Can't Stop Loving You (2 page)

When the woman had held up the shoe and told him the cost, he knew he was in trouble. He knew how much women cherished their shoes and how much they despised dog mess. The look on her face told him that had she arrived a couple of hours earlier before he had dropped Tiki off at the groomer, she would have pummeled the poor pooch with her shoe.

His mind strayed back to the dark beauty who had stood so authoritatively at his front door. She looked sexy trying to be tough, although he could see the sweetness pouring through her cold exterior.

He thought her bronze features were too soft to carry off rage. Her hazel eyes had flashed in anger, but had held no real power. In a day of hair weaves and colored contacts, she had the handle on natural beauty. In his opinion, most women couldn't pull off a natural do and he liked her style.

He also liked how the black wrap skirt she was wearing had covered her ample bottom and showed off her long, silky brown legs to perfection. Her legs had looked so soft from where he was standing that he'd wanted to reach out and touch them.

He guessed her to be somewhere in her late twenties to early thirties, which in his book was too young. She was young enough to be his daughter. In fact, Bianca was twenty-five.

Many found it hard to believe that Kendrick was in his late forties because he was in such great shape. He attributed it to diet and exercise and good genes.

Kendrick's vow to live a healthier lifestyle had come when his wife had died prematurely from ovarian cancer almost seven years ago. The running had started the day she'd passed in the hospice. With tears in his eyes, he'd departed her room in shock and walked out of the building. His walking had become a shuffle as he'd wondered how he would go on without her. The realization that she was gone set in, and he began to run as if to run away from the whole scene.

That day he ran for about two hours before he returned to the hospice and collapsed in the waiting room. He found himself getting up the next morning and running, allowing the sweat to mask the tears rolling down his cheeks. When he returned, he was all cried out and that night he was able to sleep. He began to look forward to starting his mornings with a run in order to be so exhausted at night that all he could do was sleep. So far the benefits were in his favor.

With a stretch, Kendrick slipped a white V-neck T-shirt over his rippling muscles. The clothes that he'd been folding moments earlier would have to wait until tomorrow. He hadn't counted on anyone coming over at this hour of the night, and it had completely thrown off his schedule. As a former NFL player, Kendrick was used to everything being in order and in control, and this troubled him: why was he so in awe of the brown-skinned, brown-eyed girl? For the first time since he'd moved back to Atlanta, a woman had caught Kendrick Thompson's attention and it made him very nervous.

“I'
m telling you, Sid, if I catch the hound in my yard again, I'm going to kidnap her and send her off to the sausage factory,” Kaycee said between strides as she recalled the scenario of the night before. Although she was vexed, she truly wouldn't make good on her threat; she actually loved dogs.

The pair were doing their once-a-week walk around Kaycee's subdivision. Since Kaycee had left Carrington Financial and moved across town, the two friends had made it a point to spend one full day together at least once a month. Usually, that day consisted of sleepover, shopping, dinner at a nice restaurant and a movie or a visit to a club to hear their favorite jazz band.

The small subdivision with no more than forty homes was laid out in an elongated figure-eight pattern. Kaycee had calculated that five times around equaled five miles. Considering the night she'd had, she was glad to be able to walk off the energy she'd built up.

Sidra waved her hand at Kaycee, totally dismissing her comment. “Forget the dog, I want to hear about your neighbor again. Now, you said he came to the door butt naked?”

“Sidra, focus!” she reprimanded. Only Sidra would tune into one aspect of the story.

“How can I focus when naked men are answering doors in the neighborhood?” She looked around. “This is like some
Desperate Housewives
stuff over here.” She said with a laugh. “Maybe I need to get me a crib on Wisteria Lane, too.”

Kaycee shook her head with a smile. She had to love the woman she considered a sister. As they rounded the curve leading to her house, Kaycee's heart began to thump wildly in her chest. What if he was home? What if he came outside showing off all of his glory like last night? What if—? In midthought she noticed that his garage door was open. She stumbled but recovered before Sidra noticed. Her friend was busy rambling on about her dating woes and hadn't picked up on anything.

As they neared the house, Kaycee curiously looked over again just as someone exited through the garage. She quickly looked away. As she got closer, she peered up to see a man wearing a short-sleeved plaid shirt, old faded overalls and a brimmed hat, pushing a lawn mower. At first she thought it was the yardman, but to her surprise it was
him
.

It was like night and day. The man she'd seen the night before had been handsome, well-built and downright sexy; this man looked more like a farmer in the getup he was wearing.

Sidra noticed him, as well, and playfully nudged Kaycee in the side. “If that's your naked man, then I'm going to have to take you to get your eyes checked.”

Kaycee gently pushed her away. “For one, he's not
my
man, and for two, that
is
him.”

Sidra recoiled in disgust. “Eew. He looks like Mr. Green Jeans.”

“I know, but that's him,” Kaycee said, not believing it herself. “That's the same man.”

Just as she ended her words, Kendrick looked up, his eyes immediately resting on Kaycee, who was slightly behind Sidra. A smile curved his mouth and, looking pointedly at her, he called out, “My dog didn't do it.”

Sidra nudged Kaycee in the side once more. “What is he talking about?”

“I'll be the judge of that,” Kaycee responded to him as they passed by.

“Whoa, why are you off in such a hurry?” he said, grabbing on to the straps of his overalls. The baggy material hid his physique so well that she wondered if she'd seen him right last night. “You gave me a real piece of your mind. I thought I'd made an enemy.”

“I don't have enemies unless they try to press me on purpose,” she replied.

His face relaxed. “I want you to know that I'm sorry. I will pay for the damage done to your shoe. That doggone Tiki is going to get it.”

