Isabelle Rossi glanced up at the airport in front of her. The person next to her gave her hand a quick squeeze and brought it to his lips affectionately. “Don’t worry about it, beautiful. Everything’s gonna work out perfectly.” He winked. Sometimes his perfection scared the shit out of her. She took in a deep breath as they walked into the airport, pulling their luggage behind them.

“Brady! Hey man, how’s it going?” A large man approached the couple as soon as they walked towards check-in. Brady Robinson chuckled and shook hands with the man.

“It’s good,” Brady nodded politely. “How have you been? How’s everyone?” He asked and motioned towards a group of people not far behind the man.

“Good, good,” the man smiled and grinned a toothy grin in Isabelle’s direction. “This must be Isabelle.” He winked and put his hand out politely. Isabelle smiled back and shook his hand sweetly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Isabelle Rossi,” she introduced.

“Marcus,” the man nodded. He was completely blown away by this woman’s beauty. She had very tan skin with dark hair and dark, mysterious eyes. Her entire demeanor was professional and polite, yet absolutely lovely at the same time. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear after a moment, a bit embarrassed from having the attention all on her at once.

“Brady!” A tattooed man that Isabelle finally recognized stepped into the picture. “Man, how the fuck have you been?” He chuckled and hugged Brady with a manly hug.

“I’ve been great! How about you? Jesus, it’s been forever,” he chuckled. “Oh, Isabelle, this is AJ McLean.”

“Alex,” AJ corrected with a wink and shook her hand politely. Like Marcus, he was completely blown away. This girl was beautiful. Then again, she went along quite well with Brady. Brady Robinson was one of the most attractive men AJ would ever admit to laying eyes on. He was tall, dark and handsome. People swore he was a model of some kind, not a business man. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Nice to meet you,” Isabelle smiled sweetly after shaking his hand. “Um, is there a restroom somewhere around here?” She glanced around the lobby of the airport. Brady pointed to a back corner and she hurried off while he continued conversation with AJ. She really just wanted to get away from it all. Brady had been working with the Backstreet Boys during their Never Gone tour. He would help, business wise, with all the venues and sales of merchandise. He had talked Isabelle into getting a job with them, as well, to sell merchandise. She would be the Manager of Merch, as Johnny Wright called it, and would be the permanent person that traveled with them to help out. To start off the Unbreakable tour, she was headed with them to Europe. Brady thought this would work out best so the couple could remain together.

As soon as Isabelle rounded the corner towards the women’s restroom, she ran smack into a tall blonde. “Oh, sorry.” He muttered, completely unfazed until he saw her face. “Hello.” He grinned, wanting to get to know this girl.

“Oh, it’s my fault,” she laughed softly. Her laugh was captivating – along with her eyes and smile. “Oh! You’re Nick.” She grinned, recognizing him from a picture Brady had shown her before. Nick’s smile faded slightly when he realized she knew exactly who he was. Yet, he didn’t really care. A beauty like this didn’t really matter.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “And you are?” He tried to keep conversation going.

“Isabelle Rossi,” she put her hand out politely. “My boyfriend is Brady Robinson…we’re touring with you guys this time around. I’m in charge of merchandise.” She rambled off. Nick mentally slapped himself – Brady’s girlfriend?! He should have known this girl would be taken, by one of his friends, at that.

“It’s nice to meet you, Isabelle,” Nick winked flirtatiously, emitting a giggle from her perfectly shaped lips.

“You too, Nick,” she beamed. “Well, I’m going to use the restroom quickly before this plane takes off. Is it really like, a twenty-four hour flight?” She asked incredulously.

“Yep,” he nodded with a chuckle. “Something like that.”

She made a cute face before entering the restroom and Nick turned to walk back to the group of guys. He saw Brady chatting with the guys. How come all his friends ended up so lucky? Brian was married with a kid, Kevin was married with a kid, Howie was getting married and AJ was with someone he really thought a lot of. Granted, Nick didn’t believe in marriage whatsoever. He never wanted to commit to it because of the horror stories he experienced as a kid. He shrugged it off and tried to push the thought of Isabelle – the gorgeous woman he had just met – to the back of his mind.

“Hey Nick!” Brady exclaimed once Nick approached the group. Brady pulled Nick in for a quick manly hug and smiled. “How have you been, man?”

“Busy,” Nick nodded with a smile. “How about yourself? You still living out in LA?” He asked, trying to catch up. Nick and Brady had been pretty good friends. They were closest in age – Brady was 26 – so they had more in common.

Brady rolled his eyes. “Kinda. My girlfriend lives in North Carolina so I’ve been staying out there with her a lot.” He shrugged with a sigh. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Isabelle wasn’t in ear range. “I just don’t get it. She loves me enough to live with me in North Carolina, but there’s nothing I can do to get her to move to LA with me.”

Nick shrugged and glanced back towards the bathrooms. “Maybe she doesn’t want to,” he shrugged. “I’m not sure I’d pick up and move somewhere besides California or Florida if someone asked me to.” He threw in his two cents of information.

“Yeah, but that’s California and Florida! It’s like, who doesn’t want to live there, ya know?” Brady sighed. He saw his girlfriend was back on her way over and he quickly stopped chatting. “Here she comes.” He muttered and formed a smile over his lips. “Hey, beautiful. This is Nick Carter.” He introduced.

“We met,” she grinned but politely shook his hand. “Nice to officially meet you, though.”

Nick nodded and chuckled. Then, to answer Brady’s curious expression, he continued. “We ran into each other when I was on my way out of the bathroom and she was on her way in.” He explained.

“Oh!” Brady nodded with a smile. “That’s great that she’s met everyone now.” Brady beamed. “Isn’t she perfect? Absolutely beautiful.” He kissed her cheek affectionately. Isabelle rolled her eyes and pulled back from him a bit. “What? It’s the truth.”

The way she was acting, Nick almost got the impression that she didn’t want to be called beautiful, even though she was absolutely breathtaking. “Just stop.” She giggled but Nick could tell she was serious. Brady kissed her cheek one more time and then turned back to Marcus, completely avoiding the fact he had done something wrong. Isabelle caught Nick’s stare and smiled sheepishly, then turned to her cell phone for some kind of distraction. Nick bit on his bottom lip to turn away from the conversation and let it go. But something about this girl completely intrigued him. Her eyes were so mysterious and yet so full of love and joy and happiness. He couldn’t tell why she was so sad.

“Beautiful, we’re gonna make a quick run to the baggage claim before we go through security,” Brady said referring to him and Marcus. “If you guys get through security before we get back, I’ll just meet up with you at the terminal.” He kissed her sweetly.

“Kay,” Isabelle smiled up at him as he hurried off and the line for the security guard moved a little.

“How long have you and Brady been together?” Nick asked to try and make small talk, as well as get to know the girl a little better.

“Just about two months,” Isabelle answered with a soft sigh. “He’s kind of a friend of the family. My father was good friends with a man in the business department working for Jive management, and he met Brady through that. We started dating shortly after.” She explained. They hadn’t known each other long at all. Nick was surprised Brady was disappointed she wouldn’t move in with him already. They barely knew each other. Nick was definitely the ladies’ man, however he held off on the “living together” aspect of the relationship a bit longer than two months. He didn’t believe in marriage, or love for that matter.

“Wow, and you’re coming along on tour with us?” Nick chuckled, trying to sound playful.

Isabelle nodded, as if she had been thinking about that. “Brady and I really have a lot in common. My family encouraged me to go, so I figured I’d give it a shot.” She shrugged. She tucked her cell phone away in her pocket and smiled up at Nick again.

“That’s good,” Nick replied, trying to remain encouraging. “Besides, if you two get tired of each other, there are four of us to hang out with along the way.” He was hoping she’d decide to hang out with him more often than not. He already had the vibe that they could get along really well together.

“Beautiful, are you sure you’re comfortable?” Brady asked for almost the third time in the twenty minutes they had been sitting on the plane. Nick rolled his eyes. He wasn’t even the one being called ‘beautiful’ at the beginning of every statement, but it was already starting to get annoying. Nick knew from experience – with someone complimenting your looks every five seconds, it’s much harder to believe the compliments yourself.

“Brady, I’m fine,” Isabelle sighed heavily and closed her eyes to try and relax. She hated flying. The way it had worked out, all eight of them had been able to get first class – AJ, Marcus, Brian and Howie were in the first four seats of row one, then Brady and Isabelle were in the two seats along the left side of the plane in row two, with Nick and Q next to them.

“I just wanted to check because I know you’re kinda scared of flying,” he rubbed her hand comfortingly. “I just want to make sure you’re completely comfortable.” He smiled and kissed her softly. That caused a smile to erupt over her lips and she turned towards him.

“Thanks, I’m fine,” she assured him and turned back to face straight ahead. Nick watched her chest rise and fall as she sucked in a deep breath and couldn’t help but grin to himself.

“Hey Nick, would you mind switching seats with Brady for a minute? I need to talk to him about the venue setting for the show in Cologne,” Q tapped him on the shoulder and showed him the blue prints. Before every show they’d go over all the exits and back entrances. Brady had to know them all so he could talk to the venue management about it once they got there.

“Sure,” Nick shrugged. Was this fate? He stood up as Q got Brady’s attention and explained to him what he was trying to do. Brady climbed over Isabelle and then managed to plop down in Nick’s aisle seat as Nick climbed over Isabelle.

“Hi,” Isabelle smiled as he sat down and then looked straight ahead again.

“Hey,” Nick chuckled as he got situated. He fastened his seatbelt as the sign appeared over their heads. He watched the fear on her face return as the plane began to move. “Don’t worry about anything.” Nick touched her hand gently that was gripping the arm rest. “Trust me. I used to hate flying. But after touring with the guys for a while I kinda got used to it. It still freaks me out a little…but I promise it’s not that bad.” He winked. Isabelle smirked and licked her lips quickly, driving Nick insane.

“If it were up to me, we’d be taking a boat there,” she chuckled softly. “I’d much rather travel over the water than in the air. But, of course, everything that’s not quick and easy is irrational to Brady.”

“Dude, I’d love to take a boat to Europe,” Nick laughed, completely in awe that they had a love for the water in common. “It would take freaking forever…but it’d be so fun.”

“My family lives in Wilmington, North Carolina,” Isabelle nodded in response, beginning to loosen up a bit with the conversation. “I’ve lived there my whole life. My dad and brothers all have boats. I love the water more than anything else.” She beamed. She, too, was quite surprised about the connection she and Nick had. She figured he’d be a fun person to hang out with on this tour.

“That’s amazing,” Nick smiled. He knew they were reaching take off, so he wanted to hold her in the conversation so she wouldn’t get too scared. “I have a place in Tampa as well as in LA, and I have boats in both places. Hell, I even have a boat off my friend’s dock in Miami.” He chuckled.

“You like Florida?” She asked as she took a sip from her water bottle. I nodded with a small grin forming over my lips.

“Florida’s my home. LA is nice and all for work, but Tampa will always hold my heart,” he patted his chest.

“That’s how I feel about North Carolina. Brady really wants me to move out to LA with him, but I just don’t think I’m at that point in my life where I want to get up and leave my family and my home,” she sighed, lowering her voice to a whisper so Brady couldn’t hear her.

“I understand,” I nodded, in complete agreement. The plane picked up speed and Isabelle quickly changed direction, this time facing the seat in front of her with wide eyes. “Hey,” I caught her attention again with a slight chuckle in the back of my throat. “Seriously, don’t think about it.” I took her hand in mine as a friendly gesture.

“Beautiful, you alright?” Brady interrupted his conversation to double check on her. She nodded quickly and squeezed her eyes shut tightly, squeezing my hand in the process.

