Accidental Heartbreak (The Accidental Series, Book 2) (8 page)

“Good morning,” Donovan said sitting on
Shayla’s bed, watching her wake up. He’d been admiring her for the
last fifteen minutes or so, wondering how someone could be so
beautiful while they slept. Even after sobbing last night, she
didn’t have puffy eyes or any redness…just big, bright darling eyes
that she opened wide to see him sitting on her bed.

“What are you doing here?” she asked evenly.
“Did you spend the night with me?”

Her soft, seductive-like morning voice gave
him a chill. “No. I took your key and came back this morning…only
been here for like five minutes,” he said, but he’d been there
longer.

Shayla yawned.

“I got breakfast.” He pointed to the
Bojangles’ bag in the kitchenette. “Got coffee too.”

Shayla stretched her arms in the air,
remembering what happened last night. She was outside in the
parking lot, crying and Donovan had come to see what was wrong. But
where did he come from? Did he actually follow her to the hotel
from the restaurant, and why?

“Come on. Let’s eat.”

“Okay.” She pushed the covers back with her
feet, then walked over to the table, joining him.

He took the food from the bag – some chicken
biscuits and hash browns. Unwrapping his biscuit, he said, “I trust
you slept well.”

“As well as I could. Actually I didn’t get
up not once last night.”

“Good. I was worried about that.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want you crying again.”

Shayla smiled, took the lid from her coffee,
found some sugar and cream in the bag and stirred some of both in
her cup. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome.”

Donovan felt his phone vibrate. He took it
out, saw Carter’s number on the display. He couldn’t answer it now
if he wanted to, not that he did. In a way, he was upset that
Carter would hurt a woman like Shayla. But then again, breaking
hearts was Carter’s specialty.

Donovan was no saint. He’d broken a few in
his day, but falling in love all those years ago had completely
changed his perspective on women. And when his wife died, it broke
his heart.

“What are you thinking about?” Shayla asked
him. She’d caught him daydreaming.

Donovan came out of his trance and looked at
her. “Nothing.”

“Probably regretting that you hired a basket
case, huh?”

“We all have our struggles.”

“Yeah…some more so than others.”

Donovan wiped his mouth. “What’s your
struggle, Shayla?”

She inhaled deeply. “The feeling of not
being wanted. I struggle with that a lot.”

“And who wouldn’t want you?” he asked in a
way that suggested he certainly wouldn’t mind having her.

“Um…”

“Sorry…don’t mean to pry.”

Shayla took a sip of coffee, glancing up at
Donovan, not comfortable enough with him to share details of her
personal life just yet. She unwrapped a chicken biscuit and took a
bite of it.

“I want you to spend the day with me,”
Donovan told her.

“Hunh?”

“Spend the day with me, and I won’t take no
for an answer.”

A nervous smile kept her from responding
right away, but after her long pause, she replied, “I can’t.”

“Why not? What do you have planned on a
Sunday that you can’t spend the day with me?”

Absolutely nothing.
“I’m exhausted,”
she mumbled through chewing.

“Me, too. I work longer hours than you. Now
spend the day with me.” He took a sip of coffee and waited for her
response.

“Okay. I’ll spend the day with you.”

A satisfied glow covered his face.

“What are
our
plans?” she
quipped.

“I have several things I need to pick up
from Greenbrier Mall. Have you been there yet?”

“No…never even heard of it.”

“Well, I figured we’d head there first, then
later, I would like to take you to dinner at this nice place in
Virginia Beach called Ocean Eddie’s. I think you’ll love it.”

* * *

Shayla didn’t know she could have so much
fun at a mall. Donovan really put his firm business demeanor off to
the side so that he could focus on cheering her up. Never in a
million years would she think he’d be up in Victoria’s Secret
helping her choose body sprays. And he wouldn’t let her pay for a
thing – not the eighty dollar’s worth of lotion and perfume from
Victoria’s Secret, the pair of Nike’s she picked out from
Footlocker or the silver charm bracelet from Zales Jewelers –
everything was on him.

