The Complete Groupie Trilogy (59 page)

He laughed and grasped her pinky with his. “Pinky swear,” he confirmed.

She held on to his hand for a moment longer. “I’m glad you’re home,” she said softly.

“You are?” he queried.

She nodded. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he admitted, instantly recognizing that he really had missed her and the sweet way she ha
d of always taking care of him.

She spent the rest of the night doing exactly that. She served his meal, cleaned up the mess and then stayed till the wee hours playing card games so that he could take his mind off of drinking away his problems. They didn’t talk about anything serious. No business, no romance, no drama. He was able to laugh and feel hig
h even without any intoxicants.

The only other places he had found that were in music and in Andy’s arms.

When Holly offered to stay the night he found he really wanted her to. She set up on the couch that faced the ocean while he climbed up the stairs to the king sized bed in his loft. When he reached over to turn out the light his eyes fell on the business card that Leo had given him, to fill his bed with professional women that came conveniently without any emotional attachment.

He tore it to pieces and turned off the light.

Chapter Twelve

October 10, 2010. Los Angeles.

Andy

The house was darkened when Andy got back to Malibu. She made her way through the quiet living room and kitchen toward the deck, where Graham sat in his wheelchair staring into the ocean. She dropped her purse on
the counter and headed outside.

“I’m home,” she said unnecessarily as she walked over to where he sat. “Where’s Maggie?”

He didn’t look at her. “I gave her the night off. She went to see a movie.”

“Are you okay?” Andy immediately wanted to know. He shouldn’t have been left alone and it really surprised her Maggie had left her post. She
’d been at his side for months.

“I’m fine,” was Graham’s stoic response. He finally turned his eyes to her. “We hit a milestone today.”

“Oh? What was that?”

He said nothing as he stared deep into her eyes. She watched in amazement as he placed each hand on either handlebar of his chair. She watched as slowly and with great effort he lifted himself up into a standing position.

Her mouth dropped open. He was not standing fully on his own feet but his lower body was finally starting to support his weight. It was something she knew Maggie had been pushing for weeks once she knew he felt pressure on the bottoms of his feet. She had him try to stand using bars to stabilize himself, but he’d always fallen.

Now he stood, trembling from the strain, looking at her with a determination that took her breath away. “Graham,” she whispered as she ran towards him just as he flopped back down in the chair. There were tears in her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck. A milestone indeed!

He didn’t embrace her. In fact he was rigid in her arms. “I guess I don’t have to ask where you’ve been,” he said.

“Graham,” she started as she pulled away.

“His first day back and you go running. Nothing has changed, has it?”

She knelt in front of the chair and stared up at him. “
He needed me,” she said simply.

He nodded. He wanted to scream that he needed her too but he didn’t say a word. The fact was he didn’t want to need her anymore. He wanted to go back to being her hero – the one who would mov
e mountains to make her happy.

His standing on his own two legs, however briefly, would someday give him the ability to come back into her life and fight for her heart for real.

Until then he would hold his tongue. He hated when she looked at him like he was a child who needed her care.

He was a man who wanted her love. And one day, one day very soon, he would show her that.

He spun the chair away and rolled back into the house towards his room. He wanted to be alone with his fantasies of when she’d come to him, recognizing him for the best man in her life, and making her final choice at last.

Andy let him go without a fuss. Instead she sprawled out on the chaise lounge chair on the deck. As she listened to waves crash against the shore she was reminded of her time that afternoon with Vanni, when he was as vulnerable and open to her as he had ever been.

It gave her hope that he was on the path to a true recovery. Not just the alcoholism but also the emotional recovery she was beginning to suspect he had never made since his father left. There was something deeply wounded in him and God help her she wanted to be the one to heal him.

She knew it was unfair to everyone to have these treacherous thoughts but her heart would not be denied.

So even though she knew she should run to Graham’s room and try to make amends for not being there today when he needed her, she simply let things be.

Maggie found her on the patio when she finally returned home from the movies. She brought a bucket of popcorn home to share with everyone, so both women sat on the deck and snacked as they chatted.

“Big day today, huh?”

Maggie nodded with a smile. They had worked really hard for this goal and to see it happen reaffirmed her belief that he could make a full recovery. She wouldn’t stop until he did; she had already made that promise to herself.

Graham was going to walk again or she was going to be his nurse for the rest of his life. She wouldn’t let him down, it just wasn’t an option.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” Maggie warned. “But it was a huge step in the right direction. In a manner of speaking,” she added with a grin.

Andy smiled back. She found herself growing ever fonder of the redhead who sat across from her. She was tough as nails but she had a quick wit that kept the journey entertaining at least. When she and Graham felt frustrated, it was always Maggie who made them laugh or made them believe. She was equal parts nurse, counselor and cheerleader. “I have no doubt you can make it happen,” Andy told her.

Maggie just shook her head. “Graham’s the one who’s making it happen. He’s doing the hard work day after day.” She said it with a due amount of awe. His determination and tenacity had surpassed even her own. She glanced over at the younger woman. “He’s doing it for you, you know.”

It was Andy’s turn to shake her head. She didn’t want that responsibility. “He’s doing it because that’s the kind of man he is. He’d be working hard whether I was here or not.”

Maggie chuckled. “You keep telling yourself that.” Andy didn’t respond so she broached a conversation that was long overdue. “So what’s your long-term goal here, Andy?”

