Grounded By You (15 page)

She held up the script. “You need a little taste of Jackson Monroe.”

Jackson Monroe was Sam’s blessing and curse. Delaney was right. He needed the not so subtle reminder of what he’d lose if he refused to go along with the deceptive ploy. He dug his script out of his backpack. “What scene do you want to do?”

Delaney’s eyebrow rose. “Under the circumstances, I think we should read scene twenty-eight.”

With a sigh, Sam flipped to that section and read the first lines of dialogue. “This is the scene where Jackson tells Camilla that he let his feelings for her cloud his judgment. Are you trying to make me feel worse?”

Delaney shook her head with a sad smile. “I’m trying to help you see that you can’t back out now. Trust me. I’ve been watching you for the last few weeks, and you were born to play this part. You know it. I know you do. Take a lesson from Walter Moolen. If love is meant to be, it will find a way.”

“We both know how the story ends for Jackson and Camilla in
Moolen’s story,” Sam replied.

He dodged as Delaney tried to swat him with her script.

“You have the chance to write your own fairy tale. This is a bump in the road. Really, it’s a minor one, and you are making way too big a deal out of. Now focus and read.”

Sam thought about what Delaney said. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was making too big a deal out of it, and Millie would understand. So far, she had been nothing but supportive of his career, and he had no reason to believe that once he explained the reasoning behind the insane ask, she wouldn’t agree to wait for him.

Forcing himself to focus, Sam looked down the script and then put it down. Delaney was staring out the window, and he sensed that she had already moved into character.

“I thought I’d find you here, Camilla,” he said, letting his voice boom into the air. Carter Samuel
Groveson faded away as Jackson Monroe stepped toward the woman that he adored, knowing that he was about to break her heart.

Millie was a nervous wreck, and it showed in her ability to do her work that day. Something was completely off, and although she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, she knew it had to do with a combination of the impending cocktail party and the fact that Sam was about to leave for almost two months the next day.

She had been playing it cool with him on the topic. She could tell how anxious he was about leaving her, and she didn’t want him to feel like she was the clinging kind of girl. Except that the turmoil she felt every time she thought about his departure made her ill. Sam had a huge opportunity being cast in
Where My Heart Breaks
, and she couldn’t stand to think that she’d be the cause of any distraction. So she kept telling him it wasn’t a big deal, even though with each passing day, her own sense of dread about the inevitable increased.

It didn’t help to know that he was spending hours of every day with the comely Delaney Rose. She trusted Sam, but there was still something about the actress that bothered her. As Millie contemplated getting ready for the party, she couldn’t help but feel as if she was about to walk into her doom.

She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to explain Sam to her parents. As yet, they hadn’t spoken about what was going on between them. A passionate love affair to be sure, but other than that first night together, they hadn’t talked about their feelings or anything about the future. It was as if they both knew that to invite such talk might bring about more complications than their fragile, newfound relationship was ready to handle.

“You are a cruel, cruel woman,” Kate’s voice reminded her when she spoke to her friend earlier that day. “You’re throwing Sam into a pit of vipers, and you know it. I’m still having nightmares about the party you dragged me to three years ago.”

Millie hadn’t figured out a way to tell her best friend about what had happened with Sam yet either. It was the first time she had hidden something this big from Kate, but she just wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. She was afraid that Kate would tell her that whatever she was feeling was false in some way. Kate had watched Millie date many men over the years, and had expressed her opinion about Millie’s original interest in Sam early on. It hadn’t been a positive one.

“You’ve seen him on those TV shows,” Millie replied coolly. “He’s an actor, Kate. That’s what he does. He plays to the room. He’ll be fine, and maybe my mother will get off my butt for once.”

“So they’ve accepted that you aren’t joining the family business after all?” At least Millie had told Kate about her strange confrontation with her father.

“Things have been quiet on that front,” Millie admitted. “Too quiet. I’m sure they’ve got something else up their sleeves, but for now they’re leaving me alone, and I’m not questioning it.”

“How’d your meeting at the gallery go?” Kate asked.

“Evelyn was out sick, so we had to reschedule for next week. That’s okay with me, though. I’ve been working on a new piece that I’m hoping to have done before that. I think it’s my best work yet.”

