HH02 - A Reclusive Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

from a recent kiss and her hair was mused.
    He couldn't help but smile. "Did I interrupt something?" he asked innocently.
    Dana blew out an exasperated breath, sending a strand of hair out of her face. "You're late."
    "Aw, were you waiting for me? Does Edward need some help?"
    "I seemed to manage just fine on my own," Edward said, walking into the large living room, wearing nothing but a pair of
    unbuttoned jeans and a shit eating grin.
    Nick frowned as a thought occurred to him. As hot and heavy as Edward and Dana were for each other they would never
    ignore a guest to play mattress leap frog.
    "Where's Miss. Harris?" he asked.
    Edward wrapped an arm around his wife and pulled her back into his body. "The girls dropped her off at her car a couple
    of hours ago."
    "Damn it! Why didn't someone tell me? I need to see her tonight and see how things turned out so I know how we should
    proceed with press releases."
    Dana shrugged. "We did call you, but she wanted to go home and I don't blame her. She was really upset."
    "Upset?" Crap. The makeover hadn't helped one bit and the little recluse was heartbroken. No doubt she thought a snip
    here and there and a little blush was going to perform miracles. He could have told her not to expect much, but wouldn't that
    have just been cruel?
    "She had a big shock tonight, Nick. Just leave her alone and let her get used to it, okay?" Dana, always sweet, kind and
    considerate, said. If only he could listen to her, but he couldn't. He had a job to do and that meant going over to Miss. Harris'
    apartment and seeing how much damage control he had to do. If it was really bad he'd have the photographer do some touch ups
    after the photo shoot tomorrow.
    Normally he'd invite himself in and make a nuisance of himself to mess with his friends, but tonight he had work to do.
    After thanking them for all their help, even though it probably hadn't done much, then again he hadn't expected much, he made
    his way over to Miss. Harris' apartment.
    He wasn't entirely surprised to discover the little recluse lived in an average city neighborhood. There wasn't much to set
    this place apart. It looked to have a convenient store, a package store and a small bakery that promised half off coffee rolls
    every Thursday with the purchase of a large coffee.
    Even her building was average, a three level brick building with a basic security door and buzzer. There was absolutely
    nothing special about it. He walked up the two front steps and looked over the apartment listings. Not surprising that the little
    recluse lived on the third floor. It was out of the way and the perfect floor for a little hermit.
    He pressed the button marked "J. Harris," and waited. When no response came he hit the buzzer again.
    "Hello?" Miss. Harris' voice sounded from the raspy speakers.
    "Miss. Harris, it's Nick Quinn. You were supposed to wait for me so that we could go over your schedule for the next four
    weeks."
    "Oh, I'm sorry. I just-"
    He cut her off. "It's no problem, Miss. Harris. We can go over it now if you'd buzz me in."
    "It's kinda of late," she responded quickly.
    "It won't take that long. I promise. At the very least I need to go over tomorrow's schedule."
    "Can't we go over it tomorrow morning?" she asked, sounding hopeful.
    He had to smile. Poor thing must be so humiliated. Well, it was best to get it over with and see what he had to work with.
    "I'm afraid not. We're not meeting at the office, Miss. Harris. I really need to speak with you."
    "You're speaking to me now," she pointed out.
    Nick closed his eyes and prayed for patience. The first day wasn't over and she was already causing him problems. He
    had no doubt that he could get the little recluse under his thumb. He'd use his charm, false flattery and if that failed, which it
    never had, he'd just use the little fact that she was a pushover to his advantage.
    "I prefer to speak with you in person, Miss. Harris, instead of discussing Rerum Publishing business in