The Complete Groupie Trilogy (104 page)

“Vanni,” Andy called from the hospital bed, which caught his attention and he rushed to her side.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asked as he looked over her black and blue face. It reminded him of the ugly assault from Talia on the cruise ship, when he’d been responsible for her being attacked by a maniac.

And now it had happened again. There were tears in his eyes as he lightly touched her face. “Oh my God,” he said, then looked down at her full stomach, which had bands across it to monitor any contractions. “The baby?”

“She’s fine,” Andy told him, causing him to break down with relief. He collapsed in the chair next to the bed and covered her tummy with his arms, kissing that baby bump that was even more precious than before.

“What happened?” he asked.

She shook her head. She still didn’t know. “The police don’t know. It’s a home invasion thing as far as they know. He said he didn’t want my money but he was going to take my ring,” she said, but fell apart as she thought about that knife on her finger.

He took her hand in his, kissed the cut just above her ring. “Rings can be replaced,” he said with a catch in his throat. “You can’t.” He touched her tummy, “She can’t.”

Andy nodded but couldn’t speak. It had been a terrifying afternoon; all she wanted was to be in his strong arms. He readily complied. “Are you sure the baby is okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “I thought I started having contractions so they have been monitoring me since I got here. They said it looks good. I’m not in labor from what they can tell. They said that the uterus has sort of practice contractions throughout the latter part of the pregnancy in preparation for the real thing. But they did an ultrasound and have been monitoring her heart beat. It all looks good.”

He kissed her tummy. He couldn’t imagine losing either one of them. He took her hand in his. “I think there’s something you should know. I don’t think it was a random home invasion.”

“What do you mean?”

“You got another package today at the studio. Kelly intercepted it. It showed a doll, like the other ones we used to get, completely torn apart. And,” he gulped as he forced himself to go on, “a beheaded baby doll.”

Blood drained from her face. “What?” she breathed.

“I sent Kelly to the house to be with you just in case. I’m so glad I did,” he said. “She called me while you were being admitted. Graham sent his people to check the camera and it had been disabled. This was someone who knew what he was doing, and what he was up against.”

“I thought it was just another crazy fan,” she said, referring to the disturbing packages. “I thought it was someone who wanted you – not who wanted to hurt me.” Now she understood that was exactly what that strange man in her home had wanted to do. He said it himself, he didn’t want her money. He probably hadn’t wanted her ring.

He just wanted to hurt her. She shuddered and Vanni kissed her hands. “Don’t worry. Graham’s people are working on it. They’ll repair all the surveillance equipment and get everything cleaned up before you are discharged.”

“I don’t want to go back there, Vanni,” she told him. “I can’t go back there.”

He touched her face. Her lip was cut and her jaw was blackened where she had been hit. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll just move into our house instead.”

She nodded and reached for another hug. He stayed with her through dinner, leaving her only to confer with Gwen how to handle the press, which had already leaked about the home invasion. He couldn’t shield her before the attack; he was damn well going to buffer everything after it. She needed her rest; she’d been through enough.

It gave Graham time to knock on her door and check on her. He’d been worried sick ever since Vanni got the panicked call from Kelly that afternoon. Everything stopped on the
Fierce
set. Graham and Vanni had one singular focus – Andy’s safety.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said as he approached the bed. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her wear the bruises of a fanatic. He had hoped it would never happen again, but there they were. And now she was pregnant. The insanity had to stop. “How are you feeling?” he asked as he sat in the chair next to her.

“Sore,” she answered honestly. “But good.” She gave him a brave smile. “Thank you for all you’ve done, Graham.”

He brushed away the thanks. He would have given his life for her, and very nearly did. “I wish it had been enough,” he said softly as he took her hand in his.

“You have to be crazy to fight crazy,” she said. “No one could have seen this coming.”

He nodded. “If you need a place to stay…” he started, but she shook her head.

“I appreciate the offer, Graham. But I think, given the circumstances,” she said as she put her left hand on her pregnant tummy, “it’d be inappropriate.”

He smiled wistfully as he reached over to brush her hair out of her face. “Are you forgetting how close we came to that being my baby?”

“What?”

Both Graham and Andy glanced around toward the sound of an angry male voice. Vanni stood at the doorway. Graham rose slowly to his feet, but he didn’t let Andy’s hand go, even when she tried to pull it free. “I was just offering Andy sanctuary at my house, Vanni. Since that’s the only place where she seems to be truly safe.”

Vanni advanced on both of them, taking his side on the other side of the bed. “And what else are you offering, Graham?” he said as he looked down at his hand holding hers. “Or maybe I should ask... how much more are you entitled to?”

Andy’s voice was low, “Vanni…”

Graham finally let her hand free. “I’m not entitled to anything, Vanni,” he told him. “But what I told you on that cruise ship still holds true. If you can’t keep her safe, there are people who can. You might think of someone else’s needs above your own for a change.”

With that he nodded his goodbye to Andy and walked from th
e room with his head held high.

Vanni’s jaw clenched as he looked at her pregnant tummy. “Is there something you need to tell me, Andy?” She didn’t answer and his eyes shot to hers. She could see that he was holding back angry tears.

“It’s your baby, Vanni. You know that.”

“Then what was Graham talking about? How close did you get to having a baby with him?”

“Sit down,” she urged. She didn’t want to have this conversation with him in bolting distance to the door. He paused only a moment before he finally rounded the bed and took the seat that Graham had vacated.

