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“Good evening,” Nicole finally greeted him.
“I was here for a run,” Jordan said, bending and patting the beagle who remained eager for attention.
“That’s what I figured from your running clothes.”
“Uh, yeah. Was this your plan for the evening?”
“Not really. I had a teleconference with my partners. After that I expected to spend the evening with a book, but took Toby for a walk first. We ran into this crowd while we were out. I’m flexible.”
She certainly was. His body grew taut as he recalled the positions she’d gotten into while she’d called the game. He wished that was the only thing that made her attractive. But there was that look on her face of total involvement. And for the kids at the game, it must have been her kindness and enthusiasm that had won them over. As a kid, he would have loved her for all those reasons and more, and the thought made him distinctly uncomfortable.
“That guy with the military haircut says you do a good job of umpiring,” Jordan said.
“How nice. Rick is a Little League coach, so he should know.”
“I was impressed, too. Not that my opinion counts.”
“Modesty doesn’t suit you.”
He grinned. “That’s because I forgot to get my invisible modesty suit from the dry cleaners, but it’s on my to-do list.”
Her lips twitched. “Yes, it’s hard to get around to all the necessary chores of living.” She stirred. “I’ll leave you now and go home to scramble something for dinner.”
“How about taking pity on a hungry man? I’ll order takeout and we can eat together on your deck.”
It was a stupid thing to suggest, and the last thing he ought to do.
* * *
NICOLE DREW A deep breath. Jordan was gazing at her with an inscrutable expression, but she didn’t think it was entirely lacking in sexual energy. Or maybe that was simply what she felt deep in her abdomen.
“If you’re hungry for company,” she said, “it would be better to go to a restaurant. You know, neutral territory.”
A rueful nod. “It would be even wiser for us each to go home and check out our respective refrigerators.”
“Probably.”
They were headed toward the parking lot when Nicole noticed Toby was lagging on his leash. It had been a long, exciting evening with the walk and the game and all the kids paying attention to him. She bent and gathered him into her arms. He sighed and settled his head on her shoulder.
“Are you going to carry him home?” Jordan asked.
“It’s only half a mile. In some ways he’s still a puppy and this was fun but tiring for him.”
“I’ll give you a ride.”
“That’s okay.”
“It’s only a few blocks out of my way. He may not be huge, but he’ll get heavier the farther you go.”
“Well, all right. Thanks.”
He politely opened the passenger door of his silver sports car and supported her elbow as she lowered herself into it with Toby in her arms. With the prospect of something new happening, the beagle lifted his head and started sniffing. She patted him and fastened the seat belt.
It didn’t take long to reach her house. While she was releasing the belt and reaching around Toby’s wriggling movements to find the latch, Jordan went around and opened the door. The gesture was old-fashioned, but nice.
Toby jumped to the ground and trotted to the front door as she got out.
“Uh, thanks,” she told Jordan.
Stepping away, he nodded formally. “Good night.”
Walking swiftly toward the porch where Toby was waiting, Nicole unlocked the door and glanced back to see Jordan in his car, still looking in her direction, so she gave him a casual wave and slipped inside.
After taking care of the alarm, she fed Toby and drank a glass of milk before going upstairs, too tired to get anything else for dinner. Umpiring the impromptu baseball game had been fun but dusty, so she took a long shower before sinking onto her bed.
If she’d taken Jordan up on his suggestion to eat takeout, there was a chance they would have ended up between the sheets together. Of course, she’d never gone in for casual sex, so perhaps she would have resisted. And he might have remembered that sleeping with the subject of his interviews would seriously compromise his pretense of objectivity…except he already knew he wasn’t objective, so he might have decided to hang the consequences.
