Mogul (11 page)

“After I asked you not to,” she reminded.

He nodded. “I had to see for myself, Andy. I
had to know.”

Andy jumped from the couch to stomp over to
the kitchen, where she withdrew a bottle of juice. “And what did
the drama queen have to say? What lies did she sell you this
time?”

“She’s not lying, Andy. She’s pregnant. And
it’s mine.”

“Wonderful,” she spat. “Maybe you’ll get some
kind of group discount at the hospital. Or should I say ‘groupie?’”
Vanni didn’t answer so she forged on. “And what kind of proof did
she offer, Vanni? Some discarded pee stick?”

He shook his head. “I felt
her stomach,” he confessed. Her mouth gaped open as she stared at
him. He actually
touched
another woman? He touched
that
woman? Vanni forged on. “Then,
today, I took her to the hospital. They did an ultrasound. I
confirmed it with the doctor. It’s not a con.”

Andy gulped back any tears over the huge lump
in her throat. She had stopped listening after hearing he had put
his hands on another woman’s body. “I see,” she said again.

He rose to his feet and walked over to where
she stood on the other side of the counter. “I fucked up, Andy.
Again. And I don’t know what to do.”

Her eyes were rimmed red with unshed tears as
she glared at him. “What do you want to do?” she asked, though she
feared the answer.

He reached for her and pulled her stiff body
towards him. “I want to marry you. I want to have a family with
you. I love you. That hasn’t changed and it’s never going to
change.”

“But?”

“But I can’t forsake her or her baby – my
baby – and you know why.” Then, unintentionally, he threw her own
words back in her face. “Would I be the man that you love if I
could?”

She hesitated only for a moment before she
shook her head. “So what now?”

He sighed again as he rested his chin on top
of her head. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, I want us to be in
it together.”

Her arms finally circled him. “I guess it’s
wishful thinking to hope someone else fathered her kid, huh?”

He chuckled humorlessly. “Who else would it
be? Julian?” Then, more seriously, “I’d honestly rather err on the
side that it’s mine. She’s in bad shape, babe. Even if I’m not the
dad, I couldn’t leave her living like she is now.”

She didn’t like hearing that but she didn’t
say anything. It still reeked of a setup to her. Holly played the
innocent damsel in distress well, and they already knew she wasn’t
above using PING to her favor. Andy had a sneaking suspicion that
Holly had let PING break the news of her pregnancy so that she
could tell Vanni later she hadn’t sought his help or attention.

Her very presence in Los Angeles proved
otherwise.

The only one she could say those things to
was Graham, who suspected likewise. They had the luxury of
approaching the whole thing more logically and rationally.

Vanni was currently being driven by guilt and
regret.

Holly had him right where she wanted him.

The next day, when Vanni told Andy he was
heading to the hospital, she told him that she wanted to go with
him. She felt they needed to present a unified front to Holly, to
let her know that despite her scheming, they were solid and
unbreakable.

Vanni shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a
good idea, babe.”

She faced him with her arms crossed over her
chest. “Why not?”

“For the same reason you had to go see Graham
alone,” he shot back. He hated being defensive about it, but didn’t
she see how much his back was against the wall already? “Look,
she’s scared. She’s in the hospital. Now is not the time to drop
the bomb on her that I’m marrying somebody else. She’ll feel even
more insecure than she already does.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You haven’t told her
we’re engaged?”

“I told her my relationship with you is none
of her business. She can find out when the rest of the world finds
out. I’m there for her baby, not to be her best friend.” Andy
glared at him, which made him approach her to unravel her arms and
take her hands in his. “I just… I don’t want to run the risk of her
bolting again. I know that would be easier, but – I could never be
okay knowing my kid is somewhere out there, living a life like I
lived, thinking his dad doesn’t want him. Please get that,
Andy.”

She did get that. It was why she was
terrified of someone like Holly having his kid. She could, and
would, hold him hostage for a lifetime. “How far are you willing to
go, Vanni?” she asked softly. “Are you willing to marry her?”

