Groupie/Rock Star Bundle (51 page)

Vanni

Leo shook his head as he glanced Vanni’s
direction in the darkened car. “Didn’t I tell you, man? You gotta
get her out of your head. You can’t do that if you’re following her
around like a lovesick puppy. You’re giving all your power away. It
just ain’t cool.”

“Just shut up and get me to a bar,” Vanni
replied as he sucked whiskey from the expensive crystal decanter.
Both were no doubt imported right from Ireland. Graham certainly
had fine taste, he thought to himself.

In everything.

His stomach lurched as he thought about Andy
and how she looked and felt in his arms. She was worse than any
drug, he decided. Ever since he had kissed her the alcohol buzz he
had going for all these weeks evaporated.

He was in a sober state and didn’t much care
for it.

“Don’t worry, man,” Leo said. “I got a surprise
for you.”

Vanni thought about the faux Andy in England.
That was a good surprise, one he desperately needed now that the
real thing had rejected him.

Again.

Only the surprise wasn’t quite so intimate this
time. It was a party in full force at one of the celebrity hotspots
in West Hollywood. An A-List actor owned his own club, which was
basically just a dive bar where the pretty people could all get
loaded and laid. A band was playing on the small stage, and that
was where Leo was directing him. Taking center stage was a shorter,
curly-haired man in tight jeans and no shirt, who effectively
shredded the guitar he was playing. He was mesmerizing to watch, so
much so Vanni forgot all about the fact he was absolutely and
completely sober.

“That’s Julian Neal,” Leo shouted to him over
the pulsating heavy metal. “This is the guy I was telling you
about.”

“But we need a bassist.”

“You need it all, man,” Leo corrected. “Those
other guys are holding you back, Vanni. This guy,” he motioned
toward Julian, “could take you farther than you’ve ever gone. He
can play six different instruments, including bass. Get him in your
band now so that when the other two split you’re
covered.”

Vanni did like the sound of the guitar.
Immediately he came up with lyric and melody and felt inspired
stone cold sober for the first time in months. Leo knew he had him
hooked.

“Let’s wait till he’s done with the set,” Leo
said as he dragged Vanni to the bar. He ordered a celebratory shot
for the both of them. “To success,” he toasted, which sounded good
to Vanni.

“I like success,” a female voice came from
behind Leo. He turned with a smile. “Vanni,” he said, as he pulled
the petite brunette into view. She wore a short leather skirt and a
tied top in black silk, gaining some height with her six inch
heels. Though she dressed like she belonged in the club, there was
something sweet and wholesome about her beautiful face and her
crystal blue eyes. Her long pigtails also gave her a sense of
innocence. For some strange reason Vanni immediately felt the need
to protect this sexy little pixie.

“This is Holly Neal,” Leo introduced. “Julian’s
sister.” He turned to Holly. “This is Giovanni Carnevale from
Dreaming in Blue.”

“Of course,” she said as she extended her hand.
It almost disappeared inside his massive palm. “I don’t know if we
have to toast your success or if you’re already there,” she offered
with a wide smile and perfect, spectacularly white
teeth.

Vanni shook his head. “Not yet,” he clarified.
Despite the money and the acclaim, the hits and the fans, he knew
he still hadn’t reached the heights he wanted. Otherwise he
wouldn’t feel so damn hollow inside. Once he got rid of that
nagging problem that had plagued him his whole life, then he would
know he arrived. He motioned back toward Julian. “But I like what
I’m hearing. Maybe your brother can be part of that
success.”

Leo winked at Vanni before he took his leave,
heading over to hit on some barflies hanging at the edge of the
dance floor. Vanni turned back to Holly, who had climbed up on the
bar stool. “Well call me biased but I think my brother is already a
superstar. Any band would be lucky to get him.”

“Are you a package deal?” Vanni wanted to know
as he glanced over her. “Do you sing or play?”

She just laughed as she motioned for a drink,
which turned out to be sparkling water. Off Vanni’s look she told
him, “I don’t drink. Alcoholic dad. Totally cliché. But don’t let
me stop you,” she said as she pointed to his array of empty glasses
on the bar. “To answer your question, no. I’m not a center stage
kind of girl. I do all the heavy lifting backstage. P.R., street
teams. That kind of thing.”

He thought about Andy and his face fell
somewhat. When would he be able to think about her and it not hurt?
Even sitting next to this beautiful angelic girl, he was mooning
over a lost cause. He ordered another drink.

“Are you okay?” she asked and he glanced own at
her upturned face. Her eyes shined almost unnaturally underneath
her dark makeup.

“I am now,” he answered. But it felt like a
line even to him. “So you don’t drink but you hang out in bars
around all us drunks. Please tell me you know some Karate moves to
keep sexual deviants like me from attacking you.”

She laughed again. “I get by,” she said. “It’s
a necessary evil, right? The bar scene is where you earn your
stripes as a musician. I’m sure you did your fair share in
many.”

He nodded. “I kind of miss it, you know? It was
a whole different vibe. A brotherhood.” His stomach lurched as he
thought about Iain, and he quickly drowned the feeling in another
swig of booze. “Even with the audience there was a stronger, more
intimate connection.”

She mirrored his nod. “Success is a double
edged sword,” she said. “The bigger you get, the harder it is to
really get close to anyone.”

He instantly loved the fact that she ‘got’ it.
“Exactly.” He thought about the hole Iain had ripped in the band.
From the looks on Yael’s and Felix’s faces, he knew they weren’t
far behind. He couldn’t say he blamed them, but fame was all he had
left now.

After the set was over Julian wound through the
crowd to find his sister, who introduced him to Vanni. “Love your
work, man,” he said as he pumped his hand.

Vanni just smiled. “Likewise. You shred like a
beast.”

