Dropping into a chair, Donovan scowled at Terrence. He didn’t want to have this conversation tonight...or any night, for that matter. He had spent the entire week trying to erase Simona from his thoughts and had failed miserably.
“And Janae told me to get Simona’s phone number. She wants to call herself.”
His scowl deepened.
“You might as well talk, because I was instructed not to leave without answers. So what was the emergency?”
He groaned. That sounded just like Janae. He and Terrence engaged in a stare down for several seconds before Donovan said, “Her eleven-month-old daughter was sick, and we had to take her to emergency.”
Terrence’s face registered shock. “Daughter? She has a daughter?”
“Yeah.”
“Is she okay?”
He shrugged. “Far as I know.” All week, he had been tempted to call or go over to check on the little girl, but his anger far outweighed his concern. He wanted to ask about her when Simona called yesterday, but just hearing Simona’s voice stirred up all the mistrust again, and he’d ended the call as quickly as he could.
“What do you mean, ‘far as I know’? You haven’t talked to Simona?”
“She called last night, but there’s nothing to talk about. She lied to me, T. Do you know how I felt walking into that house and seeing that little girl? I thought she was different, but I guess I was wrong. For all I know, she could be married.” Even as he said the words, he couldn’t believe Simona would do something like that.
“Come off it, Donovan. You know damn well she’s not married. She doesn’t strike me as a person who would date one man while being married to another. I’m sure she had a good reason as to why she hadn’t mentioned it yet.”
“I wouldn’t know,” he grumbled. “I didn’t stick around to find out.”
Terrence shook his head slowly. “I can’t believe you acted a complete idiot. You’re behaving worse than I did with Janae.”
Donovan stared at his shoes and remained silent.
“You know I’m right.”
So what if he was right? He looked up when Terrence laughed. “What’s so funny?”
“You. With all the grief you gave me when I was fighting my feelings for Janae, I figured you’d have your stuff together once you met the right woman.”
“What makes you think she’s the right woman?”
“If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t be this upset. You’d move on without a backward glance.” Terrence stood and pulled out his phone. “I’m going home to my amazing wife and daughter. What’s Simona’s number?” When Donovan hesitated, he added, “You can give it to me, or I can have Janae, or worse, Audrey, get it.”
Donovan cursed under his breath and tossed Terrence the phone.
Terrence chuckled. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.” He input the information, handed the phone back and headed toward the front door.
Donovan rose to his feet, pocketed the phone and followed.
“We’ve been friends for a long time, D, and you, better than anybody else, know my history. I never thought I’d fall in love, but I gotta tell you, meeting and falling in love with Janae has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Going home and knowing that she and Nadia are there gives a new meaning to home. I hope Simona’s daughter is all right, and you should check on her. Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’ll be in the office on Monday.”
They shared a rough hug. “Tell Janae hi, and kiss Nadia for me.” Donovan closed the door behind his friend and leaned his head against it. Trust meant everything to him, and Simona broke that trust. He couldn’t be with a woman he didn’t trust.
Then why couldn’t he stop thinking about Simona? Or Yasmine? His heart clenched with the remembrance of the little girl reaching up to touch his face then laying her head on his chest, and her tiny hand clutching his finger.
Going upstairs to his bedroom, he flopped down on the bed. As much as he hated to admit it, Terrence was right. Donovan had never had a problem moving on from a woman, which forced him to stop and analyze his feelings for Simona. What he felt for her went beyond mere liking. He didn’t know how it happened, but in the short month that he’d known her, she had touched a part of his heart that no other woman had before, including Rolanda. Yes, he’d had strong feelings for Rolanda, they got along well and were comfortable with each other, but he held no illusions of a deep, abiding love—the kind he saw with his parents, Terrence and Janae, or Terrence’s grandparents.