Disconnected

by Bethany Daniel

  "Well, I have to say, it's the best damn babysitting job ever." I wink at her and laugh when she shoves me.

  "You are a mess, Liam Warren."

  "But I'm all your mess, Mrs. Warren," I whisper before kissing her again.

  "Mmm...that you are."

  Chapter 25

  "So, what are the plans for today?" Katy asks as she puts her chin in her hand.

  "I need to talk with Scott, but I was thinking once Krista's cleared of any wrongdoing maybe we could all get the first flight out to the coast. And then, if you’re willing, I thought we could discuss plans for that second wedding you talked about? Unless that was medicine induced thoughts...?” I ask her warily.

  "It wasn't. I would love to plan it. But don't we kind of need to wait to see if Scott really plans on, you know..." she points to her bare ring finger, "before doing much planning about that?"

  I smile at Katy. She has no idea that Scott and I have some big things planned for her and Krista. I actually bought Katy a new ring four years ago before she left; I planned on giving it to her on our anniversary, but I never got the chance, all this time it's been locked away, just waiting until I could finally put it on her hand, and now I will. I have a surprise set up for her after her doctor appointment this afternoon, and I happen to know Scott bought a ring for Krista when he got back to L.A.

  "Don't worry about that, babe. I'll get us an on-the-beach hotel away from the public eye, and maybe we can just have someone bring in racks of wedding dresses or something."

  "Uh, no, if we're going dress shopping, we're going to get the full experience--stepping in front of those huge mirrors and trying on thirty different dresses before getting the perfect one. You know every little girls dream." She smirks at me. I know she hates getting dressed up. I think I've seen her in a dress maybe three or four times our whole lives, and she had to be forced to put those on.

  I laugh and kiss her forehead. "Since I made you miss out on that dream the last time around, I'll let you live it up this time, baby."

  "I really don't want a Hollywood affair though, Liam, just our closest friends and family and a good day. That's all I want."

  My thoughts exactly, “I can do that, and maybe some surprises along the way, too." I smile at her teasingly. Katy raises an eyebrow at me but just smiles before making her way into the other room.

  While she goes to the doctor later, I have some things to set up. Thank God for Theo. He's the owner of the theater I used to work in and he has agreed to help me set up a proposal. I know technically we've already agreed to do a vow renewal, but I want to do this right.

  The last time I proposed, we were sitting out on my little beat up truck after we went to a movie the week before we graduated high school. We were parked down by the lake and just listening to the radio. Our song came on and when I looked at her, I knew I wanted to have a million more of those moments, just us, together.

  So I turned to her and took her hand in mine, and said, "Marry me, Katy. Right after graduation is done, let's just go. We'll drive to Vegas, find one of those little chapels and get married."

  She laughed at first, but when she saw I was serious she fully turned towards me and kissed me and said, "Yes, I will marry you. Even if it's in a cheesy little white chapel in Vegas with an Elvis Impersonator, because I love you, Liam Warren, and you know what?"

  "What's that?" I asked, pulling her against me.

  "I think Katy Warren has a nice ring to it." She grinned before kissing me and I smiled down at her.

  "I couldn't agree more."

  I shake myself out of the memory, looking around to make sure Katy isn't in ear shot before dialing Theo's number.

  "Boulder City Theater Group, Theo speaking."

  "Hey Theo, its Liam, is everything all good to go?"

  "It sure is. The stage has every color of flower you requested, and a table with fancy linens is all set up. I hope it all goes according to plan."

  I smile. "I do, too. I think it's going to be a big surprise." I look down at my watch. "We'll be there in a few hours."

  "I'll be here. Talk to you later." He hangs up and I take a deep breath.

  I don't know why I feel nervous about this. It's not like I'm worried about her saying no, but I'm not one to just lay everything out like I want to with Katy. I love her more than anything, and it's about time I proved it.

  Chapter 26

  After Katy's appointment, I help her to the car and open her car door for her.

  "So, what do you want to do now?” I ask, linking my hand with hers.

