Page 33 of Lucky Star

He swiped his hand out in front of his face, as if to brush away my concern. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“It might not be what you meant, but it’s the truth, isn’t it?”

He speared me with a thoughtful glance, and then let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll be honest with you, kid. It’s not ideal.” Running his hand over the scruff of his beard, he added, “I like you. My wife loves you, and that makes you practically family. I don’t want to see you get hurt, but this is my movie, and I can’t have your personal life fucking things up.”

“I know,” I groaned, dropping my head into my hands.

“So, can you get Cameron go along with it?”

Of course, that’s why Broderick had wanted to speak with me. Not to warm me, but to leverage my feelings for Cameron and wanting what was best for him. I’d always known Hollywood could be cut-throat, but I’d never thought I’d get pulled into the drama. Then again, I’d never been dating engaged to an actor who was poised for such a meteoric rise either.

Now, I understood things perfectly.

This wasn’t about damage control. Broderick needed my help persuading Cameron to pretend he hadn’t just asked me to be his wife. If he walked into that meeting with PR this afternoon without signing on to one of the two options Broderick and I had just discussed, he’d blow his top and things would go from bad to worse.

Briefly, I imagined him telling Aerin, the ice-cold blonde in charge, to go fuck herself, and I smiled inwardly. If ever there was someone who deserved that, it was her. And yet, I knew I wouldn’t let it happen. They’d fire him, and he’d be back to square one. Worse, he’d be the guy who’d been fired even before the movie started, and that’d make him an industry pariah.

“I’ll talk to him,” I said, slapping my hands to my thighs and pushing to my feet. I needed to get the hell out of there before I threw up all over my boss.

* * *

I paced the hallway,wearing a trail in the gray industrial carpet. Silently I seethed, wanting nothing more than to tell Broderick to take his plan and shove it so far up his ass that it broke through the top of his thick skull.

But I couldn’t do that, so I waited for Cameron to arrive, growing more and more agitated with each minute that passed.

“Sarah, baby, what’s wrong?” I turned to see Cameron walking toward me, his face a mask of concern.

“Come with me.” I walked out the door and toward the parking lot, not stopping to see if he followed. I climbed into my car, the only place I could think of where we wouldn’t be overheard.

When Cameron joined me, the rest of the world fell away. “Talk to me, Sarah.”

“You have to promise me you won’t freak out.”

His eyes went wide. “Are you pregnant?”

“No, I’m not pregnant! Do you even understand how the female reproductive system works?” I shook my head. “How can you even ask me that?”

“I don’t know,” he shot back. “Maybe because you’re obviously freaking out, and that’s the only thing I could think of that would have you this panicked.”

“Trust me, if I were pregnant, I wouldn’t tell you in the middle of my work day. And I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t tell you not to freak out before I did. In fact, I’m certain I’d be telling you to start freaking the fuck out because that is not something either of us needs right now.” My voice rose to a holler, my words coming out harsher than I’d intended.

Cameron’s face fell. “Would that be so bad?”

I stared at him, mouth agape, as I realized he didn’t hate the idea. In fact, from the look on his face, I’d say he quite liked it.

Shit. It wasn’t that I didn’t want kids. I did. And with him. But right now? So not convenient. We needed to deal with one crisis at a time.

I squeezed his thigh and softened my tone. “No, it wouldn’t be so bad. Someday I’ll give you a whole brood, but right now, I’m not ready for that, and neither are you.”

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I know you’re right. But goddamn it, Sarah, I want that. I want it bad.”

“I know. But you might not want me anymore once you find out what’s about to go down in that meeting.”

Cameron looked at me sharply, and his brows furrowed in suspicion. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“That’s just it. I am telling you. But you have to understand, this wasn’t my decision. If it were up to me, I’d tell everyone in that room to take their offer and shove it where the sun didn't shine, but it’s not my life we’re talking about.”

“Sarah …” The warning in his voice let me know he’d reached the end of his patience.

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