Donovan smiled knowingly, nodded and directed her inside to a cabana-like room.
As soon as she closed the door, Simona fell against it and tried to slow her heart rate. She had never had a man seduce her the way Donovan was doing, and she didn’t think she could take much more before succumbing to the pleasure he was sure to give her.
After a few moments, she felt in control enough to rejoin the party. Back outside, Simona noticed that the guys had moved to one side of the yard while the ladies all sat around on the other side. Janae’s parents and Terrence’s grandparents were nowhere in sight. She guessed they might have gone inside.
“Simona, come join us,” Janae called out, waving her over. When Simona sat in a vacant chair, Janae said, “We haven’t had a chance to get acquainted. So, how did you and Donovan meet?”
Simona stared at the smiling faces of the three women. Aside from Eve, she hadn’t developed any real friendships since coming to LA. “I was getting off work in the emergency room and wasn’t watching where I was going. Next thing I know I’m being saved from a coffee cart running me over. Coming here today, I realize it was the night Nadia was born. I think Donovan was leaving the hospital.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet. Donovan’s such a nice guy,” Karen said.
“I’ve known him since college, and I agree wholeheartedly,” Audrey added. Simona found out that Audrey and Brad married after college, and also that they headed up departments at the recording company.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Janae, how did you and Terrence meet?” She was curious how Janae handled her husband’s fame.
“I don’t mind at all. This one here,” she started, gesturing toward Karen, “dragged me to his concert in San Francisco two years ago. We were instantly attracted to each other, but I had no intentions of dating someone as famous as he is. But my ever-resourceful husband enlisted the help of his best friend over there—” she pointed at Donovan “—and tricked us into coming backstage after the concert.”
“Girl, there was so much heat between them that I had to give them a minute alone,” Karen interrupted, fanning herself. They all laughed.
“Whatever,” Janae said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, Simona, to make a long story short, we dated long-distance for a while—I was a special education teacher in San Jose—and moved here when we married.”
“Doesn’t it bother you, having all the media in your business?” Simona asked.
“I don’t like the spotlight at all, but Terrence is very protective of his family and he does a great job keeping our private lives private. The one time a reporter tried to stir up some trouble, I saw a side of my husband I didn’t know existed. Suffice it to say we haven’t had any more problems. Ask Donovan. As Terrence’s agent-slash-manager, he held a nice little press conference.”
Her eyes widened. Agent? That meant he was more visible than she thought. She groaned inwardly. One more thing to add to her growing list of worries. Simona thought about her own experience with the media and the stark contrast in how her situation was handled. Would Donovan be the same? And could she risk it? Memories of that time flooded her mind—cameras following her everywhere, waiting at her home and job. She glanced over at Donovan laughing. As much as she enjoyed being with him, she didn’t think she’d be able to let go of her hang-ups.
The women’s laughter brought her back to the conversation.
“Shoot, you should be thanking me, Janae,” Karen was saying.
“That goes both ways, missy,” Janae shot back. “If you hadn’t come to my wedding on the cruise, you wouldn’t have met your husband.”
Simona stared curiously.
“Amen, girl!” Karen said, lifting her hand to high-five Janae. To Simona she said, “Damian was on the cruise with a couple of his friends, and I was taking a dating hiatus. The moment I saw him, I forgot all about that hiatus.”
Simona laughed. “I can see why. He is a good-looking man.” With his towering height, golden-brown skin and hazel eyes, Damian Bradshaw could fuel the fantasies of most women.
Audrey sighed dramatically. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have a fabulous story to tell. We met in college, dated for four years and got married. No fuss, no cruise ships, concerts or knight-in-shining-armor saves.”
Laughing, Janae said, “Maybe, but you still have a true love story. You guys have been married for almost ten years, and together longer than that.”