Million-Dollar Consequences

Nineteen

Meghan blew out a breath as she exited the doctor’s office. Everything was, according to Dr. Singh, “Fantastic!”

She was also fantastically pregnant, which she’d known, but was glad to have a doctor’s stamp of certainty on it.

They’d found a doctor in Dunn who had been willing to see new patients and, thanks to Kendall’s sleuthing, was also discreet about the identity of the patient they were seeing. After Dr. Singh had been sworn to secrecy, Meghan had been whisked in through the back entrance. The building held multiple doctors’ offices, but it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out why she’d been there.

Doubt rose inside her again. Being responsible for a human being in addition to herself was a lot to wrap her head around.

“Do you have to go straight home?” Meghan turned toward her sister, who’d accompanied her today.

“Not right away, why?” Kendall slid her sunglasses onto her nose. It was a chilly fall day, but the sun was shining bright.

“You’re better with money than me.” Meghan was sheepish about admitting that truth, but it was the truth. She hadn’t been great at holding on to money after she’d earned it. A new life as a new mom was bound to bring up plenty of unexpected bills and payments. She wanted to be prepared. “Would you help me with a budget?”

Kendall hesitated before opening the car door, watching Meghan over the roof. “What about Isaac?”

It was clear to Meghan that he hadn’t changed his plans since this surprise announcement, but... “I’m sure he’ll help support his child, but I don’t want to count on him. I want to have a plan and count on me.”

Something she hadn’t done enough of in the past.

Back at Isaac’s apartment, Meghan made a pit stop at the deli for an artichoke and mushroom sandwich for herself and a ham and Swiss for Kendall. Upstairs, sandwiches consumed, they were now bent over Kendall’s laptop. Meghan didn’t love what she saw on the spreadsheet they’d just created.

“This number could change with more sponsors.” Kendall tapped the screen. “You haven’t exhausted every avenue, you know. I can help.”

Meghan eyeballed her sister, who was eyeballing her right back. Kendall wanted to help Meghan grow her podcast and Meghan had been stubborn about accepting her sister’s help. She’d wanted to prove she could succeed on her own. Now, though, she was failing to see much of a difference between Kendall introducing her to guests for the podcast and introducing her to potential sponsors for the podcast. Plus, Meghan had someone other than herself to think about now.

“I’ve been hard to deal with,” Meghan said.

“What? No, you haven’t.” Kendall wrapped her arm around Meghan.

“I have. You’re trying to help, and I keep refusing you.”

“Stop refusing me and I’ll add a zero to this number right here.” Kendall smiled. “Trust me. I’m a magician.”

Meghan had to laugh. “When you swapped Max and Isaac in the Citizen watch ad, that was pretty magical.”

“Ta-da!” She snapped her fingers, then wiggled the fingers of one hand, her engagement ring winking in the overhead light. “Even landed myself a fiancé.”

A real one, Meghan thought glumly. But she was happy for Kendall and Max, even though Meghan was facing the biggest challenge of her life. Her sister deserved nice things. “How are you making your job work? Being an agent on the East Coast, with your clients on the West Coast, can’t be easy.”

“I’m going to fly back and forth on occasion, but most everything can be done remotely now. Hell, when I took the call from Charles Howard’s office this morning, they were shooting in Milan.”

“Charles Howard?” Meghan’s eyes widened. She loved her superhero movies and Charles made the best ones.

“Yep. He wants to talk to Isaac about a role.”

“That’s amazing! Which one?”

“I am sworn to secrecy.” Kendall motioned like she was zipping her lips, locking them and throwing away the key. “But I can say with certainty that it’ll involve a lot of green screens.”

“What a horrible hint! Every one of his movies requires a green screen.” Meghan’s excitement overshadowed her worry about her current circumstance for a moment before she felt sad all over again. “If he gets the part, he’ll leave for filming for a long time.”

Who knew how long. Would he miss three months of her pregnancy? Would he miss his son or daughter being born?

“First off, he doesn’t have the part yet. Second, I have no idea when filming begins. You might be celebrating that kid’s second birthday by then.” Kendall pointed at Meghan’s flat stomach. “There’s no reason for you to worry about him leaving right away.”

“A role in a blockbuster film is his biggest dream come true. It’s all he’s talked about since I met him. What if...?”

When Meghan didn’t continue, Kendall raised her eyebrows. “What if what?”

Meghan wanted their baby to know his or her father. She knew Isaac well enough to know he cared about his family greatly. He would never go for months on end without seeing his child. But if she continued being stubborn about staying in one place while he was offered a movie role...would he feel as if he had to stay with her instead of pursuing his dreams?

That wasn’t compromise. It would be one-sided and unfair.

“Maybe I should go to LA.” Meghan chewed her bottom lip in thought.

Kendall’s lips compressed.

“If I moved away, I’d miss you like crazy.” Meghan turned watery eyes on her sister. “How can I leave you?”

“Honey,” Kendall used her wise-older-sister voice. “I shouldn’t have said I didn’t want you to leave Dunn. It’s your choice and you need to do what’s best for you, and your baby. Filming schedules end. Movies wrap. Plus, I’m allowed on set. If this was how it worked out, we’d still see each other. Not everyone leaves and never returns.”

Which was exactly what had happened to their brother, Quinton. Was the fear of losing someone else she cared about holding her back? Cared... Yeah, right. What she felt for Isaac was so much bigger than “care.”

“I’m in love with Isaac,” Meghan admitted for the first time out loud. “And I’m terrified he isn’t in love with me. I’m scared this has been pretend for him the entire time, while for me, it became real.”

“Did you talk to him about this?”

Meghan shook her head.

“He might surprise you. What if he’s as crazy about you as you are for him?”