Susan Marie Manzke

When the Spotlight Fades Susan Marie Manzke

Gwenn Nichols is a young, attractive real estate agent who has been unlucky in love. Though always a loyal friend and generous to a fault when it comes to men, she often tends to be suspicious and wary. Randal Cochran is a theater director who has achieved a remarkable degree of success early in his career. And with his overwhelming good looks and arrogant magnetism, Randal is one of Wisconsin's most eligible bachelors. This unlikely couple meet at an audition for a local amateur production that Randal is directing. But the fire ignited in Gwenn's heart is quickly cooled, as wealthy and gorgeous JoJo Adams begins her relentless campaign to land Randal. Gwenn and JoJo win significant parts in the play, and Gwenn watches with amusement as Randal's rejection of JoJo's advances only spurs the flirtatious woman to even greater excesses of affection. Yet, over the course of the rehearsals, Gwenn finds she must fight her own fierce attraction to this handsome man, despite his irritating self-assurance. Then, suddenly, Randal becomes extremely attentive to Gwenn. Obviously, there is something that this independent, sensible woman has that Randal, a man noted for getting what he wants, must possess. Gwenn knows he will go to any lengths-including romance-to get it . . . but will she still be able to keep her head while her heart is under siege?