Ronni.

Veronica.

Veronica Ann Howell, soon to be Veronica Ann Carter. Mrs. Nick Carter.

Nick bit his lip as a nervous thrill ran through his stomach. He looked over at the table by the window. It was set for two. Three white roses stood in a crystal vase in the centre. Ronni ‘s favorite flower. Nick didn't get how white could be your favorite color for a flower, but that was Ronni. His Ronni.

He'd met her at the launch party for AJ's solo CD, Juggling Act. Talk about a crazy party! That was one for the record books. Jugglers, for God's sakes...and circus clowns and waiters on unicycles dressed like acrobats. Ronni was a waitress. She was dressed like a tightrope walker or bareback rider or something - wearing only sparkly tights and a skimpy, sequined outfit that didn't leave much to the imagination.

Nick noticed her as soon as he walked in the door. She stood out from the crowd. She was beautiful and she glowed. And man, could she work a room!! He figured she must be a singer or songwriter - something like that - someone trying to break into the business. She wasn't serving much in the way of food, but she was serving up lots of sexy moves, chatting up all the movers and shakers. Nick figured she'd go home with one of them at the end of the evening. He had no idea that it would be him.

He walked around the party talking to people, answering the same dumb questions he'd been answering for years. No, the group wasn't broken up. They were just doing their own thing for awhile.

Thank God AJ had finally got his act together, thought Nick. He was the last one. Nick had two CDs under his belt now; Brian had released his pop/gospel CD the previous fall and Howie's solo effort had followed soon after. Kevin had done his thing in Chicago all over the place and now he was filming a movie in Spain.

Nick thought about his own movie, The Hollow. It had been pretty bad, he guessed, but he'd had a lot of fun doing it. He'd sure learned a lot about making movies. He'd make some better choices next time, for sure.

The fellas all kept saying they were going to make one more album as a group, but it was getting harder and harder to find a time when all five of them were free. The last time all five of them had been free was right after the Black and Blue tour when they could barely stand the sight of each other. Familiarity had certainly bred contempt near the end of that tour, and it was good that they took some time away from each other. Now they had the inclination to be together and they didn't have the time.

"Shrimp?" The sequined waitress appeared in front of him with a tray of appetizers.

"Speak for yourself, little girl," laughed Nick, flashing his toothy grin. Wow! Up close, this girl was even more beautiful. Blonde and blue-eyed. Perfect bone structure. She smiled back at his little joke.

He picked up one of the shrimp. "Are you a model?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, why?"

"'Cause you sure are beautiful enough to be one," he said sincerely.

"Why thank you, kind sir," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Actually, I'm trying to be an actress."

"Ah," he said, with a knowing nod. "Having any luck?"

"Not much so far," she said. "But, what the heck, I'm having fun at it."

"And waitressing helps you meet people and pay the bills?" suggested Nick.

"I don't worry about the bills," said the girl. "That's what I have parents for."

"Lucky you," said Nick. He selected a stuffed mushroom from her tray. Someone put a hand in between them to reach for a shrimp and she turned away.

He didn't see her again until he was getting ready to leave. Outside the club, he handed his parking tag to the valet and waited for the car to be brought around. He heard a voice off to his left and looked around. A few feet away, he saw the waitress, talking into her cell phone, with one finger stuck in her other ear to block out the street noise. She didn't seem happy.

"But you said you would pick me up if..." She paused to listen. "Yeah, well, it didn't..." she said after a moment. "And I don't want to take a cab all the way out there." More silence.

The valet pulled Nick's car up to the curb. Nick tipped him and walked around the car. He looked over the top of it at the girl. She looked at him and shrugged, rolling her eyes at whatever the person on the other end of the line was saying.

"Need a lift?" said Nick.

"Really?" she asked. "It's pretty far."

"Sure," shrugged Nick. "Come on." It wasn't all that late and he wasn't tired and she was beautiful.

She said a few words into the phone and snapped it shut. She picked up her gym bag from the sidewalk. The parking attendant opened the door and she climbed in, placing the bag at her feet.

"Where to?" asked Nick, pulling the car out into traffic.

She gave him an address in the suburbs.

"Wow! That is far out," said Nick. "How do you get back and forth to work?"

"Usually, I drive my car, but my roommate needed it tonight. She was supposed to come and get me, but I think she got luc...busy."

She got lucky, thought Nick, and you didn't. Or, he reconsidered, maybe you did. Maybe we both did.

"Well, if she's...busy...maybe it wouldn't be convenient for you to go there right now."

"Good point. I'm Ronni, by the way, Ronni Howell."

"Nick. Nick Carter."

She laughed. "Ah, yeah...like, I know."

"Do you want to get a drink or something...maybe something to eat?" asked Nick.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Suddenly, she sat up straight. "You know what I feel like...breakfast." She said the word like she hadn't eaten in a week. "I want pancakes and eggs. Is that weird or what?"

"Actually, it sounds pretty good," said Nick. "And I know just where to get it."

He drove to an all-night diner down by the marina. They ate and talked and got to know each other. Finally, Ronni pushed her plate away. "That was great," she said. "It really hit the spot. But it hasn't made that drive any shorter, has it?"

"Maybe it has," said Nick. "I've got lots of room at my place. Do you know me well enough to trust me...that I wouldn't...you know...come on to you...? You could just have one of the guest rooms and then I could drive you home in the morning."

"Are you sure?" said Ronni, "Because I...you know...sort of...first date and all..." She shrugged.

Nick assured her that it would be fine and then waved away her protestations that it would be too much of an inconvenience for him. He took her home and settled her in one of the guest rooms. Then he lay in his bed and thought about her. She lay in her bed waiting for the knock on her door. It never came.

In the morning, she got up early and had a shower in the ensuite bath. She pulled clean clothes out of her bag and got dressed. She always took a change of clothes with her, because you just never knew...

She found Nick in the kitchen. He wasn't usually an early riser, but last night he had set the alarm before going to bed. There was a pitcher of orange juice on the table and coffee was dripping and gurgling in the coffee maker.

"Good morning," she said from the doorway. Sometimes the morning after was awkward, but not today...since there hadn't really been a night before.

"Good morning," he said. "Did you sleep okay?"

She nodded and poured herself a glass of juice. They had coffee and made small talk. Then he drove her home. She gave him her phone number and he said he was going out of town but he'd give her a call when he got back. On the way back to his house, he thought about her. Yeah, he thought maybe he would give her a call.

At her place, Ronni thought about it too. She knew he would.