“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?”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the wait! I've been busy now that it's Christmastime! I will definitely try to update at least once more before Christmas. Please review!! And if I don't get a chance to update before Tuesday, everyone have a great holiday!!
