Authors: Ivy Sinclair
He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it uncertainly. Then he sighed and handed the phone to Millie.
“She says she wants to talk to you.”
Millie and Delaney agreed that in order to preserve Sam’s image, Delaney’s image, and the movie’s reputation, the best course of action was to come clean sooner rather than later. The fake romance had to be spun another way. Delaney said it was all about perception, and ultimately she was right
Sam made an emergency visit to Victoria’s office with Millie in tow.
“This is the woman that I love, and we’re going to have a baby. I am going to shout it from the rooftops because I’ve never been so happy in my entire life,” Sam said without a word of preamble as soon as they were through the door. He held Millie’s hand tight.
Victoria turned pale and put a hand to her throat.
Then Millie dusted off her own acting skills and turned on the waterworks. It wasn’t difficult with the swirl of emotions rushing through her. “Sam has been so protective of me. Now with the baby on the way, I just want us to be together.”
Then Sam offered up their pitch. Delaney said the perfect lie was ninety-percent truth. “Delaney and I made a deal the first night we met. She said she’d help me cover up my relationship with Millie so that Millie didn’t have to deal with the same scrutiny that I did. It was stupid, but I was afraid that Millie’s family wouldn’t approve of me until I proved myself with the success of the movie. But now that we’re going to have a baby, Millie and I want to make our relationship public. We have both of our parents’ full support, and Delaney has become like family to us.”
“Everybody loves a secret love story,” Victoria said slowly. She paused and stared at them. Then she held up her hand and started counting on her fingers. “Sam gets the girl. Delaney looks like a heroine for helping you protect the woman you love. The executive producers see a completely united front by their two leads, who may not be lovers, but are still best friends. This could work…”
“We just want to be together,” Sam said as he put his arm around Millie’s shoulders and pulled her close to him. Millie had to give him props when he added the dramatic flair of putting his hand on her stomach.
She watched Victoria give in as the older woman jumped up from her desk to give Sam a loose hug.
“Congratulations, kid. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
With Victoria in their corner, their next visit was to see Clare St. John.
This was one scenario where Millie realized that her mother’s practiced poise and social graces could be used to her benefit. If she swayed Clare to her side, then Clare would take care of Millie’s father.
They found Clare holding court in the tea room. Millie pulled her mother aside as Sam distracted the rest of Clare’s friends. She almost felt sorry for him as she watched the perfectly polished faces began to circle him.
“What is it that is so pressing?” Clare asked. “It isn’t like you to show up unannounced. At least a call ahead would have been appreciated.”
“Mother, I’m pregnant. Sam’s the father.” Millie didn’t see any point in softening the news. “We’re not getting married, but we are in love.”
If Clare was unhappy about Millie’s revelation, she didn’t show any sign of it. “Well, that is quite interesting news.”
“I’d like you to support me when I tell Dad. I’m not asking anything from either of you. I wanted you to know because it’s going to come out in the press, and I didn’t want you to be surprised. I know you dislike those kinds of surprises.”
Clare smiled her usual benign smile. “Of course I will support you, Amelia. What kind of mother do you think I am? Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’m happy to help.”
“I’d like to tell Dad at dinner tonight. Can you arrange it?”
Clare patted Millie on the cheek. “Consider it done. Be ready at seven. I’ll send you the details.”
Although Millie was a bit taken aback at how quickly her mother agreed to play her part, it didn’t take her long to figure out why. Being able to say that they had a movie star in the family was the equivalent of striking gold within her circle of friends.
Clare gave her an awkward hug, and then moved around her to rejoin the group surrounding Sam. Millie watched as Clare gracefully moved through throng and maneuvered herself right next to him. She said something that caused Sam to lower his head. Clare whispered into his ear. When Sam raised his head and met Millie’s eyes, she saw a blush crawl up his cheeks.
She cocked her head toward the door indicating it was time to go, and he looked relieved.
“What did she say to you?” Millie asked as soon as they were out the door.
“She told me to call her Mother,” Sam choked, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
Millie didn’t stop laughing for a good ten minutes.
With Clare’s help, the more formal dinner with James went off without a hitch. Millie wasn’t sure who was more relieved, her or Sam, when James offered Sam his hand at the end of the evening. “Just take good care of my little girl,” James said.
Sam looked at Millie. “I will, Sir. I will.”
In the cab, Millie stretched out against him with a tired grin. “Well, this has been the craziest day of my entire life.”
Sam put his arm around her and rested his chin on her head. “I hate to tell you this, but it’s about to get a whole lot crazier.”
She looked up at him and saw his frown. She touched his cheek. “Let’s not think about that right now. We’ve got a lot to catch up on in the next twelve hours.”
His kiss took her breath away and told her without words that he completely agreed.
The story made national news.
Secret pregnancy revealed!
Jilted co-star or willing accomplice?
Who would you chose, the heiress or the actress?
The only thing that Sam insisted on was that she stayed somewhere else until he returned from North Carolina. He was concerned that the paparazzi would stalk her, and he didn’t like the idea of her being alone. In the end, Josh offered to let her crash at his place. Millie accepted quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was spend ten days with her mother.
She and Sam spoke every day while he was away. He told her that although the studio executives were less than thrilled with the development, they agreed that trying to keep pushing the fake relationship with Delaney was in bad taste. Victoria’s pitch on his behalf was quickly accepted. Delaney became an accomplice to their secret romance, and Sam was set free.
The only thing that still bothered Millie was that Sam hadn’t trusted her with the truth. She understood what it was like to be pressured into doing something that she knew wasn’t right. Although they loved each other, she felt they still had a lot of work to do on their relationship. They just needed the time and space to do it.
