His Pretend Maid

Chapter 4

December 22, 2017

She took the train back to London. Her time off started the morning she arrived. After dropping her bags off at her flat, she headed to the O2 arena to meet up with Liam. Her boyfriend and his bandmates were headlining the annual holiday concert benefitting various children’s charities.

Pulling into the parking lot, she dialed his number while maneuvering her car into a space. “Hey Popstar, I just got here and parking. Where do I go?”

“Just follow the side of the building until you come to the back of the arena. I’ll send our security guard, Paul to meet you.” He said out of breath. “Hey Megs?”

Hearing the loud roar, she looked to her left to see girls standing behind barricades with signs professing their love for the boys. “Yeah Park?”

“I’m really glad you’re here. The boys are angry at me.” He confessed.

Laughing loudly, she found herself at the back of the arena. “Why are they angry at you?”

“Because I’ve been bouncing around all morning singing Christmas songs at the top of my lungs.” He chuckled.

She took a moment to envision that actually happening. “Did anyone get footage?”

“Ugh . . . Kilorn might have and Niko too.” He smiled. “They knew you’d want to see what kind of dork your boyfriend is.”

Seeing a door open and a tall, bulky man step out, she smiled. “I think Paul has spotted me. See you in a bit.”

Disconnecting the call, she grinned at the man. “Are you the infamous Paul I’ve heard so much about?”

“Yes I am. Are you Megs or otherwise known as Pain-In-The-Butt Number One’s girlfriend?” Paul asked reaching out to give the girl a hug.

Feeling the warmth of his hug, she nodded. “That I am. I apologize for anything he has done in my absence.”

“Oh you can stay around. I’m going to like having you around,” Paul said happily holding open the door for her. “He was dancing around like an i***t singing Christmas tunes this morning. I blame Kilorn for bringing him coffee.”

Rolling her eyes, she giggled. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh it’s how he always is. We tend to roll with it.” Paul paused. “I will say that I’ve never seen that boy happier than when he came back from seeing you. Those five boys are like sons to me and all I ask is that you don’t hurt him.”

She smiled and nodded. “Liam and I have had many conversations about this. Our careers are similar in the fact that that we are so busy during the day but we are both committed to making this work.”

“That’s all I ask.” Paul chuckled, Megs following him through the maze of hallways. “When Liam told us about you being a bombardier, this isn’t what I envisioned.”

She wasn’t surprised to hear those words tumble out of his mouth. Most people were surprised to see how tiny she was when they learned of her career choice. “And what did you envision exactly?”

“I’m not too sure but definitely not this little 5’3 girl with such a big personality.” He chuckled as she mocked glare in his direction.

Stopping outside the boys’ dressing room she stomped her foot. “Dammit I’m 5’4 ½ . . . get it right!”

“Uh oh someone questioned Meghan's height!” She heard Liam exclaim as the dressing room was thrown open. Her face lit up with a smile seeing her boyfriend standing in front of her. He was dressed in jeans with a navy blue baseball tee.

He reached forward and pulled her into a bone crushing hug lifting her off the floor before she could say a word. “You are a sight for sore eyes pretty girl. How was your trip back?”

“Good, no hiccups. Train was more crowded due to the holidays.” She smiled. “You have crazy fans outside all ready . . . it’s really cold out. They’re nuts!”

“They’re passionate and dedicated . . . not nuts!” He grinned before leaning down and kissing her. Her arms rounded around his neck as he deepened the kiss.

“Geez don’t eat her face off Tommo before we get the opportunity to meet her.” An unfamiliar voice cheekily said behind them.

Pulling back, a blush crept over her cheeks, the four unfamiliar boys grinning at the couple. “I was just telling her hello.”

“Uh huh . . . that the new way of exchanging hellos?” One of the boys joked as she moved closer to Liam for protection.

Liam looked at her with a smile. “And now you’re embarrassing her. Babe, these four lunatics are my best friends. Takeshi, he’s the normal one; Niko is Irish; Gab is the quiet one and Kilorn is the other half of Larry Stylinson. Guys, this is Meghan or Megs.”

“It’s very nice to meet you Megs. Lou hasn’t shut up about you for the past two weeks,” Takeshi started. “We are all pretty impressed by you.”

She smiled already liking the boys. “It’s just a hunk of metal I stare at every day.” Liam laughed at her description of the bomber.

“Hunk of Metal? The bombers are amazing!” Kilorn and Niko exclaimed, causing her to jump at the volume of their voices.

