His brow lifted in suspicion. “It’s no trouble.”
“I know. I’ll just see you when I get back.”
Their eyes held for a long moment, then he nodded. Lowering his head, he slanted his mouth over hers in a gentle, reassuring kiss. “Call me when you get there.”
“Okay.”
He kissed her once more and slipped out the door. Simona kept insisting there was nothing wrong, but she’d refused his offer to take her to the airport and was quiet...almost distant.
Later, after showering, he pulled out his laptop and searched flights to Oakland. She mentioned leaving late morning, so he booked an earlier flight.
He was going after her.
Chapter 17
Simona arrived in Oakland after noon the following Saturday. She deplaned and stopped short, shocked to see Donovan waiting. A wave of panic bubbled up inside her. What was he doing here? And how long had he been waiting? She had spent the past week trying to distance herself from him, and now he had followed her. Of course, Yasmine was happy to see him and nearly jumped out of Simona’s arms trying to get to him.
Donovan placed a soft kiss on Simona’s lips, took Yasmine and kissed her forehead. “I know something is wrong. Whatever it is, we can work it out.” Donovan collected Simona’s suitcase, and Yasmine’s stroller and car seat from the baggage carousel. “I need to pick up my car from the rental center.”
“My grandmother is picking me up. I told her I’d call when I got here,” she told him, trying to buy a little more time.
“There’s no need for her drive here when I’m already here. So you can call her and tell her you have a ride.”
She started to argue, but the look on his face left no room for negotiation. She called her grandmother and gave her a hasty explanation. Simona walked next to Donovan while pushing the stroller. She glanced down at Yasmine banging on the toy affixed to the front of it. She had done surprisingly well, considering it was her first flight.
Once they were secured in the Cadillac SRX crossover, he plugged her grandmother’s address into the GPS and pulled out of the lot. As they drove, Simona couldn’t help but remember her last months of living in Oakland, which added to her list of worries. She closed her eyes to shut out the unwanted memories. As if sensing her unease, Donovan rested his hand on top of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” Changing the subject, she said, “I should probably warn you that my grandmother can be a little blunt and overprotective, especially where men are concerned.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know.”
Donovan cut her a look. “Please, your grandmother’s going to love me.”
Despite the tension between them, he always knew how to make her smile. Simona rolled her eyes. “Here we go again with the big head.”
“What? You don’t think I’m a loveable guy?”
“No comment,” she said, trying to hide her smile.
“Uh-huh, that’s what I thought. Don’t you think I’m loveable, Yasmine?” he said, glancing in the rearview mirror.
As if she recognized that someone was talking to her, Yasmine started babbling.
Donovan laughed. “Tell her, baby girl.”
Simona whipped around in her seat and was met with a big grin. She turned back and punched Donovan in the shoulder.
He laughed harder.
She folded her arms, stared out the window and bit her lip to keep from laughing, too. When they pulled up in front of her grandmother’s house, Frances Walker was out of the house and striding down the sidewalk with a speed that belied her age. Simona jumped out of the car and met her halfway. Nana engulfed Simona in a tight hug, rocking her side to side.
“I’m so glad to see you, baby. I’ve missed you so much,” she said emotionally.
“I missed you, too, Nana.”
She released Simona and palmed her face. “Let me look at you. You look good.” She brought Simona in for another crushing hug. “Where’s my great-grandbaby?”
By this time, Donovan had taken Yasmine out of her seat and was coming toward them.
“Ooh, you were right. He’s really good-looking. Nice body, too,” Nana whispered with a giggle.
Great. One more female who can’t resist this man. “Nana, this is Donovan Wright. Donovan, this is my grandmother, Frances Walker.”