“Check it out,” I peered out the window. “We’re already in the air.” I grinned. She opened her eyes a little and leaned across me to see for herself. “Sometimes I think it’s really cool to wonder about who exactly is below us seeing us at that very moment, you know? Think about how many times you look up into the sky and see a plane. I guess it’s just one of those cool moments where you’re on top of the world.” He shrugged. He was so into the moment. As he turned towards Isabelle, she smiled. She could see the glint of passion in his eyes.

“That’s one of the coolest things I think I’ve heard in a long time,” she smirked.

“You should hang out with me more often,” he boasted with a laugh. She rolled her eyes and laughed, leaning back to sit in her seat fully. “Not to toot my own horn, or anything.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled jokingly. “Whatever you say. But I must admit, you seem very interesting and fun, Mr. Carter. And as of right now, you’re my new best friend because you kept me so freaking calm during that whole, take off procedure.”

“I’m honored,” Nick smiled. The playful action between the two really made each one feel more comfortable – especially Isabelle. She came into this not knowing anyone and completely unsure if anyone would accept her. She knew Brady would be busy with work – probably more busy than the guys – and she was worried she’d get bored easily. But as far as she could tell with Nick, there was no getting bored involved.

“Well, it looks as if my boyfriend’s pretty involved in a conversation and the seatbelt light is still on, so I think I’m gonna get a little shut eye,” Isabelle yawned.

“Fine, be boring,” Nick scoffed jokingly and winked to make sure she realized he wasn’t being serious. “Nah, that sounds pretty enticing right about now. We can play musical seats again later.” He laughed, causing her to giggle.

“Sounds like a plan,” she adjusted the pillow behind her head so it’d be more comfortable. “Night.” She smiled.

“Goodnight,” Nick watched as she slowly drifted off into sleep. As she got deeper and deeper into dream-world, her head slipped and landed on his shoulder. He didn’t bother readjusting her head, either. He liked it right where it was.

The plane landed roughly in Cologne many hours later at 6:30am, Germany time. Isabelle yawned from not getting quite the best rest that she wanted. She pulled her rolling suitcase behind her as the group exited the airport and flowed onto the tour buses awaiting them. Each one of the guys got their own bus, and then Q, Marcus, Brady and Isabelle shared the last one. “Beautiful, how about you go to the bus and get situated. Marcus, Q and I have to tag up with AJ to talk about what he arrangements he wants us to make to have his girlfriend flown in.” Brady kissed Isabelle’s cheek quickly and headed off to AJ’s bus without any other discussion.

Nick could see the hurt and confusion spread across Isabelle’s face. “Hey,” he caught her arm gently as she began to walk past him. Instead of keeping that strange expression across her face, she quickly wiped it away and formed a smile. “I know you don’t really know me…but it gets lonely on these buses. It’d suck if you had to be on one by yourself. How about you just crash on my bus and then you can switch over with Brady when we stop?” Nick offered politely. Typically he’d offer that to some beautiful woman he wanted to shack up with. But not Isabelle.

Isabelle shrugged with a grin. “That sounds nice. Do you have a spare bunk?” She asked as they stepped onto Nick’s bus. Nick nodded and helped her set her bags down in one of the corners, then set his own down as well.

“It’s not much, but it’s enough to travel around a country for a little while,” he shrugged as he showed her around his tour bus. “Looks like they stocked up on…” he trailed off as he opened the fridge with a chuckle. “Lots of Evian, apples and eggs.” He grinned. “I’m on this diet thing…and so…” he tried to explain.

“Ah, I’m the same way,” Isabelle smiled. Nick frowned, wondering why she would ever need to be on a diet. “My body doesn’t just come naturally. I used to be a chubby kid when I was younger. I started eating stuff like this when I went to college.” She explained. “And I lost all the weight. Now I mainly just eat this stuff.”

“It kinda grows on you,” Nick shrugged and shut the fridge, a silly grin playing on his lips. He couldn’t believe all the stuff he had in common with this girl. It was one thing that he found her attractive. That was one point of interest that always made him attracted to someone. But then it was another thing that blew his mind that they had so much in common. Usually girls he dated were the complete opposite of him. He never really knew what to look for in a relationship. But the fact that she was able to have a conversation with him not because he was a celebrity but because he was entertaining to her, which was point three that made him crazy.

“It does,” she agreed with a smile as she glanced around the rest of the bus. “So, you really live out of these things for months on end?” She questioned with a slight grimace as she examined the dining area and the bunks. Nick nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Doesn’t it get…lonely?”

“Well…” Nick licked his lips. He really didn’t want to tell her that he was used to having his female friends over all the time. He didn’t think that’d go over too well. Instead, he decided to take the approach of, “You kinda get used to it after a while. Besides, if we get really bored, we usually hang out on one bus and play Play Station or something.” He shrugged.

“Sounds fun,” Isabelle nodded and looked around a bit more. “It would be kinda fun to travel. I’ve always enjoyed it.” She smiled. “But I’m not sure if I’d like to do it for a living.”

“Understandable,” Nick chuckled and smirked at the bus driver as he came on the bus. “Hey Marcel, this is Isabelle. She’s going to be our manager of merchandise for the tour this time around.” Nick smiled, and then turned back to Isabelle. “Marcel was my driver for our Never Gone German leg, too.” He explained.

“Nice to meet you,” Isabelle smiled politely with a small wave.

“You too,” Marcel smirked in a strong German accent.

As the bus began to pull away from the airport, Isabelle texted Brady to let him know that she was traveling on Nick’s bus. “Have you ever played Guitar Hero?” Nick asked as he pulled his gaming things from a bag and set them up by the TV in the front of the bus.

“Oh my gosh,” Isabelle giggled. “All the time. I have two brothers back home and they both got me into this game.” She grinned and tucked her long dark hair behind her ears as she sat Indian style in front of the TV.

“Sweet,” Nick laughed. “I haven’t met many girls that know how to play this. I got the third version that just came out. Have you played it yet?”

“No!” She beamed wide-eyed. “That’s so cool that you have it! Is it much different?” She asked, completely interested now, holding the guitar in her hands.

“Nah, not too much,” Nick couldn’t believe this girl. She was beautiful, easy to talk to and she liked to play video games. “It’s the same concept, just new songs and shit.” He shrugged.

“That’s awesome,” Isabelle grinned as Nick set everything up. “Brady isn’t really into the whole game thing.” She scrunched up her nose, somewhat disappointedly. “He thinks it’s for kids.” She sighed with a roll of her eyes.

Nick wasn’t sure whether or not he should say what he felt. He had only known this girl for about twenty-four hours. “Why exactly are you with him?” He asked so softly, he wasn’t even sure if she had heard him. She gave him a blank stare, completely shocked he had asked her that. “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.” He quickly tried to recover and turned on the TV to act as a distraction.

“You’re right, it’s not,” Isabelle scoffed. She cleared her throat, as if she had something to say, and then continued. “I’m not really sure why I’m with him…I mean, I know it’s not your business…but for some weird reason I trust you.” She shrugged. Nick looked over, surprised she had decided to answer his question. “I guess it’s my family loving him that makes him so attractive. My family is so important to me.” She sighed and played with the hem of her t-shirt.

Nick decided to drop the topic. He didn’t want to say anything prematurely. She seemed like a sweetheart, but he didn’t want to scare her away. “Are we playing teams or single mode?” He asked with a small grin tugging at the corners of his lips. Isabelle was glad he decided to change the subject and grinned back.

“Um, let’s play teams first. That way I can get used to the game so I can kick your ass,” she winked. Nick chuckled and set it all up. Isabelle wasn’t really sure what had just happened, but she sure felt comfortable around Nick. She knew that he would become a person she could talk to about absolutely anything.

“Okay guys, the first show should hopefully go rather smoothly,” Brady said from his position in the doorway holding a folder with all the venue information in it. “The fans aren’t allowed to get up near the stage; they’re a good four feet away. There will be security all over this place. If any of you have an issue, signal Q or Marcus.” He instructed. The guys nodded in unison.

Isabelle watched from behind Brady. It had been four days in Germany already and she and Nick were becoming much closer. After their Guitar Hero tournament, she had returned to Brady’s bus for some rest. But she had spent a lot of time with Nick whenever Brady was too busy for her or working on something. She watched him sit on the edge of the couch in his baggy jeans and form-fitting black t-shirt with a white guitar stretched down the front. His blonde hair was spiked all over the place and his ear piece was in place, just waiting for the show to start. He downed the rest of his water and smiled over at her with a wink.

“I’ll be out at merchandise,” Isabelle smiled slightly and turned before she was noticed again. She didn’t want Nick to think she was interested in him. She had Brady.

“Okay, beautiful,” Brady kissed her before she left and turned back to the stage. “So, are you guys all set?” He asked with a smile. The guys nodded and they all gathered around with the rest of the crew to pray before the show.

As Isabelle made her way out to merchandise, she ran into one of the other girls from Cologne she’d be working with. “Lieselotte,” she called out with a smile. The German girl turned and waved.

“Hey! Are the guys about to go on?” She asked. Though Lieselotte, known as Lotti, was born and raised in Germany, her English was very good.

“Yeah, they just finished up backstage so I thought I’d come out here and help you guys set up,” Isabelle smiled and pulled her long dark hair behind her at the nape of her neck in a low ponytail. “I figure since I don’t know any German, I’ll allow you to cover the fans. I’ll just hand you the merchandise from the back and unpack boxes.” She opened a box of t-shirts.

“Sounds good,” Lotti smiled with a nod. “Have you ever seen them perform?” She asked curiously as she set up the cash register. There were other women there, as well, helping them sell merchandise.

“Nope,” Isabelle grinned. “Hopefully I’ll be able to see a show during this tour. I’ve read online about how incredible the concerts are.” She continued to unfold t-shirts and hang them up. She smirked when she saw Nick’s face on one of the shirts. She had realized the past few days how passionate he was about singing.

“You should go out there! Watch the open,” Lotti encouraged with a nod. “We can handle the crowd over here for a little while. You should see the show! Or at least part of it.” She smiled. Isabelle sighed and glanced over her shoulder at the booming arena. She really was interested in seeing the show and hearing the music. She was interested to know what it was all about. “Go!” Lotti saw the unsure expression on her face. After a bit of contemplation, she headed towards the backstage portion.

“I’ll be back,” she promised with a grin and hurried down to see Marcus standing to guard the backstage. “Hey Marcus!” Isabelle grinned.

“Hey B,” he winked. Marcus had already come up with a nickname for her – B for Belle, she supposed. It made her giggle.

“Hi!” She grinned. “Is there any way I could sneak backstage to watch the show for a little while?” She asked and bit her bottom lip, not sure if that was allowed or not. She knew she was hired to maintain merchandise, but she was sure she could sneak away for at least a little while.

“Absolutely! How about I call in another security guard and take you up front, though? It’s much more fun watching the show from the crowd,” he smirked and grabbed his walkie talkie off his belt. He radioed in for someone to come over and cover his entrance to the backstage of the arena.

“Are you sure?” Isabelle didn’t want to be an inconvenience of any kind. Marcus chuckled and took her by the hand as soon as someone came over to relieve him.

“You are one of the greatest people around this place,” he said kindly. “You make each and every one of us smile. It’s not a problem at all.” He grinned. Isabelle blushed and kissed his cheek politely.

“Thanks, Marcus. I appreciate it,” she beamed as he led her through the mob of fans. They all shot her nasty looks and said things about her in German that she didn’t understand. She didn’t allow it to bother her any. She watched as the lights dimmed and the intro to “Everything But Mine” began to blare out over the speakers. The fans went crazy as the boys came out on the stage.

Isabelle grinned when she spotted Nick make a silly face as he approached the fans. The girls were going crazy for him. Isabelle hadn’t realized how beautiful their voices were.

