Page 38 of The Maverick's Homecoming

“Damn. So close.” His voice was tender. Lifting a hand, he guided a wind-tossed curl of hair away from her lips and back behind her ear. She felt the echo of his touch even after he’d lowered his hand again.

“So what now?” she asked.

“How about some dinner?”

“I’m in.”

“Excellent. I’ll put the chicken on and pour you more sparkling water.”

“I thought we were having steaks.”

“We were. But I gave it more thought and as I recall, you used to love mesquite-grilled chicken.”

“And I still do.” What she loved even more was that he’d remembered. “Yes, please. Put the chicken on.”

* * *

Two hours later, Kenzie had eaten a couple of chicken thighs, a baked potato and a nice big helping of green salad with shaved Parmesan and lemon vinaigrette.

In the distance, cirrus clouds glowed orange and purple, and the sun had sunk below the horizon. After the meal, Finn had cleared the table and offered decaf and rainbow sherbet for dessert.

Now, her sherbet bowl was empty. As for the coffee, she was on her second cup. And aside from her need to visit the powder room soon, she could sit here forever watching the sunset and sipping decaf with Finn at her side.

“This was delicious,” she said.

He sat back in his chair. “That’s what I like to hear.”

“As I recall, when we were together back in high school, nobody cooked in your family but your mom.”

“You remember it right. We Monahan men were very busy doing…manthings. My dad couldn’t even be bothered to learn how to use the big grill out back. My mom did everything—around the house, in the yard. You name it, she took care of it.”

“You guys had a maid, though, didn’t you? I thought that was very fancy the first time I had dinner at your house.”

“We had people who came in and cleaned. Sometimes Mom would hire someone to help when we had company for dinner or when there was a party or a cookout. But she was in charge and she did most of the work herself.”

“I don’t know why, but I thought you helped out around the house.”

“Nope. I didn’t learn how to make a bed or do laundry until I was in college. At home, I dropped my dirty clothes on the floor of my room and then forgot about them. Within a day or two I would find them, clean and pressed and neatly folded in a drawer or on a hanger in my closet.”

“You make your mom sound superhuman.”

“Sheisamazing. My brothers and I, though…” He let his words trail off with a shrug before going on. “We were spoiled rotten. Just like my dad. Entitled, that’s what we were.”

That surprised her. “You neveractedlike you were entitled.”

“That’s probably because my mom also taught us to be polite, to help out wherever we were needed—except around the house.”

She raised her glass to him. “I’m so pleased to see how far you’ve come toward self-sufficiency.”

“Thank you. I’m working on it.” He set down his wineglass and rose.

She glanced up at him, grinning. When he offered his hand, she took it. His grip was warm and firm. Hot little shivers slid down the backs of her knees as she stood. “That look in your eyes,” she said softly.

“Yeah? What about it?”

“It ought to be illegal.”

He wrapped his free arm lightly around her and reeled her in even closer. As he nuzzled her hair, he whispered, “I admit, I just might be getting…ideas.”