“Did you sleep with him?” Vanni wanted to know. She had always maintained she never did. He couldn’t imagine that she would have lied to him all this time, especially about something so big. What would that mean for their future?

“Yes,” she finally admitted.

Vanni felt a knife slice through his heart. “When?” he choked.

“After Thanksgiving of last year. Holly told me you had found someone else and you were going to start a family, and I thought we were over.”

“So you jumped in bed with another man?”

“I turned to someone I cared about for comfort,” she clarified. “It was the first time since we met and he was the only one since you.” Vanni quietly processed the information, especially what she was saying in between the lines. He knew she was drawing comparisons to his various indiscretions, and he knew he had no room to judge. But he had never thought Andy would have ever been the one to keep such a secret.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“There seemed no point,” she answered as honestly as she knew how. “I never cheated on you, Vanni. We weren’t together when I turned to Graham. I thought we were over. Once we got back together it just seemed hurtful to tell you. We were so happy, and I never wanted you to question whether or not this baby was yours. I was pregnant before I ever slept with Graham.”

He shot up out of the seat and started to pace. “As if that makes it better,” he said. He couldn’t imagine. The very thought made his stomach tighten. And he knew he had no right to be mad about it, but this was his Andy… and this was his baby. He had never wanted to share either one.

“Nothing makes it better,” she said. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“And Thanksgiving was the only time?” he asked.

“Graham and I were… together… until I kissed you in that church in New York. Once I found out this baby was yours, there was no way I could go back. Even if it would have been easier…”

The minute the words fell from her mouth she regretted them. “What do you mean, easier?”

She sighed. “I mean easier. I don’t have to fight for him. I don’t have to share him. I don’t have to worry about some psycho showing up at my doorstep, threatening me or my child.”

Each comment hit him like a gunshot. “Is that how you still feel?”

“Obviously not,” she said. “I’m with you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Even now?” he wanted to know.

“Even now,” she said. “Things have always been complicated with us, Vanni. You know it’s true. But it’s also been worth it. I’d rather be with you, riding out a tornado, than with anyone else enjoying a clear, sunny day. I love you, Vanni.”

Her soft voice was his undoing. He went back to the bed. “I’m sorry, Andy,” he said as he took her hands in his. “I know I’ve been an asshole. And I know I don’t deserve you. I’ve always been afraid you’d figure that out for yourself.”

She smiled as she pulled him down beside her. “Oh, I figured it out.” She touched his face with her hand. “But love isn’t about getting what you deserve. Otherwise, it isn’t really love.”

He nodded and pulled her close. They cuddled together as they shared the bed. He didn’t want to leave her again.

By morning, however, he had had plenty of time to think. Until they caught this psychopath, Andy’s and the baby’s safety were his primary concerns. He couldn’t afford to be selfish anymore. He had to uncomplicated her life; otherwise it could cost her everything.

He proposed his solution over breakfast, which she immediately shut down. “That’s ridiculous,” she said. “If this is because of last night…”

He shook his head. “It’s about your safety. Yours and the baby’s.”

“And you think that’s better with us being apart?”

“You’ll move into the house and I’ll stay in Redondo, just until we figure out who this maniac is. Then I can move in… as your husband.”

“Vanni,” she began but he cut her off.

“Think about it this way,” he said as he took her hand in his. “We can date. Do you realize that in our weird and chaotic courtship we’ve never actually dated? Don’t you think we should at least have a few before we get married?” He read the worried look in her eyes. “I’m not leaving you. I’m doing what I can to keep you safe. If we maintain both houses, it’ll throw this guy off the hunt. And you’ll be safe until we figure out what he wants. I’d much rather he come after me than you.”

“I don’t want him coming after anyone,” she said as her eyes met his. He was determined, she could tell. And she was in no position to fight him. She was too scared to return to that beach house after what had happened. She sighed. “Fine. We can date. But only for a few weeks.”

His brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because we have a wedding to go to on June 17
th
.” His eyes widened. “You have to make an honest woman of me before we have a baby, don’t you think?”

“Oh, Andy,” he said as he hugged her close. “But why the 17
th
?”

She touched his hair. “Because it was the day we should have had our happy ending last year.” It was the day he was going to tell the world she was the woman he loved – the woman he had chosen – but Talia had interrupted in a fit of crazy and derailed everything. “Let’s take a bad day and make it the best day,” she said softly.

He reached for a kiss. “Every day with you is the best day,” he whispered against her lips.

Two days later they were moving her into her new house. Kelly had orchestrated all the furniture delivery, as well as the delivery of anything she’d need from the beach house, including her cat Simon. All Vanni had to do was carry Andy over the threshold. Andy was overwhelmed at how perfect her house already looked. Kelly was worth her weight in gold. She had taken so many notes and paid attention to every detail, so that she could put everything where Andy wanted it and Andy didn’t have to lift a finger. She was still taking it easy, recovering from her attack. She was 32 weeks along, so even if their daughter was born early she’d have a high rate of survival. But closer to term was ideal, and Andy considered it her main job to get them all to July 15 before she delivered. She had contractions off and on, but they were minor and irregular. She might have missed them entirely if it hadn’t been for her scare during the home invasion.

Vanni lit some candles around the living room, along with their fireplace. She gave him a grin as she teased him. “It’s too warm for a fire.”

He winked as he used the remote to play music in the background. As he approached he said, “Since when has heat ever been a problem for us?” He took her into his arms, as much as he could with her pregnant belly in the way. They swayed to the music for their first dance in their new home. He twirled her around and then brought her close. He whispered in her ear, “Remember our first dance?”