  "I really don't want to go back to my parents’ house.” She frowns, looking out the window, and I grin. Good, that'll make this even easier to pull off.

  "I know somewhere we can go."

  "And that would be?"

  "You'll see." I smile over at her before looking behind me to back out of the parking spot.

  I start the drive down roads that I used to be able to drive mindlessly. These roads take us to the place that changed my life both for the better and for the worse.

  "We're going to the theater, aren't we?" Katy asks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

  "We are." I look at her out of the corner of my eye.

  She smiles over at me and turns to look out the window the rest of the drive.

  Once we arrive at the theater, I drive around the back and we are greeted by Theo.

  "So nice to see you again, Theo,” I smile, reaching my hand out and shaking his.

  "I can't believe my eyes to see Katy beside you again." Theo smiles before shaking Katy's hand.

  She smiles back at him, "Hello again, Theo."

  Theo motions for us to walk ahead of him, and I pull Katy behind me as we start walking down the hall. As we walk, I eye different posters that are hanging on the wall and smile when I see a picture of myself in what ended up being my greatest theater performance--the one that led to Excite discovering me.

  We come to a large set of doors and I squeeze Katy's hand. "This is one of my surprises." I grin before pulling her into the room, and we both take in the setup on the stage. Theo did well.

  I pull Katy up the side stairs and onto a satin cushioned chair before taking a deep breath and walking around to each bouquet, plucking a different colored rose to create my own new bouquet. I walk back over to Katy and drop to one knee, presenting the flowers to her. She watches me curiously as she takes them from me.

  "Katy, I know that I royally screwed up four years ago. This is the very stage I gave that grand performance on; the one that got me noticed by Excite and turned my world--our world--upside down. I used to think that that was my biggest moment, my greatest accomplishment. But I was wrong, and do you know why?"

  She shakes her head and I can see many different emotions swirling in her eyes. "Why?"

  "Because you are my greatest accomplishment, Katy, without you, I wouldn't have ever had the confidence to pursue this life. You pushed me to come here and audition that first time. And then after we got married, everything happened so fast and I forgot to look at the person beside me, instead of those all around me. I love you so much, Katy."

  She takes a breath and reaches for my hand. "I love you, too."

  I reach into my pocket and pull out the little black box that holds the princess cut diamond ring I bought for her so long ago. "Katelyn Marie Warren, will you do me the honor of marrying me again?"

  She laughs and pulls me towards her, kissing me. "Yes!"

  I grin, pulling her up out of the chair and spin her around. "I can't wait to see you in a wedding dress," I whisper against her ear.

  She laughs, wiping tears out of her eyes. "This was definitely a good surprise."

  "Just don't expect jewelry with every surprise, ok?” I smirk down at her.

  "Wouldn't dream of it," She smiles, kissing me again.

  We hear the door creak open and look over to see Theo peeking inside. He smiles when he sees us wrapped up in each other.

  "I take it you
said yes again, Ms. Katy?" He smiles over at her.

  She nods, returning his smile. "Yes sir, I did." She looks down at her ring.

  "I'm very happy to hear it, and to have been a part of it."

  "Thank you, Theo, for everything you did back when I was just trying to be good on stage, and for today. I really appreciate it."

  He bows slightly, "Of course. You're our greatest success story. Maybe the next time you're in town you could come speak with our younger groups, show them that it really can happen for anyone."

  "I'd be happy to." I squeeze Katy's hand and we start making our way off stage, "Oh, hey, Theo?"

  "M-hm?"

  "Look for a donation; I know that big production is coming up."

  He smiles over at me and reaches his hand out. "Thank you, Liam, it really means a lot that you remember your roots."

  I look over at Katy and nod. "I'm not going to forget them again."

  Chapter 27

  The whole drive back to the Parker's house our hands are entwined tightly and we both just keep laughing at each other. When we stop in the driveway, I look down at Katy's new ring and grin. "I love you, baby, ready to go face the mini-paparazzi in there?" I tease, looking at the front door.

