Groupie/Rock Star Bundle by Ginger Voight Read Free Book Online Page B

he
didn’t feel comfortable unless he was doing something aside from
just holding down the floor. He followed me as we wound our way
through the crowded room out onto the balcony.
    He took a deep breath as he closed the door
behind him. “I hate parties,” he stated unnecessarily. “I’d much
rather have stayed at the studio.”
    “Command performance?” I asked with
a slight grin.
    “You know it,” he said as he leaned
onto the concrete balcony wall overlooking the view of Manhattan.
It was on fire with a million little lights, and the breeze gently
lifted our hair from our shoulders as it drifted by.
    “You hit the fast lane pretty quick,” I stated
as I looked out over the city. “Is it everything you thought it
would be?”
    He smirked. “Unfortunately.”
    “Vanni seems to enjoy it,” I
mentioned offhand.
    “That’s because he’s meant to be the
star. He gets off on the fame and the adoration. That’s why we
don’t get in his way much.”
    I glanced at Yael, to see if there was any
underlying bitterness. But the comment was issued more
matter-of-fact. Resigned, even.
    “I just want to play. As long as nothing gets
in the way of that, we’re cool.”
    “You’ll pardon me for saying so but I think
that the band is big enough for more than one star. You bring a
polished edge to the music.”
    He looked away, clearly uncomfortable by the
praise. “I could be better. I want to be better. That’s what it’s
about, you know? Music is evolution.”
    I nodded. I totally got what he was
saying.
    “As long as I learn, as long as I grow, that’s
all that really matters to me. Success just means we have the money
to keep doing it.” He glanced back at me then, looked me straight
in the eye. “That’s what I want my interview to say.”
    I smiled. “And it shall.”
    He gave me a small nod and then glanced back at
the party in full swing behind the patio doors. “I guess I gotta
get back. You coming?”
    I shook my head. After several glasses of
champagne I liked how the night air was clearing my head. “I think
I just want to gather my thoughts.”
    He gave me a small smile, perhaps the most
genuine I’d ever received from him, and left me alone. I sucked in
a big deep breath. Maybe Yael nailed it. It was all about getting
paid to do what you love, simply so you could grow and do it
better.
    I couldn’t begrudge my career, as slow moving
as it was. I got paid to do what I liked to do, and combine my
passions doing it. It was a pretty sweet life.
    I had a smile on my face when a voice came from
behind my ear. “Penny for your thoughts.”
    I turned to fall headlong into Vanni’s dark
eyes, still rimmed black with eyeliner. I knew that look was soon
going to be the death of me. “Just thinking about life,” I
murmured.
    He held a hand to his chest, looking
emotionally wounded. “And here I thought you were thinking about
me.”
    I laughed. “Get over yourself, pal.”
    He didn’t stop smiling as he brushed my hair
out of my face. Just the touch of his hand on my skin sent an
electrical charge right to my core. “I was thinking about you.” His
eyes traveled over my face, stopping briefly on my mouth, then
lower to my dress and all it revealed. “You look amazing,
Andy.”
    I scoffed. “Say that to someone who hasn’t seen
your date.”
    He leaned forward on the railing much like Yael
had done. “So is that it? You’re mad about Lourdes?”
    I leaned forward too. “How could I be mad about
Lourdes? I didn’t even know about her until yesterday.”
    He turned to face me. I tried my best not to
look at the wisps of hair poking out of his unbuttoned shirt.
“There wasn’t anything to tell.”
    “Oh I think there’s plenty to tell,” I
corrected. I turned toward him and leaned on my elbow, mirroring
his body language. “Jasper was all too eager to hand me a giant
file full of press clippings about your whirlwind
romance.”
    Vanni didn’t even look chagrined by the news.
If