Love Rising: Spring (Mandrake Falls Series Romance Book 4) (16 page)

“
Tarnham
,
cut the crap. Trevor saw you talking to Janice
Feron
outside the movie theater on Monday night. I couldn’t
figure it out at first but now it all made sense. Janice has hated Shelby since
she scooped Sawyer out from under her bony ass. She isn’t a fan of Ryan’s
either ever since he turned his back on her when his brother chose Shelby.
Brothers will do that. I have three.”

Andrea’s eyes drifted over the office as though looking for
an escape. “I have no idea what you are talking about. Trevor has it in for me.
I don’t even know what Janice
Feron
looks like.”

“She dyed her hair but you recognized her just fine at
Michael Shannon’s wedding.” Jason leaned in. “And then you deleted every photo
she was in. Even that wasn’t enough for me to accuse you until Jeremy told me
that you knew his father was Kenneth Marks. Jeremy has been careful to keep his
family under wraps. Naturally, he wondered how you found out. I said you were a
crack reporter with mad research skills and he believed me.”

“Pretty funny, huh? Crack reporter. I’m lucky if you let me
cover the PTA meetings.”

Jason’s face clouded. He bent over her desk and clenched his
fist. “Look, Andrea, I bailed your ass out. You fucking insulted the guy and
his dad with that engagement notice and you hurt the paper too. Janice
Feron
obviously put you up to it—you’re not conniving
enough to think of something like that on your own. She’s the one who told you
who Jeremy’s dad was, isn’t she? Janice is the type to have her nose in the
Fortune 500
listings. What I want to
know is why did you do it?”

Andrea’s face purpled and her eyes swam with tears. “Are you
firing me?”

“No.”

“Are you going to tell Shelby?”

“No.” Jason sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair.

She lifted her eyes to his, coldly. “So there’s nothing to
talk about.”

Andrea got to her feet, squeezed past him around the desk
and walked out of the
Gazette.

She turned toward the diner, heels clacking on the pavement
until she was almost running.

When she was well out of sight of Jason and the office,
Andrea ducked into the laneway beside Antique Scout. She bent over, shoulders
heaving and cried.

“
Tarnham
!”

Her head snapped up.

“Andrea!”

Jason Fiske came skidding around the corner. The laneway was
a quiet patch in Mandrake Falls. Scout Rutherford had installed flower pots
that were festooned with crocuses and daffodils and a bench.

Andrea turned away when she saw him and sat down on it, her
shoulders rounded as she broke down crying. When he saw the shape she was in,
Jason was glad he came after her.

“What are you doing here? Leave me alone, Fiske.”

Jason sat down beside her. “I’m not going anywhere. You didn’t
answer my question. Why did you run that fake engagement notice? I’m not here
to give you a hard time. I want to help you. I’m here as your friend, not your
editor.”

She lifted her head and took the handkerchief he offered.

“Only you would have a real handkerchief.
Very
classy, Fiske.”
She blew her nose. “If you must know, I did it because
Ryan McIntyre took Jocelyn to the wedding. I was jealous. That’s it.
have
a good laugh because that’s all there was to it. You
don’t have to say anything. I already know what’s wrong with that picture. Me.”
She stabbed her finger to her chest.
“Right man, wrong girl.”

Jason leaned back on the bench and exhaled loudly. “Holy
hell,
Tarnham
, McIntyre isn’t good enough to shine
your shoes!”

She gazed at him in surprise. “What?”

“There’s nothing
wrong
with you. You’re perfect the way you are. In fact, I like the way you are.” He
screwed up his courage. If a dweeb like Jeremy Marks could do it, so could he. “I
like you,
Tarnham
. I like you a lot. McIntyre isn’t
the man for you.”

Jason felt red in the face. He couldn’t look at her. Andrea
was staring at a pot of crocuses. His heart thudded.

“He’s not? Who is then?”

Jason swallowed. “Me. I’m the guy for you. I think we should
go out on a date and see how we feel. What do you say,
Tarnham
?”

Andrea
Tarnham’s
eyes widened. She
was staring at the flowering soft purples and yellows but a slow smile
stretched across her face. “Yes. I ...
shit
... yes, okay Fiske. You’re one of my favorite people when you’re not being an
ass.”

