Now or Never by Elizabeth Adler Page B

more about her now than he had when he came in here.
    “You don’t have to take me home,” she said later, outside the restaurant, waiting for a cab.
    “I always see a woman to her front door.”
    “Things have changed since your mother’s day, detective. Women are independent now. They take cabs all by themselves.”
    He threw her an irritated glance. “You can say what you like, I was brought up to have good manners.”
    “Oh? A mama’s boy?”
    “Like the killer. Remember?”
    “You promised no business,” she reminded him soberly.
    “I’m a man who keeps his promises.”
    The cab arrived. He held the door for her, then climbed in next to her. She didn’t protest. She gave the driver the address, then sat quietly looking out the window. She wondered what it would be like, to be loved by a man like Harry Jordan. A man with old-fashioned good manners, a man who kept his promises. A man whose hard thigh she was much too aware of next to hers.
    Harry could smell her perfume, soft and grassy. His eyes followed the antique moonstone pendant she wore to where it lay in between the soft curves of her breasts. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Thank you for a delightful evening, Ms. Malone.”
    She gave him a long look. “It was a pleasure, Detective Jordan.”
    “Back to formality again,” he shook his head sadly. “But then, you never did ask me to call you Mallory.”
    “I didn’t, did I.” Her blue eyes were guileless.
    The cab pulled up at the curb and Harry got out and held the door for her. “You’ll have to get used to my manners if we’re ever going to do this again,” he said.
    She gave him that skeptical look but made no reply as they walked up the steps to her building.
    “No nightcap, I guess?” he said regretfully. “You’re taping that show early tomorrow.”
    “Right.”
    “So this is good night, then?”
    “Good night, Detective Jordan.”
    Harry stood with his arms folded, watching her walk into the foyer. She stopped, hesitated for a moment, then turned and came back toward him.
    “Tell me something, Harry. The time I called you on the phone—exactly
why
were you panting?”
    He ran a hand through his hair, smiling. “Truth or dare?”
    “Truth.”
    “Pity. I had all kinds of good answers for the dare. The truth is, I had just been for a bike ride. I take the dog along. It’s a good way to get us both some exercise.”
    Mal threw back her head, laughing. “I just wondered. Good night again, Harry.” She walked back up the steps.
    “You know what, Malone?” he called after her.
    She turned. “What now?”
    “If you could think of one word to describe me, what would it be?”
    She frowned. “What is this? A test?”
    “Unh-unh, it’s truth or dare. Remember, you started it.”
    She thought for a minute. “Cocky,” she said. “Yes,
cocky
. That describes you exactly.”
    “Okay. Now you’re supposed to ask me.”
    She put her hands on her hips, looking disbelievingly at him. “Okay, so I’m asking.”
    “An enigma,” Harry said. “That’s exactly what you are, Malone. An enigma.”
    Mal thought for a moment. “I take that as a compliment, Harry,” she said, walking back into the lobby. “Good night, and this time I mean it.”
    She raised her hand in farewell, not looking back.

14
    M AL WAS AT THE STUDIO at seven the next morning. They weren’t taping until ten, but she always got there early, along with the production crew, to make sure everything was exactly the way she wanted it.
    “Even though we’ve gone over it a hundred times,” Beth complained. “After three years, Mal, surely you can trust us to get it right.”
    “I just need to be sure, that’s all,” Mal insisted.
    “Okay. It’s no skin off my nose if you want to get up early. How about a cup of coffee and a doughnut?”
    Mal looked scandalized. “Caffeine and sugar? After last week I’m so pure, just the sight of it might make me swoon.” She eyed Beth’s cup