The Complete Groupie Trilogy (111 page)

But as scared as I had always been, nothing matched the terror watching that house explode knowing the person who had trusted me most, even when she never had any reason to, was inside. Even as I raced toward the burning building, I knew that my heroics were futile. The bomb had obliterated the house in an instant, taking with it everything I had ever treasured. I saw it with my eyes, why didn’t I believe it in my heart? Why couldn’t I let go?

Why had I never been able to let go?

I had been so selfish.

And now the woman I loved more than anyone before her had paid the ultimate price, simply because I hadn’t loved her more than I loved myself.

But if it was the last thing I would ever do, I’d risk it all to save her. I’d finally give her the love she never should have been denied.

When the burning beams tumbled around me as I ran deeper into the smoking inferno of my home, I honestly didn’t care if they consumed me.

If we couldn’t live together, we’d die together.

Vanni dodged each burning ember as he maneuvered what remained of his home. He found the smoking body of Donny Wilke slumped over his homemade bomb. He had died the instant it detonated. Vanni covered his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt as he scanned the darkened living room, where the loft from above caved in on the furniture below. Another blast knocked him further into the room, down into the sunken living room, amidst the fire and debris. His sleeve had caught fire and he desperately rolled to put it out.

That was when he saw the light glint off a two-carat pink diamond engagement ring. “Andy!” he cried as he crawled toward the female hand visible underneath a big flank of wood. With strength he didn’t even know he had, Vanni flung away the lumber which had enclosed the sunken living room like a cave from the first blast. Andy lay unconscious under the overturned sofa.

“Oh my God,” he breathed as he jumped down to grab her up into his arms. “Andy. Andy!”

She moaned slightly and he sobbed in relief as he clutched her to his chest. “I’m here, babe,” he promised. “I’ve got you.”

I would never let go.

Andy… I’ll never let go…

A week later, Vanni stood in the cheerful, pink nursery of his Palos Verdes home. He wore elegant black in honor of this significant day. Gone was the wild rocker boy. He was a man now, one who had been to hell and back. He wore his unruly curls tied away from his face, and looked somber as he stared down into the round, cherry wood crib where his daughter slept soundly. She had been through a lot in the last seven days, but he knew she had her mother’s strength. That would carry her through all of her life’s challenges.

Most of all, she could be strong knowing he would never leave her. He was done running away from responsibility and commitment. The minute Maggie had put Renata into his arms for the first time, he knew that she was worth every promise he would ever make to her; he’d give his very last breath to make s
ure he’d never let her down.

He had watched in wonder as she had developed in the short period of time since her dramatic birth. At first, he swore she looked just like Andy. But there were times when she’d take his breath away as a mirror into himself. She was inquisitive and even-tempered like her mother, but she responded to music like he did. She’d turn her head towards him when he sang to her, as he cradled her close in his protective arms. She’d watch his mouth as he formed each word, and tears would form in his eyes as she tried to mimic him almost from birth.

He loved her more than he thought it was possible to love anyone. She was the best of what he and Andy had always meant to each other. She deserved nothing but the best in return. She had taught him there is nothing more important than honor, which was what this day would mean most.

Maggie knocked on the door softly before she entered. She looked lovely in her basic black dress, and she had a warm smile for the devoted father who towered over his daughter’s crib like the protective bear she knew now he would be. She placed her hand on his s
houlder. “It’s time,” she said.

He nodded as he scooped his baby girl up into his arms. Tears hovered in his eyes as she gave him a big yawn and stretched in the perfect pink dress that Vanni had insisted that she wear. He handed Renata to Maggie and they left the nursery to head to the gathering in the back yard.

Everyone was present. There was the
“Fierce”
crowd, including Shannon, Jake, Dixie, Dominique and Jorge, as well as his fellow judges, Allison and Ryder. Gwen brought her family, and even Iain and Alana had arrived from England with their two small children in tow. Iris and Jacob sat in the front row, and the other members of Dreaming in Blue were present just behind them.

It was everyone who had been there along this crazy journey, and the people who had loved Andy most and best – even when he couldn’t.

Yael stood as he watched Vanni approach. Without words they embraced. This was the brotherhood they had cultivated back in the early days, before the groupies and the money and the success.

They were family, thanks to the music. And each member of the band was glad to be
there in Vanni’s hour of need.

“You ready?
” Yael asked as he pulled away.

There were tears in Vanni’s eyes as he nodded. Yael walked with him up toward the front of the crowd. As Yael headed to the side and played his acoustic guitar, Vanni paused slightly to put his hand on Lydia Foster’s shoulder. She held a well-soaked handkerchief to her mouth and reached for his hand. He kissed her softly on th
e cheek before he took he headed toward the front of their assembly.

His father, Angelo, wore the same somber black
as his son. He took Vanni into a warm embrace that contained all the love he’d spent a lifetime denying him for all the wrong reasons. But the minute he saw the news about what had happened to Vanni’s beachfront home, he was on the next plane out of New York. By that evening he was in Los Angeles, a solid shoulder for his son when he had needed him most. He barely left his side in the days that followed, and even accompanied him to the East Los Angeles cemetery where Vanni’s stillborn son had been laid to rest. Both men held each other and cried over what they had lost, and in that moment they gained something they never expected. In their silent but steady companionship, old wounds had healed. Vanni realized that life was too brief to hold onto old grudges. For his family, both living and dead, he had to rise above. Despite what he had been through, all his life, and the past week especially, he had so much for which to be thankful.

He was done searching for reasons to stumb
le. He no longer felt entitled to live life by his own selfish rules. He had learned the hard way that life was better shared with the ones he loved. Not one of them was guaranteed a tomorrow. He never again wanted to regret all the time he had wasted, and the love he had squandered.

