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further notice,” she said.
    “Catch a cab to Forty-seventh and Fifth Ave., and I’ll drive you back to get the car. The parking down here is ridiculous. I want to show you something, so hurry up and get here. Just call me when you’re about to pull up.”
    “Okay, baby.” He obviously wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I’m leaving in five minutes.”
    When she ended the call, Tyeedah was dancing and singing like she had lost her mind. The entire vibe was different.
    “What’s wrong with you, girl? How you go from shoot ’em bang-bang to Dance Central?”
    Unable to contain her exuberance for her friend, she said, “Kennard wants you to meet him at Forty-seventh and Fifth.” Unique looked at her like and? “That’s the Diamond District, girl. As in diamonds, jewels, and stones … oh yeah … diamonds, jewels, and stones…” She sang the words like a nursery rhyme.
    “Really?” Unique got a little excited herself.
    “Yes, Ms. Thing, really .”
    After giving up on trying to guess what Kennard was up to, Unique asked Tyeedah to help her get a cab. “I’m going to leave my car here,” she said.
    Tyeedah scooped her house keys up off the counter. “You know that’s a damn shame your country butt still can’t hail a cab? Sooner or later we gonna have to get you up to speed on that.”
    Unique smiled. She would never get used to the yellow-cab lifestyle. Just knowing she was going to a destination without a concrete ride home drove her crazy. That was one of the things she missed about the South. People drove everywhere and there was always free parking.
    Once outside, Tyeedah flagged down a taxi in no time. And before Unique pulled off she reminded her one last time, “You have to get that motherfucker before he gets you.”

 
    PROMISES AREN’T MADE TO BE BROKEN
    The taxi pulled up at the corner of Forty-seventh Street and Fifth Avenue and Kennard was there to open the door. He helped Unique from the backseat, paid the driver, and kissed her on the cheek.
    He asked, “What took you so long?” Before she could mention how congested the traffic was or about the car accident uptown, he said, “Never mind. We have an appointment to keep.” He whisked her away by the arm.
    Unique had never seen Kennard this excited about anything except making love and money. And not necessarily in that order.
    “What’s this all about?” His enthusiasm was contagious.
    He looked at her with those sexy brown eyes. They were comforting—tender but strong. “I want to buy you something to show the commitment I want to make to you.”
    Commitment? This is serious, Unique thought as butterflies took over her stomach at the mention of the word. She had been with many men and none of them had ever mentioned that word.
    “Moi?” Her face lit up brighter than the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.
    “If that means you, then yeah, moi, ” he said, before kissing her on the forehead. “I was thinking…”
    “Yes…?” Unique had her own thoughts and they were running butt-naked and wild inside her head. What happened just a few hours ago seemed like a nightmare and she didn’t want to think about it. So this gesture could not have come at a better time. She started to question if she even deserved a man like this, but then she thought again, I’ve been through more bullshit than Charmin, you gotdamn right I deserve this!
    “I know that we agreed not to talk about either of our past relationships—”
    “And we should just focus on ours, making it stronger,” she said, finishing his sentence for him. One she’d heard many times.
    But she wasn’t expecting what he said next: “I’m glad you broke the agreement last night.”
    I did what?
    “I don’t know if you were intoxicated from the champagne or my lovemaking,” he joked with a smile. “I did put it on you, but I’m happy that you opened up. I had no idea that you’d been hurt so badly.”
    She felt like she’d been hit in the face with a