The Husband List

by Cindy Kirk

  “What can I say? I like heavy metal and I like it loud.” She grinned.

  He glanced around the kitchen just in time to see Bitty tear into the room as if her tail was on fire. She slid across the quarry tile floor with front paws extended.

  Mitzi chuckled. “Welcome to my world. She does this all the time.”

  Keenan scooped up the kitten, held out the tiny bundle of gray fur and studied her with a critical eye. “Itty Bitty is getting fat.”

  “No surprise. She eats like a pig.” Mitzi picked up the spoon from the floor and set it in the sink. After wiping up the mess, she grabbed another from a drawer. “If any mice snuck into the house during construction, they’re safe. This little piggy, er, kitty, isn’t hungry enough to go after them.”

  Keenan drew the animal to him, stroking it until it began to purr. “Will Winn be joining us?”

  Mitzi frowned. “I didn’t invite him to come by. Did you have something you needed to discuss with him?”

  “Not really,” Keenan said cheerfully.

  It wasn’t until Mitzi cracked the last egg into the skillet that the implication struck her. “You wanted to know if he spent the night.”

  “Don’t get your nose out of joint.” Keenan set Bitty on the floor. “I just needed to know if I had to be all cultured and on my best behavior this morning. For instance, if he was here, I couldn’t do this—”

  Swiping the spoon from her hand, he dipped it into the sauce of tomatoes and green chilies for a taste. “That’s good stuff.”

  Swatting his arm, she jerked the spoon from his hand. “Stop that.”

  Looking not at all repentant, Keenan sidled over to the coffeemaker. He poured two cups of the steaming brew, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Mitzi.

  While she fried the eggs, he leaned against the counter, looking way sexier than any man had a right so early in the morning. She’d gone for casual this morning: a pair of black knit pants and a cashmere top in emerald-green. Her hair tumbled loose around her shoulders, but she’d pulled the strands back from her face with a thin tortoise-shell band.

  After taking a long sip of the strong Columbian blend, Mitzi set out the plates of food and gestured for him to sit.

  He pulled out a chair. “Ladies first.”

  For several minutes they ate in comfortable silence. Then she mentioned something about work and he told her about his conversation with Ben. Mitzi realized she’d never asked about his progress toward getting back in the air. “Did you get your pilot’s license?”

  The smile that spread across his face gave her the answer before he even spoke. “I did. Yes, I did.”

  “Will you be quitting your job with Joel?”

  “I wish I could.” He put down his fork. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy working for Joel. I do. He’s a great guy. And the job gives me a steady income. But flying is my passion. And I’m determined to find a way to do it full-time.”

  Mitzi understood. Medicine had always been her passion. She’d set a goal of becoming an orthopedic surgeon and that had been that.

  Now, she was ready to move on to the next item on her list. She had her career. A new home. Now she wanted a husband.

  Her analysis indicated Winn Ferris would be the perfect choice. If only she was attracted to him.

  She gazed across the table at Keenan. His hair was longer, brushing his collar. And the fingers holding a fork, instead of being perfectly manicured, were clean but battle-scarred and rough.

  What would it feel like to have that hand glide across her skin and cup her breast? Her breath hitched. She forced herself to take a sip of coffee, tried to concentrate on the hearty breakfast. But she couldn’t banish the image, couldn’t stop the ache that formed low in her belly.

  She told herself this was all because Winn’s kisses last night had left her cold and frustrated. She’d blown her experience with Keenan out of proportion. Now she couldn’t get him out of her mind.

  There was only one way to deal with the matter. She was going to have to kiss Keenan again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Several times during breakfast, Keenan caught Mitzi staring. He wondered if he’d missed a spot when he shaved that morning or if he hadn’t quite gotten all the mahogany stain off his neck during his shower.

  But he got the feeling the pretty doctor wasn’t sitting back, judging him, she was...desiring him.

  It had been a long time since Keenan had a pretty girl look at him that way, but a guy didn’t forget.

