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Something was wrong. He could feel it, but he couldn’t pin point exactly what was bothering her. Each time he inquired, Bianca would smile and shake her head insisting “everything is perfectly peachy” with a bright smile before dropping a quick kiss on his full lips. Now he was watching her as she carried on an animated telephone conversation with her mother who happened to be three thousand miles away in North Carolina.

AJ leaned against the door frame and watched her intently. Before he met Bianca, he was the typical hard partying bad boy everybody expected him to be. Now, he was nothing but a big softy who was head over heels in love with his wife. She was oblivious to his soulful gaze as she tucked a strand of mahogany hair behind her ear.

He smiled, but something tugged at his insides. He wished he knew what was going on with her. He knew there had to be something bothering her because she never would have suggested they move out to California. She loved her career, but he knew perfectly well that Bianca hated Los Angeles more than anything. She didn’t mind going to L.A. for business, but she always said that she would hate living there; she was purely an East Coast girl born and raised in the South. Her soft southern drawl brought him back to the present.

“Bye Mama. I love you too,” she ended the phone call and turned. She gasped in surprise when she found AJ staring at her with a seductive smile plastered on his handsome face. “Gah, you really know how to scare the hell outta somebody, don’t ya? How long have you been there anyway?”

AJ’s smile grew wider as she busied herself with tidying the room—a habit she’d no doubt picked up from her mother. “Long enough sweet cheeks.”

Bianca rolled her eyes and leaned against the desk. She suddenly felt timid under his intense gaze and quickly tore her eyes from his, afraid that he would somehow be able to read her thoughts. That was the last thing she needed.

Noticing her discomfort, AJ frowned inwardly. Have I done something to upset her? Pushing the thought out of his mind he closed the distance between them and placed his hands on her hips. Reaching up he pushed a tendril of dark hair off her face and cupped her quivering chin. Looking into her cerulean eyes, he silently willed her to open up to him. Talk to me, baby… don’t close your heart to me. Tenderly, AJ captured her lips with his wordlessly asking her to open up to him and let go of whatever she was holding on to.

Finally, Bianca gave in to AJ with a breathless sigh. She let him pull her body closer to his as he dropped whisper soft kisses below her ear and down her neck. Squeezing her eyes shut, Bianca cursed herself. He is too good to me and I don’t deserve him… especially not after what I did…



Brian sat on his plush sofa absently flipping through various television channels. He raked a hand through unkempt curls, his breath coming out in a disconcerted sigh. Still, he continued to change channels choosing to ignore his uneasiness for now. Who am I kidding? Not satisfied with anything he’d seen, Brian finally clicked the television off and dropped the remote beside him.

Looking around the quiet room, Brian’s thoughts drifted back to the night before. After he’d bumped into Julie he’d become distracted and withdrawn causing Nicole to become frustrated and suggested that they head home early. Although he had been somewhat relieved when she recommended calling it a night, he couldn’t suppress the guilt he felt surge through him when he kissed her goodnight. Not because he felt bad about killing their perfect evening… it had more to do with the fact that after seeing her, all he could think about was Julie.

Now, here he was, still in the clothes he’d been wearing, feeling more confused than ever. With a hand in his pocket, he felt the black velvet box beneath his fingers. Last night was supposed to be the night he finally set the rest of his life in motion. He’d envisioned dropping to one knee in front of the entire restaurant at which point a misty-eyed Nicole would burst into full fledged tears. Smiling and nodding her acceptance while pulling him up into her embrace, the onlookers would ooh and ahh their approval as the young couple celebrated the joyous occasion.

Yet, here Brian was feeling rather dejected with himself. Nicole, he knew, was upset when she disappeared inside her house and had yet to call him. It will probably be a cold day in hell before she calls me. He glanced toward the window and saw that the morning sky was murky and gray, mirroring his attitude. Scratching his scruffy chin, he reached over and picked up the telephone dialing Nicole’s number. Might as well go ahead and clear things up now, he thought as he began to mentally prepare himself for what was coming.



Nick eyed Mia wearily as she sat cuddled next to Howie, a much too wide smile plastered on her pretty face. He’d been happy when Howie called to see if he wanted to hang out; it had been a while since they’d done anything together and he was looking forward to it. Until he actually got there and found out Mia would be there as well. He would never admit it to Howie, but he didn’t care much for Mia at all. She seemed a little sneaky and definitely phony. He shifted uncomfortably and looked around the spacious room trying desperately to find a topic for conversation.

He had hoped to have the chance to talk to Howie about some of the things that had been bothering him in the last couple of months, but there was no way in hell he would bring up anything in front of Mia. Howie might have been in love, but Nick didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her. In that case, I might need to trust her cause I could probably throw her scrawny ass a good distance, he smirked to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Howie questioned with an amused smile.

“Uh…nothin’. Just somethin’ I heard on the radio earlier. You know those morning deejays are funny as hell,” the lie stumbled from his mouth. He hoped it was convincing. Clearing his throat, Nick glanced back and forth between Howie and Mia. “Hey man, you wanna go get some lunch later? I kinda—”

“Ooh, that would be great, guys. I know a nice little place across town that makes the best—”

“Uh, well, no offense or anything, Mia, but I kinda have some stuff that I need to talk over with Howie. You know… guy stuff.”

Mia tried hard to hide her scowl. “Oh sure.”

“Yeah, that would be cool,” Howie added. Placing a soft kiss just above Mia’s temple, he smiled. “You don’t mind right, baby?”

“No, not at all,” she forced a smile and planted a kiss on his lips all the while shooting daggers at Nick with her eyes.



Bianca made sure the bedroom door was locked as she emerged from her bathroom. AJ was out and about town running some errands and tending to a few business matters, but she knew that he sometimes liked to sneak back and surprise her. She couldn’t let him do that today; she had to be prepared. Just in case. Pacing the large room, she nervously chewed on her bottom lip and checked the clock. Three more minutes. She expelled a nervous sigh and brushed her hair off her forehead.

She stopped in the bathroom doorway and cast an anxious glace at the pregnancy test lying harmlessly on the bathroom counter. Bianca knew this was something she should have done a month ago when she was obviously late and completely missed her period, but she was in denial. After she started getting sick during the day, she knew she couldn’t delay this any longer. Sure, she eventually wanted to have a family, but a baby was not exactly something she needed right now with an upcoming tour. She swallowed the lump in her throat and once again glanced at her watch. One more minute.

She had resumed pacing back and forth in front of the doorway occasionally glancing toward the counter. When the timer chimed, her breath caught in her throat and she felt as though her legs were made of lead. She wanted to look and see the results, but she was terrified as to what she would see. Short shallow breaths escaped her lungs and her heart began to pound in her chest as a nervous ball formed in the pit of her stomach. This is it…

Bianca tried once again to swallow the ever growing lump in her throat, but her mouth had gone completely dry making it impossible. With trembling hands, she reached out and picked up the pink plastic test kit. She closed her eyes momentarily and said a short prayer before looking to see the results. A gasp hitched in her throat as she stared at a pink plus sign. A plus sign… that meant…

Slowly, she walked back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the mattress. Her hands were still shaking when she lifted the telephone from its cradle. She dialed the number she’d retrieved earlier and listened as the phone rang before a friendly voice echoed on the other end. “Dr. Wilburn’s office, this is Angela.”

“H-hi Angela, this is Bianca Parker. I need to make an appointment as soon as possible, please.”