“What would make you ready?”
Nydia replayed Lamar’s question over and over in her mind, and had come up with a few excuses but they appeared inane even to her way of thinking. She couldn’t blame lack of employment or a permanent home, because she was going to become an innkeeper and live in a centuries-old historic mansion in New Orleans’s Garden District. She didn’t have children or a man in her life she had to consider.
“Falling in love with a man who would make me want to share my life with him.”
“What about children?”
“What about them?” she asked.
“Do you want children?”
“Of course. I love kids.”
“If that’s the case, then you should make some man very, very happy.”
Nydia smiled. “I’d hope I would.”
She did not tell Lamar that he was in the running as a potential husband. Her mother had told her a long time ago that whenever she agreed to date a man she should think of him as a potential husband with the ability to take care of his family, and if not, then stop seeing him. Her mother’s warning went out the window when she met Danny. He’d get part-time jobs waiting tables or as a deliveryman but nothing that would lead to a salary where he could live on his own. If she had a short checklist of three prerequisites for a man with whom she wanted to spend her future, then Lamar had at least two. She decided to reserve judgment on the last one.
The music changed, becoming more upbeat, which led to couples getting up and dancing in an area of the courtyard where a portable dance floor had been set up. Hannah and St. John were the first on the floor as they executed the steps they learned during their summer dance lessons.
Lamar leaned closer to Nydia when the DJ announced he was going to spin tunes for those who wanted something slower. “Please come and dance with me.”
The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You” was one of his all-time romantic favorites. His father had grown up listening to doo-wop, and whenever he played his treasured vinyl disks dating back more than a half century, the house was filled with incredible harmonies. Lamar and his sister would laugh and giggle whenever their parents danced together while singing along with the tunes that were popular when they were dating.
Nydia extended her hand, placing her palm on his as he eased her to stand. Her mention that she was still recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix was never far from his mind. Lamar led her to the dance floor and pulled her gently against his body until they were fused from chest to thigh.
Dancing with Nydia was akin to making love with her. He was able to hold her, inhale her natural feminine scent mingling with her perfume, enjoy the silken feel of her skin, and bury his face in her fragrant hair. The days she came to his house to cook with Kendra tested his so-called iron will. Whenever she stood next to him he made certain not to let their bodies touch because it would elicit erotic notions of what he wanted to share with her.
When meeting her for the first time his reaction to Nydia had been purely physical; however, over time his feelings had changed. He still wanted to sleep with her, yet that was no longer as important as getting to know who she was and what she wanted. Sex was something he could get from the woman he hadn’t slept with since meeting Nydia, but he did not want it to be the foundation of the relationship he hoped to share with her.
Lamar knew he was in denial when he told himself he wasn’t falling in love with Nydia because he felt as if he was being unfaithful to Valerie. As a flight attendant his late wife had talked about the possibility of losing her life during a plane crash, and had exacted a promise from him that if she did die that he would not remarry until their daughter turned eighteen.
Now that he looked back, he did not want to believe he continued to hold onto a promise he’d made to a dead woman when the very woman he wanted to share his life was in his arms. He knew the age of eighteen was important to Valerie because both her adopted parents had passed away a year after she graduated high school, and it was then she’d found herself orphaned once again.
Lamar glanced over Nydia’s head to see every married couple up on the dance floor dancing to the hauntingly romantic love song. The first line of the song resonated with him, because the first time he saw Nydia and their eyes met, he only had eyes for her.
When he allowed Kendra to spend the summer vacation with his sister and mother in Baton Rouge, he’d undergone a period of separation anxiety because it was the first time they’d been apart since he’d become a widower. His initial apprehension eased when he asked whether she wanted to come back to New Orleans with him, and she said wanted to stay until it was time for the new school year. It had been a wakeup call that his daughter was not only growing up but becoming more independent. She had other interests, and there would come a time when he wouldn’t be the only man in her life. Kendra staying with Evie and her daughters would allow him to spend time with Nydia and to determine where their relationship would lead.
Lamar planned to call Ramona and ask her to pack a bag with enough clothes for Kendra to last a week. All students at her school wore uniforms, which eliminated deciding what to wear every day.
He pressed his mouth to Nydia’s ear. “I’m going to take a few days off next week, and if you can take a break from your work I’d like you to come with me for a few side trips beyond the city.”
Leaning back, Nydia smiled up at him. “I’d like to see Cajun country.”
“That’s not a day trip, which means we’ll have to make arrangements to stay overnight.”
“What’s the matter,mijo? Are you afraid if we share a bed I’ll take advantage of you?”
Lamar winked at her. “Not if I take advantage of you first.”
She returned his wink with one of her own. “We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”
Pulling her closer, he dropped a kiss on her hair, and then spun her around and around until she admitted he was making her dizzy. What Nydia didn’t know was that he was dizzy and a little crazy since she had come into his life, and he couldn’t wait for the time when they went from friends to lovers.
Chapter 19
Nydia tapped a key on the laptop and forwarded the payroll data for her last account. She’d spent most of the day doing payroll for the three restaurants, and now that she had completed the task, the owners of the restaurants only had to print out and sign paychecks. She had also electronically filed the tax forms for the third quarter, which kept various tax bureaus from issuing penalties.