“Self-taught,” Holly interjected with
pride.

“Even more impressive,” Vanni replied. “How
would you like to come and audition for my band?”

Julian’s eyes lit up. “Are you
serious?”

“We got an open spot. It’s for bass but Leo
tells me you can play.”

He nodded. “I can do anything. I just need the
chance.”

“You got it,” Vanni confirmed. He turned his
attention back to Holly. “Would you like to dance?”

She nodded and followed him out onto the dance
floor. It was dangerous to be out there with her when he knew
nothing could happen. But he felt his spirit lift just by looking
in her face.

He kept her by his side for the rest of the
night while he filled his alcohol tank right back up to full.
During a slow dance he pulled her up against his body and started
to reach down for a kiss before he could even stop himself. She
allowed it only for a moment and then pulled away.

“Come home with me,” he said as he got lost in
those ridiculously blue eyes.

She shook her head. “Can’t mix business with
pleasure,” she warned. “I’ve been burned before.”

“Me too,” he admitted. “But one night isn’t
going to hurt anyone.”

“I’m not a one-night kind of girl,” she said
with a smile.

She felt so dainty in his hands it made him
feel masculine and powerful. Yet she was the one in total control.
“You’re killing me here,” he whispered as he rested his forehead
against hers.

“I’ll be your friend, Vanni,” she said. “But
that’s it.”

He sighed like a petulant child. He wasn’t used
to being told no and it showed. She followed him back to the bar
where he attempted to order another round, but she grabbed his arm.
“Let me take you home. You’ve had enough.”

“There’s no such thing,” he grinned as he
grabbed her around the waist.

But again she quickly shut him down. When he
caught the wounded look in her face he knew he must have reminded
her of her dad. So even though he wanted another drink, he decided
to follow his new friend’s advice and go home.

She dropped him off at his beach house and
kissed him on his forehead before he left her car. First with Andy
and now with Holly, he was even more frustrated than
before.

Once she was gone he could freely reach back
into his liquor cabinet for another drink, but the booze just
wasn’t cutting it. The more he drank the antsier he seemed to get.
He dug out a business card that Leo had given him upon their return
to the States and stared at it for almost a half hour more as he
made his down the bottle.

Finally he pulled out his phone.

“Yeah,” he said to the woman who answered after
one ring. “I think you can help me. I need a brunette,” he said.
“Blue eyes,” he went on before finally settling on, “and
petite.”

He was too wasted to realize how ridiculous he
sounded ordering a woman like he was ordering a pizza. Even more
ridiculous, the woman on the other end didn’t seem at all taken
aback by the request.

Like Leo said, it was purely a business
transaction.

Within an hour there was a knock at the door.
That night his companion looked nothing like Andy. She was lost to
him now anyway so it was time to follow his manager’s sage advice
and exorcise her from his head once and for all. He grabbed the
short brunette’s hand and told her that he was going to call her
Holly. Then he led her upstairs to the loft.

Chapter Six

August 21, 2010. Los Angeles.

Andy

Andy wrung her hands together nervously as she
watched Maggie roll the wheelchair up the new ramp on the front
porch. Graham had a blanket over his legs and expensive slippers on
his feet, but the suit he wore looked about two sizes too
big.

It was almost as if he had shrunk since she saw
him last. His posture slumped forward and there was now more
noticeable gray at his temples. Five o’clock shadow darkened his
sunken cheeks, which made him look years older than he actually
was.

His condition had aged him. Had she just not
noticed before?

He barely looked Andy in the eye as Maggie
rolled him through the entrance. At every turn there was yet
another reminder how he lost his manhood. This homecoming was such
a far cry from the first time he had brought her here. In
Philadelphia it was one thing to be treated like a half of a man.
In Malibu, the town he owned thanks to the empire he had created,
it was a very different story.

In the last week Andy had been a busy girl. The
huge white menace, as she had taken to call Graham Manor, looked
lived in again. There were cheerful flowers all over the house and
delicious chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven to welcome him
home. It was almost enough for him not to dwell on the new ramps
and obvious modifications the house had undergone to accommodate
his new condition.

“Everything is ready,” Andy told Maggie.
“Including the bedroom, if he’s tired from the trip.”

Maggie shook her head. “I think we’ll get him
comfortable in the living room. Those cookies smell like they’re
almost done. Would be a shame to miss that first yummy, melted
bite.” She smiled down at Graham, who wore that familiar scowl on
his face.

“Don’t speak to me as if I’m not here,” he told
them both in a low growl. “And don’t treat me like a child.” He
tried to square his shoulders but it only made him look weaker the
way his bony shoulders poked out under his jacket. “I’d like to go
to my room.”

Maggie just shook her head. “I don’t think so.
Andy worked really hard to get your house ready for a nice
homecoming. Let’s check out the place and see what’s
new.”

“I know what’s new,” he spat. “I’d like to go
to my room so that I can rest.”

“No can do,” Maggie informed him. She rolled
him across the floor to the hallway. They made their way past the
bathroom so they could see all the new railings he could use to
help himself get in and out of the new whirlpool therapy tub. His
jaw clenched as he listened to Andy explain what all had been
modified for their ongoing therapy regimen.

They passed Maggie’s new room, which was bright
with large, happy sunflowers on the desk and nightstands. “That’s
so lovely,” she said to Andy. “Thank you.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Graham muttered. “You
won’t be here that long.”

Maggie just chuckled as she patted him on the
shoulder. “I know, hon. I’m fired.”

They rolled by Andy’s room, the original guest
room where she had previously stayed. She could see that despite
his best efforts not to be, he was curious where she had decided to
plant herself in his home. Any question that he had been hoping
she’d share his room was immediately answered by how his eyes
darkened with disappointment she chose the privacy of the guest
room.