“Tiki?” Kaycee repeated. “Who is Tiki?”

“My dog. Her name is Tiki.”

“Tiki, how cute,” Kaycee gushed, momentarily forgetting her animosity toward the dog. Despite the farmer attire, she could see the appeal of the man who had answered the door last night shining through.

“You didn't think so last night,” he replied.

Kaycee flushed with embarrassment as she recalled the previous evening's scene in her mind.

“About last night—”

Kendrick cut her short with a wave of his hand. “Don't worry about it. Your feelings were totally justified.”

“So where is the little booger anyway?” Kaycee asked, purposely turning her face toward her house to make a point.

Kendrick shook his head, smiling at her obvious gesture.

“At the groomer's.”

“You may want to look into obedience school,” Kaycee announced. “I think she's been way too pampered.”

“There might be some truth to that,” he said with a laugh. “She did the same thing to the tenants who lived there before you.”

Sidra cleared her throat and grabbed Kaycee by the arm.

“Girl, let's get out of here before he gets into some story,” she whispered. At the sight of Kaycee standing there smiling, she rolled her eyes and yanked her down the street.

“Sorry to interrupt this cute little tale but we really have to get going,” Sidra said. “We have a busy day ahead of us. You understand, don't you?”

Kendrick's brows raised skeptically, but before he could reply, Sidra already had them well on their way to Kaycee's place.

“Sid, that was so rude,” Kaycee chastised her friend as they walked up the driveway.

Sidra waved off Kaycee's comment. “Honey boom, that man wasn't about nothing. Look at him—on second thought, don't,” she added with a naughty giggle.

Despite Sidra's insistence, Kaycee looked back to find Kendrick standing there smiling, and she smiled in return.

 

“I can't believe that guy was flirting with you,” Sidra said as she peered into Kaycee's refrigerator. She scanned the contents before selecting a bottle of water and an apple and closing the door with her hip.

“He was not flirting,” Kaycee replied. “He was just being neighborly.” She was glad her back was to Sidra because she couldn't say the same about last night. Underneath the farmer getup was a very attractive man, wasn't there?

Sidra rolled her eyes and sank her teeth into the crunchy fruit. “Come on, Kaycee, the man was all cheddar when he saw you.”

Kaycee took a seat on a stool at the breakfast bar and began riffling through some papers. “Sid, you know I'm not thinking about dating right now. I just got out of a long-term relationship—”

“Which is why you need to get back into the game before your skills get old,” Sidra interrupted.

“What?” Kaycee exclaimed, spinning around with her fists planted firmly on her hips. “I don't need to do anything except focus on me. It's all about Kaycee now.”

Sidra shook her head in disagreement. “See, girlfriend, that is where you are wrong. You have to balance your life, Kaycee. Too much work and not enough play can make you a dull girl and I, for one, don't hang with dull folks. I have a guy who would be perfect for you.”

With a roll of her eyes, Kaycee marched into the family room and flopped down on the sofa, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. “Sidra, I have way too much on my mind to try and be bothered with some man. I'm trying to secure some contracts, you know, grow my business. Now if any of these men can do that for me, then maybe we can talk.”

Sidra nodded her head slowly. “Actually, he might be able to do something.”

It wasn't the answer Kaycee wanted to hear, but if it meant getting Sidra off her back then she'd pretend to listen.

“His name is Grant Craddock and he's an engineer,” Sidra began.

“Sidra, what is so perfect about that? Paul was an engineer. Someone perfect would be a man who shares
my
interests.”

One of the problems that Kaycee and Paul had had was that they could never agree on how to spend their evenings. Paul was a big event attender. He preferred the benefits and balls to the football games and outdoor activities that Kaycee liked. It was almost as if their sexual roles were reversed.

“Did I mention that he sits on the board of the Black Business Network?” Sidra asked with a roll of her neck, hoping to raise the stakes. “Give him a try. Kayce.”

Kaycee sighed. “I don't know.”

“Grant is good people, plus he's fine as wine. You know I'm your girl,” Sidra chided. “Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Actually you have,” Kaycee nodded. “Remember that fiasco with your cousin Rodney?”

Sidra's face dropped and she held up her hands in protest. “Okay, okay, so I didn't know he was gay. He did a good job hiding it from the family.”

“Sidra, you said he decorated his house himself and his color scheme was pink and lavender. Now if you ask me, that screams
gay!
”

“Okay, so I made one bad hit.”

“Don't forget Brent the biologist,” Kaycee brought up another name. “I thought I'd have to move when I caught him sitting in his car outside my apartment after I told him I thought we should just be friends.”

“Okay, so I'm not perfect, but Grant is straight and he's not a stalker. He doesn't have kids and he's never been married and he's good-looking.”

“I've seen your version of good-looking,” Kaycee quipped. “The name
Wayne
comes to mind.”

“Oh, like yours is any better,” Sidra shot back. “Don't forget the Farmer in the Dell next door.”

If Sidra had seen what Kaycee had last night, she would take back her words in a heartbeat. “Give me the number. I'll do it this time, but you got to promise to stop worrying about my love life, okay?”

Sidra gleefully tore a piece of paper from a nearby notepad and jotted down Grant's telephone number.

“So, are you going to call him tomorrow?” she asked, pushing the paper across the table toward Kaycee. “Maybe you could meet him for lunch.”

Kaycee shook her head.

“I'm going to stop by that spot, Café Jireh. I won't have time for much else.”

Sidra's eyes lit up. “Oh, I heard that place got it going on.”

“I did, too. I'm trying to jump on it before someone else gets any ideas. I think it would be a great networking opportunity.”

“That's a good idea!” Sidra said with excitement. “But in the meantime, let me know how it goes with Grant.”