Grounded By You by Ivy Sinclair Page A

her preferred nickname when she was in prep school, but her mother maintained the rigid air of formality despite Millie’s repeated attempts to change her mind. Finally, she just gave up. Millie was stubborn, but she was no match for her mother.
    At fifty, Clare’s face was still beautiful and unlined. She could easily pass for Millie’s older sister instead of her mother. That made her envied and revered in her small group of snobbish society friends, and Millie knew that suited Clare just fine. Clare was a small time model back in the eighties before she snagged herself a husband in James St. John, who at the time was a real up and comer. Then Clare gave up her modeling career and immersed herself in climbing the social ladder. Millie had to give her mother credit. When the woman put her mind to something, she almost always made it happen.
    Which meant that Millie had to watch her back or else she’d end up married off to some boring banker before she could even blink. Her mother tolerated her desire to go to college, and even to have a career, but she couldn’t understand why Millie was so dead set against settling down. Clare wasn’t introspective enough to consider that it might be because Millie witnessed the dance of her parents’ loveless marriage for far too many years.
    “That quaint little inn where you spent last summer is all over the news,” Clare said. The flash of annoyance of Millie’s lack of attention had already disappeared. “That must mean your friend Kate is doing quite well. All that publicity will almost certainly guarantee an uptick in business.”
    “It’s always busy during the summer season,” Millie said. “Walter Moolen’s book has been enough to keep the place packed all summer long for years.”
    “Well, I guess they’ll be able to double their rates then,” Josh interjected. “I heard some of the women at the gym already gushing over the guy they cast as the lead for the movie. What’s his name again?” He snapped his fingers as if trying to jog his memory.
    Millie was surprised. News traveled faster than she expected if it had already reached her family’s ears. “Carter Samuel Groveson,” she said.
    “That’s it!” Josh exclaimed, pointing at her. “It’s a weird name.”
    “Not that weird,” Millie said as she straightened her napkin in her lap. She didn’t want to talk about Sam with her family.
    “I heard that he was from that same town where the inn is located. Did you happen to meet him during your stay there?” Clare’s voice held a note of distraction.
    Millie saw Clare scan the room, no doubt trying to determine if there was anyone else in the room who required her attention.
    The turn of conversation didn’t give Millie a chance to plot out what she was going to say about her friendship with Sam. Her two worlds were colliding. She decided it was best to be honest. It would come out sooner or later. “I know him. He worked at the Willoughby at the same time I did.”
    Suddenly she had Clare’s full attention. “Well, isn’t that a fascinating coincidence,” Clare said.
    Millie realized her mistake too late. She could see what was going on in her mother’s head. It was a quick calculation of what could be gained by letting it be known to her friends that her daughter knew the famous new movie star.
    She needed to change the subject, and she knew just how to do it. “So I need to talk to dad about the job that he arranged for me.”
    “Not a big enough title for you?” Josh joked. “There is a limit to the extent of the nepotism that he’s going to show us for the time being. He wants us to work our way up and prove ourselves to the Board.”
    “Actually, I’m turning down the job altogether,” Millie said.
    Her mother gasped and Josh’s mouth fell open.
    “You’re what?” Josh grabbed her hand. “Excuse us, Mother. I think that Millie is feeling a bit under the weather. I’m going to take her outside to get some fresh