It was exactly what he had said the first time he met the sweet spaniel. Kyree nodded. “A boy named Princess. I borrowed him from my little cousin, Nicholas––he’s the one who was calling out to me yesterday. He was obsessed with The Princess Bride when they brought the dog home. Actually, his full name is Princess Buttercup. His mom said it was the only name Nicholas would consider.”
“Aww, that’s adorable. He certainly does look like royalty in his little coat, and booties, that’s for sure.” She gave Princess one more generous scratch behind his ears before pushing upright.
Her eyes, beautiful and direct, met Kyree’s, completely disarming him. The joy on her face sent a thrill racing down his spine. He loved that he could so easily make her smile. He would do anything––every day for the rest of his life––just to see that expression.
“So, Nicholas just handed over his precious Princess to you?”
Kyree crouched and adjusted the collar. “I told him I needed Princess’s help to impress a girl.”
“Well, okay then, Princess Buttercup, mission accomplished.” Zuri bent down to ruffle the animal’s ears, her voice soft and affectionate. “Aww, he is just adorable! I just love small dogs.”
“I know,” Kyree confessed, straightening up to his full six feet five inches.
She cut him a look. “What do you mean you know?”
“Your missing person photo that security showed me? You were sitting with a little Frenchie on your lap.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, Steve!”
“You have a dog named Steve?”
Zuri laughed. “Steve Urkel. Not mine. My brother’s.”
Kyree tilted his head, looping the leash over his hand. “Your brother named his dog Steve Urkel?”
“Trust me, it’s perfect. He’s always getting into something he shouldn’t, and then acting surprised when he gets caught, like, Did I do that?”
Her Steve Urkel voice made Kyree snicker as he imagined being curled up on a couch with her, watching Family Matters reruns with a dog of their own nestled between them.
Just then, a sleek brindle Greyhound and its owner loped past them, and into the park, exciting Princess. He tugged on the leash.
“I think someone wants to get going. Shall we?”
Zuri bowed her head to Princess and did a small curtsy. “As his highness commands.”
Princess trotted happily between them, tail wagging, his tiny booties pattering in rhythm with their steps as they passed beneath the wide stone archway into the park.
Kyree’s gaze swept over the scene; snow blanketed everything––the juniper trees, the wrought-iron benches, a bronze angel statue, and the low stone wall bordering a garden where flowers had blossomed when he visited last summer. Pedestrians moved along the shoveled, sanded paths lined with evergreen shrubs.
“How’s your day been so far?” Kyree asked. “You conquer the slopes this morning?”
“Actually, no. Today the girls and I have been working our way through spa treatments.”
“You’re saying you traded a spa day for a freezing walk? You could have told me you had plans–– We could have figured out something else.”
“It’s fine,” she assured him. “I had a ninety-minute massage this morning and got my nails done before lunch. See?”
She slipped off a glove and extended her fingers, allowing Kyree to admire her smoothly rounded, berry-red nails.
“Nice, very nice.”
“Then we all had lunch at Big Boy’s Pizza,” she continued, inching her delicate hand back into the glove. “And now, we’re all doing our own thing for the afternoon before group facials at four.”
Kyree checked his watch as they walked past a silent stone fountain, its basin drained for the winter. “So you’re saying I have you for just under two hours?”
“I don’t think I’ll last that long.” She pulled her coat around her, making sure the fur trim covered her chest and neck, and drew the waistband tight. “But I can at least say that I’m in no rush to get back,” she added, a playful glint in her eyes.
“Fair enough.” He was beginning to feel like he wanted a lifetime with her, but even if all Zuri had was ten minutes to spend like this—walking side by side––he would gladly take it.
