Million-Dollar Consequences

Meghan was afraid to hope that was true, but what choice did she have? Either she put her heart on the line for the sake of love or lived out the rest of her days never knowing what could have been.

It was too big of a decision to make this second, but there was another issue she could handle. “Ken?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you reach out to a few potential sponsors for my podcast?”

Kendall’s eyes widened with excitement. “Really?”

“Yes. You’re great at what you do, and I’ve spent too long trying to hide the fact that I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Babe, none of us know what we’re doing. We’re just figuring it out as we go.”

“Everyone except you?”

“Especially me,” Kendall corrected. “I’d be honored to reach out to sponsors and tell them about my incredibly talented sister.”

“Love you.”

“Love you.” Her sister winked and then began pecking out emails.

Meghan didn’t need to prove she could do everything on her own. There wasn’t an award given for toughing out hard situations by herself. It was time she started asking for what she needed...and what she wanted. Isaac was the person she wanted. But she didn’t only want him close by, she wanted his love, too.

By the time Isaac returned home, it was dark. The errand he’d run had taken longer than anticipated. He’d hoped to arrive before Meghan went to bed, and he had...sort of.

She was on the sofa, eyes closed, lying on her side with her arm wrapped around a pillow. She was carrying his baby. A baby they hadn’t meant to make. A baby he’d be a father to and her a mother. This temporary relationship had landed itself in the permanent category, and even though it’d thrown him for a hell of a loop, he couldn’t regret it.

His heart squeezed. He hadn’t been great at soothing her worries or making promises about the future. He’d been focused on himself, on his career. He’d been asking her to bend to his needs rather than the other way around. No more. He would provide for his pop-up family, planned or no.

As if sensing him in the room, she batted her eyelashes open, flattening him with those knockout hazel eyes. He shut the door behind him with a quiet click. The only light in the room came from the dim lamp on the coffee table next to her. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“What’d the doctor say?” He hated missing her first appointment, but there was no way to skip the script-reading today. Meghan had assured him Kendall was company enough, but he would have liked to be there.

“Everything is fantastic. I heard the heartbeat.”

His shoulders sagged. “I missed it.”

“We can go back together. I understand your schedule is less flexible than mine.”

“You’ve been nothing but understanding.” Which was more than he could say for himself. Being constantly reminded that he was “famous” came with the side effect of focusing on himself. He’d been unaccustomed to putting someone else first.

“How about you?” she asked. “How’d it go today?”

“Good. Great.” His head was suddenly jumbled, the weight of the real engagement ring heavy in his leather jacket’s pocket. “Actually, I think things could be better. Between us.”

She sat up, adjusting the pillow so that it was on her lap. “I think so, too.”

Throat full, he sat next to her. “I’ve been disconnected.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“I’ve let you handle the stress of this pregnancy on your own. It’s unfair.”

“You’re here now.”

She was still letting him off the hook. Still looking out for him. Still making herself fit into his mold. She deserved better. He would be better.

“I’m here now,” he said. “And now that I am...” He pulled a gleaming diamond ring from his pocket. One he’d had sized while he waited, and waited and waited, at the jeweler’s. He’d known what size to request because he’d tracked down the prop master who’d acquired the fake one.

Her eyes were wide on the ring in his hand as he removed the prop ring she wore. “I never gave you a good enough reason to follow me to LA. I failed to acknowledge that what we have started out fake, but Meghan... It’s real now. Will you marry me?”