Millie’s eyes drifted over to the canvas. She brought it home even though it was incomplete because she wanted to show it to Sam before he left for the film set. He had been its inspiration, and she thought it conveyed how she felt about him in a way that was non-threatening and yet hopeful.

“I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but I’m hoping there’s one more thing you can work into your schedule,” Kate said hesitantly, snapping Millie back to the present.

Millie took a wild guess. “He asked you didn’t he?”

“I can’t go into everything right now, but mark your calendar for June 27
th
next year. A girl can’t get married without a maid of honor,” Kate said with a squeal.

“Congratulations, Kate! I wish I was there to hug you right now.” Millie was delighted for her friend. “You must be over the moon.”

“Speaking of you being here, Patrice is insisting on an engagement party. Things are going to be so crazy with the filming for the next few months that I told her that we should wait, but she won’t hear anything about it. So it’s a month from tomorrow night. I know that’s short notice, but do you think you can make it and maybe even help her plan it?” Kate’s words came out in a rush.

“You know I wouldn’t miss it,” Millie said with a small smile. She couldn’t help but think that it was also a perfect excuse to visit Sam. Maybe the feeling of dread that she had been having was just a case of nerves. They could do long-distance, just like she told Sam.

“Fantastic! I’ll email you the details.”

They talked for a few more minutes and then Kate had to go. Millie looked at her watch and realized that she was late for starting to get ready for the party. Her mother wouldn’t be pleased if she was late.

Originally, Sam suggested that they could go to the party together, but Millie vetoed that idea. She needed to figure out a way to broach the topic with her parents, and arriving with Sam would definitely send the wrong message. She wanted them to get to know him first and see how fantastic he was before she sprang it on them that she was involved with him. She wasn’t even sure if Sam was okay telling people there was something going on between them. That was another conversation they still needed to have.

She pulled out her phone. The screen was blank, and that was odd. She and Sam had fallen into a routine of texting several times a day. It was a nice way to stay connected even in the midst of their busy schedules. But she hadn’t heard from him since he left that morning to go to the gym. Her feeling of dread returned.

You all set for tonight?
She decided that was a safe enough message.

Piece of cake
was the reply a minute later.

She knew that she should put the phone down and finish getting ready, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Can’t wait to see you.

This time, it took several minutes before the reply came through.

Me too.

It was what she wanted to hear, but at the same time, it didn’t sound like him. She wanted to call him, but she had to get used to the fact that Sam might not always be free to talk to her. He was about to leave for at least two months. She fought the urge to dial his number. She was being silly.

She put the phone down and went to her closet. She wanted to look killer for Sam, and she intended to make sure that his last night in the city was a night that neither one of them would forget.

Two hours later, Millie stood in her parents’ living room listening to a boring rendition of one of her old schoolmate’s weekend festivities in the Hamptons. She had already made a circuit of the room and heard the exclamations from everyone about how fantastic she looked in her silver mini-dress. She hoped that Sam felt the same way.

She glanced at her watch and wondered again where Sam was. She couldn’t believe he’d change his mind without telling her. So far her mother seemed unaware of the guest star of the evening’s absence, but she knew that dinner was slated to start soon. It would be an embarrassment if Sam didn’t show at all. And then that would be her fault.

When the doorbell rang ten minutes later, Millie rushed to get the door ahead of her mother. She opened the door and struggled to keep the shock off her face. Sam stood there, dashingly handsome as always, but that wasn’t what caused her throat to close up so that she couldn’t speak. It was the fact that he had Delaney on his arm.

“Hiya, Millie,” Delaney said with a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Oh my goodness, I’m so pleased you were able to make it,” Clare said, pushing a still shocked Millie out of the way. “Please come in. James will take your coats.”

She caught Sam’s eyes and saw the slight shake of his head. She felt a ball of fury start to build in the pit of her stomach. Clare took Delaney’s arm and started to walk her toward the living room. Millie didn’t even hear what Clare said after that.

Grabbing Sam’s arm, she stopped him. “You didn’t tell me that you were bringing a date,” she hissed.

