Grounded By You (25 page)

Relieved that there wasn’t something wrong, Millie checked her watch. It was just after nine. She had overslept. Her appointment with Evelyn Ward was at eleven. She still wasn’t sure what Josh said, but Evelyn had called her the previous afternoon asking if she could come in to meet the following day. Millie jumped at the chance.

She thought about turning the doctor’s appointment down, but realized that the idea of seeing the baby was one of the few things she had to look forward to. Clutching her stomach, she let it sink in that she would meet her baby that day, however unofficially.

“Ms. St. John?”

“I’ll take it,” Millie said.

“Great. See you then.”

Millie clicked off and hurried to get in the shower. She still had to pick her paintings up from her studio before meeting with Evelyn, and she didn’t want to be late.

The meeting with Evelyn went even better than Millie expected.

“I think this could be the gallery’s best show ever,” Evelyn gushed. “I’m so glad that your brother called me to let me know that you were reconsidering releasing your pieces.”

“Making deals is kind of his thing,” Millie said.

Evelyn stood and picked up the painting that Millie had done of the fall leaves. She studied it again with a thoughtful look on her face. “It’s always intriguing to me to see how talent runs in the family.”

Millie looked at her in surprise. As far she knew, she was the only artist in the St. John family. “What do you mean?”

Evelyn turned to her. “Why, I’m sure you’ve seen your mother’s work.”

A small laugh escaped Millie’s lips before she could stop it. “My mother’s work?”

Evelyn waved her hand as if she thought Millie was pulling leg. “Of course. Your mother was a fabulous model in her time, but it was her work behind the camera that was truly extraordinary. I always thought that if she hadn’t married your father, she would have had quite a career.”

The idea that her mother possessed any creative skills at all left Millie speechless. “I didn’t realize,” she stammered.

Then she thought about her childhood, before her mother was swept up in spending every waking moment at different events trying to impress everyone around her. On their walks in the park, she often carried a camera and took pictures of Millie and Josh playing in the summer afternoons. But then the camera disappeared, and it wasn’t ever mentioned again. Millie never considered that it was something that her mother enjoyed more than a casual hobby.

Evelyn didn’t appear to notice Millie’s discomfort. She stared at the painting again. “I can’t wait to see your full portfolio. We should be able to book something in the fall, which I think will be perfect.”

Millie nodded and felt a small ripple of elation. With the show in the fall, she wouldn’t be showing too much by then. She still didn’t know how she was going to broach the topic of her pregnancy with anyone. It was something she’d have to ask Josh’s opinion on. She had a feeling she was going to be leaning on him a lot in the coming months.

Standing, she reached out and shook Evelyn’s hand. “I’m so sorry I have to go. I have an appointment at two, and I can’t be late. Thank you so much for being willing to give me another chance after I canceled our last meeting on such short notice. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. Like I said, your brother is quite persuasive,” Evelyn said with a small, dreamy smile.

Millie wondered if there was a woman alive who could resist Josh’s charms. She kept the grimace off her face as a random image of Josh with Evelyn rose in her mind. The woman was the same age as their mother. She escaped the gallery before that thought could get any more graphic.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that she had just enough time to drop her canvases back off at her apartment before she needed to head to the doctor’s office. A small bit of glee shot through her. Things weren’t great in her life, but at least this part of it was looking up. Planning for the show and working on some new pieces would keep her distracted and help her move on.

As she got into a cab, she thought about her father’s seemingly easy acceptance of her wish to become an artist, and she wondered if it had anything to do with her mother. She thought that it had to be a reason that he didn’t offer any resistance. There was a lot more to the story there. She made a note that the next time she saw her mother to ask Clare about her pictures. Maybe they had more in common than she thought.

Humming a wordless tune to herself, Millie paid the taxi cab driver and asked if he could wait while she ran inside for a minute. She didn’t want to risk being late for her appointment. Then she got out and started to pull the awkwardly sized canvases out behind her.

She whirled around in surprise when a pair of hands took the heavy canvases out of her hands. Stunned, she found herself looking in Sam’s hazel eyes.

“Let me help you with those,” Sam said.

Millie didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to let herself hope that his presence meant anything at all. Her heart was too fragile for her to take it. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

“We didn’t get a chance to talk the other night,” he said. “I think we’re due.”

She let out a mirthless laugh at the irony of his words. Then she felt something release inside of her. She didn’t have the strength to fight it anymore. It was time that she told him the truth, and she’d let the cards fall where they would fall.

“Actually, not until February third,” she said.

Sam’s eyes widened.

She watched his mouth open and close as he tried to understand her words. She decided stop being a coward and make it crystal clear for him. Lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders she looked him in the eye.

“Sam, I’m pregnant.”

Millie’s words hit him like a ton of bricks. He stood there with her canvases in his hands and processed her words. He stared into her eyes, and he saw that she wasn’t joking. Not one bit.

“We’re going to have a baby?” he said. His words came out tentative and uncertain as he tested them out.

Tears spilled down her cheeks and then it was as if a dam broke. Her words came gushing out, but her eyes never left his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I’ve decided to keep the baby, and I’ll take care of everything. You don’t have to do anything. Go be a movie star. I won’t bother you for a thing.”

He looked at her wondering if she had lost her mind. Did she really expect him just to walk away and pretend that nothing had ever happened? He wondered if she knew him at all. “What are you saying? Why would you think for even one second that I wouldn’t want this baby too?”