“And for you to be the lead engineer . . . you must have some incredible stories,” Gab added.

Liam chuckled at his friends essentially fangirling at his girlfriend’s job. “Just wait until you’re standing in front of one or even flying one.”

“You can fly them too?” She had to laugh at the boys' excitement. Turning to her boyfriend, she motioned to the other four. “What exactly did you tell them?”

“Just that you worked on the bombers and you did a fair amount of traveling with your job.” He smirked. “Worried I talked you up too much to the boys?”

Her eyes went widened with realization. “No but I didn’t know how much you told them.”

Megs spent the following 45 minutes answer questions the boys threw at her. Liam had the biggest grin on his face watching his girlfriend gush about the ‘hunk of metal’ as she called it. Somehow he fell more in love with her as she sat and talked about her passion.

The boys all disappeared from the room. Megs smiled at her boyfriend brightly. “Hi.”

“Hi love. I’m glad you’re here.” Liam said standing from the couch. “I’ve got some other people I want you to meet if you’re up for it.”

Nodding, she took his hand allowing him to pull her from the couch and leading her from the room. “It’s like a small army back here with the number of people.”

“This isn’t anything yet. Just wait until right before show time.” He paused. “That’s when things get really crazy.”

Megs’s eyes widened as they walked through the corridors. “How do you know what you need to do at all the time? I mean, with the production and craziness of this, is it insane to be constantly on time with everything?"

“Paul . . . he’s our ‘dad’ on tour and he legit tells us when and where we need to be.” Liam paused at a door. “I’m going to apologize now for anything that may be said in here.”

She was confused. “It’s catering . . . what could be the worst that can happen?”

“It’s not what will happen; it’s who is behind these doors that will reveal stuff, awful stuff.” Liam, a shiver ran down his back thinking about the possibilities, pushing open the door.

Liam led her into the room that held several tables, more than a few filled with people eating. He led her over to a table where three women were sitting with a couple of younger children eating cupcakes. “Well there he is. We were wondering when you were going to show up. The rest of the boys were in here earlier.”

“I was spending some time with this girl.” He grinned looking over at her. “This is Megs. Megs, that’s my mum, Jay, my sisters Lottie, Fizzy, Daisy and Phoebe; and Kilorn’s mum, Anne and his sister Gemma.”

Feeling the nerves kick in, she could have killed Liam for not giving her proper warning about meeting his mum and sisters. Suddenly, she felt the need to impress the one woman who sealed her fate with Liam. “We’ve heard nothing but great things from Liam. He’s a tough nut to c***k about you, dearie.”

“Liam wouldn’t stop talking about you as well. It’s very nice to meet you.” Being pulled into a hug, Megs couldn’t wipe the smile off her face at Liam’ mum's words.

Watching his mum and girlfriend interact, the knot of nerves in Liam' stomach disappeared. He was nervous for Megs to meet his family but he knew if he told Megs about it beforehand, she would be impossible with nerves.

“Liam didn’t tell me you all were going to be here,” Megs said knocking him out of his thoughts.

All eyes turned to him as he held up his hands. “I think I hear the boys calling for sound check.”

“Chicken!” Megs yelled after him as she turned back to the strong female influence. “So where were we?”

Jay looked at her son’s girlfriend with a smile. “Liam didn’t tell us much about you. How about you fill in the gaps?”

“Well . . . not sure what he told you but I’m with the British Army as a bombardier. I live primarily up in Hampshire but have a flat in London. I love the theatre and autumn nights.” She paused. “Anything you want to know? I’m a pretty open book.”

Anne smiled liking the girl all ready. “What about family? Do you have any siblings?”

“I have three older brothers and a younger sister. My parents have been married 37 years and are still in love as the day they got married.” Megs laughed. “There hasn’t been a calm day since the twins were born.”

Gemma laughed. “I sense there was never a dull day in your house growing up.”

“Calm houses are overrated.” Megs laughed. “The only calm days were when my parents would send the boys to summer camp leaving just me and my sister at home.”

The women fell into an easy conversation, Jay trading stories of when Liam was a child. By the time the boys returned, Megs had an arsenal of stories to embarrass her love with.

“What are we discussing here, ladies? How to knit tea towels?” Kilorn asked taking a seat next to his mum with a cheeky grin.

Anne swatted her son as he laughed. “No . . . just filling poor Megs in on the craziness of One Direction. Jay has been swapping baby stories of Liam though so I’d be careful not to make her angry.”