Walking along the sky
Chasing a glimpse of you
Painting a world with stars I found inside your eyes.
Up here above the haze
Everything looks so clear
Wondering what it would be like if you would be here

Brian’s voice was incredible. Isabelle had never purchased their CDs. Brady mentioned they had talent, but he never went on to say just how amazing they were. She was blown away when Nick opened his mouth.

And time takes time,
But I can’t wait
To tell you how I feel.

As soon as he finished his part, his eyes got caught in Isabelle’s and he couldn’t help but smile. These words seemed to fit right along with how he was feeling at the moment. When he saw her staring back at him, he couldn’t help but allow his heart to skip a beat. She smiled and waved and he waved back. This only caused more death glares from the girls around her. She just rolled her eyes and listened to the rest of the words.

Oh, you’re the calm when my world is crashing
My heart, my blood, my passion
Why, tell me why
You’re everything but mine.

I hold you close when it all goes crazy
And through it all, you’ll be my lady.
Why, tell me why
You’re everything,
Everything but mine.

Isabelle closed her eyes and listened closely to the lyrics. The irony between the fact that she had been flirting with Nick the past few days and these lyrics really hit her close to home. She felt chills form up her spine as she listened. She couldn’t help but continue to stare at Nick. It seemed, to her, that he couldn’t take his eyes off her, either.

You don’t have to be afraid
Of somebody else’s touch
Just gimme a chance to prove
Just how you should be loved.

AJ sang with such passion, such strength. The entire situation brought tears to Isabelle’s eyes. These words and sounds were so powerful to her and she couldn’t control her emotions. It wasn’t necessarily the song that made her emotional, rather the way it made her think about her relationship with Brady.

“I-I think I’m gonna head back to merchandising,” Isabelle leaned in to speak loudly in Marcus’s ear as the song ended and the crowd went crazy.

“You sure? You only heard one song,” Marcus seemed confused. He could see the tears in her eyes and just how fastened her eyes had been on Nick during the entire song and vice versa. He didn’t want to ask if there was anything going on. He knew the way Nick could be sometimes, but he also knew Brady and sometimes wondered how he got so lucky. Brady wasn’t exactly the most exciting person to be around.

“I’m sure,” Isabelle nodded and tried to form a smile to assure Marcus she was fine, but it didn’t work out so well. He pretended as if he couldn’t tell she was affected by the song and walked her back towards the merchandise table. “Thanks.” She gave him a small smile and hugged him. “See you after.” And with that, she turned back and tried to rid her mind of the man dancing around in her mind. The man named Nick Carter.

Isabelle gave Lotti one last hug. “Promise to keep in touch?” She asked her one last time.

“Promise,” Lotti grinned. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll catch back up with you guys later on in the tour. You never know.” She winked. “Have an amazing time traveling with them. They’re fun guys.” She smiled.

“Thanks,” Isabelle grinned and waved goodbye as they separated.

“Beautiful!” She heard that familiar voice call from the backstage area. A heavy sigh fell from her lips as she turned towards the voice. Sure enough, it was Brady.

“Hey,” she tried to grin as she finished boxing up the remaining items that didn’t sell. “I’ll be right over.” She finished taping off the boxes and turned towards the guys loading them onto trucks. “Thanks guys.” She smiled and headed backstage to meet up with everyone.

“Hey! There she is,” Brady beamed. He was talking to AJ and Brian. “We’re all going to meet up on AJ’s bus and travel to the hotel together. We’re gonna just kinda celebrate the end of the first show.” He winked and kissed her cheek. “Meet you there?”

He never wanted to wait for her or walk her to the buses. He was always dealing with something more important. It was frustrating for Isabelle to deal with. “Yeah, sure.” She mumbled. He didn’t even seem to notice the change in her tone. He hurried to meet up with Marcus as AJ stood and watched her. She gave him a small smile.

“You need to talk to him,” AJ muttered softly and pulled a cigarette from his back pocket. “You can’t keep living like this.”

“Living like what?” Isabelle folded her arms across her chest, intrigued as to how he could tell there was something wrong.

“Don’t bull shit me, Isabelle,” he winked with a chuckle. “I can see right through you. I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty shocked Brady can’t. What’s with this guy, anyway? Why does he think he has to be so proper and perfect around you?”

Isabelle shrugged and sighed heavily. She never really realized why he acted the way he did. “I’ve never seen any other side of him…so I’m assuming it’s just him.” She muttered and looked back at AJ’s bus. “Look, I appreciate you confronting me or whatever…but I should really get to our bus and get his stuff, then head over. I’ll see you in a minute.” She ended the conversation with that. She hurried onto their bus and quickly grabbed the folder, and then hurried off. As she was walking up to AJ’s bus, she ran into Nick for the first time since the show had ended.

“Hey,” he smirked as he ran his fingers through his damp hair. “I saw you during the show. What’d you think?” He asked. Isabelle wasn’t sure if he had noticed how completely fascinated she was with him. She was hoping he hadn’t seen how she had stared at him during the entire performance.

She casually tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded with a grin. “It was great! I was glad I got to sneak away from the merchandise table to see one song performed. You guys are even better in person.” She beamed. It was the truth. She had never expected the show to be that great.

Nick chuckled. “Thanks,” he grinned. He licked his lips and looked her over, hoping she couldn’t read right through him. She had on a skin tight black t-shirt with their name across her chest. Dangling around her neck was her ID to get backstage at the shows with her name and their pictures on it. And the way her jeans hugged every curve on her lower half, Nick was practically drooling. Her long dark hair swept over her shoulders as she loosened the tie holding it back. “So are you joining us while we go over how the show went and stuff?” He asked nonchalantly.

“Yeah, I hope that’s okay,” she bit her bottom lip. “Brady asked me to grab something for him and bring it along, so I’m assuming I’m riding over with you, too.” She laughed softly.

Before either of them could say anything, Brady popped his head around the corner of the bus. “There you are! I thought you had gotten lost or something.” He winked. “You coming?”

“Yeah,” Isabelle called back. Nick walked over towards the bus, as well, and held his arm out politely in front of him to lead Isabelle on the bus. “Thanks.” She giggled softly, her cheeks turning a crimson color. Why did this man have such an effect on her?

“Isabelle, nice job today,” Johnny Wright congratulated with a grin. “Boys, as you know, I’m flying back to the states for a few weeks until you guys head over there. Brady will be here the entire time, as well as security and Isabelle. Is there anything you want me to check over before I leave?” He asked as he wrote down some notes for Brady to follow. Isabelle took a seat quietly on the couch next to Brady.

“How was the show?” Brian chuckled. Isabelle assumed that was probably something they talked about at these meetings.

“Ha!” Johnny chuckled and stopped writing for a minute. “Sorry guys, I completely forgot to start with the important stuff. I was really impressed during the show. Vocals were incredible and I think you did fine harmonizing.” He beamed. “I was a little worried without Kev being here…but you really pulled it off. And the fans went nuts. Just go over the choreography a bit once you get to the hotel. Maybe go over it once tonight and then again tomorrow before the show after your vocals.” He instructed. The guys all nodded and then Brady piped in.

“Are there any other venues you need me to contact?” He asked as he prepared to take notes.

“Not quite yet. I’ll be in touch with you through e-mail, though, and we’ll get it all squared away as the US tour comes closer,” Johnny answered. “In fact, do you want to join me in the limo? I wanna talk over some other events with you.” Johnny glanced down at the calendar in his hand.

Nick glanced over at Isabelle to see her reaction. She swallowed hard and played with her fingers in her lap. He could tell she wasn’t happy with this at all. “Yeah, that should be fine. Beautiful, you stay here and keep the boys company.” Brady winked and kissed her cheek. “I’ll meet up with you at the hotel.”

Without saying a word, Isabelle nodded and glanced out the window as he walked away. As soon as he was off the bus with Johnny, she made her way to the back of the bus where there was a couch in a lone room for some privacy. Nick licked his lips and glanced at the other guys. Brian and Howie were on the phone with their significant others and AJ was about to start up a game of Halo 3. “I’ll be back.” Nick muttered and followed her steps. He knocked politely on the wall outside the room and pulled back the curtain. “Hey.” He smiled. He saw the sadness in her eyes and walked in, closing the curtain behind him. “You okay?” He asked. He sat down beside her on the couch, but kept a comfortable distance.

Nick didn’t think she’d open up to him. After all, they had already determined it wasn’t any of his business. Isabelle was even a bit surprised when she decided to open her mouth. “I just don’t get it. Is it something I’m doing wrong? Does he just not understand the fact that I need more out of a relationship and I’m tired of being this person he walks around with like a trophy or something…I feel like something he’s won over.” The tears pooling in her big brown eyes were out of anger more so than sadness. “I just don’t understand.”

“It’s not you,” Nick reassured her and placed his hand on hers in a friendly gesture. “I don’t think…” he wanted to say that he didn’t think she and Brady were meant for each other. Brady didn’t deserve someone like her. Hell, Nick was beginning to wonder whether or not he deserved someone like her. She was different. He was usually into the beautiful girls for one thing and one thing only – sex. Now Isabelle had walked into his life and she was beautiful. Not only was she beautiful on the outside but she had this unique inside that consisted of someone with feelings. Someone with beautiful feelings. Nick wasn’t sure he could get too close to that. That wasn’t exactly his style. “I don’t think Brady realizes you feel this way.” He said simply.

“You’re probably right,” Isabelle muttered and wiped under her eyes hastily. “I’m sorry to drag you into all of this, Nick.” She sighed with a small smile. “I know Brady’s your friend. I shouldn’t complain about him like this to you.”

“It’s not a problem, Izzie, I promise,” he said without realizing exactly what he was saying. He saw a frown crease her brow slightly and he replayed his words in his head. “Oh…sorry. I do that a lot…when I get to know someone I just automatically form nicknames for them. Sorry.” He chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair nervously. You’re such a fucking idiot, Carter. She probably thinks you’re retarded, he reprimanded himself in his head.

“No!” Her frown was quickly replaced with a grin and she placed her hand on his, this time, to reassure him it wasn’t a problem. “It’s just weird that you called me that.” She said, and then decided to explain when she saw his curious expression. “My dad calls me Izzie all the time. Most of my friends back home do, too. Brady has never decided to pick up with it, so whenever I introduce myself to his friends, I usually just tell them to call me Isabelle.” She explained. Nick nodded and allowed the heat to drain from his cheeks. “I like it.” She beamed.

“Good, then from now on, you’re Izzie,” he winked.

“Good,” Isabelle surprised him and reached over to give him a hug. “Too bad I can’t really come up with a nickname for you.” She pulled away and looked as if she was in deep thought. “I could call you—“

Nick quickly cut her off. “Don’t say Nicky.” He laughed.

“Damn,” Isabelle giggled. “How’d you do that?”

Nick wanted to say that he was starting to see they had this bond growing that was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He wanted to tell her that he’d love to get to know her better and that he thought there might be something for them in the future. But instead he decided to go with the simple statement, “Hah, everyone calls me that.” Oh, he wanted to tell her so badly how he really felt. But he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to.

“You look…beautiful,” Brady beamed as he kissed Isabelle on the cheek. Even though it had been a long day and everyone was exhausted, it was routine to go out for a nice dinner the first night of the tour in a new country. The guys had been doing it ever since they started performing. They invited the crew along – including Brady and Isabelle. Brady had brought along an expensive black tuxedo. Isabelle’s brother helped lead him to the dress he had gotten for Isabelle. Her brother, Caden, had gone shopping with her one weekend and found her drooling over the dress, refusing to buy it because it was so expensive. Brady went back and got it for her, just for tonight.

