Nydia gave him a direct stare. “Would you ever consider adopting a child?”
“I would if I was a single father.”
“How about if you were married?” she asked.
A dark eyebrow lifted slightly as Lamar stared at the food on his plate. “That would depend on my wife.” His head popped up. “We both would have to agree; otherwise it wouldn’t work.” It was his turn to give Nydia a long, penetrating stare. “Would you ever think of adopting a child?”
“Of course. My mother wants more grandchildren, and she has been nagging me to get married and have a baby, but I told her that I didn’t have to be married to have a baby.”
“Should I assume that didn’t go over too well with her?”
“Not at all. My mother is old school when it comes to family. She believes in dating, marriage, and babies, in that order.”
Leaning back in his chair, Lamar stared at something over Nydia’s head. “What would she say about you dating a widower with a daughter?”
“There isn’t anything she could say, because she’s never told me who I could or couldn’t date. Even though she wasn’t too fond of my ex, she never interfered.”
“Are you saying she would approve of you marrying me?”
Nydia stared at him. Nothing moved on her, not even her eyes. “Are you asking me to marry you?” The query was barely above a whisper.
Whenever he thought about Nydia the notion of marrying her was always a possibility, but now that he’d asked her he couldn’t retract it. “I was just asking hypothetically.”
Nydia shook her head. “There is nothing hypothetical about a marriage proposal. Either it is or it’s not.”
Lamar knew she had backed him into the proverbial corner. He knew he was falling in love with Nydia, but there were other factors to consider. Did she like him enough to even consider becoming his wife? Even though she and Kendra appeared fond of each other, that didn’t translate into her being willing to assume the responsibility of being a mother to her.
“Yes.”
The single word had come from a place Lamar did not know existed. He’d never acted on impulse, but there was something about Nydia that made him do and say things that were so foreign that he had begun to doubt himself.
Nydia closed her eyes for several seconds, and when she opened them they were a deep, verdant green. “You propose marriage when we’ve only kissed a few times.”
“That’s because whenever I want to kiss you, you push me away.”
“That’s only when Kendra is present. What message would that send, Lamar?”
He nodded. “You’re right about that.”
“I know I’m right.”
“Do you always have to have the last word?”
“No, but—”
Lamar held up a hand, stopping her comeback. “Can you please be quiet for a few minutes while I explain myself?” He smiled when she nodded. “I’ve fought my feelings for you from the very moment I saw you get out of Jasmine’s minivan.”
“And that’s when you had your hard-on.”
Lamar shook his head in exasperation. “I thought you weren’t going to say anything.” Nydia pantomimed zipping her lips. “I know now that I shouldn’t have told you about that, but that’s neither here or there. I like everything about you, Nydia. You make me feel things I’ve never experienced with any other woman I’ve known. You’re always so positive despite whatever craziness that’s going on in your life. You make me laugh when I don’t feel like laughing, and you make it so easy for me to love you.”
“You love me,” Nydia said in a quiet voice.
Lamar smiled. “Yes.”
She blinked once. “Why?”
His smile vanished. “You have to ask me why when I just told you why I want and need you in my life?”
