Mogul (35 page)

It was all supposed to be uncomplicated…so
simple. But if I had learned anything over the past four years it
was that love was never simple.

The only thing I could count on was being
alone. And the bitch of it was I knew I deserved it. This was my
penance for being selfish, entitled. Indulged.

Scared…

Graham followed Vanni as he raced toward the
burning building. Both men struggled past the police and headed for
the smoking wreckage of what used to be Vanni’s home. Another
explosion knocked Graham from the porch, sending him flying back
onto the small yard out front. Boards and glass scattered around
him as he tried his best to rise to his feet.

That was when he saw her.

Her dirty red hair framed her face like a
halo and he cried out in joy as he ran to her. “Mags,” he said as
he reached for her, but she held a precious bundle in her hands.
They looked down at the baby she had snatched practically from the
womb before she sailed over the railing and onto the beach below
just before the first explosion hit.

Vanni and Andy’s daughter wailed loudly her
discontent about coming into the world in such dramatic
circumstances, and Graham couldn’t help but sob in relief that she,
at least, was safe. He glanced up to Maggie. “Andy?” he asked.

She gestured toward the house. They watched
it burn in horror, knowing this little baby’s father had also
disappeared within its dangerous depths in a vain attempt to rescue
the woman he loved.

But as scared as I had always been, nothing
matched the terror watching that house explode knowing the person
who had trusted me most, even when she never had any reason to, was
inside. Even as I raced toward the burning building, I knew that my
heroics were futile. The bomb had obliterated the house in an
instant, taking with it everything I had ever treasured. I saw it
with my eyes, why didn’t I believe it in my heart? Why couldn’t I
let go?

Why had I never been able to let go?

I had been so selfish.

And now the woman I loved more than anyone
before her had paid the ultimate price, simply because I hadn’t
loved her more than I loved myself.

But if it was the last thing I would ever
do, I’d risk it all to save her. I’d finally give her the love she
never should have been denied.

When the burning beams tumbled around me as
I ran deeper into the smoking inferno of my home, I honestly didn’t
care if they consumed me.

If we couldn’t live together, we’d die
together.

Vanni dodged each burning ember as he
maneuvered what remained of his home. He found the smoking body of
Donny Wilke slumped over his homemade bomb. He had died the instant
it detonated. Vanni covered his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt
as he scanned the darkened living room, where the loft from above
caved in on the furniture below. Another blast knocked him further
into the room, down into the sunken living room, amidst the fire
and debris. His sleeve had caught fire and he desperately rolled to
put it out.

That was when he saw the light glint off a
two-carat pink diamond engagement ring. “Andy!” he cried as he
crawled toward the female hand visible underneath a big flank of
wood. With strength he didn’t even know he had, Vanni flung away
the lumber which had enclosed the sunken living room like a cave
from the first blast. Andy lay unconscious under the overturned
sofa.

“Oh my God,” he breathed as he jumped down to
grab her up into his arms. “Andy. Andy!”

She moaned slightly and he sobbed in relief
as he clutched her to his chest. “I’m here, babe,” he promised.
“I’ve got you.”

I would never let go.

Andy… I’ll never let go…

A week later, Vanni stood in the cheerful,
pink nursery of his Palos Verdes home. He wore elegant black in
honor of this significant day. Gone was the wild rocker boy. He was
a man now, one who had been to hell and back. He wore his unruly
curls tied away from his face, and looked somber as he stared down
into the round, cherry wood crib where his daughter slept soundly.
She had been through a lot in the last seven days, but he knew she
had her mother’s strength. That would carry her through all of her
life’s challenges.

Most of all, she could be strong knowing he
would never leave her. He was done running away from responsibility
and commitment. The minute Maggie had put Renata into his arms for
the first time, he knew that she was worth every promise he would
ever make to her; he’d give his very last breath to make sure he’d
never let her down.

He had watched in wonder as she had developed
in the short period of time since her dramatic birth. At first, he
swore she looked just like Andy. But there were times when she’d
take his breath away as a mirror into himself. She was inquisitive
and even-tempered like her mother, but she responded to music like
he did. She’d turn her head towards him when he sang to her, as he
cradled her close in his protective arms. She’d watch his mouth as
he formed each word, and tears would form in his eyes as she tried
to mimic him almost from birth.

He loved her more than he thought it was
possible to love anyone. She was the best of what he and Andy had
always meant to each other. She deserved nothing but the best in
return. She had taught him there is nothing more important than
honor, which was what this day would mean most.

Maggie knocked on the door softly before she
entered. She looked lovely in her basic black dress, and she had a
warm smile for the devoted father who towered over his daughter’s
crib like the protective bear she knew now he would be. She placed
her hand on his shoulder. “It’s time,” she said.

He nodded as he scooped his baby girl up into
his arms. Tears hovered in his eyes as she gave him a big yawn and
stretched in the perfect pink dress that Vanni had insisted that
she wear. He handed Renata to Maggie and they left the nursery to
head to the gathering in the back yard.

Everyone was present. There
was the
“Fierce”
crowd, including Shannon, Jake, Dixie, Dominique and Jorge, as
well as his fellow judges, Allison and Ryder. Gwen brought her
family, and even Iain and Alana had arrived from England with their
two small children in tow. Iris and Jacob sat in the front row, and
the other members of Dreaming in Blue were present just behind
them.

It was everyone who had been there along this
crazy journey, and the people who had loved Andy most and best –
even when he couldn’t.

Yael stood as he watched Vanni approach.
Without words they embraced. This was the brotherhood they had
cultivated back in the early days, before the groupies and the
money and the success.

They were family, thanks to the music. And
each member of the band was glad to be there in Vanni’s hour of
need.

“You ready?” Yael asked as he pulled
away.