The dress was strapless and form fitting. The top of the dress showed the perfect amount of cleavage to make any single man turn. Hell, maybe even some that were taken. The dress flared out slightly around her thighs to the floor. It was made of a satin material that was absolutely sleek and gorgeous. Isabelle had curled her hair around her shoulders and pinned half of it back, with a few strands hanging loosely around her face. Her make-up was flawless, yet at the same time, it made her look natural. Her big brown eyes were outlined in dark eye liner and her lips were painted with a bit of darker pink lip gloss.

“Thank you,” she mumbled like usual with a grin, not really believing the comment. She felt bad for feeling that way, but it seemed as though he was always just feeding her lines. She was about to tell him what she was feeling, like Nick had said. But before their conversation could continue, Brady’s cell phone began to vibrate.

“Sorry,” he mouthed as he answered it. “Hello? Oh, hey Johnny, what’s up?” He walked into the side room attached to their hotel room and shut the door. Isabelle rolled her eyes and grabbed her clutch that she had gotten from Brady. She sighed and opened up the main door to the bedroom and snuck out into the hallway as if she was a girl in high school. She bit her bottom lip and tried to quietly close the door behind her so Brady wouldn’t even realize she had left.

“Escaping, are we?” She heard a deep voice behind her that sent a chill up her spine. She nearly jumped backwards and clutched at her heart. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Nick.

“Jesus, Nick. You scared the crap out of me,” she mumbled and closed her eyes momentarily to try and regain her composure. He chuckled and placed an arm on her shoulder to steady her.

“Sorry,” he laughed. “I didn’t realize you would freak. Where are you going? Is Brady about ready?” He asked. Isabelle’s expression remained solemn as she shrugged, Nick’s hand falling off in the process.

“He got a call,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m…taking a walk.” She turned towards the elevator in her heels and hurried down the hallway. She really wasn’t interested in having this conversation with Nick. She could already tell she was kind of starting to like him. The last thing she needed was to fall for one of Brady’s friends.

“Outside?” He called after her. “You’re going for a walk outside dressed like that?” He began to walk after her, a grin playing across his lips.

She was slightly offended. Why was he criticizing the way she dressed? “Excuse me?” She spun around on her heel, allowing him to catch up to her. “Dressed like what exactly? A slut? A whore? I thought I looked rather nice tonight.” She was so flustered. First, Brady had pissed the hell out of her and now Nick was frustrating her.

Nick laughed and shook his head. “You look absolutely stunning,” he said softly, glancing her body over again to cause her cheeks to redden. “What I meant was, it’s November in Cologne. You do realize it’s probably about 30 degrees outside, right?” He pointed to his winter coat draped over his shoulder. In all of her frustration, Isabelle hadn’t even noticed. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced away. Maybe if she didn’t look him in the eye he wouldn’t have such a strong effect on her. “Come on.” He chuckled. “I know exactly where we can go where you won’t freeze or be stuck with Brady.” He didn’t mean for it to sound so negative…it just did.

“Sounds nice enough already,” Isabelle tried to joke, causing a smile to form over her lips and Nick’s. Nick glanced down at her and smiled as he opened the door to his hotel room.

“Home sweet home…for the moment,” Nick winked as he shut the door behind them. Isabelle smiled a small smile and walked around to look around. There was a large bay window overlooking the city. Isabelle couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was all so perfect. “It’s not much, but its home.” Nick shrugged, just trying to make conversation as he shoveled his hands in his pockets.

“It’s beautiful,” Isabelle smiled, and then rolled her eyes with a chuckle. “You’d think I’d get sick and tired of hearing that over and over again.” She joked, referring to the word ‘beautiful’.

“It’s a shame he uses it so much,” Nick smirked. “You really are –“

She stopped him. “Please don’t say it.” She sighed and put her hand up. “Thank you for being kind…but that word has no meaning to me anymore.” She muttered and gently touched the glass window to feel the coldness quickly sting the tip of her finger.

“Like I said, it’s a shame,” Nick said again, this time stepping a bit closer to her. “For a woman that completely sucks the air out of a man’s lungs when she walks into the room, she shouldn’t have to be numb to the word ‘beautiful’. Because you do, ya know,” his voice dropped to below a whisper and Isabelle could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck.

“Do what?” She swallowed the lump in her throat and closed her eyes. She placed her hand on the glass in front of her to try and steady herself. She could feel that he was directly behind her now and she felt her knees get weak.

“You suck all the air out of my lungs when you walk into a room,” he muttered again. “Izzie, you’re such an amazing person. I don’t understand why he can’t appreciate you for who you are.” A grin formed over her lips and she managed to gather the strength to turn towards him to face him.

“Funny, sometimes I ask myself why girls can’t appreciate you for who you are deep down inside…not for what your name means of how much money you have,” she shrugged and placed her hand on his cheek. “You make me feel beautiful, Nick. Like, truly beautiful. Not just the title Brady has seemed to give me.”

Brady. That name struck a nerve for Isabelle and she went to pull away. Before she could, Nick gently caught her arm in his grasp and allowed his lips to fall upon hers gently. Much to Isabelle’s surprise, she didn’t want to pull away. Instead, she allowed her arms to weave around his neck and pull him in closer. Nick’s hands quickly found her waist and he tugged her against him. The kiss began to deepen as Nick forcefully opened her mouth with his tongue, plummeting in to try and discover everything about her. They were both caught in the moment until there was a knock on the door.

“Hey Nick, have you seen Isabelle anywhere?” Brady’s voice interrupted Isabelle’s thoughts as she quickly wiped at her mouth. She didn’t want to get rid of the feeling of Nick’s lips on hers, but she knew she needed to. Brady poked his head around Nick and smiled when he saw her standing there, not even questioning the fact as to why she was there. “Beautiful! There you are. I’m sorry I had to take that call. I thought you had disappeared,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, I just ran into Nick in the hallway and he invited me in to keep me company while I waited for you,” she nodded and smiled at Nick. “Thanks.” She tried to play it off. Nick swallowed hard to try and rid himself of the feeling of her next to him.

“N-No problem,” he stuttered. “So, I’ll meet you guys out front of the hotel in a few minutes? Izzie, don’t forget to grab a coat or something…” he reminded her.

“Thanks,” she grinned and hurried out of the room before things could get any more awkward. She glanced at Brady who had a rather large and apparent frown over his brow. Oh no. Had he figured it out?

“Izzie? Why did he call you that?” He placed his hand protectively on the small of her back as they went back to their room so she could get a coat.

Isabelle shrugged. “Just a silly nickname, I suppose.” She said softly. Brady didn’t realize it, but that nickname made her feel so unique and so individual – unlike whenever she was with Brady. She felt like she belonged to someone in a negative way when she was with Brady.

“Oh, okay,” Brady shrugged it off as if it was nothing. “Let’s grab you a coat and then we’ll meet the guys downstairs. Johnny wanted to talk to me about some venues in the states that we’re going to be going to. He needs me to make some phone calls tonight and tomorrow about reserving different locations.” He explained with a heavy sigh. “I hate to keep doing this to you, but you might want to see if you can find something to do later on.”

“Are we driving or staying at the hotel?” Isabelle asked. She wasn’t upset about Brady spending more time on work than with her this time, surprisingly. She was hoping Nick might be available to hang out with later on.

“We’re crashing here for the night and then driving tomorrow,” he explained.

“Okay,” Isabelle nodded and grabbed the heavy black pea coat Brady had brought along for her. “I’ll probably see if Nick’s up for a game or something.” She shrugged. She was hoping Brady hadn’t caught on to her little escapade just yet. She really liked Nick, but she also had strong feelings for Brady. He was someone that would really take her places in life. He was a business man. Her parents absolutely loved that about him. Nick was the complete opposite. However, she was starting to wonder if she found him more attractive because he was more her type. Brady was someone she couldn’t relate to. He was infatuated with his work.

“I’m glad you two get along so well,” he beamed. If you only knew, Isabelle muttered in her head. She plastered a smile across her face and nodded.

“Yeah, me too,” she smiled as Brady opened the door to her and she stepped out into the hallway, almost trampling Nick. “Sorry.” She laughed lightly.

“You’re fine,” he winked with a smile. Thankfully, Brady missed it as he closed the door behind them.

“So, any idea where we’re headed for dinner tonight?” He asked as he shoved the room key into his back pocket and pulled his jacket on around his body.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a quiet bistro down the street. Hopefully we won’t get recognized,” Howie joined in the conversation as he was closing his door the same time Brady closed theirs.

“That sounds nice,” Brady smiled as they all piled into the elevator. “I was hoping I could sneak away with Isabelle for a little while after dinner. Maybe we could tour Cologne?” He was practically asking the guys. Isabelle felt a twinge of annoyance fill her when she realized he wasn’t even going to ask her first if she wanted to tour. “The city’s beautiful. You’ll love it.” He winked at her.

“I’m sure,” she mumbled softly and glanced around the elevator. Both Nick and Howie were staring at her. Nick was used to Brady making decisions for her, but Howie wasn’t as much. He was waiting for Brady to ask her if she actually wanted to go. “So, Howie, are you getting excited for your wedding?” Isabelle smiled happily at him to try and change the subject.

“Absolutely,” he beamed back. Isabelle loved the fact that his entire face lit up whenever he talked about his wife-to-be. His eyes had this glow to them that she couldn’t even begin to understand, simply because she had never felt that with anyone before. “I feel so bad that I left Leigh to make all the arrangements, though sometimes I think she might like it that way better.” He chuckled, causing everyone else to laugh. “She’s enjoying making all the plans and everything.” He nodded. “You guys are coming to the wedding, right?” He asked and looked back and forth between the two. “It’s the Saturday we get back.”

“We’ll be there,” Brady answered for the both of them.

“Thank you for including me,” Isabelle nodded with a smile. “I’m so excited to meet Leigh.” She said honestly. Brady had told her that once they started up the US leg of the tour, all the wives and families would start to tour with them.

“I’m excited for you to meet her. You’ll get along great,” Howie smirked as the elevator doors opened up to the lobby.

“Are we taking a van?” Brady asked as he took Isabelle’s hand in his own to maneuver through the crowds of people. The boys had only been in Germany for a few hours and already they were found by the fans. Nick couldn’t help but stare at Isabelle and Brady as they stayed close. His eyes caught Isabelle’s and she gave him a small smile.

“Yeah, Brian’s already out there with Johnny and some of the crew,” Howie explained. Q, Drew and Marcus came to escort them from the lobby to the vans. As soon as they piled in, the driver took off. Because of all the people and the close proximity, Isabelle was sandwiched between Brady and Nick.

“Jeez, could these vans get any smaller?” Brady chuckled. He still hadn’t caught on to Isabelle’s closeness to Nick.

Isabelle licked her lips slowly and made a side glance over to Nick. She could practically feel the warmth coming off of his body. She wanted so badly to be in his arms again. She missed that. She had never felt that way with Brady before. Everything was so perfect with him – perfect to the point where they never argued, they never had a falling out. It was too perfect.

As soon as the van pulled up to the bistro, everyone tried to get out as quickly as possible so the van could pull away. They knew some fans had followed the guys out of the hotel and they were hoping to dodge most of them. They just wanted to have a relaxing evening after their traveling and their first show.

“This place is quaint,” Isabelle grinned as she pulled her gloves off her hands and stuffed them in her coat pockets. The restaurant was dimly lit, with only a few tables up front by windows. The tables were separated by curtains in the back to give off more privacy. She glanced over at Nick discreetly. “I’m going to find the ladies’ room.” She muttered and went to ask a server where to go in the best German she could.

“Quaint,” AJ shook his head with a chuckle. “Could she get any cuter?” He smirked at Brady who smiled back. While they were distracted, Nick muttered that he, too, had to use the restroom and disappeared in the direction Isabelle was headed.

“Izzie,” he hissed as he came up behind her in route to the restroom. He gently grabbed her by her forearm and pulled her into the woman’s restroom.