She sighed and tipped her head back against the chaise. “I don’t know,” she confessed honestly. “I really haven’t had the luxury of thinking ahead.”

“Do you love him?”

“Of course,” Andy answered automatically. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“Then be his light at the end of the tunnel,” Maggie said softly. “He deserves nothing less,” she added firmly. It was her own kind of warning that she didn’t wan
t Andy playing with his heart.

It was such an impossible situation Andy didn’t know how she’d be able to cope with any of it. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Vanni’s face and that lost little boy locked behind his soulful eyes. A part of her would always love him in a way she could never love anyone else. It made no sense given all they’d been through. She wasn’t that 24-year-old he met in Philadelphia all those years ago. She’d grown up, or at least thought she had. That was why she was there in Malibu taking care of Graham rather than running to Vanni every tim
e he crooked his little finger.

But even with how good Graham was to her and for her, she couldn’t totally scrape Vanni from her soul. She loved both men in completely different ways even th
ough it was tearing her apart.

Just seeing the disappointment in Graham’s face tonight when he had reached his greatest milestone thus far without her brought it home that she was spreading
herself too thin between them.

Yet she still had the compulsion to go where they called, to juggle them and do the best she could. There was no way she’d ever really be able to say no to either of them. She could only hope that she would be able to keep all the pins she juggled in the air for at least one more day.

That was her prayer every day.

She knew eventually she’d be put to the test. She just didn’t realize it would happen the next day when Vanni made a surprise appearance on her doorstep.

She had been with Maggie and Graham since almost dawn. He woke up more determined than ever to take his first step now that he could tentatively stand. Though he could put pressure on his feet he still couldn’t will his legs to move from where they were planted on the ground. Instead he wore himself out trying to drag himself along the parallel bars as he brushed away Maggie’s assistance.

By eleven o’clock he was almost ready to collapse from exhaustion. When the doorbell rang Andy went to tend to their visitor while Maggie got Graham back into his chair. She nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw Vanni standing tall and strong right in the threshold. He overwhelmed her so much she barely saw Ho
lly standing right next to him.

“What are you doing here?” she wanted to know immediately. It was Graham’s home. It wasn’t right for them to see each other there.

Especially since her heart raced with sheer excitement just to see him again.

“There’s an emergency,” Holly answered for him, whic
h drew Andy’s attention to her.

Against her better judgment she stepped back and allowed them both to enter into the living room. “What’s going on?”

“We finally know the name for the other girl in the accident,” Holly went on. “Our good friends at PING located her next of kin. They’re about to do an exclusive interview before the noon news.”

“Hence the emergency,” Vanni dryly remarked. “Now that they know what happened to her and why…”

“And who Vanni is,” Holly interjected.

“They want a payday. And they’re telling anyone who will listen that they want to fight for the girl who can’t fight for herself.”

Andy sighed. This sink hole just kept widening. She gestured to the sofa where they could take a seat so she could go break the news to Graham.

Only as she turned to go get him she found him in the doorway. He was in his chair and Maggie stood directly behind him. For some weird reason she felt as though she’d been caught cheating when all she had done was let visitors into the house. “Vanni and Holly are here,” Andy said unnecessarily. “There’s a problem.”

“I see,” he said. “And I heard.”

He rolled into the living room where Vanni and Holly sat waiting. Maggie followed just inside the room but stayed off to the side within reach but not involved in the conversation. Celebrity business didn’t con
cern her as much as his health.

Graham turned to Andy. “Perhaps you’d like to get our guests something to drink,” he suggested with a warm smile that took her a bit off guard. She could tell he was upset to have Vanni in his home and witness the compromised shape he was in, but he hid it well underneath a casual demeanor that pretended there was nothing at all wrong with him.

She turned silently to their guests. “May I get you something to drink?” she asked them. Vanni shook his head as he regarded her through narrowed eyes, but Holly jumped up to her feet. “I’ll help you get something for everyone,” she said as she ushered Andy out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Andy was silent as she took out several crystal tumblers and then grabbed a
pitcher of tea from the fridge.

“Is there something wrong?” Holly asked as
she filled each glass with ice.

“We’re not used to unexpected guests,” Andy replied and Holly was instantly apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Andy. I come over here all the time so I figured it would be no big deal. Plus it was pretty urgent that we all get ahead of this thing for damage control.”

“It’s fine. It’s just…,” Andy took a deep breath. “Things are complicated with Vanni and Graham.”
And me
, she thought to herself.

Holly looked up at her innocently. “I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “I was with Vanni this morning when we found out, and I just thought it was better to bring Vanni over here than involve Leo. I know you don’t get along with him, but I knew you and Vanni had been… close.”

Andy turned to her. “That’s the complication,” she pointed out, although she felt it unnecessary. “You do know that the whole reason Graham is in that chair is because of one of Vanni’s fans, right?”

Holly nodded. “But honestly that’s all personal. This is business. If we can’t come to you and Graham whenever there’s a problem then maybe it’s best that we find another label to protect his interests.”

Andy didn’t care much for the possessive tone in Holly’s voice. Since when did she and Vanni become a “we”? Since they were together earlier that morning? “That’d be entirely up to Vanni,” she said briskly as she put all the glasses of iced tea on the tray. “But he knows who is there for him. No one has been as good for Vanni and the band as Graham.”