Groupie/Rock Star Bundle (66 page)

All the walls were down. They finally let each
other in.

Chapter Fifteen

October 19, 2010. Los Angeles.

Graham

Graham relaxed in his whirlpool after a
grueling therapy session. He didn’t begrudge the aches and pains
that often accompanied his hard work. He saw it as a positive sign
in the right direction. His deadened lower body was coming back to
life slowly but surely. Though he hadn’t voiced as much, his goal
was to be walking by Christmas. He’d work non-stop from the moment
he got up to the moment he collapsed into bed every night if Maggie
would let him. But she’d gently enforce her own schedule anyway and
he had grown to trust her over the past few months.

He knew if anyone could help him walk again
it’d be Maggie. She pushed him when he was ready to give up and
helped rein him in when he was in danger of over-exerting himself.
She wouldn’t let him sabotage himself either mentally or
physically. It seemed to mean as much to her for him to get mobile
as it was to him.

She was on a mission. There was no turning
back.

He had come to admire her not-so-quiet strength
as she pushed and prodded him day after day. He never saw her
frustration, even though in the beginning he gave her plenty of
reason to be frustrated. He chalked it up to the fact she was
older, easily ten years older than Andy. She didn’t rule with her
emotions anymore. She was far more pragmatic, which explained her
career of choice and why she was so good at it.

Four out of five patients regained mobility
under her care, and he could certainly see why after working with
her for several months. He couldn’t imagine embarking on this
journey without someone like her lighting his path.

She flew in with some kind of magic umbrella to
help fix all that was wrong, only to fly away again after he got
his life back.

He sighed as his eyes drifted closed.
Everything he wanted was so close he could almost taste it. Even
with Andy moving out of the house it had worked out as a positive.
When she came over she was in much better spirits and he no longer
had to question if she was there out of obligation. Every now and
then he would wonder if the source of her newfound peace of mind
was a tall, long-haired egomaniacal womanizer, but he shut those
thoughts down as soon as they flared up. Cynicism didn’t serve him,
as Maggie had always been quick to point out. To do the impossible
he had to first believe the impossible.

There were no doubting Thomases in Maggie’s
care.

So he took Andy at her word. If – when – he won
her back it would be because he was the best man for the job, not
pity, guilt or any other number of negative emotions.

His body stirred
just thinking about what it would be like to take her into his arms
at last. They had waited so long. She had been under his skin since
Vegas and he knew that he’d never be satisfied until they were
together at last. And she was wrong. It wasn’t because he wanted to
“win” over Vanni. He just didn’t want to see her throw her life
away on someone who could never give her the life she deserved. All
he really wanted was for her to see this for herself so she could
get Vanni out from under
her
skin.

It killed Graham to know that Vanni could send
one smoldering look her direction and she melted right at his feet.
Graham kept waiting for that moment when the flame would finally
extinguish so that she could get over him at last. Even with his
nearly killing someone, a hooker at that, it didn’t touch Andy’s
endless hero worship. To her Vanni was still the ideal.

So, as was always the case, all Graham could do
was wait it out. In many ways he and Maggie were very similar. Just
as Maggie had to be a supportive, positive force leading him in the
right direction for a complete healing, he was that to Andy as
well. One day, just as sure as he was that he’d walk again, he knew
that Andy would realize what she had in him and they could be
together at last.

He could only hope it would intersect in the
very near future.

His hand slipped under the water to indulge
this constant fantasy of consummating his love affair with Andy.
Each day he’d get a little further, so he was pretty far along in
his solo activity when the door swung open.

“Okay, Mr. Pruney Man,” Maggie sang cheerfully.
Her voice trailed off when she realized the kind of personal moment
she had interrupted, as he awkwardly attempted to cover himself and
regain his composure. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled as she exited the
room as quickly as she had entered.

After several minutes passed Maggie once again
entered the room. Graham had pulled himself out of the water, dried
himself and covered himself with a plush terrycloth robe. He said
nothing as she hoisted him back into his chair and then rolled him
into his bedroom. She discreetly left him to dress himself without
a word more on the matter.

Eventually he rolled himself out of the bedroom
and toward the kitchen where he knew lunch would be waiting. She
busied herself at the counter cutting up fresh veggies to
compliment the hearty sandwich she’d prepared. “Would you like your
lunch on the deck?” she asked without looking his
direction.

“That would be fine,” he murmured before he
rolled himself toward the patio doors, which he opened and slid
through with ease.

She brought the tray onto the deck. It was a
little chilly so she started a fire in the nearby fireplace. He
watched as she kept finding more and more chores to do as if it
would fill up the awkward silence between them.

“I think we should talk about what happened,”
he finally said.

She sent him an embarrassed glance. “Totally my
fault. I should have knocked. My apologies.”

“You’ve seen me in more embarrassing positions
over these last few months,” he offered with a self-effacing grin.
“Besides, it’s perfectly natural.”

She nodded. Without looking at him directly in
the eye she forged on through the conversational minefield.
“Actually I would venture to say it’s a very positive sign that
things are happening… in that area,” she tapered off. “I mean,
you’d have to check with your doctor and all but I would think
resuming an interest in that part of your life is healthy and
natural and positive.”

“Well I certainly hope to regain sexual
function whether I walk again or not,” he said as casually as he
could under the circumstances. After all, she was more than just an
attractive or vibrant member of the opposite sex who had seen him
naked almost daily for the last few months. She was his healthcare
provider. “I am a man after all.”