“What are you doing?!” She whispered as she glanced around the empty room to make sure no one was around. He pushed her into the largest stall there was and locked the door. “Nick! W-What—“

He cut her off with a kiss. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his breathing was heavy. “I couldn’t resist. I…I…” He didn’t know what he was trying to say. He licked his lips to try and form thoughts.

“I missed you,” she whispered, beginning to calm down a bit. A grin pulled at the corners of Nick’s lips as he bent down to kiss her again. He deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. She entangled her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair on the back of his head.

“I missed you too,” he sighed, kissing her one last time. “I need to get back there before someone gets suspicious. But…I just wanted to say hi.” He grinned seductively and she giggled. She rolled her eyes and gave him a little shove, unlocking the door behind him.

“Hi to you too,” she joked and opened the door. She walked past him swiftly and adjusted her hair and dabbed at her lips in the mirror before opening the bathroom door.

“Hey…” he stopped her. “Meet me tonight? After Brady goes to bed. Just knock on my door…”

Isabelle knew it was risky. She knew it was wrong. But her heart was yelling at her to say ‘yes’. So instead of thinking about it any longer, she bit her bottom lip and nodded her head, hurrying back to reality.

The entire evening was one Isabelle couldn’t even focus on. Nick was sitting directly across from her at the large round table. He kept making eye contact with her subtly, yet she noticed every time. Brady wasn’t doing a damn thing to try and include her in conversation, like usual.

“How do you like Cologne so far, Isabelle?” Brian asked politely as he took a bite from his salad.

“It’s beautiful,” Isabelle smiled as she took a sip of her water, just waiting for Brady to cut in and create his own conversation. Surprisingly, he didn’t. “I had never been outside the US until now. It’s really intriguing.” She smiled a small smile. Nick watched her intently. She was so quiet around the guys since she didn’t know them as well. He had really noticed her personality coming out when they kissed. She was so energetic and confident with him.

“That’s cool,” Brian smiled. “My wife and I used to be amazed whenever we traveled to different places. Now, it’s so common, we can’t really find the excitement anymore. We try to find something new we’ve never seen every time we travel, and we usually do. Especially now that we take my son with us a lot, that really opens his eyes up to new things, too. And that’s cool for us.” He beamed.

“Aw,” Isabelle grinned. She loved the fact that all these guys were so passionate about something in their lives. Howie was completely passionate about his future wife. He really seemed to care about her and Isabelle could tell when he lit up when he would talk about her. Then there was AJ. AJ was harder for Isabelle to read, for he seemed so mysterious. But there was something about him – this burning passion for his fans. He was first to make eye contact with the girls screaming his name at the concerts, more so than any of the other guys. Brian seemed to be so passionate about his family – his wife and son. The way he spoke so highly of them made Isabelle want a family of her own one day.

Ah, and Nick. Nick seemed passionate about a lot of “stuff”, but the one thing that came to mind when Isabelle thought about him was his music. She didn’t know him well enough to form her own opinion of him and the way he was with women. She had heard rumors over and over again, but she felt it was important she create her own feelings about him. She thought it was only fair.

“Yeah, hopefully you’ll get to meet them soon,” Brian beamed and played with his fork in his mess of salad just thinking about his loved ones back home.

“At the wedding!” Howie chimed in with a bright smile on his face. “They’ll all meet at the wedding.”

“That’s right,” Brian nodded with a grin. “Leighanne and Baylee will both be at the wedding.” He smiled back up at Isabelle and glanced over at Brady. “What about you two?” He asked them. “How long have you been together?”

Isabelle was shocked Brady was allowing her to answer. He nodded at her to continue. “About two months.” She tried to smile. She could see the awkward stare Nick shot her way. He looked back and forth between her and Brady.

“Aw,” AJ, Brian and Howie all chimed in mockingly just to be annoying. Isabelle laughed and rolled her eyes. “That’s cute that you decided to come along on tour.” Brian added.

“Yeah, it just seemed to work out well. We didn’t really want to spend time apart since we had only been together for a short time. We figured we could work on our relationship while we were out here,” Isabelle explained. She couldn’t believe how wrong she had been when she had thought they’d be able to work on their relationship. It seemed as if every free moment Brady had, he was off spending it in overtime working with Johnny or someone.

“I think it worked out perfectly, too. Don’t you, Beautiful?” He leaned over and kissed her cheek sloppily. He had already had too much wine and Isabelle could tell.

“Y-Yeah,” she mumbled in agreement, not wanting to start any kind of confrontation. She watched Nick’s eyes dart back and forth between her and Brady. She didn’t know how to handle the situation. She could never be rude to Brady and she didn’t want to hurt him. She was beginning to feel deep down that she didn’t love him, but it was too hard to tell him that.

“I was thinking about taking you out after this…to kind of roam the city,” Brady shrugged with a sigh. “But I have a lot of work I need to do tomorrow morning, so I’m not sure I’m going to be able to. You understand, don’t you?” He kissed her hand gently.

She wanted so badly to say no, that she didn’t understand. How was she supposed to just understand all the time? Did he not realize how disappointed she was every time he excluded her? “Of course,” she mumbled obediently.

“I was actually gonna head out and tour the city a little bit tonight,” Nick cleared his throat from across the table. Brady took a bite of his meat and glanced up. “She could join me...” Nick glanced at Isabelle cautiously. He knew and Isabelle knew exactly what was in store. They just hoped no one else could figure it out. “If you’d like.” He offered.

“That’d be really nice, Nick,” Isabelle smiled. “I’d like that. It’s not every day we get to travel to a foreign country.” She explained, hoping silently that Brady wouldn’t have a problem with it.

“Thanks, Nick,” Brady winked with a smile, completely oblivious to the flirtatious behavior going on across the table. “I owe you one.”

After dinner was over, everyone went to pile back into the van. Brady was in deep conversation with AJ about something that wasn’t important. Nick caught Isabelle’s arm as they walked towards the sidewalk. “Uh, I think Izzie and I will meet you guys back at the hotel. I wanna show her a bunch of stuff downtown here anyway. We’ll catch a cab.” Nick explained. Brady and AJ paused their conversation for a second.

“Oh, okay,” Brady nodded. “Have fun, Beautiful.” He winked and turned back to AJ to continue talking. AJ raised his eyebrows in Isabelle and Nick’s direction, but turned back towards the van anyway.

“Part of me thinks that was a little too easy,” Nick chuckled as the pair turned to walk down the sidewalk. Izzie laughed softly and buried her hands deep inside her pockets to try and find some warmth. “Cold?” He laughed as he watched her shiver. She nodded with a grin.

“I never thought it’d be this cold in Germany. Brady didn’t do too good of a job warning me,” she mumbled and licked her lips with a smile. “So, where are we headed Mr. Navigator?” She grinned up at Nick, changing the subject. Nick’s deep blue eyes got lost inside her. He felt like he could see deep down in her as they walked a little farther.

“Anywhere,” he shrugged softly. “I’ve been here a few times before. All I know is that there are beautiful castle-looking buildings around downtown.” He chuckled and pointed at a few different buildings.

“Aw, they look like cathedrals!” Isabelle laughed, smacking him in the side playfully. “You’re such a dork. Castle-like buildings? How old are you, twelve?” She joked and rolled her eyes.

“Hey, the last time I was here I was probably only like, sixteen or something,” he tried to defend himself as they walked up to a building. “Besides, I’ve never been sight-seeing here. Usually we perform, go out for food and then hit the hotel without thinking. I just offered to go so I could…” he stopped short. Did he really want to give into this girl and admit he’d do pretty much anything just to spend time with her?

“So you could spend time with me?” She grinned up at him. He blushed and shrugged, causing Isabelle to giggle. “That’s really cute, Nick. I’m glad you offered.” She winked. She carefully slipped her arm through his and into his coat pocket, joining his hand. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead as the couple approached, in Nick’s words, a big castle-like building. “Oh wow.” Isabelle sucked in a deep breath as she glanced over the plaque outside the cathedral. “This must be the Cologne cathedral.” She looked up at how tall it was.

“It’s really pretty,” Nick nodded and looked around. A bunch of lights were lit up all over it and the doors were open. “Let’s go inside.” He shrugged and walked towards the door.

“Nick,” Isabelle looked around nervously. “It’s late…I don’t think we should go in there.” She said hesitantly.

Nick laughed and shrugged, opening the big door anyway. “Why not? It’s cold out here, it’s warm in there.” He tried to entice her. “Besides, it’s a church. It’s open all the time.” He rolled his eyes as she hurried to follow him inside. Isabelle was fascinated with all the ancient artwork that decorated the inside of the cathedral. It was absolutely breathtaking. “Wow.” Nick breathed as he glanced around. He plopped down on one of the pews to get a better look.

“My mother would love to rent out this place and marry me off here,” Isabelle muttered softly as she glanced around once more. “And the sad thing is, Brady would probably pay to get married somewhere like here.” She sighed. “Looks like I’ll be having a beautiful wedding.”

“A beautiful wedding for a beautiful bride,” Nick couldn’t help himself. He knew the whole ‘beautiful’ reference would bug Isabelle.

Isabelle shot him a dirty look. “Don’t start with me, Carter.” She slapped him playfully across the shoulder, causing him to laugh.

“Fine, fine,” he rolled his eyes as his laughter subsided. “Besides, who said you’re marrying Brady?” He asked her seriously. He wanted to know what she saw for her future at this point. He was interested in her, and he was pretty sure she was interested in him. But the way she spoke of Brady so highly, he wasn’t sure she was willing to branch out and try something new.

She shrugged and looked at him intently. She wondered if he really would make a good boyfriend, someone she could possibly want to marry in the future. It was too soon to tell. “I hardly know you. I’ve known Brady for two months. I’ve known you for only a week.”

Nick shrugged and leaned back in the pew, crossing his arms over his chest. “We have all tour. Get to know me.”

She grinned and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He was serious. He was interested in her getting to know him and vice versa. He wanted to have a conversation with her. He was treating her like a person, unlike Brady who always treated her like a pet. Isabelle liked this new interaction…she could get used to it.

“So, how many brothers and sisters do you have?” Nick asked. Isabelle and Nick had already spent about an hour in the cathedral. In that hour, Nick had found out Isabelle’s favorite color was orange, her favorite movie was “10 Things I hate about you” and her favorite place in the entire world was Disney World.

“I have an older brother, Caden. He’s twenty-nine. Then I have another older brother, Noah, who’s twenty-seven. Then there’s me,” she giggled. Nick laughed at how silly their conversation had turned. He liked how she could be herself in front of him. “Then I have a younger sister, Ainsley. She’s twenty-three.” She explained.

“Wow, there’s two years in between all of you?” Nick asked and Isabelle nodded. “Your parents really planned that one out.” He chuckled and she nodded with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah. They also really planned out our love lives,” Isabelle sighed. “Caden was married to his wife, Hailey, by his twenty-third birthday. They couldn’t convince Noah to marry off just yet. But my sister is about to get married to this guy, Cole. She just turned twenty-three. I can’t tell you how disappointed they were that I wasn’t seeing anyone when I was twenty-three,” she tried to laugh it off. Nick could tell she was frustrated with the situation.

“That’s shitty,” Nick mumbled. He glanced up with a frown when he felt Isabelle slap at his hand.

“Nick! We’re in a cathedral!” She whispered with a giggle. He laughed when he saw how wide her brown eyes had gotten. She was too cute. He wasn’t sure how Brady found her, but he wanted her.

“Sorry,” he chuckled and placed his hand over his lips.

“Anyway,” she rolled her eyes. “What about you? What’s your family like?” She asked as she turned her body to face him. She saw his expression change drastically from light and funny to dark and miserable. “Uh oh. Wrong question?” She winced. She didn’t want to bring anything touchy up.

