Heart Matters by tani shane

understanding and that’s why when
he had asked her to marry him, the decision had been easy.
    A weary sigh escaped her lips and she lay
down after switching off the lights. Adam was undeniably very good
looking and attractive but somehow his kisses had never really
excited her. Perhaps that’s why she had managed to keep her
distance for so long. Soon, she would be his wife and she prayed
desperately she could give him what he expected.

    ***

    The shrill ring of the landline phone
sounded right next to Jessica’s ear and had her groping for it in
her sleep. “Yes?” she croaked, rubbing her eyes with one hand.
    “Jessi, it’s Lynn. Your cell was switched
off. I thought I’d find you home,” her friend’s agitated voice came
over the line.
    “Ly..Lynn, what’s up?” she yawned
lazily.
    “What’s up?” Lynn shrieked in her ear, “It’s
past nine! You’re due at ‘Hart Inc.’ in fifty minutes!”
    Jessica was out of bed even as a hysterical
Lynn carried on frantically. “My alarm got jammed, Lynn. For
heaven’s sake get off the line and call them. Tell them I’ll be a
few minutes late.” She banged the receiver and headed for the
bathroom.
    Fifteen minutes later, she was speeding her car
dangerously on the Santa Monica Freeway towards South Gate. When
she reached the ‘Hart Inc.’ regional premises, a good forty-five
minutes later thanks to the rush hour traffic, she was told Steven
Hart had already left the premises to keep another appointment.
    Jessica came out bristling with anger. She was ten minutes late. Ten minutes and he had already
left! He had received Lynn’s message asking him to grant her some
concession but his secretary had told her that Mr. Hart had
a very busy schedule. He had granted the appointment slot to
someone else, somewhere else. And, he wasn’t available the next
day, or the day after and then he was flying out of town for a
fortnight.
    Arrogant, conceited pig! Jessica thought
maliciously. Couldn’t he wait just a few minutes? So what if he
wasn’t obliged to see her? Couldn’t he guess how important this
was?
    It was your fault, Jessica, she reminded herself
sternly. And partially Adam’s. If he had not disturbed her in the
middle of the night she could easily have got up in time. The
justification made sense and she wriggled her shoulders to shake
off the last bits of her anger.
    The bright sunshine lent a warm glow to her
pretty face making quite a few heads turn appreciatively. It also
sobered her reasonably and she glanced at her watch. There was no
point fretting and fuming over a situation that was out of her
control. It was a pleasant day and she was not really needed at the
boutique. She reached for her cell phone and switched it off with a
satisfied smile on her face. She wanted to speak to no one today,
not even Adam.
    Today she would do what she had not done in
a long time. Take a day off. If there was something she liked about
L.A. it was the fact that it had a lot of places she could visit to
relax her mind and ease her worries. She could easily lose herself
in the crowd and shrug off the ‘heiress’ label that followed her
around. Even the snoopiest of reporters wouldn’t imagine finding the Jessica Cantrell at the Museum of Jurassic Technology
now would they? Not that any reporter ever followed her. Her life
as an heiress was about as exciting as that of a librarian. With
nothing to write about, the media usually simply ignored her. And
she liked to have it that way.
    She got into her car humming cheerfully. She had
heard the museum was good and worth a visit. With Cheryl and the
kids due to shift into the neighborhood, she could always check out
the place and take the kids there some time. With that thought, she
drove easily through the traffic, happy and content.

Chapter Three

    That evening Jessica chose a simple but chic
dress for her dinner with Adam. He had called her at home when she
reached it after her day’s excursion and yelled his lungs