Caroling in the Snow (New Hope Sweet Christmas Romance 2)

His eyes narrowed. “You’re joking. That’s like blackmail.”

“Nope.” Crossing her arms, she fixed him with a hard stare. “This is a perfectly legal exchange of goods. An interview for a musical performance, plus rehearsals. How badly do you want this dream job of yours? Accountant for the Minnesota Vikings football team. Sounds pretty cool to me.”

The muscles in his jaw worked as he returned her stare. She was sure he was going to say no. The defiant stance he’d taken told her as much. She’d never find the right star for her play and then Ashley Lynn would hold it above her head for the rest of their lives. The prospect set a two ton boulder in her gut, weighing her down.

Without her male lead, she’d have to revert back to the traditional old school version of the manger scene. That meant working with a couple dozen kids dressed up as donkeys and sheep and a fake baby doll in a wooden bassinet. It meant

a boring service with a forgetful performance. Chloe didn’t do forgetful. She was, if anything, an overachiever.

Without warning, Jordan stuck out his hand and sucked in his cheeks. “I’ll do it,” he announced. She gasped in delight and grabbed his hand, giving it a strong shake. “How complicated could a little church musical be? Now, if you don’t mind, I need to call my boss back and tell her the call dropped before she fires me.”

He marched back to his chair to redial his phone. Chloe watched him put it to his ear, her nerves bouncing around in her stomach. He could be the answer to her problems. With a voice like that, the service would be epic and Ashley Lynn could go cry crocodile tears into her fuzzy pink sweater.

“Let’s just hope he can act,” Laurie whispered next to her.

Chloe nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry. He’s perfect.”

Chapter Five

He couldn’t say for sure why he’d agreed to do the play. Yeah, the idea of getting an interview with the head CFO of the Vikings football team was a sweet payoff, but that wasn’t the real reason. The way she’d looked at him - so hopeful - had struck a chord.

Those big brown eyes and her set of full lips with the pink gloss had drawn him in. Mesmerized him into saying yes. Even if he wanted to back out now, it was easy to see from just a few hours spent together in the office, no one said no to Chloe Walker. Not without a fight. He just had to get through the next few weeks and this would all pay off.

She marched him right up to the church the next day after work, the unassuming brick building bright and welcoming. He followed at a distance, trying to keep his gaze away from staring at the beautiful back of his new play director. Instead, he looked down at the script she’d printed off for him just this afternoon.

“Have you ever acted before?” she asked, opening the door to the church.

He shook his head. “Not really. I had to do a skit once in speech class, but that was a long time ago.”

She pushed her hair over her shoulders in a determined movement, pressing her lips together into a thin line. “That’s okay. We’ll walk you through it. At least I know you can sing.”

The inside of the church was alive with the sound of children squealing and running around. Chloe’s pretty redheaded coworker, Laurie, was already there, attempting to wrangle the children and reign in the mass chaos. She had a halo headband on her head, the golden ring dangling above her wavy hair. A couple of the children wore wire wings. A young woman with long black hair wore a blue veil over her head. She had a gigantic stomach that resembled a soccer ball stuffed under her shirt.

“Jordan, meet your costar, Amanda. She’s got a degree in musical theater and teaches drama at our high school.” Chloe pointed to the hugely pregnant woman. “That belly’s real. Let’s just hope she doesn’t pop before Christmas Eve.”

Amanda smiled and shrugged. She had a pleasant face with olive skin and laugh lines around her eyes. “Not due until January tenth, but anything could happen. It’s our first.”

Jordan shook her hand and tried to keep his cool. Any minute now, Chloe was going to expect him to sing in front of an entire room of strangers. The only audience he was used to were the fast food containers in his car. This was a whole different ball game.

“Alright, let’s run through the lines,” she called, clapping her hands. Laurie snagged the two sprinting angels and managed to catch their attention. “Work off the script for now. I want all lines memorized by next week. Three weeks until curtain call.”

He didn’t see any sign of a curtain. Only empty pews and an intimidating alter at the top of the aisle. This wasn’t exactly the Orpheum. Still, he held up the script and squinted at it. It read like one of those romance novels, the kind his mom used to hide beneath her pillow. He’d found one when he was eight and spent an afternoon eagerly scanning the pages for the hot stuff. Now-a-days, his entertainment usually focused around the sports channel.

“Laurie, you start,” Chloe called. She backed into a pew and sat, her eyes bright. “Angel comes in.”

They worked through the first few pages of scene, piecing together each step and action the actors were supposed to take. Chloe had assured him this play would only last a half hour, but running through it like this made it seem like a drawn out version of Les Mis. He’d made the mistake once of taking a date to that movie. It could have been the horrible movie selection that made her never call him back. Or his snoring during the middle. He couldn’t be sure.

Finally, when Chloe was satisfied with the lines, they moved into learning the songs. Jordan felt a little more relaxed for this session of the practice. Maybe he couldn’t deliver lines, but he could at least hit all the right notes.

Singing along with Amanda, their voices blended in a perfect harmony that had the rest of the actors pausing to listen. Even the wild little angels perked up their ears between a game of tag. Chloe sat watching them from a stool, her eyes glistening with excitement. Clapping wildly when they finished, she whistled and launched herself from the chair.

“Beautiful! This just proves I made the right casting call,” she exclaimed with a smile stretching across her cheeks. Jordan liked it when she seemed to forget herself in these little moments. Gone was the sassy and cool exterior. In its place was a childlike enthusiasm that seemed to hum in the air.

“Alright, I’m ready. What time’s the performance?” Jordan asked, rubbing his hands together. He could do this. He’d managed to survive this mind-numbing session.

A light thrill of laughter pulled all their attention to the back pew. A beautiful young woman with Kardashian hair, wearing a tight yellow cardigan with a black scarf, sat with an amused expression on her face. Her gaze met Chloe’s and she raised a single eyebrow, as if in a silent challenge.

“Ashley Lynn…” Chloe growled under her breath.