“No, no,” he shook his head and made eye contact. “You should know. I mean, we’re getting to know each other here.” He tried to smile through the painful choice of conversation. “Let’s see. My mom and dad had me first – well, my dad had a daughter from a previous marriage. But I was the first of their kids. Then they had my sister Bobbie Jean, or BJ two years after me. Then they had my sister, Leslie, four years later. Then a year after that, they had my brother and sister. They’re twins – Angel and Aaron. Aaron sings, too,” he explained. “Let’s see. The problems started up during all that mess. My parents got a divorce. I wasn’t really at home to begin with because by the time Aaron and Angel were born, I was already seven years old. I joined the Backstreet Boys when I was twelve. I didn’t have much time at home. It basically began this fight between my parents – making my siblings and I choose between them. My mom’s pretty much psychotic. I don’t even know how to deal with her anymore…” Nick rambled on. He glanced down at his hands. He had told his story countless times, but this time was different. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on and on about my dysfunctional family.”

Isabelle lifted Nick’s chin with her index finger. Her eyes were sorrowful and full of sympathy. “Don’t apologize.” She shook her head. “Thanks for sharing it. Nick, every family has their own bit of insanity.” She sighed. “Look at mine! My parents want to marry me off to someone that doesn’t even love me! He doesn’t even know me.” She shook her head. “That’s pretty insane.” She added with a grin to try and get him to smile.

Nick chuckled. She was right. And she was trying to make him happy. “That’s true.” He winked. He held onto her hand that was folded across her knee. He played with her fingers and smiled up at her. “You wanna get out of here?” He asked her softly. She bit her bottom lip and smiled.

“Absolutely,” she nodded her head as he stood up, pulling her along behind him. “I think you might just know more about me than Brady does.” She laughed, completely serious. They walked along the sidewalk until Nick spotted a taxi.

“That’s ridiculous,” Nick shook his head. “Brady’s never taken the time to sit down with you and just…get to know you like that?” He frowned as he hailed the cab. Isabelle shook her head ‘no’. As they moved into the cab, Nick rattled off the address to the cab driver, hoping he’d understand what he was saying. “Izzie, I really like you…a lot.” He sighed as the driver took off in the direction of the hotel.

“I know,” she nodded with a soft sigh escaping her lips. “I really like you too, Nick. I just don’t know how to handle the situation I’m in. I mean, I’ve only known you for a week but I feel like I’ve known you a hell of a lot longer than I’ve known Brady.”

“Well, it’s your decision. No one can make it for you,” Nick seemed disappointed and Isabelle could tell.

“Nick,” she sighed. “I just don’t want to make the wrong decision. When it comes down to finding the person I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life, it’s one of those things where I really need to think about it.”

Rest of her life? Nick wasn’t sure he wanted to be married at this point. He had never wanted to be married before. He was having way too much fun being a bachelor. But in the amount of time he had known Isabelle, he hadn’t wanted to go out and sleep around with other women anymore. He wanted her. He wanted Izzie.

“I-I understand,” Nick nodded and licked his lips. As the taxi stopped in front of the hotel, the two slid out and Nick paid the cab driver.

“So, um…” Isabelle trailed off, not really sure where any of this was headed. She and Nick had discussed some pretty serious things…she wasn’t sure if he was still interested after she had mentioned that she wasn’t sure where she wanted to take this relationship – even if there wasn’t one there.

“You wanna come hang out in my room?” Nick asked seductively, whether he meant to or not. It just kind of…came out. Isabelle smirked and nodded slightly. She was nervous. She hadn’t been intimate with Brady yet. They hadn’t had the time, out of all honesty. She wasn’t a virgin, but sex was a big step for her.

Nick took her hand as they entered the lobby and headed for the elevator. The doors opened with a ding and the two waited for the person behind the doors to get off. Only, they were shocked to see Brady was the person standing there.

“H-Hey…” he muttered, completely confused as he glanced down at their adjoining hands. “Um, I was just headed out…I don’t have that great service in the room…” he explained. “Um, what’s going on?” He stared at Isabelle intently and then shot a glare in Nick’s direction. Isabelle quickly shook off Nick’s grasp.

“U-Uh,” she stuttered. She felt hot tears burning her eyes. She wasn’t this kind of girl. She wasn’t the girl that snuck around her boyfriend’s back. She glanced at Nick and then back at Brady. “Can we talk about this in the room?” For once, she was shocked when Brady turned off his phone and nodded. Nick decided to wait for the next elevator. Talk about one hell of an awkward ride.

Brady and Isabelle walked into their room and Brady closed the door behind them. “What the hell is going on here, Isabelle?!” He yelled, completely infuriated with her. Isabelle couldn’t help the first tear that fell from her eye.

“I’m not sure,” she muttered and folded her arms across her chest. Of course she knew what was going on. She was falling for Nick.

“Are you sleeping with him or something?” Brady swallowed the lump in his throat and turned towards her as he poured himself a scotch.

“No!” She quickly responded, feeling guilty that she probably would have if she hadn’t run into Brady on the elevator. “We kissed, okay? A couple of times…” she mumbled and sat down on the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh.

“How do you feel about him?” Brady asked, a bit more calmly now. Isabelle shrugged. She really liked him, but she also felt like she should be with Brady. She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings…but she knew she would hurt someone in this situation. “Well, you need to figure it out.” He mumbled and slammed the bathroom door.

“I’m taking a walk,” she called as she tried to stop the tears from falling. She made her way out of the room and to the elevator. She really needed some air. She needed to think this over and figure out who she wanted to be with. Brady didn’t even put up a fight. Then again, Nick hadn’t either. As she walked into the lobby to go outside, she ran into Nick. His eyes were a bit red and he looked pretty stressed.

“I’m really, really sorry,” he sighed as he took her hands in his. She tried to say something but he cut her off. “No, you know what? I’m not sorry, Iz. I’m not sorry for completely falling for you.” He swallowed hard and pulled her outside in front of the hotel to try and get away from the few lone souls walking around the lobby at this hour. “I’ve really started to fall for you, okay? And I know your family would probably hate me and I’m not the puzzle piece boyfriend your mom’s been looking for. But I know a couple of other things,” he licked his lips and glanced down at their joined hands, then back into her big brown eyes overflowing with tears. “I know your favorite color’s orange and you hate it when anyone calls you Beautiful. I know you love it when I call you Izzie. I know that I can literally see through you when I look into your eyes. And I know you kiss with so much passion…God, it’s fucking incredible,” he smirked, which made her smirk as well. “I know you’ve changed me…so much. I never even considered seeing someone long enough to plan out a future before…but with you, everything’s different. Everything’s new – everything’s a surprise. Izzie, I’ve been to Cologne so many times…” he whispered softly, a tear escaping the corner of his eye. “But with you, I feel like I’m seeing it for the first time.”

Izzie choked back a sob and glanced down at their hands, trying to figure out something to say. As she stood there, completely speechless, Nick pulled her forward and kissed her tenderly one last time.

“Please say something,” he muttered and took his hand away to sloppily wipe underneath his nose.

“That was a damn good fight,” she giggled through her tears, wiping at her eyes hastily. Nick frowned, wondering what that meant. “I want you, Nick. I feel free around you. And I want to feel free forever.” And with that, she kissed him deeply, completely satisfied with her decision.

“I’m sorry, Johnny. I really am,” Brady muttered as he opened the door to Johnny’s hotel room. Brady had personally called Johnny in to resign from the position. Johnny was devastated. They’d never find someone as great as Brady for the position.

“Nick, I really think I should be the one to go,” Isabelle whispered from the other side of the door. She bit her bottom lip and sighed heavily. “I mean, you guys can find another merchandise manager…it’s a lot harder to find another venue…person…” she muttered, not even sure what Brady’s official title was.

“No!” Nick tried to keep his voice down as he put his hands on Isabelle’s waist and pulled her close. “Johnny will find someone. He always does.” Nick shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal. Isabelle still felt really responsible. She was afraid this would ruin everything and Johnny would be upset with her. That was definitely the last thing she wanted.

“I just…I don’t see how any of this is going to work out for the good,” she continued in a hushed voice as she folded her arms over her chest. Nick placed his finger under her chin.

“You and me…that’s the good that’s coming out of this,” he kissed her forehead gently but quickly pulled away as soon as the door opened. Brady and Johnny walked out together, both of them looking mighty unhappy. Brady cleared his throat and kept his eyes focused on Isabelle.

“Isabelle, could I talk to you for a moment?” He asked cordially. Isabelle nodded and followed him into the room him and Johnny had just come out of. She quietly shut the door behind them. “We haven’t really gotten the chance to talk about anything since you made your decision.” He swallowed, not willing to make eye contact with her.

“Listen Brady, I really am sorry about hurting you. I never meant for anything to happen like that,” Isabelle sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Things just didn’t work out the way I thought it would in the long run.” She shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. Brady sighed and leaned against the dresser.

“How did everything turn out, Isabelle? It seemed like we were really enjoying ourselves. I thought…I thought you were the one,” he sighed and rubbed his temple. His words nearly crushed Isabelle’s heart. She wasn’t the kind of person that went around breaking hearts. Usually she was the one that would end up with her heart broken.

“Nothing was what it seemed, Brady! I thought I was supposed to be the girl I was when I was with you. I was the submissive, silent girlfriend that allowed you to treat me the way you did,” she muttered. Brady’s head shot up, about to defend himself. “I don’t mean that you treated me badly, Brady!” She quickly corrected herself. “I just felt so suffocated. I don’t know if you realized it or not, but you really didn’t let me make my own decisions. I always felt like I was your kid or something.” She muttered sympathetically and stood up to reach out to him. “I found myself these past few weeks when I was hanging out with Nick. He let me be myself.”

“I didn’t realize you weren’t yourself when you were around me,” he shot back. He was pissed. Isabelle didn’t really blame him. “What’s different about him? How can you fall for someone so entirely different than me?”

“Brady, you’re a great guy. I’m not just saying that, either,” Isabelle sighed and touched his shoulder gently. “You’re a gentleman. You’re just not my kind of gentleman. Nick allows me to talk for myself. He asks me questions to try and get to know me. He introduces me to new things, new places.”

“I take you to new places. I brought you to Germany,” he quickly shot back.

“The entire time we’ve been in Germany, you’ve been cooped up in the room or the bus on your phone. Nick took my around Germany to show me new things, Brady,” Isabelle ran her fingers through her long dark hair in frustration. She knew breaking up was hard – it just seemed as though this break up never ended. She had explained her decision to Brady the night before. He hadn’t said anything. In fact, he had simply closed the door in her face, forcing her to sleep in Nick’s room. Nick had been gracious enough to take the couch in the living area; Isabelle wasn’t really in the mood for cuddling up after her rough decision. She had barely gotten any sleep at all.

“That’s because he’s not a business man, Isabelle. I’m sorry I’ve been working my ass off to try and establish some kind of new beginning for us for when we get back to the states,” he spat, completely furious.

The heat was rising in Isabelle’s cheeks. “Are you claiming Nick’s not working his ass off? Because if you are, then you’re being ridiculous. Nick is such a hard worker and if you can’t realize that, then you’re just jealous.”

“Oh please. I’m sure if I was a blonde heartthrob winning over thousands of lovesick teenagers I, too, would be a millionaire,” his temper was beginning to boil, as well. Neither of them had wanted this to end so badly. It just seemed that was the direction it was headed. “I’m beginning to wonder, Isabelle. Is that what you’re after?”