A slant of spring sunshine fell across their faces.

Jason Fiske decided to go for it. He leaned over and kissed
Andrea
Tarnham
on the mouth.

THE SPRING LIGHT, the robins and crocuses, the heady warmth
rising up from the earth buoyed him on faster to her house. There was no
greater feeling in the world than to love someone who loved you back.

Jeremy charged up to Jocelyn’s sagging house, flung open the
stubborn gate and raced up to the rotting front porch. He skidded to a stop at
her front door. It was open. The spring air was warm and sweet, curling into
the house. Jocelyn came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. Her
hair was held back with a kerchief tied at the back of the head. Her lovely
face was smooth and pale but her eyes were clear blue and her mouth was
untroubled. She stopped in the hall at the sight of him.

“Oh, hello,” she said.

His heart wrenched in his chest. He had imagined this moment
on the run over, that when he saw her, he would sweep her up in his arms and
spin her about the room. No one told him that in moments like this a guy just
stands there, overcome by how fragile his happiness is. Now that he was here,
he had no idea what to say.

Talking wasn’t going to fix this. He had to show her how he
felt. Jeremy took three strides into the room and lifted Jocelyn up in his
arms. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. I am so sorry.”

She clung to his neck, her breath warm and soft against his
skin. “I’ve been expecting you. What took you so long?”

“I had to kill a reporter first.”

“Andrea was just the messenger,” Jocelyn laughed softly. “Don’t
be angry with her. If I had known, I would have treated you differently. It’s
the truth and we both know it. When I had time to calm down, I could see that,
actually, you kept your word by not telling me. The rich guys I knew used to
brag about their family’s money to get me into bed. You could have done that
but we agreed to be ourselves with each other and you aren’t the type of guy to
brag. So I’m glad you didn’t tell me. The results of our experiment are pure.
It helped make my decision easier.”

Jeremy set her on her feet but he wouldn’t let her go. “What
decision? You’re making me nervous. It feels like I’m too late, that maybe you
don’t ... care for me anymore.”

Jocelyn wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against
him. She seemed contented and instead of feeling relieved, Jeremy was beginning
to freak out. Jocelyn was too calm—too peaceful.

“What’s going on?” he said. His voice squeaked. “Are you
letting me down easy?”

She laughed and burrowed her face against his sweater vest.
Jeremy was wearing his tan corduroy sport coat, thank god. His shirt was
stained with sweat from racing over here. He prayed she wouldn’t notice.

“I had a call from a lawyer representing the consortium. The
paperwork has been drawn up but there was a condition she wanted to get my
approval on before they proceeded. I was to forgo pursing a relationship with
Jeremy Marks.”

“
What?
When was
this?”

“About thirty minutes ago. The lawyer went all
Pride and Prejudice
on me. ‘You are
forbidden to go out with Jeremy Marks.’ Claiming the connection would sully the
Marks family name and negatively impact my business in the marketplace, or some
such bullshit. The backers wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to do anything
that would lose them their investment.”

“I see.”

Jeremy swallowed and pushed his glasses up on his nose. His
father had found a way to make sure they would never be together. Kenneth had
tossed out a few quiet threats and the investors rallied behind him. Jeremy squeezed
Jocelyn to his chest and waited for the killing blow.

“Well, I don’t,” she said, her voice muffled against his
chest. “I told the lawyer the Tate name was all that mattered since it was the
name on the advertising and the invoices and it was the name the customers
trusted—not Marks. She wouldn’t budge. I had to give you up or the investment
money.”

“I think I know what happened.”

“I think I do too. Your father is the mystery investor.”

“Not exactly.”
Jeremy’s breath came
hard and fast. “My dad put together the prospectus at my request. I told him we
weren’t seeing each other anymore and I wanted to make sure you were going to
be okay. So I asked him to step up and he swore
to me that he’d be hands-off. I’m calling him right now. I’ll get
it through his head that we’re not going out together and he’s got to back off.
You’ll get your investment, I promise.”

“I don’t want it. I told the woman on the phone she could
stuff it—well actually, I said I respectfully decline to give up Jeremy Marks.”

