Groupie/Rock Star Bundle (73 page)

He had done that on a global scale with his
music, which was why his fans were diehard and devoted. Even after
all the scandals he knew they had forgiven him. Women loved him,
even when it was against their own best interest to do
so.

This was why Holly was in the pickle she was
in. She had fallen in love with him and got too close. It was up to
him now to minimize the damage.

Because of that, he took even better care of
her. He’d have dinner delivered and made sure she had all the
vitamin supplements she wanted “just in case.” She started to go to
bed earlier and earlier each night, which he already knew was an
early sign of pregnancy since he had done a crash course in
research on the subject. She had even begun missing recording
sessions because she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

By the time it came to take the test, Vanni
really didn’t even need to go with her to the clinic and see the
positive sign for himself.

It was clear.

He was going to be a father.

Chapter Twenty-One

December, 2010. Los Angeles.

Andy

After that first night together, Andy and
Graham had tried to maintain a physical relationship. Unfortunately
it came with more disappointment than success. The doctor warned
them this was on par with what they could expect, and offered
advice how they could have a more fulfilling relationship that
depended on emotional intimacy more than physical
intimacy.

Even so it pained Graham that he couldn’t
physically fulfill the woman he loved. He spent hours trying to
pleasure her, which brought them physically closer without the
benefit of sexual intercourse. But he could tell that she was still
having a hard time moving on now that Vanni was completely out of
her life.

Within weeks of their first conversation Holly
had confided in Andy that the mystery woman in question was indeed
pregnant, and now they were talking about marriage to bring the
child up in the two-parent home he had been denied as a child.
Though she faithfully maintained the ruse, Andy had already figured
out the identity of the mystery woman involved, and had from the
moment Holly dropped the initial bomb.

That was why it had been so easy for Andy to
believe. Of course he had moved in with someone. Of course he had
gotten serious. Wasn’t there always someone waiting in the wings?
She had been down this road many times before; she had just never
been friends with his other woman prior to their “doing the deed.”
She knew from the moment Holly referred to them both as a
possessive “we” she was staking a claim. Why would she have done
that if she hadn’t the right to?

Not only was Holly obviously in love with him,
she was just the kind of girl that Vanni would choose to have on
his arm for the whole world to see. This was proven by all the
photos splashed over the tabloids of the two of them.

Andy knew it would be a top priority for him to
commit to her now that there was a baby involved. He really was out
of her reach now, but maybe that was for the best. She had made her
choice to be with Graham. It was unfair to ask him to hang on
indeterminately when there was no guarantee she’d ever be free from
her obligations.

Now that she had made love to him, Andy knew
there was no turning back. It wasn’t quite a marriage but her vow
to remain at his side was as binding as one.

It wasn’t as easy getting Vanni out of her
head, though. On more than one occasion she was glad they couldn’t
consummate the love affair due to Graham’s physical limitations. It
spared them both her treacherous thoughts of another man while in
his arms.

And it wasn’t that Graham was not a kind or
conscientious lover. He knew tricks even Vanni hadn’t learned yet
about how to fully satisfy a woman. He had the patience to get the
most out of their foreplay, so much so she couldn’t speak as her
body trembled in the aftermath of several explosive
orgasms.

She tried to return the favor but with his
limited sensations below the waist the most she could do was cuddle
him close and kiss him passionately. He never complained. How could
he? He had dreamed of being in her arms for years. Wanting to feel
more simply drove his physical therapy as he was more determined
than ever to regain the use of his lower body.

In that sense their lovemaking felt like an
extension of his recuperation. When he was able to stay erect and
even manage an orgasm they both felt triumphant, as if he really
were on the way to full mobility.

So they kept trying, win or lose.

And he treasured each and every moment of it.
It was the salve to his soul. By mid-December he could put full
weight on his legs and take aided steps along his parallel bars. It
was just enough of a positive sign that kept him working sun-up to
sun-down. Andy handled much of the business during the day,
including news from New York.

She dealt only with Holly, and Graham could
always tell by her mood whenever she’d spoken to her. Graham, too,
understood the other woman in Vanni’s life was no mystery at all.
He also understood that every time Holly spoke happily about
Vanni’s plans for the future it crushed Andy that she was not the
woman in question.

He wished he could heal her heart the way she
was healing his body. But he understood these things took
time.

As he opened the box that contained the
five-carat diamond ring, he realized that time was going by much
quicker than he had anticipated. Christmas was two short weeks
away, and he was fully determined to ask her to marry him that
Christmas Eve.

He wasn’t sure if she’d say yes. Andy had a
hard time seeing past the end of the day in her post-Vanni fog. But
she was trying to make things work between them, and that was all
he could ask.

He decided to make it easier for her and remove
her from any business that involved Vanni and Dreaming in Blue. She
couldn’t get rid of Vanni as long as he hung over her head like a
guillotine. He should have done it months ago but he’d let pride
get in the way.

In that respect he really couldn’t even blame
her for her slip in New York.

Vanni was her drug of choice, and Graham kept
the bar open far longer than was healthy for her.

His pull was so strong that even when she
didn’t have to talk to Holly she found herself opening up the video
chat to find out the latest development on the “mystery woman” who
was pregnant with his child. She didn’t want to know, she had to
know. Every fear she had needed to be named to be fully
exorcized.

