Starr Destined (Starr Series) (28 page)

“Good job you noticed before you got in the bed,” I giggled.

“Don’t.  Just that thought makes me want to vomit,” Liam grimaced.

“Thing is, Liam, if you're serious about us being together long term, you're going to have to get used to Finny being around, because he’s part of my family.  You're both going to have to find a way to get on with each other - or at least tolerate each other enough to be civil.”  I kissed the end of his nose, as he tightened his grip around me.

“Okay, I hear what you're saying, and I promise I’ll do my very best to tolerate him and not overreact, however much he might try to provoke me.  I guess I can understand why he wants to be with you, and I appreciate that he has good taste.”

I never thought the day would come when I would see The Big
Guy serving up breakfast to me, Abbey and Finny, but that’s what he did.  Liam went off and made himself busy in the kitchen, while I tackled the task of getting Finny up and about.  Abbey had disappeared to get showered and dressed.

“What about the others - won’t they be wondering where you got to last night?”  I asked Finny, as I sat on the edge of the bed and handed him a mug of strong tea and a couple of Nurofen.  He leaned back against the headboard with his eyes closed, looking pale and drawn.

There were two other band members - Niall and Cian, who were both as wild as Finny, and the three boys were usually inseparable.

“Nah, they smooth talked some girls, used a bit of the old Irish charm, so they were otherwise o
ccupied, if you know what I mean.  And anyways, they know I can look after meself.” 

“London is a bit different to Kinsale, Finny.  Not everyone here is a mate, and if you go out wande
ring the streets drunk, there’s a fair chance you’ll get yourself mugged,” I lectured him.

“Stop with all the worrying shit, Sera.  Anyone’d think you cared,” he frowned.

“Of course I care.  You're part of my family, aren’t you?”  I smiled, as I squeezed his hand.

“But that’s as far as it goes for you, isn’t it?” he sighed, as he wove his fingers through mine.

“Yes, it is.  You’re just going to have to get used to the fact that I'm with Liam, so for my sake, please just try to get along with him?  And in any case, what kind of a mega famous rock star wants to be seen hanging around with an old childhood friend - it’s hardly the right kind of image is it?”  I poked him with my finger to try and lighten his mood as I grinned at him.

“True, there’ll be all those groupies desperate for my body, so I can hardly let them down can I?” he joked back. 

Thank God.  Finny hadn't sunk into the kind of morose, melancholy and depressed mood he often did following a heavy drinking session - he was even harder work when he was like that.

“Now, I suggest you have a shower, and I’ll get you some of Liam's clothes to change into.”

The mention of Liam's name made Finny scowl ferociously.

“No thanks.  I don't want anything of
his
,” he insisted.

“Oh grow up and don't be so juvenile.  And anyway, you really don't have any choice after sleeping in those clothes, because quite frankly you stink to high heaven.”  I wrinkled my nose up in disgust.

“Ha, you just want my sweaty T-shirt so you can sell it for a fortune on eBay when I'm famous,” he quipped.

“Yeah, of course, that’d be it,” I rolled my eyes at him.  “Now get in that shower, then come and have some breakfast to get yourself back in the land of the living again.”

Abbey raised her eyebrows at me as we watched Liam put a perfectly cooked full English breakfast in front of Finbarr, as we sat together round the table.  I just shrugged back.  We were both thinking the chances of that breakfast being thrown against the wall were at least fifty/fifty.

“Sera tells me you’re over here in London because you’ve managed to get a recording contract,” Liam opened the conversation, ignoring the filthy look Finny shot him.

“Yep,” Finny grunted.  I glared at him to behave himself, and after a minute or so, hunger won over his childish sulk, and he began stabbing at his food.  He was wearing a white T-shirt and grey track bottoms of Liam's, which I’d picked out for him as it didn't matter if they were baggy, seeing as Liam's clothes were bound to be big on Finny.