He stared into her wide blue eyes in mute shock. “You can’t.
Joce
, you need that money!”

“No, I don’t. And I don’t need
your
money either. I can find my own investors. No one tells me who
I can or cannot fall in love with. I’m not a nice person. I don’t care about
other peoples’ feelings. I’m not smart and I’ve never been good at anything. I
never believed I could do this on my own but I do now. And just so you know, I’ll
be fine with or without you too, Jeremy.”

“I believe you.”

“You could’ve told me you were rich two years ago and got me
into bed without breaking a sweat. But you didn’t. That’s the most amazing
thing anyone has ever done for me.” She gave him an admiring smile. “I think
you must really love me. If I’m wrong, you’d better tell me now because I want
to be with you. No one is going to tell me I can’t, except you. Your opinion is
the only one that matters. Do you think you could be happy with just me?” She
tilted her head to one side and gazed at him.

Jeremy stared at her in wonderment. He groped for a dazzling
phrase and brought out a growl of rapture. “You’re kidding, right? I think
about you literally every second of the day. When I’m not with you, I want to
be with you, and when I’m with you, all the pieces of my life fall into place. I
don’t want you to be with anybody else but me. None of this got easier after we
slept together, by the way, so you were wrong about that. I only wanted you
more. This past week has been pure hell and a total heaven. I want you,
Joce
. You’re all I want.”

She nodded. “Okay, then. You’re my boyfriend.”

Jeremy gently pulled the kerchief off her hair, freeing sunny
yellow strands of silky hair he smoothed from her exquisite face. She looked
more nakedly vulnerable and beautiful in this moment than he had ever seen her.
He wanted her very badly. Jeremy bent over Jocelyn and kissed her tenderly on
the mouth. He closed his eyes and when their lips touched, he thought he’d
never be more grateful for anything in his life.

Jocelyn felt his lips on hers, his lean brown head filling
her vision. Stealing slowly across her heart was genuine happiness. She knew he
would come after her—Jeremy Marks never gave up and once she got over her
initial anger, she wanted to see him again. She loved him. Pursuing a rich guy
had been like seeking an oppressive godfather; the quest had robbed her of
figuring it out on her own. Money comes and goes, but so does beauty. Only love
sticks it out.

Jocelyn responded to him with her whole body, the passion
building between them until they were stumbling down the hall to her bedroom.

Jeremy fell backward on the bed and she landed on top of
him. Jocelyn clutched at his jacket, wrenching it from his shoulders as she
peppered his face with kisses. He lifted up to help her out of her clothes,
wondering how he had stumbled into such an incredible life as the one he was
going to have with her—and then he remembered.

“No, no—stop. We can’t fall into bed every time we have a
problem. Jocelyn, we have to talk. I’m serious. I won’t come into my trust fund
until I’m twenty-five. That’s two more years of living paycheck to paycheck. I
can’t let you jeopardize your business to be with me when your dad needs your
help. Call the lawyer back and accept the condition. It’s only two years. I’ll
wait for you. When I get my trust fund, I’ll marry you and there’s nothing my
dad can do about it.”

He knew what he really wanted to suggest but he couldn’t
speak the words. He didn’t want to scare her off when they were just getting
used to each other.

Jocelyn fell back against the pillows, her eyes pensive.
Jeremy’s chest compressed; his throat was tight. She was going to take the
deal.

“I have a better idea,” she said. “Why don’t you move in
here with me? That way I won’t need the investment money. I can keep the house
and the garden, and with you living here, sharing expenses, we could manage
pretty well. If we still feel the same way about each other in two years, then
we’ll talk marriage.” She met his eyes. “I don’t want to be your problem,
Jeremy. I want to be your girlfriend. I know your dad won’t like it. My dad won’t
like it either. He thinks you’ve turned me against him. He complained he never
hit me until you came along.”

“Is that what you think too?”

“Don’t be stupid. Norm is just trying to make me stop caring
about you. Your dad’s methods are more subtle but he’s after the same thing.
Norm and Kenneth are going to do everything they can to split us up. We are all
they have. We have each other, but for our dads, we are it. So we have to be
patient and strong and stick together. Are you willing to live with me and defy
your father for two whole years? I am if you are.”

