Page 62 of Reluctantly Married

“Leon, it’s Megan. Listen, something happened.”

“What?”

She chewed her bottom lip. “Um, Adam left. Said he was done.”

“Whoa, we’ve still got a few more shows lined up for you two. He can’t quit now.” The panic in his voice was evident.

“I know. But I have an idea.”

“Wait.” Leon paused, apparently thinking of what he could do to salvage the situation. “What if you guys stage a fight? Something explosive. On air! That would—”

“Leon!” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to stage a fight. I want to come clean.”

A noise sounded like Leon had dropped the phone. After a moment, he came back on. “Megan, you can’t do that. You’ve signed contracts. You know how much trouble you would be in if you did that?”

“I read my contracts. I signed one saying I wouldn’t reveal the outcome of the show. Another keeping me from talking about the show before it aired. Another agreeing to marry Adam, and another agreeing to a certain number of appearances. Not one of them said I can’t reveal how I truly feel about him.”

“How’s that going to help you? If you go on national television and tell everyone you hate Adam, your fans will turn against you. You’ll ruin the show and your reputation.”

She rubbed her temple, pushing herself to go on. “I don’t hate Adam. That’s not what I’m going to say.” She steeled her nerves and plunged ahead. “I actually fell in love with him.”

Another loud clunk came through the line and she was sure he’d dropped the phone again. “What? You did?”

“I know it sounds stupid, and I can’t explain it, but as Adam and I pretended to have a relationship, I found myself falling for him. I’m in love with him.” When Leon didn’t say anything, she added, “For real.”

Leon softly swore under his breath. “Are you serious?”

She ignored his question. “The thing is, Adam told me basically the same thing. He fell in love with me as well.”

“Wait, what? Why did he leave you then?”

Heat flooded her face as she remembered her wedding night. “His admission shocked me. I wasn’t ready yet to admit how I felt. So I sort of told him I didn’t feel the same.”

“Oh, that’s cold, woman.”

“I know. I wasn’t thinking straight. But now I have to tell him, you see?” She stared at the suitcase beside her bed, still unpacked. “I have to tell him the truth.”

She could feel Leon’s excitement building on the other end of the phone. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you serious?”

“We’re scheduled to appear on the Penelope Jones show next week. I want to come clean. Withallof it.”

Silence. She knew that would make him squirm. “What do you mean, all of it?”

“I know about Doctor Lemon. I know the first show was a setup, the machine was fake, the whole bit. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to tell all of it.”

Leon sucked in his breath and didn’t say anything for a minute, probably letting it sink in. “When did you find out?”

That wasn’t the question she had expected. “I overheard you and Adam talking after our first date.”

Leon laughed, which surprised her. “Ah, the karaoke makes so much more sense now.”

“Yeah, ha ha, funny. I was really hurt, Leon. You’d planned to humiliate me on television.” As she spoke, the old pain bubbled up again.

“Hey, it wasn’t personal.”

“What if I drag you into this, on the Penelope Jones show? Make America hate you for what you did. Would it be personal then?”

He sucked in a breath like he were going to argue with her, but then stopped. It was as if she could see the wheels turning in his head. She imagined his face, maybe draining of color, as it sunk in. “You’re right. I wouldn’t like that.” Another moment of silence came. “I’m sorry, Megan.”

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