Nora rubbed her eye, then sucked in a sharp breath. As she tried to stand, he gently pushed her back down. Here, he said, carefully pulling her fingers back. Let me look at it.
Am I bleeding?
He stared into her eyes, such incredibly blue eyes. Why had he never noticed her eyes before? Wide and innocent eyes. Tantalizing. Alluring. A host of adjectives tumbled through his mind. A man could lose himself in those eyes. For a moment, he couldnt concentrate on anything else but the way her lashes fluttered, the way her honey-blond hair fell across her forehead; the soft pulse point just below her jaw that would feel so warm beneath his lips. She cleared her throat again, yanking him back to reality once more.
No, youre not bleeding, he said. Its not so bad. Just a little black and blue. You can hardly see it.
Black and blue? Nora moaned. That cant be.
He shrugged, then stared at it more closely, probing at the bruise with a gentle touch. You can put some of that makeup stuff on it, and no one will notice.
Butbut I cant have a black eye!
A sharp laugh slipped from his throat before he could stop it. Why? Do you have some hot date tonight? When he saw the flush of embarrassment creep up her cheeks, he cursed himself soundly. Im sorry. I shouldnt have laughed.
No, you shouldnt have, she murmured. It was very rude.
I just never think of youI mean, PrudenceWell, you know what I mean. I never think of Prudence as having much of a social life, beyond quilting bees and pinochle club.
Im not Prudence, she said in a soft voice, the hurt evident beneath the surface. Andand maybe I do have a date tonight. Would that be so hard to believe?
He let his palm rest on her cheek for a moment before he sat back on his heels. Well, youre going to have a nice shiner, Nora Pierce, if you dont put some ice on that eye. Pete reached out and took her hand, then helped her to her feet. Ill get something from the fridge. Why dont you sit down? And dont rub it. Ill be right back.
Nora nodded and managed a grateful smile, as he strode out of her office. The boys were gathered in a small group, ready to mount a rescue mission. But he waved as he passed, tossing them the ball. Shes fine, he said. Carry on. Im going to get some ice. I hit her in the eye.
Fear froze the expressions of his co-workers, and they quickly scattered, heading back to work before they might be implicated in the injury of Prudence Trueheart. Pete grabbed the closest thing he could find to an ice pack from the refrigerator and hurried back to Noras office.
He found her leaning back in her chair, her eyes closed and her slender legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles.
Here, he murmured, bending over her, bracing his hand on the arm of her chair. This should help.
Nora opened her eyes and looked at the small package he offered. Thats a frozen burrito.
Pete shrugged. Someone forgot to fill the ice trays.
She took the burrito from his hand and carefully placed it over her eye. Another breach of office etiquetteactually, two. Stolen food and empty ice trays.
He covered her hand with his and adjusted the burrito over the bruise. An errant strand of hair slipped from the knot at her nape and brushed the back of his hand. He was acutely aware of how soft it felt. It probably smelled good, too. Yeah, I guess that memo you put up must have fallen off the refrigerator already.
You tore it down, didnt you, Nora accused.
Not me, he lied. But you have to admit, sometimes you are a little
Pushy? she asked. Overbearing?
I was going to say prissy, he replied, stepping back before he was tempted to run his fingers through her hair and scatter the pins that held it in place. Actually, he was going to say autocratic and oppressive. But the vulnerability he saw in her eyes made him amend his opinion. Suddenly, he much preferred Nora Pierces gratitude to her disapproval. Sports guys dont like rules. The only thing that should have rules is a game.
Civilized society needs proper etiquette, she countered. If we have to live together, we have to respect each other. Good etiquette is a measure of that respect.
And twenty-seven rules posted on an office refrigerator tend to make us a little crazy.
She sighed softly, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. I dont mean to make you crazy. I was just trying to behelpful.
His attention dropped to her mouth again, and he fought the impulse to lean closer and kiss away the traces of hurt he heard in her voice. Hed always assumed she was such a hard and calculating woman, an imperious force with a steel spine and ice water running through her veins. But in truth, Nora Pierce wasnt at all like Prudence Trueheart. Sure, she was a little uptight and overly concerned with propriety. But beneath the stuffy facade, she was soft and vulnerable and incredibly irresistible.
Maybe I could take you out to lunch, he said. By way of an apology.