Despite her asking Holly for details, she was
brushed aside with, “Vanni has decided he’s not ready for the world
to know yet. We can’t let any information leak because you know how
sneaky PING is.”

Yet Holly had no trouble letting her know that
a baby did exist, even when it tore her heart out to hear it. She
seemed oblivious to the distress it caused the woman she called her
closest confidante and friend.

Instead, Holly seemed especially enthusiastic
about the news she shared. Finally she let it slip that she was the
one, but only to Andy of course, since they were so close. It was
news to no one. Who else would it have been? According to the
gossip rags he and Holly were still going strong in New York, where
she helped him solidify his working relationship with the band as
well as a relationship with his estranged father.

“I know this must be tough on you,” Holly said.
“You obviously had a very strong bond with Vanni for
years.”

Andy nodded. She had.

“I only tell you because you’re the only friend
I have who would understand. Most of my friends are guys who
couldn’t care less about having a baby. Only a woman would
understand what it means to have the baby of the man you love. And
I love him, Andy. I love him so much.”

Andy nodded again. How could she not? Giovanni
Carnevale was extraordinarily easy to love.

And virtually impossible to get
over.

“Will you come to New York and stand up with me
when we decide to make everything public and legal?” Holly asked
with the wide-eyed innocence of a child. She clearly had no idea
what she was asking.

“I doubt Vanni would want me there,” Andy
mumbled.

Holly just waved off the concern. “He wants
whatever I want. He’s really spoiling me rotten. If I say I want
you here, he’ll agree.”

How magnanimous of
him
, Andy thought to herself. “We’ll see,”
Andy tried to put her off. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than
watching Vanni marry another woman. “Graham is probably not up to
traveling all that way yet. And I couldn’t leave him
behind.”

Not again. Not for Vanni.

Especially not now.

“Graham’s invited too,” Holly said with a
cheerful smile. “We’re dying to tell the world. We’re thinking
maybe Christmas, since it’s so close to his birthday
anyway.”

Andy closed her eyes. She remembered
celebrating his birthday with him. And Christmas. And now Holly was
stealing those too.

“I gotta go,” Andy said and closed out the
session before Holly could see how mortally she had just been
wounded.

It didn’t matter. Holly was living a dream come
true. She was too happy to notice the pain of anyone
else.

The more Andy thought about it, the further
into depression she fell. She remembered the look of stark terror
in his face when they had their pregnancy scare in 2009. There were
no plans to marry and provide for a child. It was bolt and run,
just like any other time anyone had gotten close.

Not just anyone, Andy corrected herself. Only
Andy.

He’d moved in with both Lourdes and Kat, and
now the scuttlebutt was that he and Holly were sharing a penthouse
in Manhattan.

Andy was the only one delegated to the
shadows.

Was it because she started out a “groupie?” Or
was it because she didn’t fit neatly in the crook of his arms for
publicity photos on the red carpet?

She’d been doing enough PR work for Graham to
know image was king in the media. Had he really kept her a secret
because she didn’t fit the traditional mold of a rock star’s
girlfriend?

All the things he said to her were in private.
Even in New York they had to disguise themselves, although at the
time she had wanted to do that to protect Graham.

But was Graham the real reason why he
agreed?

Or, after all these years together, was Vanni
secretly ashamed to claim her in front of the whole
world?

These were dark thoughts she hadn’t entertained
since high school, when the most popular boy in school wouldn’t
even glance her direction. Though she’d never let her weight stop
her from doing anything she wanted to do or dating anyone she
wanted to date, she was not immune to the hurtful and juvenile
attacks of adolescent boys.

Even now as a grown woman she knew that some
boys never really grew up. Guys like Leo, who clearly looked at her
like she was some kind of social leper because she wasn’t thin and
beautiful.

She was no fool. She could read the disdain in
his eyes. She’d seen it many times before.

She was easier to hate, easier to vilify. Her
motives were easier to question.

She’d never seen that in Vanni’s eyes. When he
ran his hand over her naked body there was no disgust. She
obviously turned him on and kept him coming back for
more.

Until now. Now that he had perfect, petite
little Holly – who fit on his arm like a pretty watch.

This was the woman the world expected to see
with a rock star. She photographed well, even in all the paparazzi
shots PING still nabbed from time to time.

Soon they would be all abuzz about a baby bump.
Photographers from all over the city would want to be the first to
capture physical proof that she was in the family way.

Then when the baby was born they’d get those
shots on the way to her “Mommy and Me” classes, as she protectively
hid her child’s face from the prying eye of the camera.

They’d snap pictures of them at Central Park,
as they attempted to raise their offspring with a hint of normality
like any other kid. There would be photos of the first day of
school. They’d want to see how he or she was dressed, and how
impeccably Holly kept herself as famous mom.

She’d have to get her figure back right away,
of course. Otherwise social media would whisper about how Vanni’s
notoriously roving eye would wander to someone else, and they’d
totally understand if it did.

Her own fame would ride sidesaddle to the fame
of her child, as they grounded the wild rock star and made him more
human and accessible to his fans. The women would still love
whether he was married or not. The fact that he would marry and
provide for a family would make him seem even more
ideal.

Truly it was a PR masterpiece. Everything
worked out well for Vanni, for Holly and for their offspring due to
arrive sometime in August of 2011.