“If you’re referring to money you better watch yourself, Brady,” she spat, tears of anger burning her eyes. “How dare you accuse me of something like that? You really don’t know me at all then.” She muttered as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

As soon as Brady saw the tear, he sighed and placed his hand on her wrist. “I’m sorry…” he mumbled and rubbed his temple again. “I-I…I just got so pissed I said some things I didn’t mean.” He mumbled. Isabelle pulled from his grasp and folded her arms across her chest after wiping away her tears. “Please don’t cry.”

“Brady, I don’t know what happened, okay?” Isabelle muttered. “But to be honest? I don’t even know how it all started. We aren’t meant for each other. We just…aren’t.” She shrugged.

“How are you so sure you’re meant for him?” Brady swallowed hard, trying to find some way to win this girl back.

Isabelle glanced down at the carpet. She could think of a million reasons. As she glanced back into Brady’s eyes, she asked, “What’s my favorite color? Or my favorite movie? Or where’s my favorite place to go when I’m sad?” Brady stared back and licked his lips to try and think of the answer. “Just answer one of those questions for me.”

He was completely silent. He had no idea what any of her favorites were. And as he stood there contemplating, he too realized that maybe they weren’t made for each other. “I couldn’t tell you.” He mumbled pathetically.

She nodded; she knew that would be his answer. “You should ask Nick.” She said, not meaning to sound rude, simply wanting to prove her point. “He knows, Brady. That’s what makes him different. He’s interested in me – my personality and who I am. He’s interested in my background and where I come from. You made me wonder if you were interested at all. That’s such an insult and so degrading, Brady.” She sighed. “I’m very sorry everything turned out this way. And I don’t want you to leave your job. So I’m going to give you the option of me leaving instead.” She said softly, just to be sure Nick couldn’t hear her on the opposite side of that door.

Brady swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed. “I could never ask you to do that. Everyone here loves you. You’re what made me so popular around this place.” He tried to be light, but it wasn’t really working. “I need to move on out of here anyway. It’d all be a bad reminder. Don’t worry about work. I’m sure I’ll find something as soon as I get back to LA.” He nodded reassuringly. Isabelle sighed and hugged him tightly to her.

“I really am sorry,” she muttered as she pulled back, not wanting a friendly hug to turn into anything more.

“So am I,” he nodded. As Isabelle pulled away, she spotted the tears in his eyes.

“If you ever need me, I want you to know I’m here, okay?” Isabelle reinstated. She knew she was one of Brady’s only close friends. He had never gone out and hung out with anyone besides her before they started dating.

“Thanks,” he shrugged it off. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He opened the door for her so she could step outside. “I’m going to go pack. Goodbye, Isabelle.”

Isabelle sighed and sat down on the tour bus. She had decided to tag along with Nick for most of the drive. He had multiple bunks on his bus, so it’d be easy that way. She stared out the window at a few snowflakes falling down from the sky. “You look really bummed.” Nick muttered as he sat across from her on the couch and took a sip from his diet coke.

“I’m not…bummed,” Isabelle mumbled and fidgeted with her fingers in her lap to try and think of what exactly she was going through. “I just feel guilty. He brought me here and I went and screwed everything up.” She sniffled and wiped lazily under her eyes. Through her tears, she glanced over at Nick with a heavy sigh. “And now here I am making you feel like I made the wrong decision or something. I don’t feel like I made the wrong decision, Nick.” She explained and walked over to the couch to sit down across from him. “I just feel bad. I feel like either way I was going to hurt someone and I did. I hurt Brady.”

Nick sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. “You’re so amazing, you know that?” He whispered softly and kissed her forehead. “You worry so much about other people and not enough about yourself. Izzie, you can’t always live wanting everyone around you to be happy. What do you want?” He asked quietly.

Isabelle bit her bottom lip as she pondered the question. She glanced back up at Nick. “I want to be here…with you.” She muttered.

“Then you made the right decision,” Nick shrugged with a small grin. “Come on,” he scooted closer to her and draped an arm around her shoulder. He kissed the side of her head sweetly. “Let’s watch a movie or something to take your mind off things. We have a pretty long drive to the next city.”

“Alright, fine,” Isabelle sighed and snuggled up to Nick. She had to admit, being in such close proximity really did make her feel a bit better. He had this way of calming her down when she herself didn’t think she would be able to.

“Okay, what will it be?” He asked and kissed the top of her head. Even though they hadn’t known each other that long, Nick knew her well enough to know breaking up with Brady was having an effect over her. She was too genuine and kind to not allow it to bother her, and for that, Nick felt bad. He didn’t want her to be so down on herself.

“Hmm,” she smirked to herself. “Something Christmas-y.” She beamed. “I could definitely use some holiday cheer right about now.” She chuckled.

“It isn’t even Thanksgiving yet,” Nick rolled his eyes with a grin, but nonetheless scooted her over a bit so he could get up and look through his DVD collection.

“It will be this weekend,” Isabelle pouted back. “It’ll be really weird not being with my family this Thanksgiving…” she sighed and played with the flannel blanket draped over the back of the couch Nick and she had been sitting on. “I mean, even though they can be a bit crazy at times and definitely push me off the deep end, they’re still my family. I still miss them.” She shrugged.

“I’m sorry,” Nick sighed. It seemed like this whole thing with Isabelle was getting more and more complicated. “Maybe you can catch a flight home on Wednesday or something to be with them. We’re flying back into the states Sunday, anyway. Howie’s wedding is coming up and they need to get everything prepared anyway. So, we could meet back up afterwards or something?” He tried to come up with an answer to her problems.

“That would be nice, Nick,” Isabelle nodded as he put in “The Grinch”. As he came back to sit down, she put her arm around him to pull him close. “But who will you spend Thanksgiving with?” She asked him and kissed his cheek sweetly.

Nick shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I don’t know. I think Leighanne and Baylee are flying in, and probably Leigh. So AJ and I will chill and watch a movie or something.” He mumbled.

Isabelle played with his fingers in her hand as she tilted his face towards hers. “As enticing as going home to spend time with my family sounds, I think I’ll stay here and ‘chill’ with you and AJ.” She grinned. Nick beamed and kissed her softly.

“You don’t have to do that. I’d never want you to spend time away from your family for me…I know family traditions are big to other people,” he shrugged. “I’m just sorry I travel all the time and I can’t hang around with you or whatever.”

“It’s okay,” she shrugged with a grin. “Hey, I took this job anyway.” She winked. “Besides, I’m not sure I could bare going home and explaining that Brady and I broke up. I mean, they’re not really gonna take it well, as far as I know.” She sighed.

“Well, then we can have our own Thanksgiving,” he smirked. “As long as you’re sure you’re okay with it, then it works out for me.” He beamed. “We usually can’t do anything special. We’ll get some food, hang out and watch a movie or something.” He shrugged.

“Sounds nice enough to me,” Isabelle winked and kissed his cheek softly. “So, um, you mentioned that we’re heading back to the states after this next show?” She asked softly as previews began to play.

“Yeah,” Nick nodded, not really sure where Isabelle was headed with her question.

“Where are you gonna go when we go back?” She asked again, trying to sound somewhat discrete. She didn’t want to seem pushy, but she also wasn’t sure she wanted to go home for the weekend. Thinking more and more about explaining to her family why she wasn’t home with Brady was beginning to bother her. She knew her mom, especially, would have something to say about it. And she didn’t expect any feedback to be positive.

“Florida. Howie’s wedding is in Orlando, so I’m going to head back to Tampa to spend some time with my friends and then over to Orlando for his wedding,” he explained, beginning to realize where Isabelle was headed with all this. “Iz, do you wanna come with me?”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were spending time with your friends in Tampa,” she mumbled and shrugged. “I’ll just catch up with you at Howie’s wedding.” She didn’t want to impose on Nick and his friends. She knew he was barely ever home anyway. He’d want time with them on his own.

“Izzie, I really don’t mind you coming with me,” Nick chuckled and paused the movie so he could have her complete attention. “Seriously. I’d like it. My friends usually make me go out and get plastered with them. It’d be much more fun if you were there. We’d just chill at Robbie’s place, watch a movie or something and order in.” He shrugged.

“Nick,” Isabelle sighed and sat up so she could look him in the eye. “Are we moving too quickly? I mean, I just broke up with Brady. It seems like everything’s just falling into place but I hope it’s not too good to be true.”

“We should just take it one day at a time,” Nick reassured her. “We’ll get off tour for a little while, spend some time with my friends and their girlfriends. Then you’ll get to meet all the wives at the wedding, and at Thanksgiving too.” Nick explained with a grin. “It’ll all work out, I promise. You trust me?”

Isabelle beamed when he said that and kissed him softly. “More than you know.”

“I now pronounce you, husband and wife,” the minister grinned and closed his Bible. “You may kiss your bride.” He motioned to Howie. Everyone cheered as Howie leaned in to kiss Leigh.

“Aw,” Isabelle beamed from her spot in one of the pews. She had taken a seat with Leighanne and Baylee, Brian’s wife and son, as well as Kristin and Mason, Kevin’s wife and son. Nick was in the wedding with the other guys.

“Weddings are so beautiful,” Kristin gushed as everyone stood up to follow the bride and groom out to the reception hall. “My wedding was one of the greatest moments of my life. And then, of course, along with having this little guy.” She winked and kissed the side of her five-month-old son’s head.

“That’s adorable,” Isabelle grinned and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “The only wedding I’ve ever been to is my brother’s. My sister is actually getting married soon, though.”

“Oh really? That’s awesome,” Leighanne added as the group walked over to the SUV. They would be meeting all of the guys over at the reception hall. All the groomsmen and bride’s maids would ride over in the limo with Leigh and Howie. “How old is she?”

“Twenty-three,” Isabelle fastened her seatbelt in the front with Leighanne while Kristin got Mason and Baylee situated in the back. “My parents always encouraged us to get married and start a family as soon as we were finished with college.” She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t really follow that blueprint.”

“Don’t worry about it. Look at Kevin and I, we tried having kids for such a long time. I never actually thought it would happen, to be honest. But here we are. Blessed with this munchkin,” she giggled as she pinched Mason’s cheek affectionately. He giggled, making everyone laugh.

“I definitely agree. You don’t have to get married right away or even start a family. It’s whatever is best for you. And you definitely want to be with the right person. You shouldn’t rush into anything if it’s not supposed to happen,” Leighanne added.

Isabelle nodded and glanced out the window. “Thanks for that,” she smiled back. “Sometimes I feel like such a disappointment to my family for not just doing what they want. I was with this guy…before Nick. I think they were hoping for a proposal. But it just wasn’t supposed to be.”

“Honey, we’ve all had those relationships our parents wanted for us that didn’t unfold right,” Leighanne laughed as she stopped at a red light.

“Oh yeah,” Kristin rolled her eyes from the backseat and popped a pacifier into Mason’s little mouth when he got upset. “My parents never wanted me to get involved in the entertainment business to begin with. Then, once I went and did so anyway, they really encouraged me to fall in love with someone outside the business – someone ‘normal’, in their mind,” she sighed, but continued on anyway. “And then I met Kevin.” Her entire face lit up. “They weren’t happy at first, but after meeting him and seeing how amazing he was, they fell in love with him.” She giggled. “Your parents will adjust to Nick if Nick’s the one you’re supposed to be with.”

Isabelle had never even thought about mentioning the fact that she thought she and Nick might have something more there. She barely knew Leighanne and Kristin, yet she felt so comfortable around them already. “Can you girls keep a secret?” She asked quietly.

“Of course,” Leighanne smiled sweetly from the driver’s seat.

“Well,” Isabelle sighed but then continued as they pulled into the parking lot behind the limo. “I really think there’s something there between Nick and I. I’ve never felt this way about any guy before. I don’t know. In a way it scares the crap out of me. But at the same time, I really like it…” she bit her bottom lip as a grin pulled at her cheeks.

“Aw,” Kristin gushed. “That is so adorable! I know exactly what you mean. It was the same way with Kevin.” She nodded.

