Love Rising: Spring (Mandrake Falls Series Romance Book 4)

by Catherine Lloyd

  “How am I going to pay for this?” Jocelyn turned to Jeremy in panic.

  “I’ll call Mrs. Murdoch and see if they can extend my insurance to include your dad. Don’t worry. It’s going to work out.”

  Jeremy’s insurance wasn’t going to cover her dad; Jocelyn was sure of it, even if the crazily optimistic Jeremy wasn’t.

  His profile glowed in the lights from the dashboard of the Toyota as they drove home. Jocelyn smiled when he glanced at her, startled to find her eyes on him. He was really nice and she really liked him—more than liked him, actually. She was kind of crazy about him.

  But it had to stop.

  Jocelyn promised him a week but she didn’t have a week. If her father needed to be hospitalized for a long time, she would have to find a rich boyfriend and soon. Jeremy would understand—he might even agree after what he witnessed tonight. Goddesses didn’t spring from trash piles. Family genes had gifted her with blonde hair and good bone structure. Beauty was the only gift she’d been given and Jocelyn was determined to make the most of it while she could. Her dad was right—she would never break this cycle of poverty by playing by the rules and following her heart. Norm needed her.

  And Jeremy?

  Jeremy Marks was a talented guy with loads of promise and he had his whole life ahead of him. He was better-looking than he believed; he’d have a girlfriend in no time. Maybe Paula Dunlop.

  Jocelyn would miss him.

  Her stomach twisted and she fiercely fought back tears. She fixed her eyes on the dark countryside and dashed a stray tear from her cheek.

  “He’s going to be okay, Joce. Don’t worry.”

  She threw him a fast smile and turned back to the window. The week wasn’t up but the dream was. Jocelyn had one shot at making a better life for her dad and she’d come really close to blowing it. Good looks were a commodity just like anything else. People with brains made money from being smart and nobody criticized them for it. Brainy guys always went for beautiful girls. So did athletes, musicians, politicians—it was pure hypocrisy to criticize a good-looking girl for using her looks to secure a rich husband.

  “I’m starving. What do you say we warm up the chicken stew and watch a movie before bed? It’ll help take your mind off your dad. We’ll drive over to the hospital first thing in the morning. I’ll call the theater and let the crew know I won’t be coming in until later.”

  Jocelyn emptied her face of expression. “I think we’d better call it a night. I’ll sleep better if I’m alone.” She was going to call Ryan McIntyre as soon as she was home and she didn’t want Jeremy there to witness it.

  His body stiffened.

  She’d hurt him.

  “You said you’d be honest with me,” he said quietly. “What’s wrong?”

  “You want the truth?” She glared at him. “I can’t afford this bet of ours. My dad’s hospital bill is going to crush me if I don’t get my head out of the clouds and find a man with money. You can think what you like about that, I really don’t give a damn anymore. I’m going to hook up with Ryan McIntyre and if he’s interested, I’m going to make him fall in love with me. And Jeremy—you want me to be honest—I’m going to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

  “You’re going to fuck him.”

  “You said it, not me.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “Love! Why do you keep going on about love? Who cares about love anymore? I’ll be the kind of wife a man like Ryan McIntyre needs. Love isn’t the issue.”

  “You’ll settle for being a trophy wife. You’ll look good on his arm at parties and hang out at the country club and that’s all you’ll be to him—a beautiful object.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she snapped.

  “Sounds good, but isn’t. God, you are so full of shit.” He shook his head, his mouth hard with anger. “He doesn’t want you and I do. It’s an easy call to make.”

  “We don’t get a choice, Jeremy!” she cried. “The universe isn’t giving us a choice in this!

  The closer she was to breaking it off with him, the more frightened she became. Jocelyn wanted to fling herself in Jeremy’s arms and tell him it wasn’t Ryan she wanted at all. It was him and only him. She wanted to erase the horrible tension she saw in his face. He was struggling so hard to hide what he was feeling but she could read his mind. His guts were ripping apart just like hers were.