  Still, Mitzi had been with Winn Ferris less than twenty-four hours earlier. Attending the symphony, for chrissakes. She’d looked incredibly hot in that jet-black dress and spiky heels. And elegant and unattainable with her hair all twisted up. She’d been acting strange, too.

  When she’d let Winn order for her, like some docile society drone, he’d wondered if an alien had taken over her body. Especially when the guy had ordered a dessert containing coconut, which even he knew she despised.

  But when Winn had gotten drawn into that discussion with Tripp, he’d discovered the Mitzi who fascinated him, who bedazzled him, was still there, well hidden under a stylish exterior.

  “For now, keeping your current job makes sense,” she agreed. “But I bet you have a plan to get a flying gig.”

  “Bill’s brother, Steve, runs a charter service.” Keenan lifted his attention from Mitzi’s luscious red lips to her eyes. “He’s hired me to help out as needed. As long as I give him notice, Joel says I can take off whenever I get the opportunity to fly.”

  “That’s nice of him.” Mitzi placed her fork on the table and stared at him.

  Her gaze appeared focused on his jaw. No, not on his jaw. On his mouth.

  A quick burst of heat singed his insides. She was a client, he reminded himself. He was here to finish trimming out the kitchen. “Thanks for the breakfast.”

  “Thanks for the cake last night.”

  “Watching you devour most of that piece was my pleasure.” He’d found the sight of those full red lips closing over a forkful of rich dark chocolate incredibly arousing.

  Reluctantly, Keenan pushed back his chair. As he took his plate to the sink, he felt her gaze follow him.

  When he turned, she was right there. She smelled as good as she looked. Like the wildflowers that had grown in his backyard when he was a child.

  “What’s your hurry?” She spoke in a low, sultry voice that reminded him of tangled sheets and naked bodies.

  Keenan forced a weak grin, tapped the scarred watch on his wrist. “On the clock.”

  “I have something to ask you.” Her vivid blue eyes were serious.

  “Ask away.”

  “Will you kiss me?”

  Keenan stared, certain he’d heard incorrectly. “Pardon?”

  “I asked you to kiss me.” Irritation skittered across her face. “What’s so hard to understand?”

  “You were with Winn last night. Didn’t he satisfy you?”

  At her quick intake of breath, Keenan cursed himself for a fool. It wasn’t his business what she did or didn’t do with Winn Ferris.

  She startled him when she laughed. “You’re very perceptive.”

  What the heck did that mean? Keenan didn’t have time to do more than wonder because her arms were suddenly around his neck and her mouth on his.

  Even if he’d wanted, he couldn’t have resisted the pull. They were two magnets drawn together with impossible force.

  Her lips were warm and sweet, and he let his mouth linger. The kiss started out gentle, a simple kiss between friends. It quickly morphed into more. A tangible connection of feelings he could no longer deny.

  Keenan settled his hands on her hips, molding her soft body against his hard one. They fit together perfectly.

 
His tongue swept across her lips, and when she opened her mouth to him, he deepened the kiss. It was as if a tank of fuel exploded inside him. Suddenly close wasn’t close enough. He wanted to crawl inside her skin, bury himself in her, kiss her for the rest of eternity.

  Her back was to the counter and she began to squirm as they continued to kiss, chest rising and falling. His hand slid up her side to cup her breast, his thumb teasing her nipple to a point through the thin fabric of her shirt.

  He cursed the fabric separating them. He wanted to feel her warm flesh beneath the palm of his hand, taste the sweetness against his tongue. Pushing her shirt up, he shoved the tiny scrap of fabric covering her breasts aside, intent on replacing his fingers with his mouth.

  Before that could happen she grabbed his hair, pulled his head up.

  “Stop,” she said with eyes wide, cheeks flushed. “You have to stop.”

  He longed to ignore the request, but he’d never forced a woman and he wasn’t about to start now.

  With Herculean effort, he stepped back, bent over and rested his hands on his thighs, ignoring the aching in his groin as he fought for control.

