Forty-One
One Month Later
Catherine and Liam lay in bed in Liam’s LA mansion, as Catherine read from the Rolling Stone article she’d written. They’d been holed up for a month, allowing time for Liam’s shoulder to heal.
‘Rock star. Bad Boy. Troublemaker. Rebel. Liam Mercury is more than the usual labels placed on him. Liam Mercury is an enigma. Just when you think you’ve got him all figured out, he shows you a side of him that you haven’t seen. That’s what happened to me, when I was assigned the pleasure of spending a week tagging along with the insanely handsome and brutally sexy god of rock during the last leg of his band’s American tour.”
“You think I’m insanely handsome and brutally sexy?” Liam said, interrupted her.
“Sometimes,” Catherine replied. “Hush!”
‘The week would prove to be the single most adventurous week of my life, and as much as I would like to say it didn’t change me, it did. And, surprisingly, I think it changed Liam, too.”
“Changed the size of my cock, that’s for sure,” Liam quipped. “In fact, I think it’s growing again right now, luv!”
“Stop it! Shall I stop reading?” Catherine said, her voice filled with laughter.
“No, no, go on!”
“Full disclosure to readers: this journalist fell in love with Liam during this week and this article is entirely biased, but the events told are factual.”
“You included a disclosure?” Liam asked.
“Yes, I had to, it’s only ethical,” she replied.
“The events of the week unfolded into a perfect storm that ended in embezzlement, kidnapping, a violent stand-off, and topped off with a brand-new number one hit song, co-written by Liam Mercury and myself, performed by the Electric Horses, that raised millions of dollars for The Lennon Foundation, Ian and Liam Mercury’s children’s cancer research charity that is now leading the nation in donations to help find a cure.”
Liam grabbed the magazine from Catherine’s hand as she read.
“Stop! I’m getting to the best part!” Catherine protested.
“Unless you’re wrote about how skilled my cock is, I’m not interested in hearing about myself anymore!” Liam said, pulling Catherine into his arms and kissing her.
After being subjected to Callum’s deranged lunacy, the two of them had come together and written a song while Liam spent a week in the hospital. The band recorded it quickly, the label releasing it immediately as a surprise single, and the world had eaten it up.
It sold five million copies in the first day, and had gone on to sell millions every day since then. All the proceeds went to the charity, and they’d raised ten times the amount Callum had pissed away.
After learning Callum had abused Ally, Liam was making sure he was prosecuted to the full extent of the law. He was looking forward to seeing Callum locked away for a very long time.
“Wait, you have to at least skip to the end,” Catherine said, opening the magazine back up. “Read the last paragraph.”
“Oh, alright, if it means I can get you naked faster.”
“Just read!” she insisted.
“Fine!”
“After all was said and done, after my week was over, I’d learned new things about Liam, but also a few new things about myself. I learned that love finds a way, no matter how much you resist. I learned that no matter what life throws at you, it’s never what it seems. I learned that underneath the renegade exterior, there’s a softer side of Liam Mercury that most people never see. In spite of all the wild stories, the extravagant partying, the thousands of adoring fans, at the end of the day, Liam Mercury is just like the rest of us - a normal guy that’s going to be a father in about eight months.”
“What!” Liam cried out excitedly.
He looked over at Catherine, and saw her smiling eyes, tears running down her face as she nodded enthusiastically.
“You’re pregnant?” he asked.
“I am. I didn’t know how to tell you…”
“I’m going to be a father?” he yelled.
“Yes!” Catherine cried, as Liam’s lips crashed down on hers, his arms pulling her in tightly.
“I can’t believe this,” he said, breaking away, his voice cracking with emotion.
“I know it’s sudden, I know we just met, but I —-,”
“But nothing! This is bloody fantastic, luv!”
“You’re happy?”
“Happy? I’m fuckin’ ecstatic!” His eyes lit up with excitement.
“Wait here!” he said, leaving her alone on the bed and disappearing into his closet.
“Liam, what are you doing?” Catherine called.
“Just wait!”
A moment later, he walked back in the bedroom and climbed back on the bed with her. He brought his hand from behind his back, and revealed a tiny black box. He opened it slowly, and the biggest, brightest, shiniest diamond she’d ever seen shined back at her.
“What is that?” she squealed.
“Catherine, luv, there’s only one thing in the whole world that could make this day better. Please say you’ll marry me.”
“Yes!” she cried, as he jumped off the bed and picked her up, twirling her around in his arms, kissing her as best he could through the huge smile on their faces.
“I love you, Catherine,” he whispered, setting her back down gently.
“I love you, too,” she replied, her eyes shining with happiness.
“Now, darling, be a good girl and drop those knickers…” he whispered.
Keep going! You just finished ROCK HARD but I’ve still got several more special bonus surprises! Turn the page for ILLICIT BEHAVIOR!
-Nikki Wild