Page 6 of Reluctantly Married

Dale ripped off his headphones. “Did that just happen?”

Everyone started talking at once except for Megan, who sat on her chair, the same bewildered expression on her face.

Adam squeezed her hand. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I guess I feel kind of blindsided.”

“No kidding.”

Leon tugged on his arm. “Adam. A word with you in my office.” Then he gave Megan two thumbs up and spun around, exiting the set.

He jerked his head toward Leon. “I’ve been summoned.”

Megan seemed to snap out of her daze. “Okay. See you later.” She stood and unhooked her mic.

“Wait a couple minutes for me? I need to talk to you.” His stomach flipped, and grade school awkwardness flooded him.

“Sure.”

He followed Leon to his tiny office down the hall. A couple of two-bit awards sat on a dusty shelf behind his paper-cluttered desk. Leon shut the door behind him and rubbed his hands together. “That. Was. Perfect!” He slapped Adam on his back. “You were excellent! I’m so glad you followed my advice.”

Confusion clouded his brain. “What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you get my email?”

“No.” Adam frowned and folded his arms across his chest.

A tinge of pink touched Leon’s cheeks. “Sorry, man. I thought you’d check it this morning. But no matter. You were awesome.” He slapped him on the back again. “Just don’t tell Megan, okay? I need her real reactions on film.”

Adam narrowed his eyes. “Tell her what?”

“The whole thing was made up. There is no Dr. Lemon. I hired an actress. It was a setup.”

3

Nerves tumbled inside Megan asshe waited for Adam to come down the dim hallway. What exactly happened today? One minute, he was acting like his normal pig-headed self. The next, she was thrown into some bizarre world where he had real feelings for her. If she hadn’t seen it herself, she’d never have believed it.

She clenched and unclenched her fists as she paced. Adam was a womanizer. At least, that was how he’d always acted around her. Yesterday had been different. Nice. He’d dropped the attitude and acted like a gentleman.

He’d always said he was playing a part for television. She’d never believed it. But maybe she should. What their guest said made some sense. If he was insecure, he might be putting on a mask to shield himself. When Dr. Lemon announced he had deep feelings for her, his face flushed, the TV persona dropped away, and she had seen his vulnerable side. For the moment, she believed he did care for her.

Adam rounded the corner and smiled when his gaze met hers. A tingle spread through her stomach. His dimples and piercing blue eyes gave him the kind of looks envied by models and movie stars. Usually, she deflected this by reminding herself how much of a jerk he was.

Now she wasn’t sure what to think.

Adam approached her. “Hey. Sorry about that. Leon wanted to…uh, talk to me.” He fidgeted and wouldn’t look her in the eye. What was up with him?

“I know.”

Adam cringed and touched his forehead. “That’s right. You were there.”

Megan held in a laugh. Adam, cool and confident, was actually nervous around her. It was endearing. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Oh. Yeah.” He loosened his tie. “I guess we need to set up our date. Leon wants to know where we’re going so he can get things ready.”

“I thought we could do something simple. Go to dinner. A normal date.” The idea of going out with Adam was becoming more appealing to her, and the tingles in her stomach intensified. Who would have guessed?

He started toward the back door that led to the parking lot, and Megan fell into step beside him. “Sure.” He nodded. “Sounds good.”

---