Grounded By You (14 page)

“What?”

Millie rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Speaking of my family, I was supposed to go to a dinner for my father’s company last night. That’s why I was at the restaurant. I ditched it, and I talked Will into ditching it too. My father is going to be ticked.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Sam asked, rubbing her back. “For some reason, I feel responsible.”

Millie laughed, but it was bitter. “No, I can get myself in trouble all by myself. I can get myself out of it.” Then a thought occurred to her. She hated the idea, but she needed to do major damage control with her family. As the idea took hold, she saw not only a way out of being in trouble with her father, but also a way to please her mother at the same time. It was brilliant, and very scary at the same time. “Actually, there is something that you could do for me.”

He didn’t hesitate in answering. “Anything.”

“My mother has these cocktail parties for her friends. She likes to invite interesting people like writers, artists, politicians, and actors to entertain her friends. These people have connections in every industry that you could think of. It’s kind of lame, but at the same time it’s really good exposure. You’re the hottest thing in Hollywood news right now. It’d be a huge coup for my mother to have you attend one of them. The way to that woman’s heart is by making her look good in front of her friends.”

Sam looked uncertain. “That’s not really my kind of crowd. You know that. I’m just a regular guy. I know we’ve joked about the movie star thing, but it’s not real. The publicity is just something I have to get used to. I’m not in it to be famous. I’m doing it because playing Jackson Monroe is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

“I know that. But trust me, it won’t be so bad. I’ll be with you the whole time,” Millie said. She wanted to believe the words she was saying. She figured that she could control it. She’d be there with him, and that would make it tolerable for both of them. “Besides, then you could meet Josh. I know you’re going to love him.”

She could see that he was teetering on the edge of agreeing. She just had to give him one little nudge. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him with a sly smile. “Please? For me?”

He sighed. “I hate how easily you wrap me around your little finger. I’m like putty in your hands, and you know it.”

She drew his head down to hers. “How about you let me make it up to you?” she whispered against his lips.

Sam’s fingers were already undoing the tie at the front of her robe. “You read my mind.”

Sam felt like he had whiplash. There were too many things going on for him to feel as if he was doing a good job keeping any one thing straight. Victoria deftly guided him through the continued press interview rounds, and now there were photo shoots for promo materials and magazines to add in to the mix as well.

He and Delaney met daily to read through the script together, and he felt the natural chemistry beginning to build between them. It was part of the process that he enjoyed most, learning what made his fellow actors tick. Sam knew that he was still a green newbie, and there was a lot that he could learn from Delaney.

She told him that she started stage acting in her early teens when her mother took her out to every audition in town. The part that got her noticed by the casting director was at a festival in a
poedunk town in Indiana. When he asked her more about it, he found that she evaded his questions deftly and spoke in very generic terms. If he were to hazard a guess, he’d think that there was a man involved, but she wouldn’t talk about it. He didn’t know her well enough to prod further.

Millie was spending hours at her art studio. She refused to let him see what she was working on, but promised him that she would when it was done. She said that she was too close to it to be able to take objective feedback yet, and in a way he understood. In the midst of the creative process, sometimes the artist just had to feel the freedom to let it all hang out without any judgment.

He could tell that she was less than thrilled about all the time that he was spending with Delaney, but she was doing an excellent job of covering up any insecurity she had about it. If he didn’t know her as well as he did, he was sure he wouldn’t have noticed it at all. He sometimes thought that Millie missed her calling to be an actress.

Sam spent every night that he could get away at her place since the photographers seemed to be always camped out at his apartment. It was their secluded little love nest, and he looked forward to every minute that they spent there together. Inside its cozy walls, they were just two people talking, laughing, and making love at all hours of the day and night.

But Sam knew that the fairy tale would soon come to an end. In less than a week, he and Delaney were headed to North Carolina to start filming the movie. It made him anxious to think about being away from Millie, even though he was going to be home in Bleckerville. He hadn’t seen his parents or little sister since he moved to the city. The idea of seeing them again should have made him feel better, but it didn’t.

Millie, for her part, wouldn’t give him any indication that she was upset or even concerned about his impending departure. The cocktail party that he had reluctantly agreed to was planned for the evening before he left, which he thought was horrible timing. He hated the idea of wasting their last hours together in the company of a bunch of stuffy socialites.

“It’s okay. You can fly up here for the weekend whenever you have a break, or I’ll come down there. It’s the perfect excuse to spend some time with Kate too,” Millie admonished whenever he brought it up. “It’s going to fly by. This is a huge deal for you, Sam. I don’t want you focusing on me. I’m not going anywhere.”

He appreciated her support of his career, but he couldn’t help but think about the impact his time away would have on their fledgling relationship. It weighed heavily on his mind the morning of the cocktail party. Then he received a cryptic text from Victoria summoning him to her office.

She looked up at him as he walked into her office and pointed at the seat across from her. For the first time since he met her, he thought that Victoria looked tired. Her reading glasses were pushed up into her hair, and several pieces stuck out in various directions. There were shadows under her eyes.

“Thanks for coming over. I’m sure you’ve got a lot on your plate getting ready to leave tomorrow,” Victoria said. “This shouldn’t take long.”

“Not a problem,” Sam said. He waited for Victoria to get to the point. It wasn’t like her to beat around the bush.

“I’ll be honest, kid. You’ve been doing the rounds like a champ. Playing it up for the cameras, charming the press, handling the tough questions. It’s all been really good. I’m proud of you. You’ve come a long way already.”

