Nydia was temporarily mute from Cameron’s unexpected and fervent confession. This was another side of the overly confident and at times arrogant man whom she discovered was a master when it came to hiding his emotions. When he’d stared at Jasmine during Hannah’s wedding reception she’d believed him rude, interpreting his staring as predatory. He saw something he wanted and would not stop until he captured it. And he had.
It was the same stare she’d encountered when meeting Lamar for the first time. She’d found it flattering and frightening at the same time, and that was something she’d admitted to him. However, for Lamar it was purely physical, because he hadn’t been able to control his body’s reaction to seeing her.
Nydia knew she had to be a certified dimwit not to know that Lamar’s entrancement with her was physical. He’d openly admitted that to her. And it was not to say she wasn’t attracted to him. However, her attraction did not necessarily translate into sleeping with him. When Jasmine had asked if she’d enjoyed his kiss, she’d confessed she had. What she’d enjoyed more than Lamar kissing her was his easygoing personality and feeling so comfortable with him that she could extend an invitation for him to sleep in her spare bedroom.
“Don’t worry, Cameron,” she said after a pregnant silence. “I’ll do whatever I can to keep Jasmine safe.”
“Thank you, Nydia. The key to your suite is at the front desk. Unfortunately I couldn’t get you into the bridal suite because it’s booked solid until the end of the year.”
She smiled. “That’s all right. Bridal suites should be for brides and grooms.”And I’m definitely not a bride, she thought. “Tell Jasmine to call me tomorrow morning. I plan to stay in for most of the day.”
“Will do.”
Nydia ended the call and closed her eyes. She had made it a practice not to get involved with couples, whether married or not, when they confided to her about what was going on between them and their partners, because of an incident between her first cousin, Milagros Baez, and her then boyfriend when both were teenagers. She’d overheard rumors that Millie’s boyfriend was cheating on her with another girl and told her cousin. The confrontation that ensued led to threats of violence between Millie and the other girl and had to be defused by adults who were reluctant to become involved in adolescent squabbles. She’d been taught a hard lesson about repeating gossip, and her mantra was: see no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil.
“Finally,” she whispered under her breath when the driver parked in front of the hotel.
Gathering her carry-on, she was out of the town car before the driver could come around and open the door for her. A bellhop appeared and removed her luggage from the trunk. Nydia thanked the driver and slipped him a generous tip.
It took her less than fifteen minutes to check in and take the elevator to her room. She waited until the bellhop set the Pullman onto a luggage rack; she tipped the young man and closed the door behind him. The space was smaller than the bridal suite but just as inviting. The bedroom contained two full-size, four-poster beds with piles of vintage lace-trimmed pillows, bed skirts, and contemporary down quilts. It was a quiet retreat to sleep and/or while away the hours reading or watching television.
Nydia opted for a quick shower rather than a leisurely soak in the garden tub. She plugged her cell phone into the charger, activated the Do Not Disturb feature on the hotel phone, slipped under crisp white sheets and fell asleep within minutes after her head touched the pillow.
Chapter 13
“Isn’t that your sister-in-law?” Nydia asked Jasmine as they walked across the parking lot to the restaurant for Sunday brunch. She pointed to the tall, slender brunette with two young girls.
Jasmine had called her Saturday morning asking if she would accompany her to look at china patterns. Nydia, remembering her promise to Cameron, asked for a rain check because she was still fatigued from traveling. She’d suggested they order room service and once it arrived they spent hours talking about their futures as innkeepers, Jasmine’s plans for decorating the rooms in her new home, and for the first time Nydia revealed the intimate details behind the relationship with her college professor and how she’d felt betrayed.
She knew she had shocked Jasmine with the admission and then confessed that she had been too ashamed to tell her; that she had been so naïve she refused to see what had been so obvious.
It had become a time of reveals as Jasmine told her about the connection with Lamar and the Singletons. Lamar and Cameron’s sister, Evangeline, had attended the same high school.
They reunited at a fellow student’s political fund-raiser where she introduced Lamar to her flight attendant coworker. Valerie and Evangeline were bridal attendants at each other’s weddings and delivered their babies two weeks apart.
“Yes. It’s Evie and her twin girls, Taylor and Morgan,” Jasmine said, smiling.
Nydia had met Cameron’s two brothers, sister, and their spouses, days before his wedding and found the Singletons rather standoffish until the patriarch welcomed her like a missing family member. It was as if they’d suddenly been given permission to interact with her. However, she saw a more uninhibited side of their personalities at the wedding when they laughed, danced, and drank with abandon. She had to give it to the Singletons because they certainly knew how to throw a party while enjoying it themselves.
Jasmine called out to get Evangeline’s attention. Evangeline McDonald turned in their direction. Arms outstretched, she hugged Jasmine, her dark blue eyes sparkling like polished sapphires.
“If you’d called to tell me you were coming, I would’ve picked you up.” She glanced around the lot. “Where’s Cameron?”
Jasmine returned the hug. “He had to drop something off for your father to look over. He said he’ll join us later. Evie, you do remember my best friend and maid of honor?”
“Of course I do.” She laughed and hugged Nydia. “Who could forget the woman everyone couldn’t stop talking about when she danced salsa with Lamar? Speaking of Lamar, I’m meeting him here with his daughter. Maybe we all can sit together.”
Nydia’s breath caught in her lungs when Evangeline mentioned Lamar. She’d wanted to wait to contact him when she returned to New Orleans, but apparently she no longer had to text him because they would soon come face-to-face.
“It’s nice seeing you again,” she said to Cameron’s sister. “And who are these two beauties?” It was obvious the girls were identical twins. Both had dark red, curly hair, light blue eyes, a liberal sprinkling of freckles over their cheeks, and pert, upturned noses. Nydia estimated they were between nine and eleven, the same age as her nieces.
“I’m Morgan.”
“I’m Taylor.”
Nydia smiled. They’d spoken at the same time, and she wondered if, like a lot of twins, they each knew what the other was feeling or thinking. She extended her hand. “I’m Nydia, and it’s nice meeting you.” The girls looked at their mother, who nodded. Each took Nydia’s hand and mumbled the proper greeting.
“We need to get inside,” Evangeline said, steering her daughters to the entrance of Momma’s Place. “We have a reservation for noon.” She glanced over at Nydia. “Who cut your hair? It looks absolutely fabulous. I’ve been thinking about cutting mine, but I still can’t decide on a style. Pulling it back in a ponytail or in a bun is not very sophisticated for a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten-year-old girls.”