She nodded again, as if the very notion of his
masculinity was a brand new concept. Maybe he was just a patient
before that afternoon. “Of course,” she said.

He hated seeing her so uncomfortable. This was
as flustered as he’d ever seen her. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I didn’t
mean for things to get weird.”

She brushed it off with another embarrassed
chuckle. “It’s really more my issue than yours, Graham,” she said
before she finally plopped into the chair opposite his wheelchair.
“It’s just been a really long time since I’ve thought of men in
that way,” she confessed softly. “I’m afraid I’ve regressed back
into awkward virgin territory.”

Graham’s heart went out to her. She wore the
heartache quite plainly on her sleeve. How had he missed it before?
“Was he a patient?”

She sighed as she nodded. “The first,
actually,” she said. “He was my husband.”

The revelation dropped like a grenade in the
middle of his patio. They had never really discussed her private
life before. With a sinking feeling in his stomach he sensed he was
about to find out why.

“He was injured in the war in Iraq. Early on,
actually, in 2004. He lost both his legs at the knees. The best we
could do to get him mobile were prosthetics. But I didn’t care
because he was my husband. For better or worse, in sickness and in
health. I started training specifically in this field to help him
acclimate to this new life. We even thought about having a
family.”

She trailed off. Graham couldn’t believe as his
strong, happy, unflappable nurse sat across from him with tears
chasing each other down her face. He’d never seen her break, even
when he was screaming all sorts of horrible obscenities at her. She
smiled and patted him on his lifeless legs and told him to let it
all out if it made him feel better. She wasn’t going
anywhere.

Now he could see a temperamental, entitled rich
guy was the least of her trials.

“There were… complications,” she whispered. “He
developed a clot in his heart and died of a massive coronary when
he was only 36 years old. He simply went to sleep and never woke up
again.”

Graham rolled over to where she sat and took
her hand in his. “I’m so sorry, Maggie,” he said softly. All her
strength and all her positivity had come at such a huge price.
Where others might have given up, she instead dedicated her life to
helping people just like him. And every single patient that
followed her husband walked. Graham knew that was because she had
created a miracle out of her sheer indefatigable will. He didn’t
remember ever admiring anyone as much as he admired Maggie Lawson
in that moment.

Uncharacteristically she allowed him to pull
her into a hug and comfort her for a change. She hadn’t cried about
Mitchell in a long time, but for some reason the dam broke loose
that overcast afternoon. No words were needed, but both seemed to
realize they had reached a pivotal point in their
relationship.

Instead of seeing each other as a nurse and a
patient, they now saw each other as a man and a woman, and all the
brilliant dimensions that implied.

The next day he gave even more of himself in
their session, pushing himself harder now that he fully recognized
the scope of her strength. There were no excuses he could give or
pity parties he could throw. If she could show up after all she had
been through, it was the least he could do to meet her
halfway.

They were rewarded with the miracle they both
had been waiting for: his first step. At first neither could
believe that it had finally happened, but his leg had moved on its
own volition. It had been millimeters only, but it was cause to
celebrate. He told her to pick out her fanciest dress. They were
going to go out on the town.

Maggie was shell-shocked at his complete about
face. He hadn’t ventured past the safe four walls of his home since
they returned from Philadelphia. But he was feeling like a man
again, like the man he was before the shooting, and he was ready to
treat his miracle worker nurse to some of the finer aspects of
L.A.

He made all the reservations and hired the car
himself. He even insisted on getting himself around in his
wheelchair. He told her she was his companion only. They ate at one
of the finest restaurants in Beverly Hills, who welcomed Graham
back with open arms despite any physical condition he might have
been in.

In fact, everywhere they went people treated
him like a king. It was red carpet treatment all the way, so much
so that Maggie felt a bit embarrassed and out of place. Graham,
however, was proud to have her figuratively on his arm as they
rolled down Rodeo Drive. He even enlisted her help to pick out a
birthday present for Andy, who was due to arrive home within a few
days.

She modeled several outfits for him through
embarrassed giggles and protests. She really didn’t see how she
could help him choose what was best for a woman who was much
younger and far different. But he was a hard man to refuse when he
really wanted something, so she allowed him to call the shots until
they headed back home to Malibu.

The minute she walked into her bedroom she saw
several boxes piled high on the bed. She turned around to find
Graham sitting in the doorway, looking quite proud of himself with
a smug smile on his face.

“What did you do?” she asked as she opened up
one of the top boxes. It was one of the outfits she had modeled,
supposedly for Andy.

He shrugged. “I just thought you deserved some
nice things. After all, you’ve put up with me for all these
weeks.”

She put one hand on her hip. “And you think
this is going to cover it?” she teased, which made him
laugh.

She really liked to hear him laugh.

That night they made dinner together, and
finished the evening off watching a movie on his big screen
TV.

It was an intimacy she hadn’t known in quite a
while. She was lost in thought as she twirled the wine around in
her glass.

“What are you thinking?” he mused from where he
lounged on the sofa.

She glanced up at him. What had she been
thinking? She shrugged. “It was a good day,” she finally
said.

He nodded. “It was a good day.”

Then, because she had to, “Andy is a lucky
girl.”

His eyes met hers. “You may want to tell her
that.”

He looked so sad it broke her heart. “She
knows, Graham. Deep inside, she knows.”