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

really
strange. I’ve never talked to Mrs. Murdoch about you. What made her think I was
going to pop the question?”
    Jocelyn fingered the chrome fitting in Jeremy’s hand.
“Murdoch could see you had a crush on me, that’s all. Maybe she thought the
contract would help me come around. But that’s not why she offered you the job,”
Jocelyn added hurriedly. “You’re a good stage manager. I keep up with theater
news; I know the company is lucky to have you.”
    He smiled and shrugged but she could see he was pleased.
    Jeremy sat down on the floor to sift through a bin of rubber
washers. “I hope Lydia Rutherford isn’t too pissed when she finds out the
truth. She’s one of the theater’s patrons.” Jocelyn sat down beside him and
crossed her legs. “Do you think Murdoch could’ve put the message in Andrea’s
camera case? She was sitting in front of me in the pew. She had opportunity.
She might have done it thinking she was helping you out. I know she doesn’t
believe I’m good enough for you.” Jocelyn poked him in the chest. “You’re the
only person in town who believes that.”
    He grinned at her. “My opinion is the only one that counts.”
Jeremy shook his head and went back to sorting through the bin. “Murdoch might’ve
seen who put it in the case but I know it wasn’t her who actually did the deed. Letitia Murdoch is one of the few people who knew my
mom died years ago. She and my dad are sort of friendly.”
    “Ah, so that’s how you got the job with the Mandrake Falls
Theatrical Society. I knew there had to be some sort of connection. Especially after you stepped in to direct. You were
terrible.”
    “I wasn’t terrible, you were a brat and for your information,
I was overqualified for this job. I studied stage management in college and Dad
knew Mrs. Murdoch was looking for a stage manager who’d work for next to nothing.
I applied for the job. I was the only applicant because it pays squat. My dad
didn’t give me a leg up out of the goodness of his heart. If it were up to him,
I’d be in business school right now. My father thinks this is a phase I’m going
through. He’s waiting for me to get it out of my system.”
    Jocelyn sighed. “My dad thought if I took secretarial
courses I could be an office manager. I gave it my best shot but I have no aptitude
for office work. I dropped out of vocational school. He lost the tuition he
invested and then I told him I was going to start selling organic soap. I
thought he was going to have a coronary.”
    “You’re an entrepreneur. My dad would be over the moon if I
showed that kind of interest in business. He was disappointed when I opted for
a technical career instead of commerce. Dad wants me to be the owner of the theater, not its stage
manager.”
    Jocelyn leaned back against the shelves. “You’re dad is
wrong about your career path but I’m beginning to think my dad was right about
mine. I had no idea it would be so hard to turn a profit. I’m grateful to Lydia
Rutherford for the sale but now I have to replenish the stock and that means
investing my profit into supplies. I haven’t had any extra money for months.”
    He looked at her under a shock of brown wavy hair. “Can I
ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. All those times we thought you were hurrying off after rehearsals
to meet Hudson Grace—obviously, you weren’t and you never said you were—but who
were you meeting? Just out of curiosity.”
    She smiled slyly. “Just out of curiosity? No one. I went home.”
    His smile faded. “Look, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t
want to, but don’t tell me something you think I want to hear. I hate it when
girls do that.”
    “I’m not doing that. You asked and I answered. I went home.
I didn’t have enough money to go to the Inn for drinks after rehearsals, and
Hudson didn’t call me, so I just went home. It was cheaper to go home and let
you guys believe I had a hot date lined