Million-Dollar Consequences

“Does that count as vows?”

“Not on your life,” Sarabeth read, deadpan. Everyone around the table laughed on cue.

“Worth a shot, I guess.”

“And...scene,” Ashley announced. “Well done, everyone. How did that feel?”

“I feel good about it,” Sarabeth said. “It allows them to be serious and light at once. They’ve been through a lot together and you believe they’re going to make it.”

Isaac thought of him and Meghan. They were light and then serious, but he couldn’t seem to reach the fun-loving, easygoing version of her lately. Was there a corner to turn? A solution that made a baby another exciting piece of their lives together? Or would it forever divide them, just as LA and Dunn had divided them?

“Isaac?” Ashley prompted.

He blinked at the director, aware he’d taken a mental vacation for a few seconds. “It’s perfect. The script wraps up Danny and Rachael nicely but leaves room for a Christmas reunion show. Anyone?”

“Yes, please!” Sarabeth said. Richard and Merilyn voiced their agreement as well.

“Let’s release this reboot first, and then we’ll plan all the things,” Ashley promised. “That’s it for today, kids. See me if you have any questions about the script.”

They made their way out of the conference room, everyone save Isaac marching to the food cart to grab lunch. He was planning on going home to talk to Meghan about their options. There had to be middle ground. Maybe he could stay in Dunn until he needed to audition elsewhere. He’d fly back and forth to stay with her. Not to convince the press, but because she was important to him. She was carrying his child. They were going to be a family.

There was no other option.

They got along well...when they weren’t arguing over geography. And, they had time. That was the most important part. It wasn’t like he’d have to fly to LA immediately.

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, noticing a missed call from Kendall. No voice mail. His heart hit his feet as he excused himself from the room. Given his and Meghan’s current tumultuous state, he wasn’t sure Kendall was calling with good news. He pressed a button and waited for her to answer.

“Hey, how’d the table read go?” was her greeting.

“Good. Great.”

“I just spoke with Charles Howard.”

“Charles Howard.” Isaac stopped walking, his limbs lead weights. Charles was an actor’s director who had won the industry’s biggest awards. Isaac had once landed an invitation to Howard’s house after Brooks Knows Best wrapped. Just sixteen years old at the time, Isaac didn’t know enough to be awed when the man said that Brooks was his favorite show.

“He wants to talk to you about a role.”

“Talk to me?” Isaac could do nothing but repeat what she was telling him, evidently. “About a role?”

“Yes. I’ll let him tell you what he has in mind, because I can’t do it justice. But you should be prepared for a drastic life change. Or another drastic life change. This is it, Isaac. What you’ve been wanting.”

“Big break number two,” he muttered, feeling both excitement and a touch of dread. He wasn’t prepared. Not for either of his “drastic life changes.”

“Hey, no pressure,” she said as if she’d picked up on his emotions. “Take his call. See if it fits in with your plans.”

“Okay.”

“Things change. Sometimes in ways we don’t expect.”

“Tell me about it.”

She snapped back into professional mode. “I’ll contact Charles’s assistant and see what times he has available for the call. I’ll text you some options.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Congratulations.”

He ended the call and stared blindly at his phone. Things changed all right. Everything he wanted in life had been gift-wrapped and handed to him. A woman he cared about, filming the show that marked his comeback, a phone conversation with Charles Howard about a movie role. Those gifts had also come with some unexpected knots. Meghan pretending to be his fiancée with a very real baby on board being the biggest one.

The line between real and fantasy had blurred way too much. Maybe the answer to fixing this was making the fake parts more real. Why should Meghan trust anything he had to say when she was pretending to be engaged to him while wearing a fake engagement ring?

Maybe he could regain control after all. He could make things between them better than ever. Comebacks didn’t have to happen solely on screen, they could occur in real life, too.

“That’s it,” he said to himself, a smile pulling his mouth. He’d given Meghan nothing real. No real promise of the future, not even a real relationship. What if he offered to be someone she could count on? Fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants Meghan was searching for stability. He could provide that for her.

She hadn’t been wooed by the promise of fortune and fame, but she liked him a lot. She trusted him. She needed to know that he wasn’t going anywhere without her. That she wasn’t alone. She didn’t have to lean on her sister or her parents when it came to their child. She could count on him.

He would prove to her that he was more than an actor reviving his career. He would show her that he was a family guy, capable of building the life of both their dreams.