“Same here,” Leighanne beamed. “You shouldn’t be scared, though. I mean, I know it’s somewhat new and scary, but it’s such a great feeling!”

“It is,” Isabelle nodded in agreement. “But I also know Nick doesn’t really wanna get married right now. I read the tabloids and check out fan sites.” She sighed. “I don’t really know what I’m getting into with all this, ya know?”

Leighanne grinned as she parked and turned off the car. “Izzie, when do we ever know what we’re getting into? If we had all the answers, life would be way too easy. Sometimes we just have to take chances and risks.” She shrugged.

Kristin got Mason out of his car seat as Leighanne went around to unbuckle Baylee. “She’s right, you know. I was worried about getting into entertainment, but it was something I really wanted to do. It gave me everything. There were definitely rough patches, but if I would have never gotten involved, I never would have met Kevin. And without Kevin, I’d never have this little guy.” Isabelle couldn’t get over how proud these two women were about their families. She only wished one day she could have that.

“Very true,” Isabelle nodded as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked up to the reception hall with the other women.

“Hey Iz,” Nick winked as he approached them. He draped his arm around her sweetly and pulled her close to him to kiss her cheek. “I see you’ve met Leighanne and Kristin.” He grinned at them. “Hopefully they didn’t scare you away.”

“Nope, they’ve been sweethearts,” Isabelle winked at the two women who smiled back, then went off to find their husbands. She smiled up at Nick as he kissed her temple.

“Well, that’s good,” he cleared his throat and took her hand, leading her to the table with the wedding party. Even though the girls weren’t apart of Leigh’s wedding party, the couple had decided to sit the party and their dates/families at the table with them. “Sorry I had to leave you like that during the ceremony.”

“It really wasn’t a big deal, Nick,” Isabelle reassured him. “Really. I enjoyed spending some time with other women. Not that I’m tired of spending time with you…it’s just nice to have a female presence every once and a while.” She giggled. It was the truth.

“Hey Isabelle!” Howie excitedly greeted her with a big smile and hug. Isabelle laughed. She was happy to see him so happy.

“Hey Howie,” she beamed. “Congratulations! The ceremony was absolutely beautiful.” She said honestly. She always loved weddings.

“Aw, thanks honey,” he winked. “I want you to meet Leigh.” He grinned and took her arm gently, leading her over to where his bride was chatting away with Leighanne and Kristin. “Leigh, honey. I want you to meet Isabelle Rossi. She’s on tour with us working in merchandise and she’s dating Nick.” The way he said that – ‘dating Nick’ – made her smile.

“Hi! It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,” Leigh grinned sweetly and shook Isabelle’s hand. “Howie just goes on and on about what a sweet girl you are and how helpful you are on tour.”

“Aw, well, they’re awesome guys,” Isabelle beamed. These women all seemed so nice! “I’ve heard so much about you, too. Howie was just so excited to finally get married to you…it was all he could talk about.” She giggled as Howie blushed.

“Thanks for sharing that,” Leigh kissed his cheek sweetly. “It’s hard sometimes with him always away, but I’m glad we waited it out and finally made it work. It was definitely worth the wait.” The couple seemed to be lost in their own little world as the DJ came over the PA.

“Well, I’ll let you two have your own time right now. I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself,” Isabelle explained and hugged each of them.

“Okay,” Leigh nodded. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.” She laughed.

“Most definitely,” Isabelle nodded. She winked at Howie turned back to find Nick chatting with Brian about something.

“Alright folks, well, we’ve met the new bride and groom, but now they need to have their very first dance! Please make way to the dance floor for Mr. and Mrs. Howie Dorough!” The DJ said over the PA as the song, ‘I Knew I Love You’ by Savage Garden came over the speakers.

Nick came back to find Isabelle staring with a grin pulling at her lips as she watched the couple dance slowly, completely infatuated with each other. “Pretty cheesy song to pick, eh?” Nick chuckled softly in her ear, tickling the hairs on the back of her neck.

“For a celebrity? Maybe just a little,” Isabelle laughed and sat down with Nick at their table. “I just can’t get over how they’ve known each other for so long and yet they’re still so in love with each other. You don’t see that happen often.” She beamed softly.

“Oh, I know. It seems like Kevin, Brian and now Howie have all gotten it right,” Nick sighed and glanced around at his band mates with their wives.

“Hey,” Isabelle caught his attention by placing her hand on top of his. “You’ll find it someday, Nick. There’s someone out there for everyone.” She grinned. She had always been told that growing up; part of her wondered if Nick ever had advice like that given to him since he had such a horrible family life.

“I’m starting to wonder if I’ve already found her,” he winked and kissed her hand softly. The song began to come to a close and Nick stood up, the next song already beginning. “Dance with me?”

“Nick!” Isabelle hissed from the doorway. It was already Christmas Day. Touring had gone by rather quickly these last few days – they flew from one state to the next, or so it seemed. Nick seemed to be perfectly fine with everything. It was Isabelle that seemed to be struggling. She didn’t feel like she had any time to spend with Nick on a personal level. They were always busy; if they weren’t running around from one city to the next, they were sleeping. They hardly had any time for themselves. Isabelle was glad to be in Tampa with Nick now until after the New Year, but she was nervous about meeting his friends and family.

“What?” Nick chuckled and came in from the back porch with a beer in his hand.

“Something went wrong…this ham doesn’t look right at all,” Isabelle made a sour expression towards the stove where a ham sat on top which she had just pulled from the oven. “I keep trying to call my mom but she’s not answering. She’s mad that I didn’t come home for Christmas.” Tears brimmed her big brown eyes. The last thing she wanted was for her family to be upset with her. That was why she had opted out of going home for the holidays in the first place.

“Hey,” Nick caught her attention and pulled her chin up with his index finger so he could look into her eyes. “Relax, okay? Everything’s gonna be fine. Baby, if the ham didn’t turn out right, we’ll order a pizza. It’s no big deal.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“But it is a big deal!” Isabelle shot back. “I want your friends and family to like me…and ruining Christmas dinner isn’t really the best of starts.” She mumbled and looked back at the ham, trying to think of what she did wrong.

“Izzie,” Nick laughed. “First off, Chris and Brittany are pretty much the easiest going people you’ll ever meet. Rob eats anything – you could shove that in his face right now whether it’s ready or not and he’ll be happy. Aaron’s the same way – he just loves food. Angel’s not the judging type when it comes to food because, well, she can’t cook. Honey, there’s only five people out there. None of them care. And I sure as hell don’t care! I’m just glad you’re here.” He said sincerely, kissing her softly on the lips. “Now, I’ll go order pizza. Then you and I are stepping out of the kitchen to the porch to enjoy Christmas day here in Tampa.” He grinned. “Capiche?” He winked.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it,” Isabelle sighed and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Nick grinned as the two stood there in the doorway just staring at each other for a little while.

“For making me feel comfortable and accepted by you and your friends,” Isabelle shrugged and wrapped her arms around Nick’s neck as his arms snaked around her waist.

“Baby, you are accepted by me. You know that, right?” Nick questioned quickly. He wanted Isabelle to feel satisfied and accepted in their relationship. Isabelle nodded; she knew how Nick felt about her. It was mainly just his friends and family. She wanted them to like her. “And my friends and family know that I like you, so they should like you too. Besides, like I said, food really isn’t the way to their hearts.” He winked. “Only mine, but you already won that over.” He joked.

“Ha ha,” Isabelle laughed sarcastically. “Better have. Because we both know I wouldn’t be able to win you over with my cooking.” She rolled her eyes back at the mess on the stove.

“That’s not true,” he corrected her. “Now come on, let’s go outside and enjoy Christmas, okay?” He tugged at her arm and pulled her towards the door. “You go entertain while I call for pizza.” He kissed the top of her head and shoved her out the door before she could interject.

“Hey Isabelle,” Brittany smiled politely from her side of the table. Rob and Chris had walked over to the poolside with their beers to talk about something else. Aaron was chasing Layla, Nick’s bulldog, around the backyard while throwing Frisbee. Angel and Brittany were sitting out talking. “We were just talking about you.”

“Oh?” Isabelle put a smile on her face and walked over to the other girls to sit down and chat. “What about?” She asked.

“Why you’re interested in my brother,” Angel laughed and took a sip of her beer. Isabelle mentally wondered if Angel was even old enough to drink. She didn’t think she was, but she surely didn’t bring up that tough subject.

“No, I ask myself why he’s interested in me…” Isabelle tugged her legs up to her chest comfortably and grinned at the two. “He’s so sweet to me.”

“Aw,” Brittany smiled. “I’m just glad he finally found a nice girl. Usually whenever we’d double with Nick or go out with him and his girlfriends, we’d be stuck with some slut like Paris Hilton.” She shuddered. “That girl was nothing but trash.” She took a sip from her beer, as well.

“Amen,” Angel laughed. “She was kinda sweet whenever I first met her, but she only got worse.” She made a disgusted look and took another sip from her beer.

“Well, I’m just glad you both seem to like me,” Isabelle chuckled softly. “I have to admit, I was really nervous about coming home with Nick for the holidays. But I also didn’t want to go home.” She sighed. Thinking about home made her kind of sad. She did miss her family, she just wished they could accept her and accept the fact she liked someone that didn’t fit their plan for her life. She shouldn’t have to worry about their plan; it was her life.

“Oh trust me, Nick and I know all about dysfunctional families,” Angel winked with a laugh. “You should ask him about ours sometime. He’ll be the first to tell you how fucked up it all is.”

“He’s explained it to a degree,” Isabelle shrugged. “Mine’s not necessarily…dysfunctional. It’s mainly just my parents. They have this crazy plan made for all their kids and when we don’t follow it, they end up disappointed.”

“Like what?” Brittany asked, completely intrigued now.

“My mom encouraged all of us to get married and start a family early. She would push for it when we turned twenty-three. But with me, I didn’t just go out and fall in love like she’d hoped for,” Isabelle sighed. “So when I met Brady, my ex, my parents pushed for things to get serious with him. That’s why I went on tour to begin with. Brady was working for the guys and he got me a job with the merchandising people.” She explained.

“And then you fell in love with Nick,” Angel snorted. “Shocker.” Isabelle was a little taken back by Angel’s bluntness, but she didn’t say anything.

Brittany rolled her eyes and went in to correct Angel, to try and not scare away Isabelle. “What she means, is that things like that have happened before. But you and Nick seem to be really good for each other. Nick seems to be changing.”

Isabelle was a little nervous about them talking to her like this. It sounded like Nick was a player before he met her. She didn’t doubt it; he was a gorgeous man and from the few angry looks she got at the concert in Germany, she was almost sure he had girls throwing themselves at him every night. She just hoped she hadn’t gotten herself stuck in a situation where she’d be cheated on. She didn’t have the patience for cheating. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” Instead of worrying anymore, she agreed and let the conversation drop.

To all my readers:

I really don’t know how to word this because it is such a difficult thing to talk about. I was just diagnosed with what’s called idiopathic dilatation of the main pulmonary artery. It is a heart disease; thankfully we found it and we’re starting to control it. However, it’s a rare disease and I’m pretty much dedicating a lot of what I have to it right now.

I definitely believe that someday soon – after the initial shock wears off – I will turn back to my writing for support/strength. I know it’ll be there waiting for me. So I’m simply calling this a “brief hiatus”. I really just need to focus on my health at the moment.

So I apologize for leaving; I apologize for not having an update for you sooner. Ever since Christmas I’ve been in and out of the hospital, having MRI’s and other tests done. I hope when I do come back, all you readers will be able to pick up and continue reading. I can’t thank you all enough for reviewing religiously and letting me know how you’re enjoying the story.

Thanks for everything,

Sarah.