  “What the hell just happened?” he muttered with a laugh that held little humor.

  “Flash point.” She raked a trembling hand through her hair. “I guess it wasn’t me after all.”

  Something in her tone cut through the fog.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “When I kissed Winn last night I felt nothing.” She was chattering, he realized, almost as if she was as off-balanced as he. “But you. Well, I thought that had been a fluke. That it hadn’t been good, but it had. You’ve got great moves.”

  The last of the fog disappeared, swept away by a gust of irritation. “Is that what this was?” He gestured between them. “An experiment?”

  She didn’t appear to notice the edge to his voice. “I had to know.”

  “So you go out in public with your fancy business executive then invite me to breakfast when you want to go slumming?”

  “What?” Her brows pulled together as if he was speaking a language she didn’t understand. “No. What are you saying? Of course not. Like I said, I—”

  “I heard very clearly what you said.” His tone was ice and he didn’t bother to civilize it. Keenan fixed his gaze on hers and held.

  “I grew up feeling second best, like I wasn’t good enough.” He gave a harsh laugh. “It took me a lot of years and a whole bunch of growing up to realize that I play second string to no one. If you want someone to heat up your sheets in secret, Doctor Sanchez, look somewhere else.”

  Without looking back, he called over his shoulder. “I’m going to work. Do me a favor and stay out of my way.”

  * * *

  On Sunday afternoon, Mitzi spilled just the basics of her story to Kate while they shopped. By her friend’s lack of response, she assumed she’d shocked her BFF silent.

  But when Kate began to giggle, Mitzi raised an indignant brow. “What’s so funny?”

  “The image of you feeding Keenan, then jumping him...” Kate dissolved into laughter.

  “I don’t see what’s so funny,” Mitzi said, even as her own lips curved.

  “Seduction over huevos rancheros,” Kate intoned, her eyes sparkling. “Wouldn’t that make a fabulous title? I’d love to read that one for book club. Especially the love scene.”

  “Shut up, Kate,” Mitzi said mildly.

  “It’s such a guy thing,” her friend drawled. “Ply a woman with good food then jump her bones.”

  “I didn’t jump Keenan.” Mitzi’s voice had started to rise. When the clerk glanced her way, she lowered it and pretended to be studying the rack of clothes. “I kissed him. And I told you the reason. You weren’t listening.”

  “I was listening all right.” Kate smothered a smile. “But c’mon, Mitzi. You can’t actually expect me to believe the only reason you jumped, er, kissed, Keenan was to test your sexual urges.”

  This time it was Kate who spoke too loud. The last two words had not only the clerk but a bright-eyed customer glancing in their direction.

  Mitzi grabbed her friend’s arm, smiled grimly as she hauled Kate from the store and into the sunshine. “If we’re going to talk sexual urges, we’re going to do it outside where we can’t be overheard.”

  Amusement tugged at the corners of Kate’s lips. “I do believe you’re embarrassed, Dr. Sanchez.”

  With more than a little exasperation, Mitzi pushed back her hair as the two women strode down the sidewalk, heels clicking smartly.

  Mitzi glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, not even Joel.”

  Just as Mitzi anticipated, Kate hesitated. She and her husband didn’t keep secrets. Not since a secret Kate had withheld had almost derailed their relationship.

  “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, Kate,” Mitzi said, her voice earnest. “But Keenan works for Joel and this is...personal.”

  Mitzi could see her friend looking back almost a dozen years, to when Kate had given birth over summer break and kept it a secret from her medical school classmates. Only Mitzi had known. She’d never breathed a word.

  “Tell me.” Kate focused her pretty hazel eyes on Mitzi. “I won’t say a word to anyone.”

  Having the reassurance she sought, she took Kate’s arm and directed her into a small park enclosed in a gleaming black wrought iron fence tipped with gold.

  “I come here sometimes during the week to eat my lunch,” Mitzi said in response to Kate’s raised eyebrow. “I try to time it when there aren’t a lot of kids here.”