  “You think we get to choose our lives? We don’t.” Her voice broke. “Your dad doesn’t like me and my dad thinks I can do better than an underpaid stage manager. They aren’t going to help us. They aren’t going to stand behind us if we get married. If it were just me, I’d say screw it, let’s do what we want. But I can’t turn my back on Norm. I can’t. I can’t. Don’t hate me, please, but I can’t see you anymore.”

  Her house was ahead. Jeremy pulled up in front of it. He put the car in park but left the motor running. The engine rumbled in the silence.

  “What’ll you do if it doesn’t work out with McIntyre?”

  “It’ll work out,” she said flatly. Her head was stuffed with unshed tears. “It’ll work out because I’m going to make sure it works out. I’m going to be everything Ryan needs me to be. I’m going to make him fall in love with me because I have no choice. I’ve got to go.”

  She put her hand on the door. Jeremy stopped her.

  “You said you’d give me a week.”

  “Stop it!” Her face burned. “You got what you wanted. I don’t owe you a thing.”

  Jocelyn jumped out of the car without looking back and was stymied by the gate in the white picket fence that refused to open for her. If she lived to be a hundred, she would not apologize for wanting a rich husband. But if she lived to be a hundred, she wanted all those years to be lived with Jeremy Marks. The guy with terrible clothes, twelve bucks in the bank and no furniture.

  She kicked the gate furiously.

  Jeremy got out of the car and came around to the fence, reached over and lifted the latch. The gate swung open easily.

  “Thank you,” she said stiffly. “Now please leave me alone. It’s over.”

  He waited until she was safely inside her house and then he slammed the gate so hard it rattled on its hinges. Jocelyn closed the door as Jeremy turned away.

  Hot and angry, his chest heaving, tears pressed behind his eyes. Jeremy paused on the sidewalk to take his glasses off. He sucked in several breaths of spring air to try and pull himself together.

  He heard Jocelyn through the flimsy walls of her house and the thin panes of glass. She was crying. Jocelyn Tate was crying over Jeremy Marks.

  The knowledge was no comfort at all.

  Chapter 13: The Man She Wants

  RYAN MCINTYRE tried not to look at his watch. Jocelyn Tate was perched on the edge of his desk outlining her plans for marketing her products in the coming months and he didn’t want to rush her.

  He was glad when she called asking to see him. Thrilled actually, because he took it as a sign that he was right to call it quits with Paula Dunlop. Jocelyn was breathlessly apologetic on the phone for the engagement notice which she swore was a mistake and it was flattering as all hell because she was young and the most beautiful girl in town. As soon as Jocelyn walked into his office, Ryan knew she was on a mission to win him over. He should be over the moon. Instead, Ryan was experiencing some conflicting, complicating reservations.

  Throughout this thinly-disguised business meeting, Jocelyn Tate looked so damn hot it was hard to pinpoint the problem. Why should there be any problem? He’d finished with Paula. He’d come to his senses and was ready to reboot his romantic life. Jocelyn Tate complimented his ambition in every way. She was the perfect woman to have on his arm at business functions and parties. Jocelyn was the kind of girl who knew the right thing to say, when to say it and to whom. She understood the rich just as well as he did. She knew how to get ahead.

  Paula was the polar opposite. Paula Dunlop said the first thing that popped into her head. And her apa
rtment was a throwback to the 1950’s. She talked to her appliances. Ryan could not make this stuff up—he actually heard her in the kitchen arguing with the toaster. The mechanism was stuck and their toast was burning. He’d laughed at the time because it was funny and he was wearing her chenille bathrobe and she was wearing his shirt and looked so cute he could have eaten her for breakfast—

  “Ryan?” Jocelyn shook his shoulder. “Hey. You were a million miles away. Did you hear what I said?”

  No he hadn’t. Ryan gazed into Jocelyn Tate’s perfect face and knew he was in trouble. Paula Dunlop was still stuck in his mind and it looked like it would take a few more days to get her out. A night in Las Vegas and some skydiving should do the trick.

  “I really, really value your input, Ryan,” she said, smiling. “You’ve been my champion from the beginning ... making me believe I could be an entrepreneur ... I wish I could find a way to show my appreciation.”

