Five
“Cut. Nicely done, everyone. Let’s wrap for the day.” Ashley stood from the director’s chair and pulled off her headset. “Fantastic work, Richard.”
“Thanks, Ms. Lee,” answered Richard Rind, the actor who had played Isaac’s character’s father for a decade and was now reprising the role.
“I told you to call me Ashley.”
“Got it, Ms. Lee.” Richard grinned. Ashley waved him off and left Isaac and Richard on set, this one a replica of the original living room. “Nice work to you, too. I’m sure she’ll tell you later.”
“I appreciate that.” Isaac didn’t need copious compliments. One or two well-placed would suffice. And anyway, the scene he and Richard had shot as father Daniel and son Danny Brooks was one that hadn’t required heavy lifting on Isaac’s part. “She’s right. You did a great job.”
“I’m surprised. I’ve had quite the hiatus.”
The other man’s self-deprecating style was one Isaac remembered well and one of the reasons everyone was drawn to the older actor. He’d aged well, despite his stint out of the spotlight.
“I love being back.” Richard lowered himself onto the striped sofa. “It was good to work with Max yesterday, too. I haven’t seen you boys in way too long.”
Isaac and his brother were far from “boys,” but he understood how Richard saw them as kids. They’d started Brooks Knows Best at the tender age of five. They’d essentially “grown up” on the show, but age fifteen was a far cry from adulthood.
“Max seems happy,” Richard said.
“He is. Kendall is good for him.”
“Right, the agent. Your agent.” Richard’s eyebrows jumped. “Not your girlfriend, as it turned out. Where is the real one, anyhow? Don’t tell me you’re keeping her hidden the entire time you’re on set. I want to meet her. Give her my fatherly seal of approval.”
Isaac opened his mouth to offer a deflection similar to the one he’d given Ashley and Cecil and random reporters over the last few months, but then he realized he didn’t have to deflect. He did have a girlfriend. Meghan had agreed to date him, and he was up for making their dates as real as possible.
“Not keeping her hidden.” Isaac smiled. “I’m planning on bringing her by the set this week. I’ll make sure it’s a day you’re here.”
“So, she’s in Dunn.” Richard’s gray eyebrows rose. “I can’t wait to meet her. I’m happy for you.”
“Richard, want to grab dinner?” Merilyn Case, who played Isaac’s on-screen mom and Richard’s on-screen wife, stepped onto the set. “Good job today, Isaac.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Merilyn liked to be referred to as such, and with her wide waist and warm hugs, she gave off motherly vibes. Isaac’s own mother was also warm and kind, but unlike Merilyn, Dani Dunn was aging as gracefully as a supermodel. She was lean and gorgeous at age fifty-eight.
“Isaac’s bringing by his girlfriend.” Richard shot a thumb at him as he stood from the couch.
“Oh! I have to meet her.”
Isaac promised he’d bring Meghan by to meet them this week. Then he excused himself to get ready for his date. He was having dinner with her tonight.
He left work with a spring in his step. There were fans lingering on the street outside the hotel, where they’d been filming most of the interior shots, and he paused to sign autographs and take photos. Soon everyone would have what they’d been clamoring for: a peek at the mysterious girlfriend who’d stolen Isaac Dunn’s heart.
After a quick stop at his apartment to change into dark pants and a button-down shirt, Isaac drove to Max’s house on the mountain to pick up his stand-in girlfriend.
He wasn’t what he would call rusty, but he hadn’t been on a date in a while. He stuck to actresses, mostly. Women he’d met while filming commercials or while chatting before auditions. With his recognizable face, approaching them was tricky. They were either intimidated by his quote-unquote fame, or they came to him with enough confidence that he’d been suspicious of their motives. Unfortunately, his suspicions had been justified, and once they’d learned he couldn’t help them land a role in the latest superhero movie, they’d moved on.
Isaac had taken it in stride. He hadn’t pictured having an “other half,” unless he counted Max, with whom he’d shared a womb and a wildly successful career. Isaac might not have found the romantic pairing that his brother had, but he felt good about the arrangement he’d made with Meghan.
The best part about her was that she wasn’t searching for more. With the show under way and his career on the upswing, he didn’t have the resources to dedicate to a long-term relationship. After filming Brooks Knows Best, he was hoping to land a movie role worthy of his newly reclaimed fame, which would require travel, press junkets and, God willing, awards dinners.
He and Meghan had chemistry like crazy, but they would jump into this faux relationship and back out again without any pesky entanglements. That would leave plenty of room for him to focus on what mattered most: the second big break in his career, and repairing the relationship with his brother.
At Max’s house, Isaac knocked on the door. Meghan answered, her honey-blond hair pulled back on one side, her crooked smile painted red. He was too enamored to speak for a handful of seconds.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” was what finally emerged from his ajar mouth. She laughed, a sweet sound that drew him in without his permission.
“Thanks.” She ran a hand down a different floral-patterned dress that ended in strappy sandals. “It’s a little cool for the evening, but I wanted to make sure I looked nice.”
“Well, you overshot nice.”
One look at her, and everyone would want to know her better. Her smile was open and friendly, her confidence understated but present. Fans would adore her, and he’d bet his television family would welcome her into the fray on sight.
“Hi there.” Kendall appeared over Meghan’s shoulder like a scolding parrot.
“Go away,” Meghan said through a toothy smile.
“Where are you two off to tonight?” Max appeared over Kendall’s shoulder next, completing the Russian-nesting-doll experience. “Not Rocky’s again.”
“It’s none of your business where we’re going,” Meghan told them both, earning a pair of frowns. She slipped out the door and clasped Isaac’s hand, her soft, slim fingers sending a zap of awareness up his arm.
“DeSchute’s,” Isaac answered. Max’s mouth shrugged in approval.
DeSchute’s, a five-star restaurant in Dunn, was perched on a hill with a stunning view of downtown. He’d secured the best table in the house thanks to his name and affiliation with the show.
“Does Kendall always behave like a mama bear where you’re concerned?” he asked once they were settled at their table. Meghan was still gawping at the view. He could see her reflection in the window. He mentally patted himself on the back. He’d impressed her.
“She’s never around to mother me.” Meghan faced him. She toyed with one of the silverware pieces on the snow-white tablecloth while she talked. “I don’t mind her involvement, but Max piling on is extra. Are you a masterful playboy hell-bent on ruining hearts or something?”