“Hey, angel.” Donovan took Yasmine, lifted her high and placed a kiss on her belly. She squealed with delight. He kissed her cheek, and she tried to reciprocate, leaving a trail of slobber on his cheek. “Now, that’s a good kiss,” he said with a chuckle. She smiled and snuggled into his chest. Donovan winked at Simona. “I told you, you’d better recognize.”
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “I can’t believe you’re giving him all my giggles, my kisses and my snuggles, Yasmine.” Simona reached over and tickled her. “Little traitor.” She socked Donovan playfully on the arm. “And I don’t appreciate you coming in here stealing my hugs and kisses.”
Eve burst out laughing. “Looks like you’ve been replaced, Simona. Hi, Donovan.”
“Hey.”
“Don’t you have some studying to do?” Simona asked Eve.
Eve raised her hands in surrender. “I’m going. Donovan, nice to see you again.”
“Nice seeing you, too.”
“Donovan, I’m going to walk Eve to the door.”
“Take your time. Yasmine and I will be just fine.” He turned the baby to face Simona. “Tell your mom we’re good. See you later, Eve.”
“Bye, Donovan.”
Hearing him call her mom stopped Simona in her tracks. It was the first time anyone had referred to her as such, and a riot of emotions bubbled to the surface. They locked eyes, and he smiled.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
“Are you all right?” Eve asked when they stood at the front door.
“Yes. It’s just the first time someone has referred to me as Yasmine’s mother. I’m not sure how to feel. On one hand, I’m ecstatic. On the other, I feel like I’m betraying my sister if she calls me Mom.”
“You are her mother. I know you’ll tell her all about your sister one day, but you will always be her mother. Now, what happened with Donovan?” she whispered. “It looks like you two have patched things up.”
“For now.”
“I hope it works out for you. He seems quite taken with Yasmine.”
“He does, but we’ll see how it goes.”
“See you in the morning.”
“Night.”
Simona reflected on Eve’s words. She could see how easy it had been for Donovan to take to Yasmine—everyone had. What concerned her was Yasmine’s response to him. Simona didn’t want her little girl to get too attached to him just in case he changed his mind.
But after being with Donovan tonight, and watching him interact with Yasmine, Simona didn’t see how she could keep it from happening...for either of them.
Chapter 14
Donovan cradled Yasmine in his arms and rocked her as she gazed up at him contentedly. She seemed small for a one-year-old and he guessed it was because she had been a preemie. He inhaled her sweet baby scent and tried hard to remain emotionally distant, but he couldn’t help himself. She had tugged on his heart that first night, but the moment she turned those big brown eyes his way and smiled at him, he was a goner. He kept up the gentle rocking, and her eyes started to close. He didn’t realize he’d been singing “Jesus Loves Me” until he was somewhere around the chorus.
A smile curved his mouth when Yasmine drifted off to sleep. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered, “Sleep well, sweet baby girl.”
“I didn’t know you sang. You have an incredible voice,” Simona said quietly behind him.
Donovan turned. “I don’t know about incredible, but I can hold a tune okay.”
“You also do that pretty well,” she said, pointing at Yasmine.
“What? Putting her to sleep?” When she nodded, he said, “That’s good to know.” He planned to do the same to Simona. “Should we put her down?”
“Come on.”
He followed Simona down a short hallway and stopped at the first door. She turned on a small night-light, and he made out a dresser and small toy box on one side of the room and a crib on the other. A rocking chair sat at the end of the crib. Donovan shifted Yasmine in his arms and carefully laid her in the crib. He stepped back, and Simona covered her with a light blanket, then motioned for him to follow her out.
“Will she sleep all night?” Donovan asked as they walked back down the hall and to the kitchen.
“Yes.” Simona flipped a switch in the kitchen. “I’m starving. I made some chicken salad this morning. You’re welcome to stay and have some if you want.”