“Mum!” Liam’ cheeks turned a nice rosy pink at the mention of baby stories. “You’re supposed to wait until a few months in for those to come out.”

"I'm sure my family will bring out the baby stories if you ever meet them." Megs smirked watching her boyfriend perk up at the thought.

He c****d an eyebrow in her direction. "If I ever meet them?"

"Oh you know just in case another man comes along to tickle my fancy." Megs teased.

"Like me madam?" Kilorn slide up besides her with a grin on his face.

Giving him an uninterested look, Megs shook her head. "I don't mess around with boys who go through way too many girls to count. No thank you!"

"Oh you are staying - I don't care what Liam says. You're part of the family!" Gemma exclaimed causing Megs to grin. "Any girl that calls my brother out like that is ace in my book!"

Liam pulled her closer kissing her forehead. "What are you sucking up for Popstar? Guilty of something?"

The women around the table busted into giggles at the little five foot four and a half inches girl who had just put two of the biggest pop stars in their place.

"No no I ugh ..." Liam stutter causing the ladies to fall to giggles again.

Megs saluted in his direction. "That's what I thought Park."

Liam sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry Damsel. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"That's a loaded question. You sure you want to give me that power Pookie?" Megs smirked.

Liam' eyes went wide at the nickname. "I thought we agreed on no more nicknames, Soldier!"

"That was you agreeing and me just nodding my head but my fingers were crossed so it voided the agreement." Megs bit her lip, fighting a smile from appearing on her face.

Shaking his head, Liam mumbled under his breath. "Women!"

"What was that darling baby boy?" Jay asked grinning at her son.

Throwing his arms up, Liam shook his head at the females in his life. "I can't win!!"

"Better to learn that now than five years down the line!"

The women laughed causing Kilorn and Liam to shake their heads. Women - can't live with them; can't live without them.

7:45pm

Standing out in the hallway was the first moment Megs had to herself. The afternoon had been spent hanging out with everyone, them getting to know her and vice versa. By the time the boys left to get ready for the concert, Megs had gained four new brothers and five new sisters in Liam' sisters and Gemma.

She also had the pleasure of meeting the other One Direction girlfriends. Scarlett was with Kilorn and managed to keep the cheeky lad in check. She was a Physical Therapist at the local hospital and had been dating Kilorn the past year and a half.

Perrie and Gab had married in 2014 and had a daughter, Poppy Elisabeth, who had just turned a year old. She was the apple of her father's eyes. She was wobbling around backstage, staring at everybody with her big, dark eyes that were the exact copy of her dad’s.

Niko had Tricia, the childhood friend he finally coughed up the guts to ask out in 2014. Megs found out through Liam that Niko would be asking her to marry him in the upcoming weeks. She was a photographer for the local paper and wasn't found without her camera swung around her neck. Tricia had a four-year old daughter, Mollie Anne, from a previous relationship who Niko came to love as his own too.

And Takeshi - dear, dear Takeshi had gotten back together with Danielle in 2015. They were engaged and planning their wedding for the upcoming year.

Smiling at the hustle and bustle surrounding her, Megs wondered how everything went so smoothly. You would think it would be horrendous mayhem but there was a sense to the madness, a kind of feeling that told Megs all of the pieces she saw in front of her fit together perfectly.

"You ok?"

Perrie came up behind Megs with a happy Poppy in her arms. "A little dazed but hanging in there. Hi pretty girl."

"Megs!" Poppy warbled, and while the toddler was barely able to speak full sentences yet, Megs nodded at the little child like they were having a serious conversation.

Perrie smiled. "I think she's in awe of you. She's not used to sharing her Uncle Liam."

"Liam couldn't stop talking about her. He's enamored with her as she is with him." Megs grinned. "You can keep him Miss Poppy."

Perrie hesitated. "Hey Megs?"

"Yes?"

Perrie liked the woman in front of her but she was protective of Liam. After the breakup with Eleanor, Liam had gone into a dark depression. He was miserable and if it wasn't for Perrie, Tricia, and Danielle he wouldn't - it was too painful for Perrie to imagine.

"Just promise me you'll be patient with Liam." She paused. "I'm not sure how much he's told you but a couple of years ago Liam was in a bad place and the boys along with me don't ever want to see him slip back to that."

Megs nodded. She knew some of Liam' past but he hadn't gotten into too much details. "I promise. I've been burned in the past and the last thing I want is to hurt him."