“I’m marrying
you
,” he said as he
gripped her tighter.

“Then tell her that.”

“I will,” he promised. “But not today. Today
just let me handle it my way. Okay?”

She allowed him to gather her into his arms,
but despite the strength of his embrace she felt anything but
assured. She watched silently as he grabbed his jacket and headed
out the door.

She waited until he had driven out of sight,
followed not so subtly by the leeches of PING, before she grabbed
her own set of keys and headed for her car.

She took a long, scenic route around the
city, hoping that if any PING stragglers had decided to follow her
they would ultimately be bored silly by her uninteresting schedule
and shake themselves free. She stopped for tea, did some minor
shopping, and went to a boutique. She even switched her pink
diamond from her left hand to her right in order to make her first
real outing around L.A. anything but newsworthy. She’d only worn it
for a few days, but already her left hand felt naked without it –
but these were the kinds of precautions she’d have to take if she
wanted to fly under the radar.

And today she definitely did.

Finally, when she believed the coast was
clear, she headed straight to Malibu.

Maggie opened the door to her. Her shock was
visible after all the months they hadn’t seen each other, and her
expression wasn’t entirely welcoming. “Hello, Andy.”

“Hi, Maggie. How’ve you been?”

“Fine,” was her clipped reply. “Graham’s in
the whirlpool.”

Andy noted the woman had not moved from the
doorframe, as though she was creating a physical barrier to her
entry. She knew Maggie would not be happy with her, especially
after all the time she’d stayed away. However, she hadn’t expected
the other woman to be so territorial.

It made sense, Andy decided. Maggie was
essentially the woman of the house now. The only one who had never
let Graham down.

“I can wait,” she offered.

Maggie hesitated, but then finally relented
and allowed her to enter.

The house felt warm and lived in; there were
cheerful flowers spread around the stark, white living room and new
artwork had been added to the walls. If her absence had been felt,
there was no evidence of it she could see.

She took off her jacket and made herself
comfortable on the sofa.

“Would you like something to drink?” Maggie
asked as she glanced over Andy’s frame, taking note of how her face
and hips had filled out.

“Water would be nice,” Andy accepted.

Maggie nodded and disappeared into the
kitchen. Andy took a deep breath as she glanced around what used to
be her home. She hadn’t seen it since they had packed up for a trip
in December, when she expected to finally let her dreams of being
with Vanni die just like any hope for true happiness. This
exquisite Malibu mansion had felt like a tomb to her then, but she
had made her choice – to be with Graham – and was willing to stand
by it.

As far as tombs go, it was a fairly nice
one.

But she had never fit in. It had always felt
like she was playing house here, and it was never her home. The
smaller house in Redondo had always felt more tailor-made for her.
It wasn’t as ostentatious; it hadn’t been lived in by other women.
It was where she and Vanni finally blended their lives.

She realized now how wrong she had been to
lead Graham on, thinking she would ever be happy here.

Maggie reemerged from the
kitchen, carrying a glass of ice water. She placed it on a coaster
on the glass coffee table in front of where Andy sat, before
sitting in the chair opposite the sofa. “You’re looking well,” she
noted.
Not bad for someone whose happiness
had cost someone else everything
, she
thought to herself.

Andy felt the animosity seep from Maggie’s
pores. “And you,” she offered with a forced, polite smile. “What
you’ve done with Graham is amazing.”

Maggie shrugged off the praise. “I just lit
the path; he’s the one who had to walk it.”

“And now he can,” Andy said. “I was there
from the beginning. I know more than anyone that had everything to
do with you.”

“He’s getting there,” she agreed. “We still
have a long way to go.”

Andy took note of the possessiveness of her
tone. “I’m glad he has you along for the journey,” she said.

Words unspoken hung between the two women.
Maggie wanted to berate the younger one for bailing after all
Graham had done for her, for choosing someone unfit to shine his
shoes. How could she not see the gift she had in him? Why would she
ever choose someone as entitled and womanizing as Vanni? Sure, he
was nice eye candy. But at the end of the day, could he ever really
be trusted?

