Donovan crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes strayed to Yasmine asleep in a crib on the other side of the room. He patted the bed. “Come here, sweetheart.” He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. “How’re you doing?”
She released a deep sigh. “I’m okay. I honestly thought I had gotten over it, but I guess I’m still hurt by what Amber did.”
“That’s understandable. You were friends for a long time.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, by the way, Nana and I had a nice talk.”
Simona laughed softly. “In other words, she grilled you.”
He nodded. “She did. She would make a helluva lawyer. But I had no problems with it. She loves you.”
“What did you tell her?”
“The same thing I told you—that I’ll be here for you.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Donovan.”
“No thanks needed, baby.” They sat in silence for several minutes then Donovan said, “I should probably leave now because I want to strip you naked and make you scream my name, and I don’t want Nana to hear.”
Her head popped up, and her mouth gaped open. “You are so outrageous.”
“Me? I’m not the one who showed up at somebody’s office with no panties on. I couldn’t concentrate worth a damn all week.”
Simona clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. “But you enjoyed it?”
“You’d better believe it.” He took her hand and placed it on the solid bulge in his pants. “See what you do to me? And cold showers for the past several days haven’t helped.”
“Aw, poor baby.” She gave him a meaningful squeeze.
Donovan jumped up. “I’m going to bed.”
She chuckled and stood. “Night.”
He bent and kissed her. “See you in the morning.”
Donovan headed for his room and another cold shower. Soon as they got home, it was going to be him, Simona and his bed.
* * *
Simona had been at work only two hours Tuesday morning when the nurse manager asked to see her. Mrs. Battle rarely summoned nurses to her office unless there was a problem. Simona hadn’t had any trouble or complaints, so she had no idea why the woman wanted to see her. She knocked on the partially open door.
“Come in.”
“Hi, Mrs. Battle. You wanted to see me?”
She stood. “Yes, Simona. Please close the door and have a seat.”
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, but she did as asked. “Is there a problem with my performance?”
She smiled briefly. “No, Simona. You’re one of the most dedicated and compassionate nurses on staff.” She gestured to a chair. “Please.”
Simona perched on the edge of the chair and waited while Mrs. Battle walked over to a small conference table and retrieved what looked like a newspaper.
Mrs. Battle reclaimed her chair and clasped her hands together. “Something was brought to my attention this morning, and I wasn’t sure you knew about it.”
Simona’s heart hammered in her chest. “I’m sorry. I’m not following.”
“This,” Mrs. Battle said, and handed her the paper.
She took the paper and unfolded it. What Simona thought was a newspaper was actually a tabloid magazine. She carefully unfolded it and froze. On the cover was a picture of her, Donovan and Yasmine at Lake Merritt last weekend. But what captured her attention was the large headline that read, From Actor to Record Label Executive: Simona Andrews Has Cornered the Entertainment Market. There was an old picture of her and Travis, something about a possible secret love child and a host of other things that she couldn’t make sense of.
She gasped sharply. “No, no, no,” she whispered. She tossed the magazine on the desk with shaky hands and clutched her chest, struggling to draw in a breath. Her stomach dropped, and her heart raced. Simona squeezed her eyes shut as a wave of dizziness washed over her. This could not be happening again.
“Simona?”
Her eyes snapped open.
“I take it you hadn’t seen this.”
Simona shook her head quickly.
Mrs. Battle came around the desk and sat in the other visitor chair next to Simona. “How about you tell me what’s going on?”
Simona nodded, still not believing it was happening again. She shared the details of her relationship with Travis and their breakup, and those of her current relationship with Donovan. Mrs. Battle already knew the specifics surrounding Yasmine. “Is this going to cost me my job?” Simona asked shakily when she was done speaking.