She gulped a bit of air and looked down at the ground. “Because we’re too different, Sam. We’re going in two different directions. Nothing’s changed.”

Sam felt like an idiot standing there holding the canvases in the middle of the sidewalk while talking about something that affected the rest of his life. “Can we go inside and talk about this? The least you can do is give me that much.”

Millie glanced around with a wild look in her eyes. She quickly wiped her eyes. “God, I didn’t even think about photographers.”

Sam leaned one of the canvases against his leg and took her hand gently so that she looked at him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his thoughts and speak rationally and logically. “Millie, you just told me I’m going to be a father. I don’t give a damn if there are a million photographers around us right now. I’d like have a civilized conversation with you about this, but not in the middle of a New York sidewalk.”

She nodded and her cheeks flushed. “Of course.”

He followed her inside, and there was silence between them as they rode the elevator. His mind turned her words over again and again. He felt something building inside of him, and by the time they reached her apartment, he knew that he had to do something. He had to act. Sam let her open the door and then he gently set the canvases against the wall inside.

Then he took her by her shoulders and stopped her from walking inside. When she didn’t push his hands away, he left one of them drift up to cup her face. He was afraid if he made any sudden movements, she’d bolt away like a scared, wounded animal. He had to make sure that everything he said from that point forward was exactly right.

“Now that my hands aren’t full, I’m going to tell you exactly what I think about this news.”

Millie flinched.

Not giving her another second to question his motivation, Sam put his arms around her and lifted her up against him twirling her around in a wide circle. Millie grabbed onto his shoulders and cried out in surprise. Then he set her gently back down on her feet and stared into her eyes.

“Millie, I love you. And I will love this baby too because it’s part of you just like it’s part of me. I know our timing might be off, and there are a lot of things to sort out, but I need you to know that I want to be here for you. I want to be here for our baby. Please, don’t shut me out again.”

Her mouth opened and closed. Then she took a deep breath and buried her head in his chest. He heard her say a few muffled words that he couldn’t quite make out.

“What did you say?” he whispered.

She put her chin on his chest and gazed up at him.
“I said, I love you too.”

His heart began to race, and he kissed her softly. Then the kiss deepened, and she clung to him as if he were her lifeline. She was definitely his.

Although his body immediately responded, there were other things that they needed to talk about, so he pulled away. He pressed his lips against her forehead. “Well, now that we’ve got that settled, how about you invite me in?”

“Oh,” Millie said grimacing. “I forgot. I have an appointment at two.”

“I can wait,” Sam said. He wasn’t going to give her a chance to change her mind or run away again.

Then Millie smiled mischievously at him. Her hands grasped the front of his shirt and pulled him close again. “How about you come with? There’s something that I want to show you.”

Forty-five minutes later, Millie and Sam watched the ultrasound monitor in wonder and awe. “I can’t believe it,” Millie said. She felt a sudden burst of love for the little person inside of her as she watched the flickering movement that the technician said was the baby’s heart.

Sam grasped her hand and stared at the monitor. Millie could see that there were tears in the corners of his eyes. He kissed her knuckles softly.

“Are those real tears or are you really that good of an actor?” she teased.

His face grew serious. “Everything about this is real,” he said. “Don’t ever doubt it.”

“Here are the pictures that you can take home,” the technician said as she handed a few black and white images to Millie. Millie took them as she tucked her shirt back down. As the technician left the room, Millie caught the woman’s sidelong, inquisitive glance at Sam. Millie realized with a sinking feeling that he had been recognized. She wanted to smack herself for not thinking about the ramifications of bringing Sam along.

“You probably should call your agent, Sam,” Millie said.

“I don’t need to be back to the set until tomorrow afternoon,” Sam said. “My flight leaves early tomorrow morning, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I want to spend tonight at least with you. I’ll be back in ten days, and it’ll fly by. I promise.”

“That’s not it,” Millie said. “I didn’t think it through when I asked you to come here with me and what that might mean. But this is probably going to be all over the news by tomorrow. I am almost one hundred percent positive that woman recognized you. This kind of gossip would be too juicy to ignore.”

Sam sat up straighter in his chair. Then he pulled out his phone.

“Who are you calling?” Millie asked.

“The one woman that I know will be able to figure out a way to spin this to everyone’s benefit,” Sam said.

“Victoria?”

“No, Delaney,” Sam said. He caught her look of disbelief. “Trust me. I wouldn’t be here right now without her help, and I owe her big time. If this comes out before we get a handle on it then that would be bad for all of us. She’s been a good friend, and I can’t do that to her.”

Millie didn’t know if she trusted the actress as much as Sam obviously did. She still couldn’t quite get the image of the two of them kissing out of her mind, even though Sam had explained everything to her in the cab on the way to the doctor’s office. She felt as if she had a bone to pick with Delaney, but she stayed quiet as Sam started to pace the room with the phone to his ear. She took the opportunity to get dressed.

“Delaney, it’s Sam. Yeah, I got here just fine, and things are good. Better than good.” He smiled reassuring at Millie. “So here’s the deal. What’s the best way to spin the fact that I’m going to become a father?”

Millie heard the squeal from the other end of the phone. She saw that Sam had the widest smile on his face, and in that moment, she realized that whatever happened it would be okay. She had been an idiot to think that Sam would bail on her. He wasn’t that kind of guy.

“Thanks, I know. I’m pretty excited. I’ll have a picture of Sam Jr. that I can show you tomorrow. The problem is that Millie thinks the technician recognized me and is going to blab to someone who will tell the press. We have to think fast.”