Overwhelm Me (21 page)

Wow. How sweet can he possibly be? I lean over in my seat so I can rest my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around my head and kisses the top of it.

“Oh, don’t forget. Next weekend we meet my family,” he says.

“Great, I can’t wait to meet them, especially Megan.” I smile as I think about the trip for next week. As we ride back to his place, I feel more hopeful than I ever have.

“What the fuck do you mean he doesn’t want to see me?” Claire shouts into the phone. She is so livid with Regina. “I ask you to do one thing, and you screw it up!” She stares at her sister through the plexi-glass window. Claire is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, her blonde hair gone, replaced by her naturally light brown hair. Her eyes are still as dark as ever. She has seen better days, but once her lawyer gets her out of prison, that is going to change. She is going to demand that Donovan see her, and she will do everything in her power to make that happen.

“I’m sorry, sis. That’s what he says. He’s seeing some young bitch. He won’t tell me anything about her.” Regina grips the phone tightly to her ear, bracing herself for her sister’s wrath. “He didn’t give me a chance to tell him about your parole hearing.”

“It’s probably just one of his casual fucks. I’m not really that worried about the tramp. My hearing is in a month, and I‘ll be out.” Claire twirls a strand of hair around her finger.

“Uh, I don’t think so. He told me he was the happiest he had ever been. He wanted to make sure you knew that.” She fiddles with her pearl earrings, not looking at her sister as she speaks the words.

Claire’s face tenses and turns red. “Argh!” she screams, making the guard behind her jump.

“Sorry, Stan.” She flashes her award winning smile at the man, and he nods. Claire puts her acting skills to use whenever she gets a chance.

“I want everything you can find out about this slut. She will not keep Donovan from me. He will always be mine.” Her fury is raging, radiating out of every pore of her body.

“Claire, why don’t you forget him?” Regina pleads with her. “He has moved on now; why can’t you?”

“Shut your damn mouth! Donovan is my soulmate, and he knows it. I will get him back!” She slams her fists on the booth in front of her. “Like I said, get all the shit you can on her. I want to make her life a living hell.”

First, I’d like to thank my readers. You guys are the reason I write! Thank you!

To Dan, I love you. Thank you for being my rock and my shoulder to lean on. You are the best husband and father I could ever ask for.

To JB McGee, girl, without your help, this would still be just a dream. You’ve helped me with everything from the cover to the publishing. Thank you! I love you!

To Kristen, Patty, Shelly, Jodi, Janice, Julie, Paul, Jami, and Jamie M, thank you for being my first beta readers!

To my beta readers, Stacey Bentley, Kimberly Knight, Robin Harper, Karen Anderson, Kim Person Box, Holly Magieri, Nichele Reese, and Christa Calvone, thank you for catching my mistakes and helping me to make this book better!

To Kristen Said, thank you for being my editor and friend! I love you!

To my parents, Sandy and Wilson, and Ray, thank you for believing in me! I love you all!

To the girls at the PTC and SBWM, thanks for making me laugh and listening to my bitching!