Pulling the girl into a hug, Perrie grinned. "All right, I've said my peace now we can boogie all night!"

Danielle, Tricia, Mollie, and Scarlett joined the two in the hallway, falling into easy conversation. Soon the hallway became more crowded with the boys and their families. Liam spotted her with a grin tugging her over to stand near his family.

Paul yelled for the crowd to gather round. A prayer was said followed by hugs. Paul led the boys towards the stage as additional guards led everyone to their seats. Megs's eyes were wide taking in the sheer scene of the O2. Girls screamed, the arena going black as a video played on the screen.

A nervous pit filled Megs's stomach as the video played. Scarlett and Danielle both lopped their arms through Megs's, the screams of the girls grew louder. In the front of the suite, Mollie was bouncing along to the intro with a massive grin on her face.

The sound when the boys finally busted on stage was something Megs would never forget. The amazement and grin on her face matched the other four girls to her left and right. From the first note, Megs fell more in love with her man. The grin on his face caused the one on hers to grow.

"All right so we are going to get serious for a minute." Kilorn spoke taking a moment to catch his breath. "It's a special night for all of us. All of our families are here celebrating with us tonight."

All of the boys looked up to the suite waving happily. "This next song is for them. We love you all."

The opening chords for "Don't Forget Where You Belong" started. Megs moved from beside the girls to where Jay stood, linking arms with her. Jay grinned at the girl that had captured her son's heart. She couldn't be happier for Megs and Liam. "Thank you."

"For what?" Leaning in close to Jay, Megs looked puzzled.

Jay glanced at the stage, before letting her eyes drift to the amazing girl in front of her. "For being here for Liam, for making him happy. I know it's not easy with his or your job but you are absolutely amazing for him and I couldn't be happier you two are together."

"I would never hurt your son." Swallowing the knot in her throat, Megs green eyes glistened. "He means too much to me and your support means more than you'll ever know."

Pulling her into a hug, Jay laughed. "Anyone who can put Liam in his place is ace in my book."

Turning her attention back to the concert, Megs felt at peace. She couldn't imagine being anywhere else but at the O2 arena.

11:00pm

Being ushered backstage, Megs couldn't get over the past two hours. She had gotten to know the regular version of Liam Park. But for her to see the celebrity and onstage presence he is was different; not bad, just different.

The families had been shown a room where they could gather until the boys finished their meet and greet with some fans. A yawn escaped her mouth causing the girls to giggle. "You going to be ok?"

"I think so. I'm not used to being up this late," Megs admitted.

Danielle and Kate just laughed. "Early bedtime up at base?"

"I'm typically in bed by 9 if I'm not working a 24 hour shift."

Both girls grimaced, Dani shaking her head. "That sounds awful. How often does that happen?"

"Depends on the week but once or twice. I had three this week due to the holidays." She smiled. "Candy Crush comes in handy during those shifts. And it helps to have a boy who has as much of a screwed up schedule as I do."

They all laughed. Their attention was diverted to the door being thrown open. Five tired boys piled in, each with a grin on his face. They greeted their families first. The girls walked over to their respective partners, leaving Megs rooted where she was. Liam threw a look in her direction causing her smile.

Slowly walking over to join him, she slipped her hand into his, giving it a squeeze. He never stopped his conversation with his mom and sisters. Giving hugs to his family, Liam smiled watching them leave turning to Megs. "Hi love."

"Hi Popstar!"

Pulling her into a hug, he relished the feeling of her in his arms. "How was the show?"

"Good. It was kind of weird to see you on the stage. It was a different side that I hadn't seen before." Megs pushed loose strands of his hair off his face, planting a kiss on his lips. "I loved it. You looked like you were having the time of your life up on that stage."

He laughed. "It's always a good time up on stage. But the most important question is, did you enjoy it?"

"Surprisingly I did." She teased. "I had a lovely time and danced around with the girls. And your mom and I had a talk."

His eyes lit up at the talk between her and his mom. "What did you two talk about?"

"She couldn't be happier we are dating. She said that anyone who can put you in place is ace in her book." Megs laughed. "And she thanked me."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"Making you happy."

Smiling, Liam nodded. "You make me so incredibly happy Soldier. I don't know what I would do if you weren't around." He paused. "Promise me you'll never leave."

"You have my word, Park." She smiled. "As long as you promise the same, Pooks."

Placing a kiss on her lips, Liam sighed. He had found his home in the girl that was currently in his arms. And he never wanted to be anywhere else.