She sat up straight and pulled the burrito from her eye, regarding him with a suspicious expression. Lunch?
Yeah, why not? Thats not against the rules, is it? Or didnt I ask the right way. Should I have called first? Or maybe written you a note? I suppose I could have sent an engraved invitation, but my engraver is broken.
Nora shook her head, the barest hint of a smile touching her lips. II dont think lunch would be such a good idea. After all, we work together. People might talk.
Though it was a reputation built more on rumor than fact, Pete was known at the Herald as the resident Casanova, a fact that obviously hadnt escaped Prudences notice. He didnt put much effort into attracting women, but he always seemed to have at least two or three beautiful ladies on a string. Yet, over the past year, hed found himself increasingly disenchanted with the women he datedand the reputation hed cultivated. Unfortunately, the reputation seemed to stick, and his personal life had become tasty fodder for the office gossips.
It wasnt that he didnt like women anymore. He still had the occasional date, but maybe he was getting too old for the singles scene. At thirty-three, he wasnt exactly over the hill, but hed come to the conclusion that a good relationship wasnt only about great sex and a centerfold body. He just wasnt sure what it was about.
Pete sighed. At the moment, he found himself wanting lunch with Nora Pierce, odd as that seemed. Its just a simple lunch, he said with a grin. What could they possibly say about you and me having a burger together? Though he meant the question rhetorically, he saw another trace of hurt in her expression, then realized how shed taken it. Of course, a quiet lunch with Prudence Trueheart couldnt possibly end in anything other than dessert and separate checks. She had her reputation, too, and it was spotless. But her reaction came out of left field, and he wasnt sure if he should apologize or rephrase.
IIm not hungry, but thank you, anyway, Nora replied, her voice suddenly cold and distant. She held out the burrito. Here, you better put this back in the freezer. I wouldnt want anyone to miss it.
Pete slowly shook his head and took the burrito. For a few minutes, hed thought hed managed a truce of sorts with Nora Piercemaybe even the beginning of a friendship. But after sticking his foot in his mouth, not once but twice, he realized that the woman before him would be a tough sell. If discarding his reputation meant losing his touch with women, maybe hed have to rethink his options.
Pete slowly shook his head and took the burrito. For a few minutes, hed thought hed managed a truce of sorts with Nora Piercemaybe even the beginning of a friendship. But after sticking his foot in his mouth, not once but twice, he realized that the woman before him would be a tough sell. If discarding his reputation meant losing his touch with women, maybe hed have to rethink his options.
Fine, he murmured. But if you change your mind, just let me know. He walked to the door, then turned around to take one last look. She watched him from behind her desk, her blue eyes wide. He should have insisted on lunch, or at least been insulted by her refusal. But something told him not to burn any more bridges with Nora. Illsee you later.
She nodded curtly, then picked up a file folder from her desk and efficiently spread the contents out in front of her. When shed managed to ignore him for a full ten seconds, he silently walked out of her office, closing the door behind him.
The teams had reassembled in the Bullpen, and the game had started up again with Sam Kileys team at bat. As he walked back to his spot in the infield, he caught a foul ball and threw it to the first baseman.
So? What happened? Sam asked.
The hell if I know, Pete murmured. Im usually pretty good at figuring out women, but Prudence Trueheart is one confusing lady. He took his place as shortstop, rubbing his palms on his thighs. His mind drifted back to the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips. It wasnt going to be so easy to write off Prudence Trueheartor Nora Pierce, for that matter. Besides confusing and capricious and condescending, he found her incredibly intriguing.
And it had been such a long time since Pete Beckett had found any woman intriguing.
Dear Prudence Trueheart,
My boyfriend and I have been doing the nasty from the night of our first date. The sex is fantastic, but now that our wedding date is approaching, Id like to practice celibacy to make the wedding night special. How can I convince my horny fiancé of my decision?
Signed, Steadfast in San José
Nora Pierce read the letter over again and again, crossing out the word horny and replacing it with ardent, then trying to come up with a euphemism for the nasty. But the edit couldnt possibly change the tone of the letter. This wasnt etiquette! This was a country-and-western song. A bad talk show topic. Beauty parlor gossip. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. When shed taken the job as Prudence three years ago, shed been hired to answer questions about gracious living. But all that had changed on April Fools Day six months ago.
