Breaking off the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’m trying to take this slow, but I want to make love to you, Simona, and if we stand here one minute longer...” He clenched his jaw, seemingly trying to gain control.
Taking her keys, he unlocked and opened the door. Good thing, because her body was so on fire that her hands were shaking.
“Good night. I’ll call you.” He placed a quick kiss on her lips, turned and hurried down the walk.
She shut the door behind her and slumped against it. How in the world was she ever going to walk away from Donovan? Closing her eyes, she willed her body calm.
“Is everything okay, Simona?”
She jumped, and her eyes snapped open when she heard Eve’s voice from the living room couch. She nodded.
A knowing grin curved Eve’s mouth. She folded her arms. “So, Donovan must be a great kisser.”
Simona felt a rush of heat to her face.
“You don’t have to answer. I peeked out the curtains when he picked you up earlier. A man that fine probably has the market cornered on how to please a woman.”
She pushed off the door. “Yeah. Something like that,” she mumbled.
“I thought for sure you’d invite him in,” Eve said.
“I...I can’t.”
“Don’t tell me you still haven’t told him about Yasmine.”
Simona shook her head guiltily.
Eve threw up her hands. “Come on, Simona. From what I see, the two of you are getting closer, and you can’t keep something like this from him.”
“I know, I know. But I can’t let him get too close. He’s more in the public eye than I thought.” She told Eve about going to his office at the recording label and the VIP party. “When Donovan told me about his job initially, he made it sound like he was just some kind of office manager, but he’s the executive vice president! I had planned for tonight to be our last date, but somehow I agreed to go to a barbecue with him in two weeks.” Simona groaned.
Eve chuckled. “It was those kisses.”
Despite her frustration, Simona laughed. “Yeah, that, those seductive light brown eyes and that damn dimple in his left cheek.”
“Ooh. Does he have an older brother?” They looked at each other and collapsed in a fit of laughter. When they calmed down, Eve stood. “Let me go home.” At the door, she hugged Simona. “Honey, you need to talk to Donovan. From what you told me, it doesn’t sound like he’s cocky about his popularity.”
“No, he isn’t.” Thinking back, if anything, he seemed to downplay it.
“Then maybe you should think twice about breaking things off. Good men are hard to find. Night.”
“Night.”
When she crawled into bed half an hour later, Simona still had no idea what to do. She tossed and turned all night and, by morning, was no closer to making a decision. As a result, she was tired and out of sorts. Of course, Yasmine was her usually bubbly self. Outside in the backyard, Simona strapped Yasmine into her swing and pushed gently. The little girl’s giggles filled the air.
“I’m glad one of us is happy today,” Simona said. “What am I going to do, Yasmine? I promised your mom I’d take care of you, and I plan to do just that. I won’t subject you to the same type of scrutiny that followed us back home.” Studying her niece’s animated face, she said, “I wonder what Donovan would say about you.” She sighed heavily and kept up the gentle rhythm of the swing. “I really like Donovan, but I like my privacy, too.” She had no idea if he even liked children. “And the man definitely knows how to kiss.”
Simona’s mind went back to last night’s kiss. Each time he kissed her, she lost more and more of her willpower. She glanced down to find Yasmine staring at her and chuckled. “I guess you didn’t need to know that bit of information.”
Simona stopped the swing and took Yasmine out. Yasmine laid her head on Simona’s shoulder. Inhaling her sweet baby scent, Simona smiled. “You’re such a precious little one.”
But her smile faded quickly. Unless she planned for the barbecue to be her last date with Donovan, she needed to find a way to tell him about her niece. Chances were he wouldn’t want to be bothered with a woman who had a child anyway, and he would choose to stop seeing Simona.
Somehow, that thought didn’t sit well with her.
Chapter 8