It was that humble heart he turned to face the crowd of those who loved he and Andy the most.

Maggie cradled Renata as she took her spot next to Lydia and Kelly, and with the strands of the song Yael began to play everyone stood and turned toward the house.

Graham held Andy by the arm as she inched down the rose-strewn pathway toward the man she was about to marry. She wore a new dress, a simple dress. It was ivory, with delicate beads and a sweetheart neck. Around her neck she wore pearls she borrowed from Iris, and earrings that had once belonged to her mother, courtesy of her grandmother.

She trembled against Graham as he led her down the aisle, in between rows of the people she loved. But it was the man who stood waiting for her at the altar who she loved most of all – second only to the little girl who had stolen their hearts in the last seven days.

The music died away as she reached where Vanni stood. The kindly pastor smiled at them benevolently. “We are gathered here together to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. It is not a commitment to be entered into lightly, and these two people have had a very long road to get to this spot. It is with celebration that we all uplift them in this new leg of their journey; one they never have to walk alone.” He paused slightly. “Who gives this woman?”

Graham swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked down at her. For so long she had been his world, and he couldn’t imagine anything less than an entire life with her by his side. Now he realized that her purpose in his life was to open him up to love again; to prime him for a future with Maggie… someone who was more suited to him in every way, and who was able to love him in equal measure. It was the greatest gift anyone could have ever given him. A tear glistened at the corner of his eye as he returned the favor. “I do,” he said, his voice strong and sure.

A tear of her own coursed down her cheek as she reached up to kiss him gently. He patted her on the arm as he put her hand in Vanni’s. He no longer worried that this man, who had raced into a burning building with no thought of his own safety, would take care of her and love her like she deserved.

It was a long road… but both men finally respected each other.

He backed out of their circle so that he could join Maggie where she sat with their goddaughter, Renata.

“Andy and Vanni have prepared their vows,” the preacher announced, then gestured to Vanni.

Vanni took both of Andy’s hands into his. “Andy, when I first saw your face staring back at me from a crowd, I never – in my wildest dreams – thought we’d be standing here just a few years later. In fact, I would have bet any amount of money I had that I would never get married at all, to anyone. I never thought I could never settle for one woman, so I would never promise forever. And I was pretty sure I’d never meet anyone who could ever change my mind. It was the first of many instances where I learned never to bet against you. You’re tough, you’re strong, and you never back down when it comes to doing what you think is right. For some reason I’ve yet to figure out, you decided loving me was right. Though we’ve been to hell and back, we’re still standing. And I know I owe that all to you. You’ve made me see that marriage isn’t about settling for one woman – it’s finding the woman who is the best of all women. That’s you, babe. It’s always been you. So today I am happy to pledge to you my life, my fidelity and my truest, purest love. Till death and beyond.”

He slid the pink gold and diamond band on her finger.

She took a deep breath. “Honestly, I would have made that same bet,” she told him with a smile, and a twittering of laughter filtered among their guests. “I wasn’t out to find a husband. I just went to hear a band play,” she said as she shot a happy, weepy Iris a wink. “Little did I know I would meet the person fate had already selected for me. There was no walking away. There was no letting go. You’ve had my heart from the very first moment we met. I was an orphan until the day I found a home in your arms. So today I happily pledge to you my life, my fidelity and my truest, purest love. Till death and beyond.”

She slid his simple, solid gold ring onto his finger and they grasped hands.

“By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the preacher said with a smile. “You may kiss your bride.”

“About damn time,” Vanni growled as he wrapped his arms around Andy’s waist and lifted her up into his embrace. Their kiss was tender and long, as if the whole world around them had evaporated. They didn’t hear the applause erupt, only the started cry of their daughter, who had to put in her two cents about the entire situation.

Her parents were quick to respond with a happy smile toward the one person that could share their love.

As Vanni released Andy so she could go to their daughter, everyone emerged on the couple to express their well-wishes. First in line was Yael. “I never thought I’d see this day,” he told his old friend honestly. “But I gotta say… you chose wisely.”

“Thanks, man,” Vanni told him, and they glanced over to where Andy stood with the baby. He’d have loved to take credit for choosing her, but fate was much, much smarter than he had been. He knew how lucky he was that she hadn’t left him over the years. Loving Andy now was a no-brainer, as was committing his life to her.

Felix joined the two men, along with Iain. They talked about their past, they talked about the music. Even after all they had been through, they just fit, just like a favorite old pair of sneakers. It was just like old times. It was as strong as any marriage, as tough as any family.

“Now that you’re a family man, I guess that means you won’t be that eager to tour,” Felix finally said, broaching a topic the other guys had mentioned off and on during the past week. Just being together, especially after Iain had returned, lit everyone’s creative fire.

Andy joined them where they stood, cradling Renata to her chest. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” she said with a smile. She and Vanni shared a knowing smile. They had talked a lot in the past week, mostly about the future. Just like she and Vanni weren’t done, he and Dreaming and Blue weren’t done. “We just applied for Renata’s passport so we can join Daddy once he takes over the world again,” she informed them. “I mean, if you think you guys still got it in you, Dreaming in Blue now has two devout groupies to follow wherever you go.”

They were up to that challenge. Thanks to the tireless and creative work of Kelly, the entire band had set up right on an impromptu stage built in their back yard, and all the guys headed there as soon as Andy gave them the green light to do so. They were pretty much the best wedding band ever, as the guests were treated to a spontaneous concert to one of the hottest acts on the planet. They even got a sneak peek what people could expect on the third album, due to drop around Christmas.