On a lark, shed answered a silly question from a cross-dresser who wanted to know whether he should ask his wifes permission first before borrowing her underwear or whether the lingerie was community property. Her answer dripped with sarcasm and disapproval, and shed published it to illustrate the limits of true etiquette. The only excuse a man has for not wearing proper underwear is if hes not wearing any underwear at all! shed written. And the only places where underwear can be considered an option is in the shower and the doctors office.
That single, silly column had been the end of her noble life as an etiquette columnist. The phone lines lit up and the fan mail poured in to all the newspapers across the country that carried her column. Her readers wanted moremore dirt, more trash, more sleaze. And more of Prudences sharp-tongued reprimands and subtle put-downs.
Great column yesterday!
Nora glanced up. Her publisher, Arthur Sterling, leaned into the doorway of her office, a broad smile on his face. Though he rarely descended from the twelfth floor, hed been seen more often lately in Prudences vicinity. Though a more naive columnist might believe theyd become friends, Nora knew that Arthur Sterling had no friends. He had assets and opportunities. And he wanted her to agree to syndicated television spots as Prudence.
He chuckled and nodded his head. Sex, thats what sells. I just got off the phone with Seattle. They want the column. And Biloxi and Buffalo are in negotiations as we speak. Arthur gave her the thumbs-up. Good work! And Im still waiting for your answer on that television deal.
Thank you, she murmured. But he was already gone, on to some other profit center, some other opportunity that was going to pad his already sizable bank account. To him, Prudence wasnt a beacon in a sea of chaos, a behavioral standard. Shed become dollars and cents. More trash meant more readers. And that meant more money for her syndicated column. Etiquette is part of the past, hed told her. It might have been all right for the first Prudence Trueheart in 1921, but the world was changing.
If only shed never written that April Fools column. Since then, Sterling had insisted she devote at least three columns a week to modern problemsquestions on morality and relationships. Her monthly appearance on Good Morning, San Francisco, a popular television show, had turned from table settings and wedding etiquette to advice for the lovelorn.
With her sudden rise to popularity, she had become a celebrity around town. For every moment that Nora felt as if she were prying into her readers personal lives, her readers seemed to intrude on hers. The grocery store, the dry cleaners, even the dentists officeall had become venues for advice sessions. And her readers seemed to cherish Prudences impeccable behavior even more than she did, always watching her, waiting to catch her in a manners misstep or a moral backslide! Prudence was supposed to be pure of heart and filled with virtue.
To ensure the purity of Prudence, her publisher had even included a morals clause in her contract. Prudence didnt curse or chew tobacco. She didnt wear revealing clothes or frequent biker bars. And she certainly didnt sleep around! That final point hadnt taken much effort on her part. She could barely remember the last time shed been with a man, in the biblical sense.
Nora groaned and buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. Her lack of contact with the opposite sex had become painfully obvious in her unbidden reaction to Pete Becketts touch. And since shed been beaned by that baseball, shed been having a difficult time keeping her mind on work, preferring, instead, to dwell on the color of Pete Becketts eyes and the warmth of his smile.
She thought back to their conversation, to her disturbing reaction to his touch, to the feel of his gaze on her body. She replayed the incident, trying to remember every detail and every word spoken. Prissy, she murmured. Is that really what he thought of her?
She silently scolded herself and snatched up another letter. Nora had always found a certain comfort in Prudences world, a place where there were rules and obligations, where people behaved with propriety and decorum. And where scoundrels and rogues like Pete Beckett saw the error of their ways, settled down with one woman, and lived blissfully ever after in legal and loyal matrimony.
But Prudence wasnt going to hold her breath on that front. The papers golden boy, Beckett, was charming and handsome and a confirmed reprobate. He was everything Prudence Trueheart preached against: a man practiced in the art of seduction and an expert in avoiding commitment, the typical bad boy that Prudence found so troublingand other women found so irresistible.
Though she never deliberately listened to office gossip, what she did overhear was probably mere speculation. Or pure exaggeration. But from the soft moans and furtive giggles from the female members of the staff, she had to believe that some of what shed overheard was trueenough to spend a small portion of each day wondering just what Pete Beckett did to a woman once he got her behind the bedroom door. Not that shed ever find out. When they did bother to communicate, Nora regarded Pete Beckett with thinly disguised disdain, and Pete regarded Nora with mocking amusement.