  Ryan returned her smile and knew they were both thinking the same thing. Any other time he would have gone for it. It was scary how fast a man’s life could change.

  “Thanks are not necessary, Jocelyn. I’m as invested in your success as you are. If you win, I win, so it’s purely self-interest on my part to help you out. It’s all about improving the bottom line for both of us. We’re both business people. Kudos to you for the big sale to Lydia Rutherford. She’s very well connected in this town and word of mouth is king.”

  This time he did look at his watch. Pointedly. “Oh wow. I’m late for a meeting. I’m sorry I have to rush away, Jocelyn, but keep in touch and let me know how your business plan is coming along. I anticipate a high traffic summer so my only advice would be to have plenty of stock ahead to allow for growth in your market.”

  He couldn’t have given her a more graceful way out if he’d drawn a map. Ryan hoped Jocelyn had the sense to take it and he wouldn’t have to make his feelings clearer.

  Jocelyn got to her feet and pretended to lose her balance. He reached out to steady her and she fell heavily against his chest. “Sorry,” she breathed, as though his mere touch had given her an orgasm. Flattering as that may be, Ryan sensed Jocelyn wasn’t as enthusiastic as she had been at the wedding and he wondered what had changed.

  “How about continuing this conversation over dinner?” she asked. “I’d really love to hear your thoughts on penetrating a new market. I’ll cook for you. I’m pretty good.”

  Ryan laughed. The double entendre was pretty funny but not as funny as the idea that Jocelyn could cook, never mind well. He had to give her credit for having the balls to make the offer. “I bet you’re a damn fine little cook.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Thanks, but I’m going to have to pass. Listen, Jocelyn, I like you. We’re pretty much the same person and that’s the problem. Maybe it would work and maybe we’d make each other miserable. I think we should remain friends for now to be on the safe side. It’s a bad idea to mix business with pleasure.”

  Jocelyn heard him. Though numb and terrified to her core, she heard Ryan turn her down. From the moment she walked into his office she had a feeling this was how it was going to end. Ryan McIntyre just wasn’t that into her.

  She wasn’t about to give up that easily. Norm’s heart medications were going to cost the earth. She turned her face up to meet Ryan’s eyes, coyly prepared to contradict him. She was about to tell him they should put it to the test but the falsehood sat like a stone in her stomach. She didn’t want to put anything to the test with Ryan McIntyre. The man didn’t think she could cook! And he wasn’t interested in her garden. He didn’t ask her one question about what she was going to grow this year. Actually, Jocelyn found it really hard to carry on a conversation with him.

  “I never noticed that before.”

  Ryan was looking at her. “Noticed what?”

  The men she had dated were not curious about her. Ryan McIntyre wouldn’t be willing to get out of bed and drive her to the other side of town to check on her dad. Ryan McIntyre wouldn’t care about the plumbing in her crappy house. Ryan didn’t know anything about her beyond her physical description. Did she know anything about him other than his net worth?

  “How much alike we are,” she answered.

  She reeled away from him with a tiny scream of frustration. “If it weren’t for that engagement notice, we could be dating right now. That’s what kills me. We never got a chance. What if this was the right path to take and we were shot down before we could even find out?”

  Ryan sighed and moved around his desk. “If we were destined to be together, a fake announcement would not have stopped us. Bogus or not, someone thought you and Jeremy belonged together. The poor bastard really likes you. Whenever I see him he looks at me like he wants to punch me in the face. Why don’t you give the guy a chance?”

  She kept it to herself just how much of a chance she’d given Jeremy Marks and how far under her skin he’d gotten.

  “You’re a nice person, Ryan McIntyre. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, no strings attached, give me a call.” She opened the office door and stepped into the reception area. “I’ll think over your suggestion. Thanks and have a great day.”

  Jocelyn stepped out of the Millennium Mall into a pastel blue afternoon. The sun blinded her for a second and she closed her eyes. Birdsong rose as evening approached. Birds were noisiest in the spring, hunting for food and mates.

