Domestic gods...

Top Ten Reasons Why Women Love

Domestic gods...

10.  Domestic gods know how to separate laundry and are man enough to buy and care for fine washables.

9.  Domestic gods like more power...in their women, their cars, their vacuums, and their household cleaners.

8.  Domestic gods do manly things - like lift the couch with one hand to vacuum under it.

7.  Domestic gods don't question their sexuality - being a good cook and knowing how to clean doesn't make them effeminate. It makes them independent.

6.  A domestic god knows the way to a woman's heart is to show he's capable of killing bugs, scrubbing toilets, washing windows, keeping her well-fed and satisfied in bed.

5.  A domestic god knows there's nothing sexier than a man cleaning the bathtub for the woman in his life and then joining her in it.

4. Domestic gods don't expect their women to be a maid unless said woman is into playing dress-up. Then, they prefer the French variety - feather duster included.

3.  Domestic gods can fix your car and fix you a five-course meal.

2.  Domestic gods not only respect women, they care for and about them.

And the number one reason women love domestic gods is...

Domestic gods are as good in the kitchen as they are in the bedroom.

Now that I have your attention, I'll introduce myself. I'm Robin Kaye and the first book of my domestic gods series - Romeo, Romeo will be released this September.

All my heroes are domestic gods. I think there's nothing sexier than a man doing something I dread - like housework, or anything I don't want to do three times a day for the rest of my life - like cook.

Give me a man who can fix dinner in a pinch and clean up after himself, and I give you a domestic god. Granted, they are harder to find than a straight man on Fire Island, but they are worth their weight in plutonium - especially if you're a woman like me - I hate housework and here's the round-about story of why...

When I was nine years old and wanted to earn money for horseback riding lessons, I got a job selling doughnuts door to door. I made a hundred and fifty dollars a weekend, which was great until after six months of bringing in the big bucks, I was arrested for soliciting. Technically, I wasn't really arrested since the police officer didn't book me. He just gave all my doughnuts and me a ride home in a police car. The look on my mother's face when she answered the door was priceless. What can I say? I didn't know what no soliciting meant.

After that, I moved to a small town with five lakes and I wanted a sailboat. Since soliciting was definitely out of the question, I cleaned five houses a week for a year and bought myself a sailboat. I've hated cleaning ever since.

Fast-forward to when I was twenty-something. I felt I was ready for a serious relationship, but the last thing I wanted was someone else to take care of. I had a hard enough time cleaning up after myself. Why would I want to add a man to the mix? That's when I decided I only wanted a man who would take care of himself and maybe even take care of me.

What woman wouldn't want a man to take care of her? Well, maybe Martha Stewart - a domestic god would probably make her feel threatened. But for the most part, women want a man who will take care of them, and I'm not talking monetarily although I have no problem with that either.

I may have dated every bad boy, but I was smart enough to marry a boy scout. I've been married to a certifiable domestic god for the last 18 years and life has been pretty great. The only problem I have is that there's virtually nothing to complain about when my girlfriends are whining about their husbands leaving dirty underwear on the floor. My husband has been known to pick up my clothes.

On the rare occasion I have something to vent, my girlfriends tell me how lucky I am to have him - which is so not what you want to hear when you need a poor baby and a dirty martini.

Now if only my three children were little domestic gods and goddesses, life would be perfect. Unfortunately, they take after me...