  She laughs, opening the door. "Let's just hope my mom doesn't have her camera charged and ready. Otherwise it will be like the paparazzi."

  We walk hand-in-hand inside and are hit by the smell of spices in the air. Katy drags me into the kitchen, where we see Krista and Scott helping Mrs. Parker cut up veggies and stirring things on the stove.

  "Hey, how did things go?" Katy asks, letting go of me and walking towards Krista.

  "Good. They made me go over every single detail...again. And took notes on every little thing. I've pretty much been cleared of doing anything wrong. And we have permission to leave the city as long as they have our contact info!"

  "Oh, that's great!" Katy grins, hugging her.

  Before Katy even pulls away all the way, Krista grabs her left hand with wide eyes. "Oh my God, what is that?"

  Katy smiles shyly as I walk over, wrapping my arm around her waist.

  "He re-proposed, so of course I said yes!"

  Krista squeals high enough to make me flinch and grabs Katy in a tight hug before appraising the ring again. "Nice job, Warren."

  I smile at her and shrug. "Thanks."

  Mrs. Parker walks over and takes Katy into her arms. “Oh Katelyn, I’m so happy for you two. I always knew that somehow you would work it all out." She smiles before turning and giving me a stern look. “Liam Warren, if you hurt her again, I can’t promise that Phil or Derek won’t hurt you."

  “Yes ma’am. I don’t plan on ever being that stupid again.”

  “That’s real good to hear, son.” Mr. Parker walks up behind me, slapping me hard on the back; I gulp before looking him in the eye. He just smiles at me before turning and hugging Katy.

  "Congrats, man." Scott puts his hand up to high five, “Sounds like we’ve got some celebrating to do!”

  "That we do, man, but I think the celebrating can wait 'till we make it to that getaway. I want to be as far from prying eyes and cameras as possible."

  "I'm on it," he says, pulling out his phone and walking into the other room to begin getting everything set in motion.

  "Ok, Kate, you have to spill the proposal details!" Krista grabs her arm and pulls her over to the couch, and I shake my head, going after Scott.

  He sits on his computer, clicking through one page after another, and I plop down next to him in one of the hard wooden chairs. "What are you doing?"

  "I got everything booked. Flights are scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, but what I'm doing now," he lowers his voice, looking towards the entryway for anyone nearby, "is seeing if there are some special musicians, like violinists or something, for the proposal. I want to set up a fancy dinner, have some stylists come along with us and get the girls dolled up and all that." He shrugs. "I want it all to be perfect. Krista deserves it, and after you going all out, I really have to!" he teases.

  I laugh and shake my head. "Good luck man. I don't think you have anything to worry about, though. I bet you could propose in grungy workout clothes and she'd still say yes."

  He smiles, shrugging his shoulders. "I can only hope, but I want to get it all set up right."

  I nod and stand up, patting his shoulder before walking back to the dining room where Katy and Krista are leaning towards each other and whispering.

  "What are you two whispering about?"

  "Just girly chat," Krista grins. "So did Scott get everything set?"

  "He did. We're leaving early tomorrow afternoon."

  "And where are we going?" Katy asks, raising her eyebrows.

  "That's a surprise." I wink and laugh at their now frowning faces.

  "Another surprise?" Katy asks.

  "M-hmm, just remember I said not to expect jewelry with every surprise." I smirk at her and kiss her forehead before getting up and going back to check on Scott's researching progress.

  He's barely told me about the violinist he's hired when the girls come into the room. He scrambles to close the window on the computer screen before Krista can see it.

  I snicker at him and walk over to Katy, who slips her hand into mine. "Krista's going to ask Scott, but I thought I'd ask you, too...can I get at least a tiny hint of where we're going?” she pouts up at me.

  "No. And put that lip back up." I lean down to kiss her. "Let us surprise you."

  "But we need to know what to pack. Do we need swimsuits?"

  I narrow my eyes, thinking of those pictures of them on the beach splashed all over the internet, "No bikinis in public, ever again. I don't want anyone else to see what's for my eyes only, Katy."

