Heart Matters by tani shane Read Free Book Online

name
so that they are ensured a fair and quick return on their
investment. I know Steve; he doesn’t like to take unnecessary
risks. Challenges sure, but not meaningless ventures.”
    “Steven Hart,” Jessica breathed the name
softly, “You were at college together weren’t you?”
    “Yes and he’s still a good friend.”
    Jessica raised a surprised brow. “I didn’t
know you two were close.”
    Jeff shrugged nonchalantly. “We talk once in
a while.” His deep eyes held hers softly. “I guess you and I are
further apart than we thought.”
    She felt a little hurt by his observation
but knew they had stopped telling each other about the happenings
in their lives in general. After all, Jeff had Cheryl and she
had…no one. She shrugged the gloomy feeling from her heart and
faced him with a bright smile. “No harm looking into it, I guess.
But tell me, how are Cheryl and the kids?”
    An affectionate smile immediately broke on
his handsome face. “They’re fine and send you their love. This
reminds me, I have a surprise for you.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Cheryl decided to finally shift out West.
That way she can be closer to her mom. She’s moving to Beverly
Hills with the kids.”
    Jessica’s smile turned to a surprised grin.
“That is a surprise! When are they coming? And what about
you?”
    “They’ll be here in a couple of weeks.
They’ll be moving into the house I bought last autumn. As for me,
it’ll be a while before I can wind up at Miami. Six months tops.”
He stooped and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I hope I can
finally see more of you, angel.”
    She nodded, a sudden happy feeling
surrounding her. Over the years despite having her friends around,
she had really missed her brother’s presence. She was very fond of
her niece and nephew and got along passably well with Cheryl. It
would definitely be good to have them around. “It’s almost lunch
time, care for a bite?”
    “Nah, I have a flight to catch. I made this
unscheduled stop because you bawled over the phone and scared the
daylights out of me.” Jeff gave her one last hug before moving
towards the door. “You take care okay? And will you give ‘Hart
Inc.’ a shot?”
    “Yes. When do I see you again?”
    “In a couple of weeks hopefully. I’m off to
Europe next week. I’ll probably be there for a while.” As if he
couldn’t resist one last jibe, he added, “Don’t tell me about you
and Adam over the phone all right? I want to be around to knock
some sense into your head when you decide on that guy.”
    She stuck her tongue out at his laughing
face. “I have already decided, Jefferson James Cantrell, he’s as
good as your brother-in-law.” She smiled hearing his laughter all
the way down the boutique. She stood at her window and blew him a
kiss when he turned to wave at her one last time.
    With Jeff gone, Jessica felt her somber mood
returning. She ran her fingers through her unruly hair that reached
mid way down her back and drew in a deep breath. “Oh, no, Jessica
Cantrell! You will not lapse back into melancholy. You have work to
do!”
    A silent prayer left her lips. Jeff might be
an overbearing big brother but this time his words of advice had
come as a blessing from above. Going into a partnership meant she
didn’t have to marry Adam right away. It would give them more time
to take explore their relationship before taking the plunge. It
would especially keep her from feeling guilty about using Adam for
‘Jess-C Creations’.
    She buzzed for her secretary on the
intercom. When Ruth appeared she gave her quick orders. “Ruth,
please call up ‘Hart Inc’ and get me an appointment with Steven
Hart. Get them to squeeze me in as soon as possible, will you? It’s
an emergency.”
    “What do I say if they ask what it’s all
about?”
    Jessica smiled mysteriously. “Tell them
‘Jess-C Creations’ has a business proposal for them.”
    Ruth’s eyes widened at first then
comprehension dawned upon her. She