Mogul (2 page)

He pulled her close and planted a kiss on her
head. “Then again,” he mused. “Maybe we should just come out. Say
we’re together. Say we’re going to have a baby. The only reason
they stalk us is because they want breaking news.”

She shook her head. She was fiercely
protective of the baby in her womb. She wasn’t quite ready for her
child to become public domain. “We already discussed this,” she
said. “I know things can never be normal, but I’m not ready for all
the attention.”

What she didn’t say – what she wasn’t ready
to admit – was that she wasn’t ready to be skewered in the press
yet again. Vanni was engaged to be married to someone else not even
a month ago, and she had been living with Graham Baxter, the
powerful C.E.O. of Vanni’s record label. If they released the news
they were together and she was pregnant, it would once again paint
her as the heavy – which would go unchallenged for the sake of his
career. They’d already been down that road, only this time she’d be
a home-wrecking whore instead of just a gold-digging social
climber.

She was just grateful Holly and Vanni had
never released the news about Holly’s “pregnancy,” otherwise she’d
never live it down.

He sighed. He knew it was a lot to ask anyone
to take on, especially someone like Andy, who didn’t give a rat’s
ass about his celebrity. She loved him, not his image. It wasn’t
like it was with Holly, who made sure her name was linked with his
at every opportunity.

Of course, Andy had already paid a heavy
price for his notoriety when she had a gun pointed in her direction
from a crazed stalker. It only made sense she’d want to protect
their child from the ugliness that surrounded his life.

He wouldn’t have loved her if she had any
other impulse.

But it did make things a bit more
challenging. He couldn’t just walk away from his career, especially
now that he had a family to support. And, truth be told, he
wouldn’t have wanted to give up his hard-won success anyway. They’d
have to find a way to make it work. Touring, however, was out for
the foreseeable future. The band was in flux due to Julian’s
departure… but he would have never left Andy while she needed him
close by.

Suddenly Iain’s departure in London the year
before made a whole hell of a lot of sense.

Vanni wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Dreaming
in Blue, but he knew he wasn’t ready to hit the road again and be
thousands of miles away from Andy while she was pregnant. He wasn’t
sure yet how he’d juggle the two commitments, but his finances were
such he didn’t really have to worry about it for the immediate
future.

The biggest variable was how much of his nest
egg he’d have to fork over to the Wilke family, to satisfy them
after he nearly killed their daughter, Baylee, in the accident
where he had been driving drunk. Graham had already obtained a
lawyer to deal with their preliminary demands, which had reached
into seven figures for things like life-long healthcare.

Baylee still lingered in her coma, and her
medical bills were racking up by the day.

His stomach recoiled every time he thought
about it. God, he had been so stupid, so careless. He wanted to
punish the world simply because he couldn’t get what he wanted. He
had been an emotional infant and cost someone her life. Though she
was at least legal age by the time he propositioned her on a
Hollywood boulevard, Baylee had lost her entire future just by
stepping into the wrong car. She had been doing what she could to
survive, and all he could see was his own selfish, primal need.

He had wanted to go see her but everyone
discouraged him. He certainly didn’t want to run into Baylee’s
family – specifically her unhinged brother, Donny. After what had
happened with Talia in 2010, he knew he couldn’t risk stoking the
crazy, especially now that he was going to be a father.

This was the main reason he didn’t push Andy
to announce the pregnancy. He was just as worried as she was about
the safety of their child.

Their
child
, he thought with a smile as he
gathered Andy close. It was still so surreal to think this amazing
woman was carrying their baby, a baby conceived when they had loved
each other most and best – when she had healed the wounds of his
past in her arms. No matter what else was going on, he knew that
life had more meaning than ever before. He’d do anything for either
of them.

He’d give up his career. He’d give up his
money.

He’d even give up his very life.

All that mattered were the two women who now
held his heart securely in their collective grasp – his Andy, and
their daughter.

He knew it was a girl because he’d always
dreamed of a chubby-cheeked little girl with brown curls and big
blue eyes. She was the playful little cherub who would bounce on
his knee and look at him like he could do no wrong. The specter of
fatherhood had scared him for so long, he was terrified he could
never live up to the title. This was the future he never thought he
deserved and now Andy had given him the greatest gift of all. He’d
dreamed of this moment for far too long. He knew he’d never, ever
let them go.

In fact, it was suddenly his mission in life
to make sure both his lady love and his child would never want for
anything. Eventually this would mean resuming his career, but for
now he focused on the little things. He threw himself into making a
home for Andy, which showed her a side of him she’d never really
seen before.

She sat at the counter near the kitchen as
she watched him prepare a grocery list. He had memorized the list
of foods her doctor had recommended for her to eat, and avoid,
during her pregnancy. He had even taken over litter duty, now that
Simon had joined their happy little beachfront home. “I can’t
believe I’m saying this but I really wish I could go with you,” she
said.

He gave her a smile. They’d already done
their paparazzi test for the day when he went out for his morning
run, he knew that shutterbugs would be waiting for him the moment
he walked out his front door. They wanted to know what happened to
Holly, and when they’d get to see Andy. They really weren’t fooling
anyone, but Andy was reticent to put her face in the papers for
good reason.

The Internet still buzzed from the last time
she’d been caught with Vanni. Women who already believed they held
a claim to Vanni because he was their idol had bashed her openly
and viciously.

“Like I said, they’ll find something new to
gossip about in the next week or two. Then you can take care of
your man, like a good woman should.”

He gave her his trademark smirk and she
giggled as she stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed as he
rounded the corner to kiss her nose. “You’re adorable,” he said.
“Be naked and ready for me when I come back,” he teasingly
instructed as he grabbed her boob.

