Page 4 of At the Heart of It (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #4)

Kate smiled and breathed in the scent of crushed leaves and the warm leather of the jacket, letting the soft suede collar brush her cheek. She wondered if this qualified as a date. If it did, it was one of the nicest ones she’d had in months.

She was almost disappointed when they reached the B I’m not having sex with you. I also don’t do long-distance relationships.”

“I see,” he said, still sounding amused. “And there’s nothing in between those two?”

Kate’s cheeks burned, and she folded her hands in her lap. In her quest to be a forthright communicator, had she turned herself into a social moron?

But Jonah pushed his feet against the wood slats of the porch and sent the swing into a gentle sway.

They glided back and forth a few times, rocking in a gentle rhythm that gradually began to soothe Kate’s tattered nerves.

“I wasn’t planning to seduce you,” he said.

“Not that I’d object if you wanted to seduce me .

You’re very hot. And smart. And funny. Did I mention hot? ”

He grinned, and Kate felt her insides liquefy. Maybe she’d been too quick to dismiss the idea of a one-night stand.

No, of course she wouldn’t do that. It wasn’t her style. Still?—

“You’re hot, too,” she acknowledged as she leaned back against the swing and kicked her feet. “This is nice. Just swinging. It’s such a pleasant night.”

“That it is.” He kicked off the porch again, giving them a little more momentum. “Swinging soothes the soul.”

“Can we sit here and talk for a while?” She suggested.

“I’d like that.” He smiled. “And maybe you’d let me hold your hand?”

Kate grinned and slid her hand onto his knee. He wrapped his fingers around hers, forming a comfortable web of digits. “I’d like that,” she said. “I’d like that a lot.”

Jonah leaned a little closer, and Kate felt herself give a little sigh of pleasure. “And maybe eventually,” he murmured. “You’d let me kiss you good night?”

Kate looked up at him, admiring the soft creases in his forehead, the fringe of dark lashes, the sparkle of streetlights in those amber-green eyes.

“Why wait for eventually?” she murmured back.

Then she leaned up and kissed him.

Four weeks later, Kate was still thinking about that kiss.

Well, she thought about other things, too. Like the fact that she sat poised on the brink of one of the biggest breaks in her career.

“So the rest of the network guys liked the pitch?”

Kate nodded. “They loved it.” She glanced over at her assistant producer in the passenger seat.

Amy’s wild blond curls fluttered in the current from the rental car’s air vents, and her manicured fingernails drummed the stack of books in her lap.

The sight of those books sent a pulse of happiness through Kate’s body.

She knew every one of them by heart.

There was But Not Broken , Vivienne Brandt’s debut memoir about finding love after an abusive relationship.

On the Other Hand was the follow-up, a sort of relationship self-help guide for couples.

The newest title, Making It Work , had only been out a few weeks and featured Vivienne Brandt’s advice for real-life couples experiencing challenges in their relationships.

“I still can’t believe you convinced Vivienne Brandt to do a reality show,” Amy said, jarring Kate back to the present.

“I’m still kind of stunned myself,” Kate admitted. “Don’t forget we’re avoiding the term reality show . At least when we’re talking to Dr. Vivienne.”

“I know, I know,” Amy said. “It’s ‘unscripted television.’” The implied air quotes said plenty about Amy’s opinion of the nitpicky word choice, but Kate didn’t care.

“We can call it whatever we want when we’re alone,” Kate said. “But it’s important to Vivienne that we keep things sounding sophisticated and educational.”

“Hey, whatever keeps the good doc happy.”

Kate steered the car off I-5 with a flutter of anticipation. She couldn’t believe she was here in Seattle. The whole thing had happened so quickly. Well, quickly in TV terms.

And somehow, she’d made it all happen. First, she’d convinced Vivienne Brandt—her freakin’ idol —to do a television show.

And then she’d convinced the studio to back it.

And yesterday morning, she’d gotten a tentative okay from the Empire TV network.

The sizzle reel she and Amy had put together was one of the best they’d ever done, and the whole thing was almost in the bag.

Almost.

As though reading her thoughts, Amy cleared her throat. “So you think the network is going to pick it up?”

“They want to,” Kate said. “We just have to get Dr. Vivienne to agree to their changes.”

“She has to,” Amy said with all the determination of someone still relatively new to the television industry. “Besides, the network’s title is better anyway. Relationship Reboot with Dr. Viv has such a cool ring to it.”

“I agree,” Kate said. “It’s not the title I’m worried about. It’s the other change that might be an issue.”

“Right.” Amy shuffled the books in her lap, bringing On the Other Hand to the top.

The cover featured the interlaced fingers of husband and wife, wedding rings on casual display.

It was one of Kate’s favorites, both the cover and the book itself.

She used to keep it on her nightstand and read sections aloud to Anton.

Chapters about communication techniques and relationship-building exercises and?—

“Do you think she’s going to go for it?” Amy asked.

Kate glanced at her. “Having her husband involved?”

Amy nodded. “I mean I loved how they wound up together at the end of But Not Broken ,” she said. “And his sidebars in On the Other Hand were terrific. So lighthearted and genuine. Maybe even better than her parts.”

Kate cringed. “Please, please don’t say that in front of her.”

“Obviously,” Amy said with an eye roll Kate didn’t see, but heard in her tone. “It’s true, though, right? I mean why else would the network be so adamant about adding him?”

“Dr. Vivienne is the one with the PhD in psychology,” she reminded Amy. “He just wrote the sidebars. Besides, we didn’t pitch this show as a two-person act. This was just supposed to be Dr. Vivienne’s show.”

“But you think she’ll do it?”

“I don’t know. She was pretty guarded when I told her about it on the phone yesterday. I’m guessing she has some concerns.”

“So that’s why she wants to meet with us alone before we sit down with the network team?”

“Yep.” At least Kate hoped so. She had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Amy continued chattering as Kate took a sharp right onto a tree-lined street. “I’ve been reading old reviews of On the Other Hand ,” Amy said. “Female readers really connected with the whole Average-Joe thing. I think it’ll add a lot to the show.”

“But her new book doesn’t have that at all,” Kate pointed out as she continued down the narrow street lined with gated properties and towering stucco houses. And trees. So many trees. Must be a Seattle thing.

“I’m only halfway through that one,” Amy said.

“ Making It Work is just Dr. Vivienne’s perspectives on a whole bunch of different relationships in jeopardy, and it’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for weeks.”

“Her career is definitely hot right now,” Amy said. “Putting her on television is a fabulous idea.”

“It is great timing,” Kate agreed as she pulled up to the gate and punched in the code Dr. Vivienne had given her.

Her stomach did a triple backflip of anticipation.

She’d met Dr. Vivienne before, but never at her home.

Never like this. Here she was, Kate Geary, driving alongside the hydrangea bushes of the woman who’d written the books that got Kate through the toughest times in her life.