  “I have the same problem and you don’t hear me squawking about it,” Jocelyn lectured them. She was turning into her mother—Josephine had a habit of chatting to the birds in her garden.

  Jocelyn slung her long legs over her bike and pushed off. She’d worn her sexiest outfit today knowing she was going to make a play for Ryan. The play flopped and now she was freezing and it was at least a twenty minute bike ride home.

  By the time Jocelyn arrived at her little house, she was chilled to the bone and had leg cramps. She unlocked the front door, barely looking at the crocuses that had valiantly sprouted out of the crusty snow and went inside.

  The house smelled better since Jeremy fixed the plumbing. She looked around dispassionately. Standing in the middle of her living room, the house seemed to greet her with a shabby, uncomfortable scowl. When Jeremy was here, the house had a better vibe. Her house liked Jeremy Marks.

  The phone rang. It was the hospital. Jocelyn held her breath listening to the disembodied voice sounding in her ear.

  Norm was being released tomorrow. Regarding the bill, her fiancé’s insurance had covered the full amount including the heart medication the attending physician had prescribed. There was nothing owing.

  “Thank you and have a great day.”

  Jocelyn hung up the phone and sank to the floor.

  ♥

  JEREMY HUNCHED over the All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Special, with salad and raspberry Jello for dessert. The menu board outside said it was in celebration of the Spring Equinox. Jeremy had no idea how the two things were related but he had to get out of his apartment or he’d go out of his mind. He sat alone at the counter, glumly shoveling spaghetti into his mouth, thinking about Jocelyn with Ryan.

  He glanced behind him. The Spring Equinox Special had attracted a good crowd for a Wednesday night. The reporters from the Gazette were huddled in the corner booth. Jeremy observed them, marveling that they could be so calm for people who had ruined his life. If they were aware of his presence, they gave no sign. Andrea’s attention was taken up with calculating how much she could eat for the money.

  “Don’t fill up on pasta,” she instructed Trevor and Jason. “Go for the meat sauce.”

  Jocelyn would have said the same thing, thought Jeremy, and then wished he hadn’t. The loneliness of being here without her was just about killing him.

  Ryan entered the diner and gave him a nod.

  Jeremy stiffened his back, expecting to see Jocelyn coming in behind him and he wanted to be prepared. He turned away, stabbing his fork into the pasta and twirling it with force. Ryan McIntyre couldn’t mi
ss that he was being given the brush-off. He approached Jeremy.

  “Hey, how are you doing?”

  “Fine.”

  Ryan glanced around him and then slid into the stool beside Jeremy. He leaned an elbow on the counter and concealed his mouth in his hand. “I’m glad I caught you. There’s something you should know. Our mutual friend came to see me at my office today.”

  Jeremy tried to look disinterested and failed. “She said she was going to talk to you so you aren’t telling me anything I didn’t already know.” If McIntyre thought he was going to get away with boasting about his conquest, he should brace himself. Jeremy wasn’t above ripping the guy’s heart out if he had to.

  “In that case, you might want to go around to her house to see if she’s all right.”

  Jeremy turned slowly and stared into Ryan’s handsome mug. “What did you do to her?”

  “She wants more from me than I can give at this time. And to be honest, I don’t think it’s me she wants at all. I’m not going to get into a big thing with you over Jocelyn Tate—pistols at dawn and all that. I’m just telling you she’s feeling hurt and rejected and maybe you could talk to her. That’s all.”

  Jeremy waited until Ryan had left, until his meal was over and until the check had been paid. He waited that long to think over what he was about to do because it would probably destroy his chances with Jocelyn forever. He would be burning up bridges and letting the horses out of the corral—or whatever the expression was for dynamiting his love life. She wanted a successful business. That’s all she really needed to help her dad. Jeremy couldn’t hold her back anymore. If Ryan wasn’t going to take care of her, then he had to make sure she was going to be all right. Even if he told her who he was, it wouldn’t help her financial situation with Norm. Kenneth Marks had made it clear he was opposed to their relationship. Jeremy couldn’t ask his dad for money when he was going against his wishes. It was better Jocelyn didn’t know the truth.