He rolled over, stretching his body over her half-naked one,
pinning her down. “The roof needs fixing and the front porch is sagging. That’s
the real reason you want me to move in, admit it.”

She laughed and planted a fast peck on his cheek,
pleased—overjoyed, actually, and a little frightened that she had no clue
before how happy he would make her. If it wasn’t for that stupid engagement
notice, she wouldn’t be with him at all. Jeremy had his own way and language
with her. He knew her better than she knew him, but then he had a two-year head
start on her. Jocelyn was just getting used to being in love. Maybe nobody would
understand it or believe it when they broke the news to Paula and Andrea, Ryan
and Jason. It didn’t matter anymore who believed her and who didn’t as long as
Jeremy did.

“I love you, Jeremy Marks.”

“I love you, Jocelyn Tate.”

He kissed her lips like she was Sleeping Beauty. The prince
who had hacked his way through the thorns to reach her wore a corduroy jacket
and glasses.

“Jocelyn.” His voice was in her ear, deep and low. His hands
lightly pinned her wrists above her head, possessively. He kissed her and she
knew what he wanted, even before she felt his rock hard penis pressing against
her thigh. She was already wet. He wanted the same thing she did.

They fought their clothes feverishly until they were both
naked. Jeremy hesitated, his eyes troubled. “Do you ever worry this is just
lust?”

She grinned. “You’re not that hot.”

“And you slept with me anyway ... I don’t get it.” He gazed
at her inquisitively. “You love me that much?”

“More. I’m not as shallow as you are.”

Jeremy grinned. His brown hair fell over his glasses. He
stooped a little. He wasn’t her type and knowing he had a trust fund didn’t
miraculously make him so. Jeremy Marks became her type the night he drove her
sick father to the hospital, and raved about her chicken stew and fixed the
plumbing in the kitchen and worried about her. He became her type the night he
made love to her without making her feel cheap.

One day she’d understand how it happened between them. At
the moment, the love rising between them was a mystery. He met her where she
was in her life, in her dreams and in her failures, and he was happy to stick
around. One day she’d figure it out, but for now she was content to be swept
away in mind and body as Jeremy deftly entered her.

♥

PAULA CAUGHT up with Ryan outside her building. She was out
of breath and had a stitch in her side. She whipped her pumps off her feet and
lobbed one at his head. It caught him in the back and he howled.

“What the hell?
Paula—that hurt!”

“You deserve it, Ryan
McIntryre
!”
She hurled the other shoe at him, striking him hard on the forehead. The shoe
bounced off his skull and fell to the sidewalk.

Ryan swayed, touched his forehead. He was bleeding. He met
Paula’s eyes, bewildered for half a second and then toppled forward.

“Ryan!”

Paula screamed and sprang to catch him as he fell. His dead
weight was too much for her and they crashed to the sidewalk.

“Ryan!
Ryan?
Oh my
God—I’ve killed you! You pushed me to do it! You make me so mad!” She beat a
steady tattoo on his cheek. “I’m not like Jocelyn or Janice
Feron
—I’m
not glamorous but people get tired of glamorous after awhile. Did you ever
think of that? No, you didn’t. The sex was ... well ...
wonderful
.
Just ... oh boy.”
She sighed
damply. “I guess that part of our relationship is over now that you’re dead. It
didn’t last long but it was truly memorable. Ryan, I want you to know that I’m
really going to miss the sex. I also want you to know that I forgive you for
being shallow and looking for a trophy wife while you were sleeping with me.
You were only doing what you thought you had to but you were wrong. I’m not
glamorous but I love you and that’s all that counts in the end. It really is. I’m
sorry I killed you but I’m not sorry I fell in love with you.”

Ryan’s eyes blinked opened. He had been stunned into
unconsciousness by the blow. His head hurt like hell. “Paula ... who are you
talking to?”

“Oh my god!
Oh my god, you’re not
dead!”

“If I’m dead, honey, you better call an ambulance.”

She bent over him, taking his pulse in the wrong place on
his neck. “An ambulance can’t help you if you’re dead, silly. I’d have to call
your brother, Sheriff McIntyre. He’d have me arrested manslaughter. You’re
really not dead, are you?”