“Now, fold here.”

“Right here?”

“Yep, and be careful—she’s a being a little fussy.”

Justin’s face wore an expression of total concentration as he applied the diaper to Faye, who was on her back on the changing table in the nursery.

“You look like you’re trying to defuse a bomb,” I said, doing my best to flash a TV-worthy smile.

“Hey,” he said. “I saw what the old diaper looked like—that’s not too far from the truth.”

Chuckles sounded from the crewmen in the room.

“Okay,” he said. “So, I just put it here…and here…and…”

“Done!” I said.

A proud smile on his face, Justin hoisted Faye off the changing table and held her in the air. She giggled happily, now nice and clean.

“Okay!” called out Craig, our director. “That’s good!”

The tension left my body as Craig gave the sign that they were done filming for the moment. The crew broke up, talking among themselves as I stayed by Justin.

“How was that?” he asked, handing Faye back to me. “I’ve never done that before.”

“I could tell,” I said, giving the diaper an inspection. “But it looks good to me.”

“Justin! Heather!” said Craig, clasping his hands together as he approached us. “That was awesome, awesome stuff.”

Craig was a good guy, but very California. He was trim, with a neat beard of dark hair and a matching manbun tied up on the top of his head. He was dressed in designer jeans, bright white sneakers, and a V-neck T-shirt done up with the logo of his production company.

“You think so?” asked Justin. “I felt like I barely had control of my hands.”

“That’s what we want,” said Craig, plopping his hand on Justin’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “This whole show’s about you being out of your element—we want a little clumsiness now and then. And that line about diffusing a bomb? Perfect!”

Then he turned his attention to me, his eyes hidden behind a large pair of designer sunglasses.

“And Heather,” he said. “You’re charming, sweet, and just knocking it out of the park.”

I blushed, having a hard time with the compliments.

“Thanks,” I said. “Trying to learn as I go.”

“And you’re doing a hell of a job at it,” he said.

The last week had gone by in a total blur. The team from the production company had arrived at my apartment the day after I signed the contract, all of them eager to get me ready for the show. After a few days of prep, I was told to show up at Justin’s penthouse in the West Village, bringing nothing but myself and Faye. Sure enough, when I arrived, I had a whole wardrobe of clothes from Justin’s top designer lines waiting for me. It was a nice change of pace from the sweatpants and budget office clothes I had back at my apartment.

The penthouse was…something else. It was situated at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the neighborhood, a huge, mansion-sized place right in the middle of New York. It was done up in sleek, modern décor, the floor-to-ceiling windows allowing a three-hundred-sixty-degree view of the city. It made my place in Greenpoint look like a closet. And when I saw the walk-in closet for the room where I’d be staying, I realized how true that statement was.

We were on day two of filming, the first being a set-up for the premise of the show. There were two main elements to it: Justin experiencing what it would be like to be a father, and me getting a taste of the life of a Manhattan billionaire. Thankfully, this didn’t require much acting on my part—Justin lived a life of luxury that I could only dream about. The show was set to be a mini-series, filmed over the course of the week. And so far, so good. The staff did their best to help me out, and Justin actually seemed to be taking a shine to Faye.

But it wasn’t all fun and games. Justin and I were on camera twenty-four-seven, the crew only being hands-on for a few sets here and there when they wanted to film something specific, like this baby changing scene. Most of the time they hung back and watched us, like a dozen flies on the wall.

“So, we’ve got the changing done,” said Justin. “What’s next?”

“Heather here is going to keep showing you the basics of childcare,” said Craig. “And then we’ve got something different in mind for after that.”

“Something different?” I asked. “What does that mean?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Craig. “For now, let’s do some feeding. That sound good?”

My eyes went wide. “Does that mean I’m going to be on camera…you know?”

“Breastfeeding?” asked Craig, going right for the word I’d been a little bashful about saying.

“Yeah,” I said. “That.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll be filming it very tastefully. What we’re going to do is start with you feeding Faye. Then Justin’s going to come in, you’ll both have a bit of banter, and then you’ll show him what to do when you’re not around. Got it?” He clasped his hands together. “Go ahead and relax for five,” he said before taking off and leaving Justin and I alone while he attended to the crew.

“So,” I said.

“So,” said Justin. “How’re you holding up?”

“It’s…weird,” I said. “But I think Faye’s doing fine, which is what I was worried about.”

He wiggled his finger in front of her face, and she let out an adorable giggle.

“Think about it this way,” he said. “With all this being recorded, you’ll have the best home video baby footage ever.”

He flashed me a smile.

I still wasn’t sure how to feel about Justin. He’d been good with Faye, despite the bizarre circumstances. But due to the artificial, contrived nature of this whole production, he and I never had a chance to talk about anything more personal—which meant the feelings of anger I still held were right there under the surface, unresolved.

“And maybe I’m imagining things,” he went on, “but I’m thinking Faye’s starting to take a shine to me. What do you think?”

