Her Kind of Hero - Cindy Kirk Page 0,51

doses, even cards and charades can be fun.”

“Charades?”

Mitzi smiled at the shock Ben infused in that single word.

“I’m glad we didn’t attempt to hang on to something that wasn’t working,” Ben said. “I think we’ve both found something far better.”

“Are you seeing your friend tonight?” Bill asked Keenan, before turning to load some tools into the back of his pickup.

Keenan wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “As a matter of fact I’m going to a quinceañera with Mitzi this evening.”

Bill rested his back against his red pickup that gleamed in the sunlight and tilted his head. “A what?”

“I asked the same thing,” Keenan admitted. “It’s a party thrown when a girl turns fifteen.”

Bill lifted a brow. “Like a birthday party?”

“I guess.” Keenan shrugged. “But a bigger deal.”

“Who’s it for? Anyone I know?”

“Mitzi’s office billing manager, Consuela Herrera. The party is for her daughter.”

“You’re moving up in the world, boy.” Bill slapped Keenan on the back. “From the slammer to escorting one of the most eligible doctors in Jackson Hole to fancy parties in the span of a few short months.”

Teasing or not, Bill’s words served as a reminder just how far apart his and Mitzi’s lives were and reinforced the importance of not getting too comfortable. Even if it sometimes felt like a whole lot more, he and Mitzi were simply friends. She reminded him of that fact constantly. Only a fool wouldn’t take the warning to heart.

“Mitzi and I are just friends,” he told Bill for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Look at these lines.” Bill pointed to his drooping face. “Proof I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve seen the way you look at her. And how she looks at you.”

Keenan opened his mouth but Bill cut him off with a swipe of hand through the air.

“If I learned anything during my almost sixty years on this planet, it’s that love don’t come ’round all that often. When it does, you have to grab hold of it and not let go.” Bill paused, gazed speculatively at Keenan. “You didn’t survive those years in the Big House by being lily-livered. Be bold. Be brave. You know what you need to do.”

Chapter Sixteen

Mitzi had told Keenan he needed to dress up for the quinceañera but wasn’t sure what he’d show up wearing until he knocked and she opened the door.

Her heart stumbled. “Wow. You look terrific.”

“Back at you.” Keenan gazed admiringly at the simple navy dress she’d paired with a strand of pearls. She’d pulled her hair up and caught it in a glittery broach. “Too bad your hair isn’t blue yet. Would have gone well with the dress.”

“I thought that, too.” Mitzi gave a little laugh before she ushered him inside, her fingers lingering on the fine fabric of his charcoal-gray suit. “This is nice.”

“It’s Ryan’s,” Keenan confessed. “When I told Bets I was going to this thing and needed to dress up, she gave me one of his to wear. He tossed in a shirt, tie and even the shoes.”

“That was nice of him.” Though Mitzi had never been physically attracted to Ryan, she considered him a friend. It was a shame she and Betsy had gotten off on the wrong foot. Maybe it was time to reach out to Keenan’s sister.

“We better get going.” She picked up the clutch on top of the sofa next to where the kitten now slept. She gave the soft top of Bitty’s head a scratch. “Later, little one.”

“She’s content,” Keenan observed.

“Why wouldn’t she be?” Mitzi chuckled. Though she’d initially worried about taking on a pet because of the responsibility, Bitty had ended up being a nice addition to her household. “I give her everything she wants. That kitten has me wrapped around her little paw.”

“You’re a good person, Mitzi,” Keenan said, surprising her. “Warm. Loving. Kind.”

Heat stole up her neck and pleasure flowed like warm honey through her veins. She couldn’t recall ever getting such a nice compliment. “One of my old boyfriends called me ‘The Ice Queen.’”

“He must not have known you at all.” Keenan opened the door for her and she inhaled the familiar soap and woodsy smell she’d come to associate with him.

“We can take my car tonight.” Mitzi tossed him the keys.

“Second time in a week.” He snagged the ring of keys midair. “What’s the occasion?”

“It’s muggy this evening.”

“Just because Bertha’s AC is on the fritz...” Keenan gave the Impala’s fender a tap as he walked past. “She can’t help it. She’s old