Pulling her legs up under her body, Nydia shifted into a more comfortable position on the sofa. “I keep telling myself that I won’t get upset, but every time I see or hear something about me and Danny, I’m ready to go to his sister’s apartment, call him out, and pound on him with a baseball bat. I thought he was better than this, Jasmine. We weren’t the perfect couple but—”
“What couple is?” Jasmine interrupted.
“You and Cameron,” Nydia stated emphatically.
“We have our days when we can’t see eye to eye on anything.”
“It’s the hormones,mija. After you push out your little son or daughter everything will be easy like Sunday morning.”
Jasmine’s laugh came through the earpiece. “Is that still your favorite song by the Commodores?”
“You know it is.”
“Now, back to you and what the press is calling your mystery man. Do they know it’s Lamar Pierce?”
Nydia’s body stiffened in shock as she stared at the darkened TV screen. She hadn’t told anyone, not even her mother, about the man who’d come to New York to run interference between her and the newshounds.
“How did you know?” she asked Jasmine, once she’d recovered her voice.
“Chica, I’ve seen Lamar enough to recognize him even with a cap and sunglasses. It was when I saw his wedding band I knew for certain it was him. It’s rather unique because it’s made with tri-color.”
Nydia agreed with Jasmine about Lamar’s ring. The band was designed in white, yellow, and rose gold. “I had no idea he was coming to see me,” she admitted. She told Jasmine about Lamar’s phone call, his promise to surprise her, and the fact he’d become her surprise.
“It looks as if you’ve found your knight in shining armor,” Jasmine teased.
“What I found is a good male friend.”
“I think he’s more than a friend, Nydia. The man looked as if he’d been shocked by a surge of electricity when he first saw you. And I’ve been on the receiving end of men staring at me like that. Next month will be a year since I met Cameron at Hannah’s wedding, and you were the one who talked about him liking what he saw. And you were also the one who encouraged me to go out with him, and now I’m his wifeandcarrying his baby.”
“You’re definitely getting ahead of yourself, Jazz.”
“Am I, Nydia? I’m willing to wager every penny I have in the bank that you’re going to get involved with Lamar, marry him, and give his daughter a little brother or sister.”
Nydia laughed. “You’ve never said you’re abruja, and that means you’re going to lose that bet because I’m not going to marry a man who isn’t willing to let go of his past.”
“Why should he,chica? His daughter is a constant reminder of his late wife, and it would be selfish of you to try and pretend she hadn’t been in Lamar’s life.”
Nydia closed her eyes and then exhaled an audible breath. Jasmine had misinterpreted what she meant about Lamar’s past. “Do you really think I’m that insensitive? I wasn’t talking about his late wife, but his wedding band. And I’d never have the audacity to ask him to forget the woman he loved enough to marry and have a child with.”
There came a beat where Jasmine remained silent. “I’m sorry, Nydia. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Forget it,mija. I know I can be a little too outspoken for some people, but I know when not to say something.”
“Have you asked Lamar why he still wears his ring?”
“No, and I won’t ask. He’s mentioned his daughter, but is mute when it comes to his late wife. I’ll listen if he wants to tell me about her, but I won’t add to the commentary.”
“Does he know about you and Danny?”
Nydia grunted under her breath. “Yes, he does. He asked, and I told him everything.”
“What did he say?”
“He did say if he had been there when I was blindsided he would’ve gone gangsta and clotheslined Danny so he’d never sing again.”
“Co-ño,” Jasmine drawled, drawing the word out in two distinctive syllables.
“That calls fordos coños,” Nydia said, laughing.