“I have no idea what I’m doing, so that’s good to hear. Thanks,” Sam said honestly. “It’s been pretty overwhelming.”

“Lee tells me that you and Delaney have been going the extra mile making sure that you’re ready when they start filming.”

Lee Preacher was the film’s director. It had been a huge coup for the studio to lure him out of retirement. The legendary director had been quoted on record many times saying the movie that eluded him his entire career was
Where My Heart Breaks
. Lee tried unsuccessfully for years to convince the Moolen estate to let him buy the film right to the novel. No one knew why the estate’s executors suddenly changed their minds, but it was speculated that nothing else would have gotten Lee away from his fishing boat.

“He’s a fan of yours no doubt, which is a good thing” Victoria said. “But some of the executive producers are starting to have some questions.
The kinds of questions that you don’t want them asking.”

Sam felt as if the floor dropped out from beneath him. “What kinds of questions are those?”

“Look, I told you that they have a very specific idea of how they want to market this film. After all the saga of getting the film rights to the book, they feel like they have one shot to make the splash they want. They want all the glory, all the accolades, and all the awards that they can get. They’re spending a lot of money to do it. They need to feel like everyone, particularly the actors that are fronting the film, is on the same page with them. They aren’t seeing what they were hoping to see from you, and that’s making them question your motivation and loyalty to the film, especially given your inexperience.”

He stood up and slammed his hand down on the desk. “This feels like a threat, Victoria.”

“Sit down,” Victoria said. Her voice was cold.

Sam sat down, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

“I’ve been around for a long time. I get it. It feels unfair and like someone is trying to control your life. But this is what you signed on for. I’m not going to sugarcoat this because it’s important that you understand what’s going on. It’s really simple. Get on the bus or get off. They’ll cite creative differences and you’ll part ways. You’ll go on your merry way, and they’ll find someone who will do what they need him to do. Not to make you feel paranoid, but I think they already have someone in mind.”

“This is my part,” Sam sputtered. “Are you seriously telling me that they will fire me because I refuse to date my co-star? This sounds like some backward Hollywood bullshit.”

“It’s all about image and perception. That’s what movies are, Sam,” Victoria said. “The producers want an epic romance, on-screen and off. They want every woman in the world to imagine she’s Delaney Rose, and thereby be the luckiest woman in the world because she’s with you. Your numbers with the public are off the charts. You intrigue people, and with Delaney on your arm it’s going to catapult you both to a whole new level. It’s your choice.”

Sam felt sick. “I have a girlfriend,” he said. It was the first time that he put a label to his relationship with Millie, but he had to fight for her and for what they had. He couldn’t believe that it was coming down to this.

“The blond socialite, right?”

Sam looked up in surprise.

Victoria rolled her eyes. “I make it a point to keep tabs on my clients. And you haven’t been as discrete as you might think which is definitely part of the problem. Again, I get it. I’m sure she’s a lovely young woman, and from what I understand she comes from a very well-respected family. In any other circumstance, I’d be thrilled for you. But the producers don’t want their lead actor with a pretty socialite. They want you with Delaney.”

“You don’t understand what you’re asking,” Sam said.

“I do,” Victoria replied. She looked away then. “Take some time and think about it, but don’t think too long. Your flight is at eight am. If you are on the plane, the expectation is that you’re going to give it your all. And I mean everything. You’re an actor. Make this thing with Delaney look real, then when the film comes out, you can do whatever you want.”

Sam walked out the door without another word.

“You’re late,” Delaney said when he walked into the practice studio. Even with her hair pulled up in a sloppy bun and minimal make-up, she looked fantastic, but Sam barely noticed. “What’s wrong?”

Sam threw his backpack on the floor and ran both hands through his hair. “You mean other than the fact that I was just told they’re going to fire me if I don’t pretend date you until the movie comes out?”

Delaney grimaced. “Oh, yeah. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”

Sam paced the room. “You know that I’m with Millie. I don’t even know how to explain this to her. Sorry, I can’t see you anymore because my bosses are forcing me to date someone else so that they can get the publicity they want for their movie? It’s archaic.”

Delaney leaned against the wall and watched him. “It’s show business. We give up a piece of ourselves and our lives for a shot at that elusive pie in the sky.”

Sam let out a burst of air in frustration. “It’s not about being famous for me. It’s about getting the chance to do justice to a character that so many people have loved and hated over the years. It’s about doing what I’ve always loved to do. The fact that I’m getting paid for it is a bonus.”

Delaney nodded. “I understand. I do. But if that’s truly what you want to do, there’s a price for it. If you explain it to Millie, I’m sure she’ll support you.”

Sam shot her a look. “So you’d be fine with your boyfriend dating another woman all in the name of his job?”

“Look, Sam,” Delaney came closer. “I might have come on a bit strong that night we all went out, but you shot me down. I’m not thrilled about having to fake date somebody either, but at least we get along. I wish I had somebody who cared about me enough to make this entire situation feel wrong and inappropriate, but right now I just have me. And this is the thing I’ve been aiming for my whole life. I’m willing to do what it takes, but I’d respect your boundaries. It’s all for show, and that’s it. I’m not thinking it’s anything else, so you wouldn’t need to worry about that. Millie wouldn’t have to worry about that. If she’s half as crazy for you as you are for her, she’ll wait it out.”

Sam covered his face with his hands and groaned. “I can’t believe I’m seriously thinking of doing this.”

“I know what you need,” Delaney said with a smile.

“What?” Sam looked down at her wearily.