She shrugged playfully. “Maybe.” Then she yawned. “Do we have to leave tonight?”
Love and Zay exchanged a glance. He noticed a flicker of something cross her face.
“You are welcome to stay,” he said, looking to Love.
She nodded. “Of course, baby. We’ll stay.”
Just then, Yana’s phone rang.
“It’s dad. I gotta tell him all about tonight, how the one and only Shai came up to me and actually knew who I was!”
She then grinned and padded off to the room that had quietly become hers over the past few months. Zay had painted it himself.
“That girl had the time of her life, didn’t she?” He looked at Love before he stood and walked into the open kitchen. “I never seen her so excited. She was up dancing, talking to people. She really let her guard down today, huh?”
“From the red carpet to meeting Shai, . . . tonight was a lot for her.”Love’s eyes swept across the open layout as she tucked her legs beneath her on the couch, rested one hand casually on the back cushion, and turned to face him. “This is my first time spending more than a few minutes in the house. I feel like I’ve stepped into a damn magazine.”
Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the night, reflecting the soft golden lights overhead. The kitchen was sleek and modern with stainless steel finishes, custom lighting under glass cabinets, and framed platinum records that lined the hallway just beyond. The place smelled faintly like cedar and citrus, with just a hint of the pizza they’d devoured earlier. It felt expensive . . . lived in but polished. Like him.
Zay laughed from the kitchen as he reached into the illuminated cabinet for wineglasses. “Yeah, I caught you eyeing everything like you were about to start a home tour.”
She smirked. “Can you blame me? It’s giving rapper turned mogul in the best way.”
The corners of his mouth turned up as he poured the wine smoothly. “A long way from sleeping on buses and hiding studio gear in my trunk, huh?”
“Way long,” she replied.
He walked over and extended one glass out to her. Their fingers brushed, and she felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the wine. He nodded toward the patio. “Come outside with me.”
She stood and followed him toward the glass doors that led to the backyard. The night air was warm and thick with the scent of jasmine from somewhere nearby. The pool shimmered underthe moonlight, a mirror to the stars overhead. It was quiet, peaceful in a way that made her chest tighten.
She dipped her feet into the water at the edge and let the coolness kiss her skin. Zay took the spot beside her, close enough to feel the hem of her shorts brush his knee.
They clinked glasses lightly.
“This movie, . . . this whole night . . .” he started, gazing out at the water, “it ended up being amazing.”
Love took a slow sip before nodding. “Yeah. I still can’t believe all this happened. Honestly, it feels like I’m floating. Like I could wake up and none of it would be real.”
He turned to her, his voice low. “Thank you . . . for letting me be part of it.”
She looked at him. “Of course. Thank you for showing up.”
He smiled. “You did it. You wrote something the world needed.”
“I just wrote what I felt.”
“Well, you felt it beautifully.”
She swirled the wine in her glass, then looked down. “Yana met her favorite artist, ate all the food, took a million selfies.”
“She better get used to that life.” Zay chuckled. “She’s got years to catch up on.”
Love grinned.
There was a moment of calm between them before he spoke again. “You really are amazing. I know I said it before, but . . . you wrote one hell of a book, and you raised a good kid.”
Her eyes welled again. “Thank you. And . . . thank you for taking this so well. I expected anger and distance. I was prepared to do this alone.”