“Your mother called and asked if there was any possibility of having Delaney join me. Delaney was available. I thought that me acquiescing to your mother’s wishes would make you happy,” he said tightly.

“Everybody’s going to think that she’s your date,” she said.

“It’s just dinner, Millie,” he said softly.

“Carter!” Clare called out. “Everyone’s waiting to meet you.”

“We’ll talk later,” he said.

“You bet we will,” she said as she followed him to the living room.

Millie stopped at the threshold to the room and watched with bile in the back of her throat as the crowd arranged themselves around the two young actors. Both Sam and Delaney seemed completely at ease. Soon everyone was roaring after Sam told a joke about a snafu during one of his interviews.

“Seems like a pretty charming guy.” Josh appeared at her elbow and handed her a glass of champagne. “You can tell that Mother’s in heaven. People will be talking about this party for weeks. Score one for Millie.”

Josh’s not so subtle reminder brought up the fact that she had agreed to produce Sam to begin with. Sam was playing the part that she asked him to play. She just hadn’t expected him to play it with Delaney at his side.

“This isn’t a game, Josh,” she said sullenly.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Josh said. “Everything in life’s a game, isn’t it? You win some, and you lose some.”

Millie looked up at her brother. There was something different about him, and for a moment she forgot about her anger at Sam. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Josh said, shaking his head. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind lately.”

“Take the night off,” she said gently. “You work too hard.”

“The work is never done,” he replied. “When Dad used to say that, I’d always think it was a crock of shit. Turns out that he was right.”

Millie felt bad. She was supposed to be stepping in and helping Josh, and instead she was flitting down her own path to some elusive happiness. She hoped that someday that feeling of guilt lessened.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

Josh looked at her for a long moment. “Unless you want to give up this idea of becoming an artist and come work for dad, then probably not.”

An awkward silence grew between them. Then the doorbell rang again.

“I’ll get it,” Josh said. He drew away, and Millie was relieved. She had been on the cusp of giving in and telling Josh she would take the job just so he’d stop looking at her like she killed his favorite pet.

Clare announced then that it was time for dinner and that everyone should make their way into the dining room. Millie had planned to sit next to Sam, but found that her mother arranged for Sam and Delaney to sit on the end near her and several of her cronies. Millie was situated at the other end of the table next to her father. She wasn’t surprised to find Will on her other side.

“Your mother was quite pleased that your friends were able to make it this evening,” her father said as the first course started.

Millie stole a look down to the other end of the table. Sam’s hazel eyes met hers. She knew him well enough to know that a storm brewed behind those beautiful eyes, and she wasn’t naïve enough to think that it didn’t have something to do with her.

“I’m glad that Mother is pleased,” Millie said.

“That Delaney is quite a spitfire,” Will said. “She’s had quite a colorful past.”

Although Millie tried not to pay attention to the movie’s press other than Sam’s interviews, the buzz had inevitably included more information about Delaney too. Having been pushed into the acting at an early age, she admitted to experimenting with a variety of recreational drugs and alcohol. Delaney was quite open about it because she said she wanted to warn all kids about the dangers of taking drugs, and hoped that she could be a role model for them.

It was almost sickening. Millie could see through it all. The studio was spinning Delaney’s past and repainting her as a contrite woman who had been a victim of circumstance. It wouldn’t do to have the innocent Camilla played by a slutty drug addict. Fans of the novel wouldn’t have had it.

“So how are things going with your work, Millie?” her father asked.

Millie almost choked on her soup. She hadn’t expected her father to ask her such a normal question as if nothing else was going on between them. “Great,” she said with a bright smile. “Couldn’t be better.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “Maybe you’ll show us some more of your work soon.”

She officially thought that she had arrived in some kind of alternate dimension. Feeling queasy, Millie excused herself. She needed a minute to think. She made her way quickly to the back hallway and up three small stairs that brought her to the room that had been hers until she refused to come back to it. She made her way over to the edge of the bed and sat down. She looked down at her hands and saw they were shaking.

“Millie?”

Secretly, she had hoped he would follow her, and she felt a small bit of relief that he had. She needed things to make sense again. She stood up and found him watching her with that unreadable expression. The space between them seemed as if it spanned an ocean.