  She sighs, rolling her eyes at me. "Yeah, I kind of figured that. What should we pack, then?"

  "Hmmm. T-shirts, tank tops, shorts, flip flops. Ok, and swimsuits, but they are to be worn under a tank top and swim shorts.” I point my finger at her. "The last thing I want is some blown up picture of you for perverted teenage boys to hang on their walls being in a magazine somewhere."

  "Yes, sir," She mock salutes before kissing me. "Guess I better get packing then. Should I put your bag together, too?”

  "Nah, I'll get my stuff thrown together. Love you.”

  "Love you, too." She stands on her tip toes to kiss me before turning towards Krista and Scott on the couch, where Krista is sitting on his lap giggling.

  "Want to come pack up with me, Kris?” Katy asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

  "Ok. Love you, Scotty." Krista kisses him, wrapping her arms around his neck, then stands and waves at him.

  "Scotty?" both Katy and I ask.

  Krista links arms with Katy and walks out, and I look at a blushing Scott, crossing my arms.

  "Scotty? Really?" I bust out laughing.

  Scott grabs the closest object, a pen, and chucks it at me. I just duck and keep laughing.

  "Shut up, dude." He narrows his eyes at me. "So we have nicknames for each other, so what?"

  I put my hands up in surrender, "Nothing, nothing, sorry. I just never pictured you letting a girl call you Scotty."

  He shakes his head. "She's not just some girl and you know it." He sighs, looking in the direction the girls just left. "No one else is allowed to call me that, though," he says, giving me a pointed look.

  "I wouldn't dare," I smirk, shaking my head. "I can just imagine all your adoring fans now. Scotty! Scotty, look over here!" I start laughing again.

  He glares, throwing another pen at me that actually hits me in the head this time.

  "Ok, ok, I'll stop! I promise."

  "Good. What, you and Kate don't have nicknames for each other?"

  I shake my head, leaning against the wall. "Not really. I think because we've been around each other since we were kids the cutesiest names we came up with were Baby or Babe. We're not that creative with it."

  It's Scott's turn to laugh, "Obviously. Th
ink we should go help the girls pack?"

  "Probably."

  We make our way down the hall and walk in on the tail end of the girls' conversation.

  "I want to see about being a therapist or something along those lines. If we end up in L.A., I have a feeling our degrees will get put to good use with all the celebrities and their train wrecks," Katy says, and I raise an eyebrow, wondering just what they were talking about that brought all that around.

  "Hey! I resent that," Scott says, wrapping his arms around Krista. "I'm a celebrity and I am not a train wreck."

  Krista smiles up at him, putting her hand on his cheek. "Yes, sweetheart, but have you looked around at your fellow Hollywood hotties? Most of them are in and out of rehab."

  "Point taken,” he says, shrugging. "Just remember, Liam and I are the 'Golden Boys' and we have a reputation to uphold.”

  "What were you girls talking about?" I ask, pulling Katy closer to me.

  "Just talking about how our degrees in Psychology will probably go far if we were to work in L.A., what with all the celebrity craziness.”

  "You know babe, you won't have to work at all. I make plenty," I tell her firmly.

  She rolls her eyes at me. "Yes, so you've told me. But I didn't work my butt off the last 4 years to throw it away and sit at home while you jet around for movie after movie. I need a purpose, too."

  I give her a look and motion for Scott to get him and Krista out of the room. It's time I got to have a real talk with Katy, especially concerning what happens once we get settled down again. I have some real hopes for the future, and I hope she shares them with me.

  "Hey baby, how about we go see what kind of DVD stash Kate's mom has?” Scott catches on and quickly pulls Krista out of the room, closing the door behind them.

  Katy crosses her arms defiantly and looks me in the eyes. "What?"

  I cross the room to her and pull her arms out so her hands are in mine. "I know we haven't had a chance to really discuss it yet, but I was thinking maybe after we get out the honeymoon phase again, we could...start a family."