Million-Dollar Consequences

She blinked at her plate, a thought occurring. An alarming thought, which was actually a memory, or more aptly the very thing they’d forgotten.

“Oh God,” she murmured as syrup dripped from her fork to the table. Isaac hadn’t worn a condom. She hadn’t mentioned a condom. There was no talk of protection whatsoever!

“Oh my God.” She barely registered saying it aloud as she replayed the moment he’d laid her on his bed, the way she’d pulled his belt free from the belt loops. The moments leading up to the moment they...

Nooooooooooo!

Hand shaking, she dropped her fork onto her plate with a clatter. What had she done? Normally her irresponsibility extended only to overpaying for ill-advised purchases or tolerating a rude boyfriend for far longer than she should have.

The saying about putting the toothpaste back into the tube flitted through her brain followed by the one about closing the barn door after the horse had escaped.

“Thank you. Thank you for that, brain,” she said under her breath. “You failed to suggest a condom last night, but you are flush with silly clichés.”

She dropped her head in her hand, her vision blurring on her unfinished breakfast. What if she’d been impregnated last night? She was in no position to be a mother. She could barely care for the cactus on her windowsill at home. She forgot little things constantly—in this case a condom, which was little but forgetting it came with potentially huge ramifications.

Toothpaste and horses aside, she’d have to talk to Isaac about what happened. Had he woken this morning with similar “oh shit” clarity? There was only one way to find out.

She put one foot on the staircase, intending to ask to borrow Kendall’s car, when her eyes landed on the discarded bathrobe. Best not to interrupt whatever they were in the middle of doing. Meghan was going to handle this herself...just as soon as she appropriated her sister’s car keys.

Seriously, that vein is going to be the end of him,Isaac thought as he watched his producer Cecil Fowler’s forehead bulge. Isaac had been late arriving to set but had made up for the lost time by nailing his lines, most on the first take. Not bad for having almost no time to practice them last night.

He grinned as he thought back on the reason why. Spending several hours with a naked, smiling Meghan Squire had been well worth being late today. He’d known she was gorgeous and talkative, but what he’d enjoyed learning was how receptive she was to him physically, and how excited she was by the idea of playing the part of his girlfriend. The women he’d dated previously had been partners in the physical sense, but never had he connected on another level. Not like he had with Meghan.

She lived in the moment and, their ruse for the public aside, she was honest and transparent. He’d been on his own for so long he’d forgotten how nice it was to have a partner who was in his corner. Who had his back. How utterly refreshing.

Cecil stopped blustering about Isaac’s lateness, or as Cecil had put it, “irresponsible actions,” long enough for Isaac to interrupt and change the subject. Turned out he had good news for Cecil, who had been worried about bad press surrounding the mystery woman Isaac had yet to introduce to anyone.

“Won’t happen again,” he told Cecil. “Good news, by the way. My girlfriend is in town and I’m finally ready for the world to meet her.”

Bushy eyebrows lowered over dark eyes. “She’s here? And real?”

“She’s here. And real. And she’s agreed to make herself a public figure for the sake of Brooks Knows Best. She cares so much about the show. You’re going to love her.” Isaac leaned in and faux-whispered, “She’s also a big fan of yours. But don’t tell her I told you that or else she’d be embarrassed.”

“Oh. Well, that is good news. As long as she makes a good impression, and we don’t have any negative press to contend with.”

“Impossible. She’s so likable not even the gossip rags will say a bad thing about her,” Isaac lied. Gossip reporters had something bad to say about everything. “Not only will the public fall in love with her, you’ll be doing cartwheels when you meet her. Meghan Squire is going to be great promo for the show. She’s by far the best thing that ever happened to me.”

He delivered the line as easily as any practiced one he’d spoken this morning. For whatever reason, part of him held on to the sentiment behind it. “Ever” might be overstating it, but she had improved his life since stepping into it.

“Squire? As in your agent?”

“My agent’s sister, actually. Meghan and I—”

“Is this her?” Cecil’s dark eyes zoomed over Isaac’s shoulder before Isaac could roll out the rehearsed story.

Isaac turned around to find Meghan striding through the hotel’s lobby toward him. He’d happened to bump into Cecil and his sour attitude outside of Ballroom B, temporarily known as the Brooks family’s living room and kitchen.

Meghan, her long legs and curvy ass encased in denim, ate up the space between them with her confident stride. Even in a long-sleeved T-shirt, leather coat and sneakers, she was completely captivating.

He wasn’t sure what had brought her out here with no notice, but he was damn glad to see her.

“Perfect timing, Squire.” He extended an arm, folding her against him while Cecil watched their interaction skeptically. “This is my producer, Cecil Fowler. Cecil, this is Meghan Squire.”

“Uh, hi. Nice to meet you.” Her fake smile was obviously uncomfortable.

Maybe it was the way he’d pulled her close without warning. He loosened his hold around her shoulders and held her hand instead.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

“Always. Cecil and I were just finishing up.” She didn’t return his smile, frowning instead. Well. This didn’t look good. One glance at his producer proved him unconvinced about how much the public would love her.

Help me out here, Squire. She wasn’t her adorably charming self today, and he really needed her to be.

“As you know, Cecil has a lot of dollar bills wrapped up in this show.” Isaac gave her an intent stare, attempting to communicate that now was her time to shine. “He’s been worried about your sister and me fooling the public. He implied that you and I might be faking it, too. Can you believe that?” He laughed, relieved when understanding bloomed in her bright hazel eyes. He’d gotten through to her.

“Right. Well, Mr. Fowler, that was my fault.” Her lips pulled into a smile. “I wasn’t ready to be in the public eye until recently.” Her plastic smile remained, but it would appear authentic enough to Cecil. “My sister and Isaac’s plan didn’t please either Max or me, let me tell you. Especially when we both had to stay hidden while those two were photographed all over town—”

“Ohh-kay, sweetheart,” Isaac added with a laugh as he hugged her close again. Too many details would make Cecil more suspicious. If that was possible. The other man seemed to be frowning with his entire body. “I wasn’t going to do this here, but thanks to Cecil doubting everything, I’m going to have to convince him in another way.”

Now Isaac had two pairs of eyeballs scrutinizing him. Whenever someone thought you were full of shit, doubling down was the only way to go. “You, sir,” he said to Cecil, “have ruined my engagement surprise.”

“Engagement?” Magically, Cecil’s expression softened. Isaac took the small opening and plowed forward.

“Surprise,” Isaac said to Meghan. “I was going to ask you tonight, but what’s a few hours?” He dropped her hand and cupped her jaw with his palms. It wasn’t hard to look into her sweet face and tell her the truth. “We’re good together, Squire.”

“Isaac—”