Unbeknownst to Sam, she had been talking to Delaney the entire time. The two of them bonded over dissecting every detail of the story as it stole the press headlines. Already it had started to fade away, and Millie’s hoped it would be yesterday’s news in no time.
Finally the film wrapped, and Sam was headed home. Millie offered to cook for him that night, and told Sam to bring Delaney. Josh also had big news. He won his deal and the big acquisition was going through. He was being promoted to a senior vice president. It was definitely time to celebrate.
Josh got home just before Sam and Delaney were due to arrive. He disappeared into his room to take a quick shower. She heard the doorbell ring, and she dashed to the door. Throwing it open, she found herself scooped up into Sam’s arms before it had even fully opened. His lips found hers, and she lost a few moments in pure bliss.
Looking over his shoulder, she saw Delaney standing there with a wrapped package in her hands. She looked small and unsure, the exact opposite of any other time that Millie had ever seen her. As Sam set her down, Millie stepped around him.
“Come in,” she gestured to Delaney with a warm smile.
“This is for you,” Delaney said, handing her the present. It was wrapped in light blue paper. “I know you guys don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but Sam was taking bets on set that it was boy.”
“And no doubt told everyone that we’ll name him Sam Jr.,” Millie said with a chuckle. “That’ll be over my dead body. As long as he or she is healthy, I don’t care.”
She took Sam’s hand and beckoned them both deeper into the apartment. Josh emerged from his bedroom, his hair still wet. Millie noticed the long look of appreciation that Delaney gave her brother.
She hid her smile behind her hand. Everything seemed perfect. “Dinner’s almost ready. I hope everyone’s hungry because, not surprisingly, I am starving. Sam, can you help me in the kitchen?”
“I can help,” Josh offered.
“No, why don’t you get everyone a drink? You can show Delaney around the apartment.” Millie shooed Josh and Delaney toward the bar in the living room.
As Sam followed her into the kitchen, he wrapped his arms around her again. “Smells terrific. I didn’t know you could cook.”
“There’s still a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Millie said, locking her hands behind his neck.
“So is this supposed to be a double date?” Sam asked, nuzzling her neck. “I seem to recall the last one ended on a high note.”
“I’m just happy,” Millie said, smiling at the memory of what happened after their last double date. “I want to share it with the people in my life who helped me get here. This all feels like some kind of surreal dream.”
Sam brushed her lips gently. “I want to make you happy forever.”
She stood up on her tiptoes and wrinkled her nose at him. “You’ve met me, right? It’s a good thing for you that we’ve got a lot of time then.”
They both laughed and Millie nipped at his chin before giving him a deep kiss to show him how much she had missed him. She decided that perhaps she could get used to domestic bliss.
Sam fidgeted in the seat next to her, and Millie reached over to touch his knee. “You look incredibly handsome. You’re going to be great tonight. Everyone is going to love the film.”
He smiled gratefully at her and squeezed her hand. Then he touched her rounded stomach. “I’m glad that you’re both here. It helps.”
“Thanks, but I feel like a beached whale. You’d be amazed at how hard it is to find the perfect sexy pregnancy dress to wear to a movie premiere,” Millie said. “I don’t want anybody wondering why you are with me. It’s bad enough that I have to beat them away with sticks on the street.”
She saw Sam eye her cleavage. The plunging neckline was almost too much in her opinion, but Delaney assured her that she should flaunt it while she had it. When Kate agreed after seeing a picture that Millie texted her from the dressing room, she had reluctantly bought the dress. Now basking in Sam’s reaction, she was glad that she did.
“You are going to be the sexiest woman in the theater,” he said, leaning over to kiss the tip of her nose. “Just like always.”
“I’m pretty sure that Delaney’s going to take home those honors tonight, but thank you for the compliment anyway,” Millie said. As the days and weeks passed, she found that she wasn’t jealous of the other woman at all. She thought that it probably had to do with the way that she always found Sam looking at her, the same way that he was looking at her now. It was as if she were the only person who mattered in his world.
The car slowed to a stop. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.
“Just make sure that you don’t let me fall getting out of the limo,” Millie said. “It’s not as easy to move gracefully anymore, and the last thing I need is to have that kind of thing land on the front page of the entertainment news.”
“Nobody cares about me anymore,” Sam said with a grin. He held up his left hand and pointed to the gold band on his finger. “Especially now that I’m an old married man.”
“Hardly. Based on the fact that Victoria can’t keep up with all the scripts coming in, I had no choice but to put a ring on it,” Millie said sarcastically.
Sam laughed and pulled her hand so that she leaned into him. He claimed her lips in a hot, urgent kiss just before they heard a knock on the window. “Let’s get this over with so I can get you home,” he said in a low, husky voice that told her exactly what he was thinking about, and it wasn’t attending a movie premiere.
Millie pushed him away gently and put her hand over his heart. “Enjoy this moment, Sam. You’ve earned it.”
Sam shook his head. “I know I always told you that playing Jackson Monroe was my dream role of a lifetime.” He placed his hand on her stomach and then looked deep into her eyes. “I was wrong.”
A shiver ran through Millie as she grasped the meaning of his words. She didn’t think it was possible to love him more than she did in that moment. Then he winked at her and pushed the door open. She heard the roar of the people outside and the screams of the fans as they recognized who was getting out of the car. Sam slid out of the back seat and stood tall facing the crowd. He did a quick wave to the fans before reaching back for her.