Grounded By You (10 page)

Sam didn’t even know how to respond. He stared at Delaney and absorbed her words. Millie was the only other person who he had ever heard speak so passionately about his acting talent. It was hard for him not to think of himself as some kind of hack who somehow got lucky. “Thanks. That’s a really nice compliment. I was incredibly nervous that day, but I felt comfortable with you. I was able to forget that there were a bunch of other people in the room, and that’s what got me through it.”

Delaney reached over and set her hand over his and squeezed it. “I hope we can be friends, Carter. I mean it.”

“Call me Sam,” he said. He returned her smile but slid his hand away. There was something strangely intimate about the gesture that made him uncomfortable. He knew that when they were acting together, they would need to create those kinds of emotions for the benefit of the screen, but outside of that, he wanted to make sure that their relationship remained strictly platonic. He wondered how to bridge the topic of their faux romance with her.

“Looks like we’re here,” she said as she looked out her window.

Sam gaped at the scene outside. There were photographers everywhere. “What the hell?”

“I’m guessing someone tipped them off about our reservation,” Delaney said, sounding nonplussed. “I should have guessed they’d do something like that.”

Sam was immediately frustrated with the situation. “It’s just dinner.”

As the driver started to open the door, Delaney looked back over her shoulder with an almost apologetic look. “It’s never just dinner in this business, Sam.”

Then she got out of the car. Immediately the night sky lit up with flashes. Sam had no choice. He emerged from the car, and then took her elbow to escort her into the restaurant.

“What’s the occasion, Carter?”

“Can I get a smile, Delaney?”

“Over here! Just one smile for the camera!”

Sam shut all of the noise out and then they were inside the small entryway. A woman stood behind the hostess stand with a star struck look on her face. She jumped when Sam said they had a reservation for two and jabbered that she’d go check on their table.

“Working your charm already?” Delaney whispered under her breath.

Sam shook his head with a wry grin. He was annoyed about the photographers, but he told himself that it was just something that he needed to get used to. As soon as the excitement around his casting died down, things would return to normal.

A few minutes later, they were escorted to a cozy booth at the back of the room. Delaney gave her cloak to the hostess, and as expected, every eye in the room turned to watch them as they crossed the room. Sam felt huge and clumsy next to Delaney’s diminutive frame, and he breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the table. 

His relief was short-lived. As they both slid into the booth, the alcove seemed cramped. He felt his leg press against Delaney’s, and he tried to scoot over an inch or two to give both of them more space. He took the menu from the waiter and scanned it for a few seconds before ordering a beer. He had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

Delaney seemed to understand that he needed a few minutes to himself, and she busied herself powdering her nose. When the drinks arrived, she held up her wine glass.

“Cheers. To the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Still feeling unsettled, Sam brought his glass up to meet hers. He felt her staring at him over the top of her glass, and finally he couldn’t hold the question back any longer.

“Are you really okay with this false pretense of a date that we’re being forced into?” he said in a low voice. He knew better than to let anyone overhear their conversation.

Delaney’s eyes dropped to her glass and she swirled it around, suddenly intent on watching the blood red liquid in her glass. “This is showbiz, Sam. I’ve been doing stage work for years trying to break into film. This is my shot. Sure, there are a few things that I’m less than comfortable with, but having the public think that I’m dating the new ‘it’ guy isn’t one of them.”

“You seem really great,” Sam said. “But there’s somebody in my life. I think.”

Delaney’s eyes narrowed. “Everybody thinks you’re single.”

“I was. I mean, I am,” Sam sputtered. “It’s a recent development.”

“This lifestyle wreaks havoc on relationships,” Delaney said. “I don’t have any experience with it on this kind of scale, but even in the theater world it’s tough. You spend long
hours day after day with the same people. You put all your energy and emotions into creating the character you are playing. It’s hard just to turn that switch off at the end of the day.”

“But it’s not real,” Sam said. He didn’t like hearing what Delaney was saying even though he heard the ring of truth in it. “It’s acting. And fake relationships don’t keep you warm at night.”

“Who said it has to be fake?” Delaney said.

At first Sam thought that she was joking, but then he realized that she was serious.
Dead serious.

“I’m not like that,” Sam said. “I’m not looking for the right relationship to further my career. The movie is a job and hopefully, if I play the role right, it’ll lead to more jobs. This other stuff is a distraction from that, and I want to have a normal life.”

“It’s the other stuff that sets the stage for the illusion that people see on the screen,” Delaney said. “People go to see movies to escape reality, but they love the idea that fantasy and reality can collide. That’s why they are fascinated with celebrities and follow their every move.”

“I didn’t expect that you’d be on their side,” Sam muttered as he took a long draw of his beer.

“I’m not on anybody’s side but my own,” Delaney said, flipping her hair over her shoulder revealing a bare shoulder. She leaned onto the table. “I like you, Sam. I’ve told you already that I hope we can be friends. I respect your decision on this, but just know that I’m not opposed to taking this relationship to the next level if the opportunity presented itself.”

“I can’t believe you’d say something like that. You don’t know anything about me,” Sam said. “Why in the world would you want to date me?”

“I know that you’re a struggling actor, just like me. I know that you grew up living and breathing this novel. I sincerely think that’s why you understand exactly what motivates Jackson and why you brought a certain authenticity to your audition that was lacking in everyone else’s. I know you’re twenty-three, and if acting didn’t pan out you were planning to become a journalist. You moved to New York six months ago, and you’re favorite past-time is rock-climbing. You are a Pisces, and your mother’s name is Francine. I know more about you than you think.”

