Despite that, the rest of the day was a nightmare. Everyone knew that Nathan was going to be a father. Everyone knew that he hadn’t said anything to Zoe about it yet. He couldn’t even bear to look at her. She was carrying his baby, and they weren’t even speaking, except for her giving directions.
It couldn’t get any worse than this.
CHAPTER 24
ZOE
By the time filming wrapped for the day, Zoe had an awful headache. She’d run to the bathroom to be sick several more times, her chest was tight, and she couldn’t bear to look at Nathan — or at the many people who had apparently heard her tearfully admit that she was pregnant. She was heartbroken, humiliated, and exhausted, though she did her best to be sure none of that showed on her face.
“That’s a wrap, everyone,” the producer said. “We’ll be back tomorrow morning to continue.”
Zoe made a beeline for Nathan. She grabbed his arm, pulled him back to his office, then circled him to make sure his mic pack was gone. It was. She came back to face him.
“Nathan, I am so, so sorry.” She fought to keep her voice steady. “That wasn’t how I wanted to tell you at all, and it certainly wasn’t my intention for everyone to overhear.”
“Right.” Nathan took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. He always looked more vulnerable without the glasses, and Zoe’s heart gave an unexpected lurch. She just wanted to crossthe room and fall into his arms. She wanted him to say that everything was going to be okay and that they would face what came nexttogether. She wanted him to say that he wanted a part in the baby’s life.
She wanted him to forgive her.
But he wasn’t going to say any of that, because they were in a huge mess, and it was all Zoe’s fault. Nothing would be all right until she fixed it.
“I’ll do whatever I can to keep the… reveal out of the show,” Zoe continued. “I plan to speak to the producers, but I thought our best angle would be to speak with them together. I’m sure they’ll understand that this goes against the brand of the show and violates our privacy.”
“Right,” Nathan said again. He put his glasses on and met her eyes for the first time since Zoe had come back to Islingburn. Her heart skipped a beat. Perhaps he was finally going to talk to her about what she’d told him. “Let’s go talk to them now.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Zoe tried to pretend she wasn’t heartbroken that he wasn’t mentioning the baby. “They should still be around, so hopefully we can catch them. Again, I am so sorry. I’ll do whatever I can to fix this.”
“Right,” Nathan said for a third time. Together, they left the office. Sure enough, the producers were still nearby — they were outside, standing in front of the production trailers, talking. They were all together, which was almost too perfect. Zoe led the way over.
“Excuse me.” She smiled, and they all turned to her as one. “Could we talk to you for a moment?”
“Perfect timing,” the showrunner said, smiling at her. “We were just talking about your move. Genius!”
“What?” Zoe asked, her chest immediately tightening.
“Genius,” the showrunner repeated. “Obviously, we’ll have to do a little rewriting of the pilot — we’ll need to introduce you and have some backstory about your relationship, maybe have you do a staged redo of the reveal so that we can get it on camera, but it’s genius. A little scandal is just what the show needs.”
“No,” Zoe said. She looked between the two producers. “We agreed that people are hungry for heartwarming television, not just scandal. This can’t be in the show. We’re trying to create something warm and nostalgic and family-friendly, not another tell-all.”
“Sure, but everyone loves a surprise pregnancy.” The producers exchanged smiles. “It really is a smart move. You’ll make quite a name for yourself, even if there doesn’t turn out to be a baby.”
“What doesthatmean?” Nathan asked coldly. Zoe already knew what it meant — the producers seemed to be implying that she wasn’t really pregnant, and that she’d invented the salacious surprise baby as a way to get on the show herself.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Zoe said. She turned back to the producers. “Listen, you can’t use that reveal. You can’t.”
“You’d ruin my reputation,” Nathan put in. “How dare you eventhinkabout taking such a private, personal moment and spinning it for your own gain!”
The lead producer lifted his hands, chuckling. “That’s quite an accusation. Remember, Mr. Hale, you signed up to create this show, and it’s a reality show. That means content like this is fairgame. Next time, remember to switch off your mic pack if you don’t want something to be in the show.”
“Nathan probably didn’t even knowhowto turn the mic off,” Zoe put in.
“Don’t speak for me.” Nathan shot her an angry look, and Zoe’s chest tightened again. She was so stressed that she was barely able to breathe — and she was upset. She wassupposedto be talking for him.
“Keep up this dynamic,” the showrunner said. “This’ll be great. A little tension, a little anger, plenty of attraction… It’s TV gold.”
“Anyway, we’d better be going.” The lead producer stretched. “We need to get to our hotel tonight and see about some dinner.”
“Please,” Zoe said. She forced herself to calm her tone — she couldn’t come across as desperate, no matter how she felt. “You can’t just leave. Let’s talk about this.”