They left the mall a little after four which
left plenty of time for the drive to Virginia Beach for dinner. And
while they rode there, Donovan talked about his family. Said his
parents were still married and had been for over thirty years. He
told her more about his son, how he was a good student and was a
soccer player for a junior league.

Turning on Atlantic Avenue, he said, “Now we
need to find somewhere to park near Fifteenth Street.” He drove a
few blocks, then after passing Fourteenth Street, he made a right
on Fifteenth, finding the perfect parallel parking space between
two SUVs. His black Audi fit perfectly.

They emerged from his car at the same time,
though he would have liked to open the door for her. Walking
side-by-side, he held her by the hand as they took the pedestrian
crosswalk across Atlantic Avenue, then walked through a parking lot
near a Carnival area to get to the boardwalk.

“That’s the restaurant?” Shayla asked,
looking straight ahead.

“Yep. That’s it. Used to come here quite a
bit,” he said shy of saying he and his wife frequented the place.
This was his first time back since she had passed.

Donovan requested a deck table so they could
enjoy the panoramic views of the Atlantic. Plus, it was still warm
outside, although it was early September. The breeze was
enticing.

After sitting, Shayla studied the menu.

Donovan studied her. Since he’d known her –
since her first interview with him – her hair had been long and
straight. Now she had a head full of big, bouncy curls that blew
around her face and danced over her shoulders. Made him want to
touch it, to feel its texture.

“So what’s good here?” Shayla asked, taking
a break from the menu and looking up at him.

Donovan was in a daze then blinked out of
his trance when she asked the question. “Um…just about everything.
However, I recommend you try the fried seafood combo. That’s what
I’m having.”

“Well, it’s settled then.” Shayla placed the
menu on the table, took in the view, listening to the waves
crashing, pushing ashore then receding, the pattern repeating over
and over again.

“How about the hot crab dip for an
appetizer?” Donovan suggested.

“Wow,” Shayla chuckled. “The sound of that
made my mouth water.”

His mouth was watering too, but it had
nothing to do with the crab dip. “Yeah. It’s delicious.” Donovan
set the menu on the table. He wanted to ask Shayla about last night
but he wouldn’t bring it up unless she did. So they sat there,
quietly, enjoying the sound of the waves and while they waited, a
waitress took their orders. Then she left with a spring in her
step.

“I wanted to apologize for last night,”
Shayla said to him, fiddling with her new bracelet. “I was a
complete mess.”

“No worries…just glad I was there.”

Shayla nodded. Why was he there? She had
specifically told him that she didn’t need to be seen to her hotel
but he had followed her anyway. She would’ve found it odd, if she
hadn’t known him to be so generous. That was his personality.
During her first week at work, he’d been supportive and
accommodating, seeing to it that she had everything she needed to
succeed; even offering her a room in his place and he tried to get
her a company car when he found out hers was a rental, but she
declined it. Still, he made sure she was reimbursed for her car
rental fees.

“Here you folks are,” the waitress said,
placing the crap dip in the center of the table. “Your meals will
be out shortly.”

Donovan thanked her.

“It’s really nice and relaxing out here,”
Shayla said looking around.

“Yeah. It’s nice.” Donovan tasted the dip
and offered Shayla some.

“Oh…my. This is so freakin’ good,” Shayla
exclaimed.

Donovan smiled at her.

The sound of seagulls squawking added to the
ambiance of the restaurant. Shayla looked around, noticing the
couples sitting on the deck and walking along the shoreline. This
was a romantic place, somewhere people would come to celebrate
anniversaries or to have fun date nights. Why did he bring her
here?

Donovan didn’t like the amount of silence
between them so he asked her, “Are you happy that you moved here,
or are you having second thoughts?”

Shayla’s eyes met his. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you seem so sad all the time, like
you don’t want to be here. Either that, or something or someone has
taken all of your happiness away.”

He was right, but that had happened long
before Carter came in the picture. She couldn’t blame Carter for
everything wrong in her life.

The waitress set their food on the table,
refilled their water glasses and walked off. They both had fried
fish, oysters and shrimp.