She laughed out loud before she stifled a
yawn. She was so tired lately. “Naked and unconscious is more
likely.”

He wrapped her in a hug. “That’s okay. I know
how to wake you up.” They shared a deep kiss, reminded of their
early morning aerobics.

“Then I’ll look forward to it,” she
whispered. “Now go get my yogurt covered pretzels.” It had been her
one craving so far; she couldn’t get enough of the sweet/salty
combination.

“Yes, Bean,” he said as he bent to kiss her
tummy, which had a pleasant curve but no hint yet of all the
magical transformation taking place inside. When he rose he
caressed Andy’s face tenderly. “Love you,” he said.

“I love you, too,” she responded happily. It
felt so good to say it – and hear it – as much as she wanted.

He had a skip in his step as he left for the
store, and Andy went to cuddle Simon on the couch as they listened
to the waves crashing against the shore.

Not even five minutes after he left, someone
knocked at the door. Andy knew better than to answer, so she kept
low on the couch until long minutes after the knocking had
subsided. When she was certain whoever had knocked was gone, she
went to long windows on either side of the door to check if the
coast was clear.

A package sat on the welcoming mat on the
doorstep. Her brow furrowed as she tried to make out the sender’s
address, but it was blank. Even more curious she noticed that there
were no markings of postage of any kind.

Someone had just come up and left an unmarked
package on their doorstep. She backed away from the door and
reached for her phone.

CHAPTER TWO

Malibu, California

January 10, 2011

“Just a couple more steps,” the redhead urged
from her spot at the other end of the parallel therapy bars. “You
can do it, Graham. Come on.”

Beads of sweat ran down his reddened face as
Graham Baxter took each step with great effort. He was nowhere near
winning a marathon anytime too soon, but the steps he could take
independently had grown exponentially since he walked toward Andy
in a New York hospital room. It was mostly thanks to his tireless
cheerleader, who beckoned him to take just one more step than he
thought he could, who urged him now with open arms and a tireless
devotion.

He grabbed the bars in a white knuckled grip
to keep his balance as he finally reached where she stood. “You’re
a slave driver, Maggie Fowler,” he growled with a playful scowl on
his face.

“That I am,” she happily agreed. “If you
don’t like it, you can fire me,” she added as she assisted him back
to his wheelchair.

The days of his threatening to terminate her
tenure as his nurse had ended the minute he realized she was the
one who could get him mobile again. And even though his reason for
getting well had walked into someone else’s arms, he knew he was
nowhere near finished with his therapy and his recuperation. This
was largely thanks to the butt-kicking Maggie gave him when he got
home. She told him in no uncertain terms that he was going to walk
again if it was the last thing she did, Andy or no Andy. She railed
at him he was a fool to ever pin all his hopes on another person,
and that if he couldn’t get off his butt and on his feet then he
wasn’t half the man she thought him to be.

After her little sermon was over, Graham
quietly reminded her that he wasn’t finished with his therapy, and
therefore neither was she.

“Good,” she had pronounced. “Because if you
think you can get rid of me that easy, you’ve got another thing
coming.”

He had smiled at her red-faced furor. She had
truly expected when he had returned from New York alone that she’d
have to pull him, kicking and screaming, back to the land of the
living. It was actually kind of amusing to see her befuddled how to
handle their new relationship dynamic, where she could be the sole
focus of his attention.

Even though they had spent significant time
together in the past, without the ghost of Andy and his hopes for
their future hanging overhead, it had shifted the balance somewhat.
Now when they spent time alone together, it was as two people who
had no other main goal than what they could get from each other. It
was a strange relationship, but one built on deep trust. He knew
that Maggie would never let him down. As such, he never wanted to
fail her.

It had only been a few weeks, but their
progress had been undeniable. He was working hard to meet their
next goal: his return to the office to oversee Baxter
Mega-Worldwide Media Corporation.

Andy had done much for his business, but ever
since her return from New York with Vanni she had laid low. It was
almost a honeymoon period for them, which still gnawed at Graham’s
gut. He had loved Andy for a long time – still did – but she had
chosen another man. Even if that man was totally wrong for her, had
betrayed her and manipulated her, and even put her life in danger,
she had made her choices.

Graham was quite over chasing after her to
change her mind. Maggie kept him focused on those things he could
change, those things he could control. In fact she never even
mentioned Andy at all, even though he knew she must have been
curious.

“She has chosen to stay with Vanni,” was all
that he said on the matter, which is what launched her into her
tirade that he better not give on himself as a result.

Oddly enough, despite how heartsick he was
that he would never have a future with the woman he still loved, he
had never considered giving up on Maggie, their therapy, or his
future. So he wasn’t going to be walking down the aisle again, at
least he’d be walking.

Besides which, he’d already done the marriage
thing. Twice. It hadn’t worked out before, why was he so certain he
would get lucky the third time around? Given that the woman he
loved still loved someone else, it was a virtual certainty it would
have failed eventually.

Much better he lose her now than later.

So Maggie and Graham built a new
relationship. They talked about things other than his failed
romance with Andy. They talked about music, watched movies and
discussed books. They indulged their mutual love of cooking to
experiment around the kitchen and prepare gourmet meals. They
discussed politics and world events. As people, they found they
were surprisingly compatible. They were closer in age and had
learned certain hard truths in life, especially rebounding from the
worst kind of crises. In the last few weeks they had become the
best of friends who laughed a lot and treasured the little
things.

It was dangerous territory for Maggie. When
Graham had returned from New York without Andy, it struck fear in
her heart he’d send her away; too despondent over the loss of his
relationship he wouldn’t want to continue their therapy together.
While his recovery remained a priority, Maggie realized that wasn’t
the main reason she was scared he’d turn her away.