Sam leaned back against the back of the booth. He was arguing with a beautiful woman about why she shouldn’t want to date him. If it had happened two weeks ago, he might have given in. But that was before Millie came back into his life, and he wasn’t willing to give that up. Not if there was any shot at being with her.

“I’m flattered, Delaney. Really I am. But it’s just friends for me,” he said.

He would have expected her to back away and perhaps even look annoyed, but Delaney only smiled softly at him. She brought her glass to her lips and winked at him.

“Friends is a very good place to start.”

For the hundredth time, Millie considered telling the car to turn around and take her back home. She didn’t want to attend the company event, especially now that she had told her father that she wasn’t planning to work for him, but he had insisted.

She expected him to yell and argue with her when she told him the news. His actual reaction was strange and unexpected.

The silent treatment had been almost worse than screaming. She wanted to call Sam and talk to him about what happened, but she hated feeling weak plus he had promised to call her on Saturday. She knew that he had a busy schedule, and the last thing she wanted to do was bother him with her trivial problems.

Instead, she spent the next day and a half in the studio working on her next piece. What happened with Sam inspired her, and she found that the images on the canvas were taking shape much more quickly than they had in the past. Her heart and mind felt lighter. Her whole life was changing in new and unexpected ways, and it was as thrilling as it was frightening, but all in good ways.

When she arrived home from her art studio to get ready, she found a package waiting for her. Her mother sent over a dress for her to wear to the dinner. Millie knew better than to argue. Until she knew exactly how her father had reacted to her news, she intended to do her best to stay on her family’s good side. She had expected to at least hear something from Josh, but her brother hadn’t responded to her texts and calls either. So Millie had no idea what she was walking into that evening, and that bothered her more than anything else. She felt woefully unprepared for what was about to happen.

Her phone rang when she was five minutes from the restaurant. It was Josh.

“Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the last day and a half,” she snapped.

“We’ve been in closed negotiations for the last few days, and things have been heated. I’ve had a lot on my mind,” Josh said.

Millie immediately felt bad. Her brother sounded tired. “What is this thing again tonight?”

“The guys working on this deal have been putting in a lot of overtime lately, but the pay-off for the company is going to be huge,” Josh said. “Dad thought it would be a good idea to take them out and let them blow off some steam.”

“And so why exactly do I have to be there? This sounds like little more than a more civilized version of a bachelor party. Minus the strippers,” Millie said.

“You’re a St. John, and when this deal goes through, we’re set for life. It’s a sign of respect for all the work that these guys are putting in to secure your future.”

Millie rolled her eyes. “God, you make it sound like we are in the Mafia.”

“We take care of our own,” Josh said. “Dad likes showing a united front. You know that.”

She did know that. Soon after her father’s company really took off, the weekend trips up the coast stopped and were replaced by shows, society dinners, charity balls, fundraisers, art show openings, and myriad of other activities that her mother deemed appropriate for raising the family’s visibility. Her father gave her mother free reign over that and dutifully showed up wherever he was told to be. He stressed the importance of showing the solidarity of their family saying that there was nothing more impressive than a handsome, well-rounded family to attract potential business partners.

Somewhere along the way, it seemed the shell hardened around her parents’ smiles and the actual emotional bonds dissipated. It was a relief to escape to school where, for the first time, Millie’s time was her own. She didn’t have to worry about impressing anyone anymore. Still, it hadn’t escaped her notice that she moved and behaved as if someone was always watching her. It had been ingrained into her psyche, and she hated her parents a little for that.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” she said.

“Dad reserved a room in the back.”

“Got it.”

As the car pulled up to the restaurant, she noticed a small group of photographers off to the side of the entrance. They milled around smoking cigarettes but didn’t seem interested in her car. Living in the city, Millie had seen her share of celebrities out and about going on with their daily lives. She wondered who was dining inside to have attracted the small swarm of attention seekers.

It made her think about Sam. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she thought about seeing him the following day. The memory of their kiss still made her insides melt. If he was that good of a kisser, she found herself eagerly anticipating what other skills he possessed.

“Get a grip, girl,” she said to herself. It wasn’t like Millie hadn’t had her fair share of sexual encounters, but those were different. She considered it her rebellious stage where she did the love ‘em and leave ‘em dance. For a while, Kate had been her partner in crime, but then Kate did the unthinkable. She went off and fell in love. As scary as that prospect was, it no longer made Millie want to run away screaming.

She was proud of herself. She was maturing in a whole new way. She also felt good about the fact that it wasn’t because of a guy. She just liked the idea now of having one particular guy being part of her new path. There was something decidedly romantic about it.

Moving into the restaurant, Millie handed her coat to the hostess and gave her a nod before heading toward the back. The low buzz of conversations paired with the dim lighting further encouraged her romantic thoughts. She wished that she could curl up in one of the back booths with Sam and talk the night away as opposed to having to spend it with a bunch of suits. She prepared to be bored out of her mind.

She had almost reached the back when she passed a table and heard a familiar name on the woman’s lips. The woman was trying to be discrete as she spoke on her cell phone with her head turned away from the table in Millie’s direction.

“Carter Samuel Groveson is here! In this restaurant right now. If I can get a picture, I’ll send it to you.”

Millie immediately scanned the restaurant again as a smile danced across her face. The evening was looking up all of the sudden. She even thought of asking Sam to join her at her father’s dinner if he could slip away. Her father would hate it, but wouldn’t dare say anything in front of all his employees.