovan took a quick peek at his watch. “It’s after eleven o’clock. I need to get out of here. I have an early morning telephone conference.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Fine. You just concentrate on your family. We’ll take care of the office.”
“I know. Thanks, man. I’ll call you.”
Donovan said his goodbyes, trekked back to the elevator and rode the four floors down. He rounded the corner and crossed the lobby, noting that the front desk was now empty. As he reached the entrance, he saw a sign indicating he would have to exit through Emergency. Changing directions, he shoved his hands in his pockets and started toward the other exit.
His mind went back to his goddaughter. He hadn’t expected the riot of emotions that swirled in his gut when he held Nadia. As hard as he tried to keep the distant memories from surfacing, they came anyway. He inhaled deeply and forced them down. Out of the corner of his eye, movement caught his attention, interrupting his thoughts. Then he heard a woman’s startled cry. Donovan took off at a dead run.