He wasn’t wrong. Faye had been especially easy-going around Justin.

“I think you might be right,” I said. “Or maybe she’s dealing with the novelty of having a man around.”

“Well, either way, she’s awesome,” he said. “I never thought I’d be into having a kid around, but…I don’t know.” He looked away as if giving the matter some serious thought. “I don’t know,” he repeated.

Before either of us could say anything else, Craig came back into the nursery.

“All right, you two,” he said. “Next scene’s going to be in the kitchen. Come on.”

He led us out of the nursery and into the expanse of the main room. The sun was beginning to set, the sky outside filled with brilliant oranges and creams, a dark purple above.

“Lighting’s perfect,” said Craig. “Now, you two go ahead and get to it.”

The kitchen was as modern and sleek as the rest of the place, the open and raised design looking out over the living area. We took our places in front of the towering, stainless steel fridge, me seated in a chair with Faye, and began after Craig gave us the sign to start. I made sure to have Faye covered as I fed her. It felt bizarre to be doing it in front of the crew, but I kept in mind the fact that they were professionals, and it’s not like anything too scandalous was going to be there for all to see.

“Okay, Justin,” I said, trying to ignore the crew watching us talk. “I’m going to be grabbing dinner tonight, so it’s going to be up to you to feed Faye.”

“Right, right,” he said, leaning back on the fridge. “And I’ve been thinking about that.”

“Oh?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, placing his hands on his pecs. “And I don’t think I’m, you know, up to the task.”

More laughs from the crew. I gave Justin an “oh, you” look. I had to resist a laugh myself—his sense of humor could be a little immature, but that didn’t mean I didn’t think he had his moments.

“As much fun as it’d be to see you feed Faye like that,” I said, “I already beat you to it.” I pulled open the fridge, revealing among the other food, a row of bottles filled with breast milk.

“How am I going to know when she’s hungry?” Justin asked.

I put on a TV smirk.

“Oh, you’ll know.”

I walked Justin through the feeding process, showing him how to hold Faye when she was ready for dinner, how to warm the milk up, and all the rest. Just like with all the other baby tasks I’d been walking him through, he showed a surprising affinity for it.

After a little more back-and-forth, Craig ended the scene and approached us.

“Now,” he said. “Heather, we’re going to have you go out to dinner with Julia for a little more filming, but for now I want some shots of the two of you in the nursery.”

To be honest, I was a little surprised that Julia had been down for shooting a few scenes. But when I told her about the money and baby gear she’d be getting in exchange, she was all over it. Not to mention I think she picked up on the fact that I could use all the support I could get.

“Sure,” said Justin. “What’re you thinking in the nursery? Another changing scene?”

“No,” said Craig. “This is the ‘something different’ I mentioned earlier. The scene is going to be you two in the bed in the nursery, lying together next to the crib. We’re going to put it after some footage of Faye crying, so it’ll be set up as the two of you relaxing together, Faye nearby after you’ve both put her down.”

“Wait,” I said. “In bed together?”

“That’s right,” said Craig. “Nothing too crazy, just two tired people relaxing after a busy day with the baby. Sound good?”

Justin flashed me a look that suggested he was as uneasy as I was.

“It’ll only be a few minutes of footage,” said Craig. “Then we’ll get you out on the town.”

Justin and I went alone into the nursery, the large room loaded up with all sorts of cameras to film Faye while she was sleeping. I placed her in the crib, and she went down easily.

“Now,” came Craig’s voice through one of the speakers. “You two get nice and cozy.”

“This is weird,” I said quietly.

“I know right,” he said. “I’ll go first.”

He plopped onto the large bed off to the side of the room. Once I’d gathered up the nerve, I slid onto it next to him.

“Good,” said Craig. “I’m going to lower the lights, and you two just get comfy.”

I glanced down to see that there were a good several inches between Justin and me.

“Come on,” he said with a smirk. “Let’s do some acting.”

He extended his arm and moved it under my upper body, pulling me close to him.

At first, it was strange and awkward. But once those initial feelings passed, I found myself…liking being so close to him.

“Justin, good,” said Craig. “Heather, you’re stiff as a board.”

My eyes went wide for a brief moment before I remembered that it was all pretend.

“Okay,” I said out loud. “Loosen up.”

I took in another deep breath and stuck out my arm, placing in on Justin’s side. His body was as warm and solid as I remembered it being all those weeks ago. In spite of how awkward this was, I found myself growing more comfortable by the moment.

“Closer,” said Justin.

I nodded and closed the distance between us, resting my head on his chest. He held me close, his hand on my back.

As mad as part of me still was toward Justin, it felt good.

Minutes passed, and I slowly grew so comfortable that I thought I might be able to fall asleep in his arms right then and there.

But before that could happen, the lights flicked on.

“Perfect!” said Craig, his booming voice cutting through the room. “Just perfect!”

I opened my eyes to see Justin looking at me, a warm expression on his face that I couldn’t quite make out.

Whatever it was, it was no act.