Shayla took a bite of fish, tasting a blend
of seasonings and freshness.

Donovan dug in too, eating the oysters
first. “So tell me,” he said looking at her.

“Tell you what?”

“What’s taken your happiness away?”

“It’s a combination of a lot of things,”
Shayla said generally, because she didn’t really want to offload
her personal woes on him.

“I got all night…don’t have anywhere to be
except right here with you.”

Shayla took a sip of water. “Donovan, I
really don’t want to talk about it if you don’t mind.”

He didn’t like it, but he respected it.
“Okay,” he told her and resumed eating.

A couple of minutes passed. Then five. Ten.
Things were awkwardly silent between the two of them and they just
sat eating, hearing bits and pieces of other people’s conversations
but having none of their own.

Donovan intentionally wanted this silence
between them, hoping it would rattle her nerves to the point where
she’d want to talk.

“A lot of things started from childhood,”
she admitted, breaking the silence.

Donovan smiled. His plan worked.

“I never knew my Mother,” she continued. “My
Grandmother raised me. Um…my life pretty much was
blah
until
I met my fiancé. Then he died last year and I lost everything. I
was actually homeless for a while.”

“Wow.” Donovan wanted to know more. “You
were homeless?”

“Yeah…don’t know why I’m telling you this
but yes, I was homeless.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Don’t try to make me feel better,
Donovan.”

“No, seriously. Like I told you before, we
all have struggles, but we work through and endure. Look at you
now. You have a great job…in good health.”

Shayla shrugged. “Yeah…I suppose.”

“So when you told me that you struggled with
not being wanted…”

“I was talking about my Mother. Then my
fiancé. Nobody wanted me.”

Donovan frowned. “I thought you said your
fiancé died?”

“He did.”

“Then how do you conclude that to mean he
didn’t want you? My wife died and we were very much in love.”

“Well, um…he didn’t just die. He…um,” she
stammered, watching the puzzled look on Donovan’s face as he waited
for her to say whatever it was that she was hesitant to speak. “He
committed suicide.”

A look of understanding flashed across his
face. Now he understood why she felt her fiancé didn’t want
her.

“Sometimes, I just watch people,” Shayla
said. “For example, look at the couples and families out here.
They’re happy. They have the perfect marriages, careers, kids and
probably have very nice homes…just generally happy. I often wonder
why that has never happened for me…why happiness never finds
me.”

Donovan wiped his mouth. “It does find you.
The thing is, if you’re always comparing your happiness with
someone else’s then you’ll never see it. You won’t even recognize
it’s there.”

Shayla nodded.

“What will it take to make you happy?”
Donovan inquired with a gesture.

Shayla noticed he wasn’t wearing his wedding
band tonight. “Love. I want love. I want to be loved. I think
that’s a normal desire, especially for women.”

“It’s normal for men, too.” Donovan smirked.
“So if you were in a committed relationship, you would be
happy?”

Shayla nodded. “Yes.”

“Then why’d you run from it?”

“I didn’t.”

Donovan sat up straight in her chair. “You
did. You said there was a guy back in Charlotte.”

“Yeah, and I also said he was seeing another
woman behind my back while making me believe I was special to
him.”

“So this guy…” he said, even though he knew
she was referring to Carter. “You were dating him?”

“No. We lived together. I moved in with
him….had nowhere else to go.”

“Because you were homeless,” Donovan said,
putting the pieces together.

“Yep.”

“And you and this guy never dated?”

“No. We just lived together like roommates,
but we were close. I mean, we weren’t friends with benefits or
anything like that, but we were close. He dropped hints here and
there that he liked me, but when I saw the other woman I knew it
was all a lie.”

Shayla finished the rest of her oysters and
took a sip of water. “I fell in love with him, but he didn’t love
me back. Hence, another person who didn’t want me because I wasn’t
good enough.”

“You ever stopped to think that maybe he
wasn’t good enough for you?” he questioned.

She shook her head, wordlessly. She hadn’t
seen it that way.