“Well, that’s really great, Finbarr.  So I’m assuming you have an agent - what percentage cut of any profits does he take?  And this contract - are there any restrictions about the type of music they want from your band?  How long are you tied into it?”  Liam fired the questions in his usual forthright manner as he came and sat with us.

“How the fuck should I know any of that shit?  The band got a recording contract - that’s all I need to know, isn’t it?”  Finny glared at him, virtually bristling with hostility.

“With all due respect, no, it isn’t.  You need to read the small print to make sure you're not being stitched up, or locked into something too restrictive or unsuitable.  For example, they might be planning to turn you into the next boy band, when maybe that’s the last thing you want.” 

Liam took a swig of his coffee as he calmly eyed Finny, and I realised he’d gone into professional mode as his way of dealing with him.  He was trying to offer constructive help to Finny, but naturally he was having none of it.

“What is this?  You think I'm some ignorant Irish tinker or something?  I'm not fucking stupid, you know,” he practically spat at Liam.

“That wasn’t what I was implying at all.  But I understand from Seraphina that you’re a musician rather than a businessman.  All I'm trying to say is that it’d only be too easy for an unscrupulous agent to take advantage of your talent for their own benefit rather than yours.”  Liam spelt it out.

“I think Liam's just trying to make sure this deal you’ve been offered isn’t any kind of a scam,” A
bbey piped up.  “You know, if something seems too good to be true, it usually is, that kind of thing.  If I were you, I’d get it checked out before you actually sign anything.”

“She’s right.  And I’d be more than happy to read the contract through, or get my legal team to check it out for you,” Liam offered.

“Let’s cut the crap here, shall we,
mate
?”  Finny said sarcastically.  “I don't like you, any more than you like me.  So why the fuck would you want to do that for my band?  Why are you offering to help?” he challenged Liam.  Abbey and I both swung our heads round to see how Liam was going to react.

“Whether or not we like each other is irrelevant.  Sera worries about you, because you’re part of her family.  And I really don't like to see her upset or worried, so for that reason, I’m willing to do an
ything I can to put her mind at rest, which includes helping you by vetting your agent and the proposed contract.  You can trust that any advice I'd give would genuinely be in your best interests, but of course it’s up to you whether or not you take up my offer, or take any advice I may give you.  But you should know that I fucking hate seeing anyone being ripped off.”

The two men stared at each other.  I’d kept out of things up to now, because I wanted them to work this out between them.  The fact that Liam was doing exactly as I'd asked by manning up and offe
ring to help like this was pretty amazing of him.  Now all I had to do was hope Finny could respond as constructively.  So I reached over and took his hand in mine.

“Liam may not be a musician like you, but trust me, he really does know what he’s talking about when it comes to things like the boring small print shit in contracts.  I really would be much happier if you’d let him check that side of things out, while you just concentrate on what you're so brilliant at - the music,” I pleaded.

“Okay,” Finny muttered.  “If that’s really what you want Sera, I don't suppose it can hurt.”

Hallelujah!

“Right, well the first thing to ask is if you’ve actually signed anything yet?”  Liam leaned forward on the table and steepled his fingers.

“No, we’re meant to be meeting today to formally sign up,” Finny replied.  “In fact now I think about it, Cian was supposed to be texting me about what time that was set up for.  Where’d you put me things, Sera?”

“Here.”  I got his phone from the worktop in the kitchen where I'd left it when I'd put his stinky clothes straight into the washing machine.

“Crap.  Cian’s been calling me and texting me.  Apparently, we’re all supposed to be at this meeting, and it’s in what…about half an hour.”  He glanced at his phone to check what the time was.  “Do you have the number of a firm I could call to get a taxi? Cian’ll kill me if I don't turn up.”

“Cian’s the sensible one - well, the most sensible out of the three of them,” I explained to Liam.

“Don't worry about calling a taxi,” Liam stated.  “Give me the address, and I’ll run you over there.  Then, on the way you can fill me in about exactly what it is you want out of this contract, and if it’s okay with you, I’ll sit in on this meeting and see how the reality of what they’re offering matches up to your expectations.”