  “I bet that’s difficult,” Kate said with a wry smile. “Considering it’s a park.”

  A park where, even now, toddlers and preschool-age children climbed brightly colored slides and swung high into the air emitting shrieks of laughter.

  Mitzi kept walking until they reached a bench as far as possible from the children’s play area. Here, manicured bushes in the shape of animals stood tall on both sides of them, muting the noise.

  Once Kate had taken a seat beside her, Mitzi swiveled to face her. “You know what it was like for me growing up.”

  “I’ve always admired your determination to rise above such humble beginnings.”

  “I got out, stayed out and succeeded in life because I’ve stuck to my plan.” Mitzi blew out a breath. “That’s why focusing on Winn made such sense.”

  Kate smiled encouragingly.

  “Keenan isn’t on my list. He isn’t settled. He’s still in that having-fun stage. Did I tell you he took me windsurfing at Lake Jackson?” Mitzi confessed with all the seriousness of saying he’d robbed a bank.

  “Life isn’t all serious, Mitz. Joel and I have lots of fun—” Kate stopped speaking when her friend abruptly stood and began to pace.

  “I’ve already told you some of what happened that morning, but not all.” Mitzi flung out her hands, her emotions as muddied as her thoughts. Beneath the anger that flashed in Keenan’s eyes, she’d seen pain. Pain she’d caused. Her heart twisted. “He thinks I don’t want to be seen with him, Kate.”

  Confusion furrowed Kate’s brow. “Why would he think that?”

  For Kate to understand, Mitzi had to hold nothing back. The confession came out in a torrent of words. Her voice faltered when she spoke of the look she’d seen in Keenan’s eyes when he’d accused her of being ashamed of him.

  “As you can see, my actions were calculating and—” Mitzi swallowed hard past the sudden lump in her throat “—heartless.”

  Kate placed a hand on Mitzi’s arm, her eyes filled with sympathy. “A bit calculating, I’ll grant you. But not heartless.”

  “I could never be ashamed of Keenan,” Mitzi said, her voice crac
king. “He’s a great guy. He’s handsome, smart and incredibly kind. Keenan risked his own life to save Itty Bitty.”

  Mitzi took a moment to fill Kate in on Keenan’s heart-stopping rescue of the gray kitten.

  “That’s amazing. Bitty is a very lucky cat.”

  “I love her,” Mitzi said simply.

  “I wondered where you and Keenan went when you left the house.” Kate’s lips tipped in a smile. “I’d never have guessed there.”

  “Keenan has to watch his pennies until he gets back on his feet,” Mitzi said. “Eating samples on Tuesday night is one way to stretch a paycheck.”

  “That was nice of you,” Kate murmured, eying her. “And so helpful.”

  “He’d do the same for me. He’s that way.”

  “A good guy, you said.”

  “Great guy,” Mitzi clarified. “None better.”

  Kate nodded, but remained silent. It was as if she knew there was more Mitzi still hadn’t shared.

  “When I realized I’d hurt him...” Mitzi blew out a breath, spread her hands and let them drop. She was stunned to feel tears sting her eyes. She blinked them back before Kate could notice.

  All light had left Kate’s face. She stroked Mitzi’s arm, her eyes dark and filled with concern. In the distance a baby cried and a toddler’s high-pitched giggle drifted on the breeze.

  “Before now I never gave any of the men I dated a second thought.” Mitzi gave a strangled laugh. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me. The funny thing is, I’m not even dating Keenan, not really.”

  “He’s more than just a date,” Kate ventured. “He’s a friend.”

  “He was...” Mitzi’s voice trailed off as a wave of sadness washed over her.

  “You know what you need to do.” Though Kate spoke softly, Mitzi heard clearly.

  “Apologize.” Mitzi sighed. “Yes, I know.”

  “You’ll both feel better when you do.”

  There was only one problem. She met Kate’s gaze. “I’ve never apologized to a man before.”