Cameron had invited her to join him and Jasmine to share dinner with his parents, and Nydia got to see firsthand why Jasmine had agreed to marry him. He was patient, attentive, and affectionate, confirming Nydia’s pronouncement that Cameron was willing to go after what he wanted, and it had been apparent from the first time he saw her at Hannah’s wedding reception that he wanted Jasmine Washington.
“This has to be some crazy shit!” Nydia spat out as she fastened the tiny buttons of the golden beaded bodice on the back of the empire waist gown of beaded silk crepe and georgette artfully disguising Jasmine’s slightly rounded belly. “Most brides take months and even up to a year to plan their wedding, while you’re pulling yours off in three weeks. And last night you showed up as Daddy’s fiancée and now twenty-four hours later, you’re about to become Mrs. Daddy.”
Jasmine met Nydia’s eyes in the reflection of the full-length mirror. “It wouldn’t have been possible if Nathan and Belinda had not celebrated their golden anniversary last night. Cameron and I already had the venue, the invited guests, and the event planner.”
“It is a slick move.”
Her friend revealed that Cameron, his brothers, and sister had decided to host their parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary on a Friday night at the Louis LaSalle and subsequently informed the invited guests that Cameron was getting married the following day. They did not identify the bride, which only served to pique their curiosity. However, Cameron did inform his college fraternity brothers that he was marrying the woman who’d accompanied him during their reunion yacht party and had hotel management block out a number of rooms for those committed to attend.
Jasmine had attended her future in-laws’ soirée for the cocktail hour, then left to spend the night in her suite with Nydia. They’d sat up talking for hours about any and everything until Nydia suggested they go to bed because they had appointments with the hairstylist and the makeup artist Hannah had employed for her wedding.
Nydia glanced at the clock on the table. It was fifteen minutes before six. “You better put your shoes on, because your father said he’ll be here at six.” Her gaze swung back to Jasmine, who’d opted not to wear a veil; the stylist had styled her hair in a mass of tiny black curls reminiscent of a Grecian goddess. The woman had threaded a narrow gold silk ribbon through the curls, tied it in a bow with streamers flowing down her back and ending at the hem of the gown.
Nydia slipped the groom’s rose-gold wedding band with a brushed finish on her thumb and then scooped up Jasmine’s bouquet of yellow and white roses tied with several yards of wide white ribbon off the table before picking up her own bouquet of yellow roses, mums, and daisies.
It was the second time in less than a year Nydia would become a bridesmaid for a former coworker. A wry smile flitted over her features when she realized Hannah, Tonya, and now Jasmine were celebrating their second marriages, while she was yet to have her first, and when she married she hoped it would be her last. Her parents had recently celebrated their thirty-sixth wedding anniversary and appeared more in love with each other with every passing year.
Jasmine smiled at Nydia. “I need to give you something for standing up as my maid of honor.”
Nydia shook her head. “No, Jazz,” she said in protest. “I’m just honored you asked me.” She and the interior decorator had become best friends, and there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her. Jasmine had become the sister she’d always wanted. She gasped when Jasmine handed her a bangle bracelet with princess-cut diamonds.
“It’s the least I could do for your encouragement and support, because without it I never would’ve answered Cameron’s text asking me to have dinner with him. I had the inside inscribed with the date and love from me and Cameron.”
Nydia slipped the bangle on her wrist and secured the safety clasp. Judging from the weight of the metal she knew it was platinum. “I’ll treasure it always.”
Jasmine hugged her. “And I treasure our friendship.”
There came a knock on the door. “Ten minutes.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Jasmine called out. “I just have to put on shoes and get my engagement ring.”
Nydia raised her left hand. “I have Cameron’s band.”
Jasmine slipped her feet into her shoes, chuckling softly under her breath. “I’ve never seen you look so tall.”
Nydia patted the curly hair brushed off her face and secured on the top of her head with jeweled hairpins. “With four inches of heels and another three of hair, I can now make the height to become a supermodel.”
There came another knock on the door. “We’re ready out here.”
“Coming,” Nydia and Jasmine chorused.
Nydia opened the door to find Jasmine’s father dressed in tuxedo finery. She followed Jasmine and Richard Washington down the hallway to the elevator. A hotel employee waited for them to enter the car and punched the button for the first floor. When it reached the lobby level, he escorted them to the ballroom where Philip Baxter, Cameron’s college roommate and best man, waited for them.
“Hell, doll,” Philip crooned, grinning like a Cheshire cat, while offering Nydia his left arm.
Nydia was more than prepared for the overly flirtatious man. Jasmine had told her about the number of times he’d been married, and that he was currently engaged to a woman half his age, and she cautioned her to ignore his not-so-subtle advances. Nydia curbed the urge to roll her eyes at the man with thinning red hair, as she affected what passed for a smile.
“Hello, Philip.” His grin faded quickly when he registered the neutral tone in her greeting. She had no intention of sending the man a signal that she was even remotely interested in him even if he hadn’t been engaged.
The doors to the ballroom opened, and a string quartet continued to play as she went into the room on Philip’s arm. She bit back a smile as necks craned to see who the bride could possibly be. The music changed as the familiar strains of the “Wedding March” filled the ballroom, and Nydia chuckled as a loud gasp went up from the assembly amid applause from the Singletons.
She’d grown up hearing people say the only way two people could keep a secret was if the other was dead. Well, that wasn’t the case with Cameron and his fiancée. It was apparent, with the exception of Cameron’s family members, close friends, and his fraternity brothers, that the truth behind his relationship with Jasmine had been a successful closely held Big Easy secret.
* * *
Lamar hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath until the constriction in his chest forced him to exhale as he stared at Nydia on the arm of Cameron’s best man. She had gone from an ingénue in cropped jeans, running shoes, and a tank top to an ethereal vision in a frothy yellow gown that looked like buttercream frosting against her mocha-hued complexion. A moment before she took her place opposite the best man, he met her eyes and he smiled when she lowered hers demurely. The gesture was so unabashedly virtuous he wondered if she truly was as innocent as she appeared.
“Did you know Cameron was marrying this girl?”