There were tears in Vanni’s eyes as he
nodded. Yael walked with him up toward the front of the crowd. As
Yael headed to the side and played his acoustic guitar, Vanni
paused slightly to put his hand on Lydia Foster’s shoulder. She
held a well-soaked handkerchief to her mouth and reached for his
hand. He kissed her softly on the cheek before he took he headed
toward the front of their assembly.

His father, Angelo, wore the same somber
black as his son. He took Vanni into a warm embrace that contained
all the love he’d spent a lifetime denying him for all the wrong
reasons. But the minute he saw the news about what had happened to
Vanni’s beachfront home, he was on the next plane out of New York.
By that evening he was in Los Angeles, a solid shoulder for his son
when he had needed him most. He barely left his side in the days
that followed, and even accompanied him to the East Los Angeles
cemetery where Vanni’s stillborn son had been laid to rest. Both
men held each other and cried over what they had lost, and in that
moment they gained something they never expected. In their silent
but steady companionship, old wounds had healed. Vanni realized
that life was too brief to hold onto old grudges. For his family,
both living and dead, he had to rise above. Despite what he had
been through, all his life, and the past week especially, he had so
much for which to be thankful.

He was done searching for reasons to stumble.
He no longer felt entitled to live life by his own selfish rules.
He had learned the hard way that life was better shared with the
ones he loved. Not one of them was guaranteed a tomorrow. He never
again wanted to regret all the time he had wasted, and the love he
had squandered.

It was that humble heart he turned to face
the crowd of those who loved he and Andy the most.

Maggie cradled Renata as she took her spot
next to Lydia and Kelly, and with the strands of the song Yael
began to play everyone stood and turned toward the house.

Graham held Andy by the arm as she inched
down the rose-strewn pathway toward the man she was about to marry.
She wore a new dress, a simple dress. It was ivory, with delicate
beads and a sweetheart neck. Around her neck she wore pearls she
borrowed from Iris, and earrings that had once belonged to her
mother, courtesy of her grandmother.

She trembled against Graham as he led her
down the aisle, in between rows of the people she loved. But it was
the man who stood waiting for her at the altar who she loved most
of all – second only to the little girl who had stolen their hearts
in the last seven days.

The music died away as she reached where
Vanni stood. The kindly pastor smiled at them benevolently. “We are
gathered here together to join this man and this woman in holy
matrimony. It is not a commitment to be entered into lightly, and
these two people have had a very long road to get to this spot. It
is with celebration that we all uplift them in this new leg of
their journey; one they never have to walk alone.” He paused
slightly. “Who gives this woman?”

Graham swallowed the lump in his throat as he
looked down at her. For so long she had been his world, and he
couldn’t imagine anything less than an entire life with her by his
side. Now he realized that her purpose in his life was to open him
up to love again; to prime him for a future with Maggie… someone
who was more suited to him in every way, and who was able to love
him in equal measure. It was the greatest gift anyone could have
ever given him. A tear glistened at the corner of his eye as he
returned the favor. “I do,” he said, his voice strong and sure.

A tear of her own coursed down her cheek as
she reached up to kiss him gently. He patted her on the arm as he
put her hand in Vanni’s. He no longer worried that this man, who
had raced into a burning building with no thought of his own
safety, would take care of her and love her like she deserved.

It was a long road… but both men finally
respected each other.

He backed out of their circle so that he
could join Maggie where she sat with their goddaughter, Renata.

“Andy and Vanni have prepared their vows,”
the preacher announced, then gestured to Vanni.

Vanni took both of Andy’s hands into his.
“Andy, when I first saw your face staring back at me from a crowd,
I never – in my wildest dreams – thought we’d be standing here just
a few years later. In fact, I would have bet any amount of money I
had that I would never get married at all, to anyone. I never
thought I could never settle for one woman, so I would never
promise forever. And I was pretty sure I’d never meet anyone who
could ever change my mind. It was the first of many instances where
I learned never to bet against you. You’re tough, you’re strong,
and you never back down when it comes to doing what you think is
right. For some reason I’ve yet to figure out, you decided loving
me was right. Though we’ve been to hell and back, we’re still
standing. And I know I owe that all to you. You’ve made me see that
marriage isn’t about settling for one woman – it’s finding the
woman who is the best of all women. That’s you, babe. It’s always
been you. So today I am happy to pledge to you my life, my fidelity
and my truest, purest love. Till death and beyond.”

He slid the pink gold and diamond band on her
finger.

She took a deep breath. “Honestly, I would
have made that same bet,” she told him with a smile, and a
twittering of laughter filtered among their guests. “I wasn’t out
to find a husband. I just went to hear a band play,” she said as
she shot a happy, weepy Iris a wink. “Little did I know I would
meet the person fate had already selected for me. There was no
walking away. There was no letting go. You’ve had my heart from the
very first moment we met. I was an orphan until the day I found a
home in your arms. So today I happily pledge to you my life, my
fidelity and my truest, purest love. Till death and beyond.”

She slid his simple, solid gold ring onto his
finger and they grasped hands.

“By the power vested in me by the state of
California, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the preacher
said with a smile. “You may kiss your bride.”

“About damn time,” Vanni growled as he
wrapped his arms around Andy’s waist and lifted her up into his
embrace. Their kiss was tender and long, as if the whole world
around them had evaporated. They didn’t hear the applause erupt,
only the started cry of their daughter, who had to put in her two
cents about the entire situation.

Her parents were quick to respond with a
happy smile toward the one person that could share their love.

As Vanni released Andy so she could go to
their daughter, everyone emerged on the couple to express their
well-wishes. First in line was Yael. “I never thought I’d see this
day,” he told his old friend honestly. “But I gotta say… you chose
wisely.”