Could he ever truly change his spots?

Likewise Andy wanted to make Maggie
understand that she never meant to hurt Graham. She thought she had
been doing the right thing – the noble thing. Only now she could
see that she’d done way more harm than good.

She’d never forgive herself for sleeping with
him… for letting him believe they could have a future that wasn’t
truly hers to give.

She had belonged to Vanni long before he put
a ring on her finger.

Andy glanced down and realized she’d never
put the engagement ring back on her left hand. Perhaps it was
better that way, she thought. Clearly Maggie harbored deep
antagonism for her choices. To know she had actually showed up on
Graham’s doorstep engaged to another man would only fuel the
fire.

They heard Graham hobble with his cane toward
the living room. “Hey, Mags, how ‘bout we get lunch out today?”

His eyes lit up when he realized Andy was
sitting with Maggie in the living room. His heart soared to find
her in his home again, and Maggie realized with a sinking heart he
never looked as happy to see her.

He was still in love, hopelessly and
completely.

“Andy,” he said with a wide smile. “What a
nice surprise.”

She stood with a smile of her own. “Sorry I
didn’t call.”

He took careful steps toward her and then
took her into a hug, taking an extra moment to luxuriate in how her
curves felt in his arms again. “You never need to call ahead.
You’re always welcome. Isn’t she, Maggie?”

Maggie forced another small, polite smile.
“Of course. I think I’m going to go take lunch in my room, give you
both a chance to talk.”

“You don’t need to do that,” he said. “We
should all go out for lunch. The three Musketeers reunited,” he
added, using a term he had coined for them when Andy had lived
there before.

Maggie simply shook her head. “I’ll pass this
time, but thank you.” She turned her gaze back to Andy. “Nice to
see you,” she offered, but Andy understood immediately the
sentiment was insincere.

She waited until she heard Maggie close her
bedroom door behind her before she turned back to Graham with a
sigh. “She hates me now.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said as he
indicated that she take a seat. He joined her on the sofa. “You
know Mags. She’s just a protective mother hen.” He smiled as he
looked into her face. She looked even lovelier than he remembered.
He wanted to tell her that, but sensed it would be inappropriate.
Her eyes were troubled. “Is everything okay?”

She sighed again. She hated to bring her
troubles to him after all they had been through – but he was, and
always had been, her rock. “Vanni took Holly to the hospital
yesterday,” she said, leaving out the crucial detail he’d done it
behind her back. “The doctor confirmed it with a sonogram. She’s
really pregnant. And it looks like it’s his.”

Graham’s mouth thinned out in a grim line.
“I’m sorry, Andy.” He touched her on her shoulder, fighting the
urge to pull her back into his arms. “Is she okay? Why was she in
the hospital?”

“Apparently she was malnourished. She has a
medical condition where she throws up everything she eats. She’s
lost about fifteen pounds, I guess. The doctor wanted to put her on
an IV.”

Neither of them noted how ideal it would be
if she had just lost the baby. It seemed too cruel, even for
someone like Holly. Despite how much easier it would have made
their lives, they couldn’t bring themselves to wish for something
so hateful.

It wasn’t the baby’s fault his mother was a
liar and a cheat.

“So what does Vanni want to do about it?”

“He doesn’t know yet. But he has signed on to
be financially responsible for her care. It’s only a matter of time
before it all blows up in the press,” she added. “Is this going to
be a problem for the show?”

He sighed. “It’s not ideal,” he said. “Dixie
and Shannon made it clear they didn’t want to use controversy to
pump ratings. But let’s face it. America likes a train wreck.
That’s why the vultures over at PING can stay in business.” He
paused as he examined her face. “What’s more important to me is if
it’s a problem for you.”

She shrugged. “I was an idiot for thinking
any of this was going to get any easier,” she said. “When am I
going to learn that happily ever afters only happen in fairy
tales?”