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McCord asked softly. „The fact that you wanted me as much as I wanted you?“
    Her head came up, her eyes serious and a little troubled. „I’m not ashamed of the way I felt about you, but I think it made things easy for you and difficult for me.“
    „You’re in love with me, aren’t you, Pru?“ His gaze was very direct, allowing no room for maneuvering.
    „That’s the bottom line. It’s the reason you went to bed with me the first time and it’s the reason you finally agreed to come and live with me. “
    She forced a small shrug. „You always seem to have all the answers, don’t you, McCord?“
    „Are you going to deny it?“
    „No. There’s not much point. It doesn’t matter, anyway. You’ll believe what you want to believe. The real question is how you feel about me.“
    He blinked at the cool way she had turned the tables on him. A reluctant smile of admiration edged his mouth for a few seconds. „I want you back. I want you in my bed and in my home. I realize you need the security of marriage in order to be happy. I’m willing to give you that security.“
    She pushed her glass of fruit juice aside and leaned forward to ask the only question that mattered. „Do you love me, McCord?“
    He was silent for a moment. „I don’t know,“ he finally said with blunt honesty. „What do you think?“
    She shivered. „I think you do, but for some reason you’re going to have a hard time admitting it. I wish I knew what the reason is. It’s been driving me crazy ever since I first met you.“
    It took a lot to startle McCord, but he definitely looked surprised by her thoughtful words. „What the hell are you talking about?“
    She smiled and sat back in her chair, studying him. The scooped neck of her narrow white cotton knit dress slipped slightly to one side, revealing the delicate hollows and curves of her shoulder. The candlelight gleamed on the thin gold chain she wore around her neck. In the soft light her eyes were almost gold. „Don
    ’t you realize how little I or anyone else for that matter knows about you, McCord? Oh, J.P. knows you’re brilliant in your area of expertise and that you have a talent for getting things done in the field. Martha knows you like peanut butter pie and that you detest sweet after-dinner liqueurs. Steve knows you like gardens and lots of healthy growing things around your home.“
    „What about you, Pru? What do you know about me?“
    She made a small movement with her hand. „I know you went to good schools, that you’re committed to the work of the foundation, that you’ve been faithful to me since we’ve met.“
    He smiled faintly. „What makes you so sure of that?“
    „I don’t know. I just am.“
    He nodded. „Go on with your list.“
    „Well, I’ve learned a hundred little things about you – “
    „Including how to please me in bed.“
    She tried to ignore the deliberate look in his eyes. „You’re a good teacher. That’s not the point, McCord.
    What I was about to say is that while I know a lot of small, inconsequential things about you, there are a lot of important things I don’t yet understand.“
    „Such as?“
    „Why you were so adamantly against marriage, for one thing.“ There was a heartbeat of silence before Pru asked the next question. „Have you ever been married before, McCord?“
    „No. I was engaged three years ago.“
    She chewed on her lower lip, considering the cryptic response. „And things went wrong?“
    „Very wrong.“
    „You’re…you’re not still carrying a torch for her, are you?“
    „She’s dead, Pru. She was killed in a car accident. No, I am definitely not carrying a torch for her.“ The tone of his voice made it clear that that was all he intended to say on the subject.
    Pru absorbed the implications of the abrupt words. „Is that why you didn’t want to marry? Too much trauma left over from your first engagement?“
    He lifted his whiskey glass and took a slow swallow. „What happened in