Finny hesitated as he frowned at Liam.

“For fuck’s sake, Finbarr, you haven’t got time to mess around.  I thought you really wanted this contract, so let’s go shall we?”  Liam stood up and indicated the doorway.

“Okay, I guess I don't have much option if I don't want to screw this up for the band,” he finally agreed begrudgingly, as he stood up and headed for the doorway. 

I followed the pair of them out.

“This is so nice of you.  Thank you for making such an effort,” I whispered, as I stood on tiptoe to kiss Liam's cheek, while he was stood waiting by the door for Finny to gather up the rest of his things.

“Don't get the wrong idea, Sera.  I haven’t gone soft in the head, and Finbarr’s quite right - we can't stand each other.  But you know what they say. 
‘Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer still’. 
At least this way, I get to know exactly what’s going on with your hot-headed admirer,” he winked.

“Yeah, yeah, always the macho man.  But I know better - this is exactly how you’d act to look after Jamie, isn’t it?  In fact, I'd say it looks like Finny could become your surrogate baby brother to fill the gap Jamie’s left,” I laughed.

“Oh please, spare me the psycho babble,” Liam groaned.  “I’m just making sure Finbarr doesn't have any more excuses to come sniffing round you, looking for a shoulder to cry on.  That’s all.”

“You keep telling yourself that, Liam, but you should know that I love you for being such a good guy.”  I kissed his cheek again and put my arms around his chest to hug him.

“Whatever.  And I’ll make sure I’m back in time for our shopping trip this afternoon,” Liam smiled back at me, and it was the kind of smile that reached right into his deep blue eyes.

Despite Finny’s extremely pissy attitude with Liam, I was so proud of the way he spent time hammering things out to ensure the band got the kind of contract they wanted.  It hit me how much resolve Liam had had to call on to act in such a civilised way with Finny, when we were at The Dorchester black tie business event the following week. 

I was wearing the gorgeous Emilio Pucci black lace panelled dress Liam had bought me at Harvey Nicks.  In the end, he’d insisted on buying me two dresses, complete with accessories, when he couldn’t choose between this one, and a clingy black and green Stella McCartney number.

“It makes sense to get both, because there’s at least one other event I need you to come to in the next couple of weeks as well,” was his justification.

I had to admit I felt a million dollars in this dress, because it fitted like a second skin.  I absolutely loved that most of the back of the dress was made of beautiful lace, so I wore my hair in a curly up-do to show it off.  The dress wasn’t overly revealing, and yet it made me feel sexy and confident, especially with my new black Jimmy Choo heels.  The lace back of the dress meant I had to go bra less, so at least not having huge boobs meant I could get away with it.

It was just as well that I felt so groomed and confident, because as Liam finished introducing me to Hugh Wright - one of his closest business associates apparently - I spotted a familiar figure out of the corner of my eye and mentally groaned.

Tall, curvaceous, and blonde, there was no mistaking the gorgeous Kimberley.  She was on the arm of a much older man - I'd say he was probably in his late forties, maybe even early fifties,  a bit on the portly side, but still quite good looking, with dark wavy hair flecked with silver.  He looked very elegant in his well-cut dinner jacket, and he just wreaked of money.

Liam caught the direction of my gaze and frowned.

“That’s Martin Edwards, another associate of mine,” he said.  “I heard he was getting divorced from his wife, Maria.  Seems he’s already moving on,” he elaborated, as he stared at Kimberley.  I reco
gnised her dress as a Herve Leger black studded asymmetrical design, which looked amazing on her tall, statuesque figure.  She always had the effect of making me feel like a silly little girl compared to her, and now I wasn’t so sure going for a bra-less outfit had been such a good idea when I saw her fantastic cleavage in that dress, because I felt decidedly flat-chested compared to her.

“With
her
, of all people?”