She was struck by his words. “What do you mean my world?”
“Come on, you have to know you’re out of my league. Private school and vacations to Switzerland… My family was lucky if we made it to the Jersey Shore once a year. I didn’t grow up with money.”
“And you wanted me to think you have money so I’d like you?”
“No, I…” He took a bite of the cookie. “Look,” he said as he chewed. “I grew up in the hood. My parents sacrificed to make sure we had food on the table and the lights stayed on. They had to choose between braces for their kids or keeping my mom’s car running so she could get to work. I’m the first person in my family to go to college, and I don’t want to be the last. Dequan plays ball, and I know he’ll be set with an athletic scholarship, but I don’t want Aaliyah to have to work herself ragged like I did to make Princeton possible. I don’t want her or my parents to have to deal with student loans when she finishes.”
Zuri’s heart melted like snow. She wanted to tell him that she understood––that he didn’t need to explain––but instead she listened, giving him the space to get everything off his chest.
“I make good money, Zuri. I make more than enough to splurge on a nice hotel for a weekend or take you to dinner every night of the week. But since I’ve been working, I’ve been paying off my school loans, my parents’ mortgage, and right now, most of what I don’t need to survive goes to paying my sister’s tuition. I would buy you the moon if I could, and one day I plan to be able to do just that. But for now, I drive the same old car I bought to commute to college, I live in a tiny apartment with a roommate, and my private chef is named Boyardee.”
Zuri couldn’t help but laugh, the bright sound spilling from her and ringing over the Clydesdales’ jingle bells.
Kyree’s quickly followed hers––the tension between them breaking like ice under spring sun.
“You know, Michelle and her brother Robert had even less than we had growing up,” he said. “But I look up to both of them…the way Michelle so seamlessly assimilated into her husband’s wealthy lifestyle as if she’d been there the whole time. And the focus and determination it took Robert to build his business… I don’t know if I’ll ever be a billionaire, or even a millionaire to be honest, but I know I don’t want my family to ever stress about money again. I want to make enough to take care of them. If Aaliyah has a hard time finding a job after college, if an injury screws up Dequan’s basketball career, if my parents want to retire early… If my future wife wants to ski the Swiss Alps…”
Heat flooded her cheeks. This confession, this clearing of the air, was becoming something else entirely—a glimpse into his future, and a subtle invitation for her to be part of it.
“I don’t want money to ever be an obstacle for us.”
Us? Her heart hammered against her ribs. Is he still talking about his family?
“Zuri, I’m sorry I let you believe I could afford all that. I just thought…”
“You just thought I was a shallow, spoiled princess?”
His head dropped back with a groan, his eyes squeezing shut. “God, when you say it like that…”
“Well, Kyree, if you’d thought that five years ago you might have been right.”
“No, come on. Don’t do that.” He placed his mug between them on the seat. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have assumed that about you.”
Nervous energy thrummed through her veins before her own confession left her lips. “Kyree, I was engaged a few years ago.”
His entire body went still, and his eyes searched hers, sharp, guarded, waiting.
She drew in a breath, the cold biting her lungs, and told him all about Bryan, and the engagement that had looked perfect on paper, but had been based on superficial notions, and a flawed perception of love and partnership.
As she spoke, Zuri watched the play of emotions across Kyree’s face—surprise, then a flicker of jealousy, then something that twisted her heart: doubt. She could see the question forming behind his eyes, the fear that maybe she was still that woman—or worse, he wouldn’t be enough for her if this, whatever this was between them got serious.
Without thinking, she tucked her cup next to his on the seat, and reached for his hand beneath the blanket, her fingers curling around his. His skin was warm, his grip tentative at first, then firm, as if anchoring himself to her touch.
She gazed into his eyes. “Look, Kyree,” she whispered, her voice trembling with everything she’d been feeling since the night he sat beside her at L’Antra. “In the three years I was with Bryan, I never once felt for him even a fraction of what I’ve been feeling for you these last few days.”
The tension melted from his jaw as his eyes roamed her face—slow, reverent, like he was memorizing every line. He lifted his free hand and brushed his thumb along her cheek, the touch feather-light but electric. “What do you feel, Zuri?”
Zuri wished she had the answer to the question that had been plaguing her all day. What did she feel for this stranger who seemed to already occupy every cell in her body? She didn’t know––not yet––but she knew that whatever it was, she wanted to move toward it. A smile parted her lips as she slowly closed the distance between hers and his. “I feel… Something…” she whispered.
The kiss was soft at first, a brush of warmth against the cold, but then it deepened—slow, hungry, inevitable, like fire catching wind. Kyree’s hand slid to her jaw, tilting her face as his mouth claimed hers with a tenderness that burned hotter than any flame.
Her fingers fisted in his coat, pulling him closer, erasing every inch of space between them. The sleigh rocked gently, the horses snorting as if sensing the shift in the air, but Zuri barely noticed. All she knew was the press of Kyree’s lips, his tongue dancing against hers, his chocolate and peppermint breath mingling with hers in white puffs that vanished into the night. Desire surged through her, fierce and undeniable, and when he groaned softly against her mouth, it felt like a spark igniting every nerve in her body.
She kissed him again and again, each one more desperate, until her lips burned and her body hummed. When they finally broke apart, foreheads touching, breaths ragged, Zuri knew—without doubt, without fear—that what she felt was love. Pure, unshakable love.
Chapter Ten
Ribbon Run
