“How are you?”
“I’m good. I’m…here. I mean, I got in today…” Shit! Shit! Shit!
”I’m calling to see about Abby. She missed the meeting today. She never called to say she wouldn’t be there. She’s never done that before. Is she okay?” Ronni had been pissed beyond all imagination when Abby had missed the meeting today. It was her last chance to get a backstage pass.
“She’s sick,” said Nick. “She’s got an ear infection. She was in pretty bad shape when we got here.”
“We?”
“Terence. My bodyguard.”
“I never met him. You weren’t on tour when we…were together.”
“Yeah, well…”
”So is Abby going to be all right? Is there anything I can do?”
Nick was trying to get his head around this. Ronni wanted to do something for Abby? Abby had mentioned to him that Ronni was on the same committee as her at the Symphony, but she hadn’t sounded too thrilled about it. And she’d never mentioned her other than that. But here was Ronni talking like they were old friends…offering to help out.
“No…thanks, but…I think it’s under control. She’s got medicine and we managed to get her to eat and drink something.”
“Oh, that’s good,” purred Ronni. “She certainly can’t afford to lose any weight.”
Nick couldn’t tell if she was being catty or concerned.
“She’ll be fine in a day or so,” said Nick, confidently.
If smiles had sound, Nick’s eardrum would have been shattered. Ronni was beaming. Talk about things going her way! “You mean she’s going to miss the concert?” asked Ronni. “How awful!”
“She’s seen concerts before. It’s not that big a deal.”
“It’s a big deal for me. I’ve never seen you perform…I mean, sing.”
The double entendre was not lost on Nick. Nor was the sultry voice. He squirmed on the leather sofa. “Well, you can come to the concert tomorrow night,” he said. “Did you get a ticket?”
“I was going to go with a friend,” said Ronni, not answering the question, “but then Abby said something about a fan conference or something…going to that together…I wasn’t really sure what she meant.”
Nick heard the toilet flush. “I gotta go, Ronni. I gotta check on Abby.”
“No!” said Ronni. “I’ll hold on. I want to make sure she’s okay. Go check on her and then come back and tell me if she’s all right.” There was no way Ronni was letting this opportunity slip by.
Nick set down the phone and went to the bedroom. Abby was standing in the middle of the floor looking bewildered.
“Abby?” said Nick, softly, not wanting to startle her.
She looked up at him. “I forgot where I’m going,” she said, furrowing her brow.
“You’re going to bed,” said Nick. “Over here. Come on.” He took her hand and led her to the bed. He put her in it and encouraged her to drink some more water. Her face was hot. “Abby,” he began, “did you talk to Ronni about the fan conference?”
“She says she wants to see Howie again,” murmured Abby. She put her hand on Nick’s chest. “You’re so beautiful.”
“So you talked to her about the concert?” he asked.
“Yeah, but not in front of the others. They don’t know about her and you.” Abby ran her fingers down Nick’s face and smiled…a loopy, feverish smile. “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.”
Nick wondered who the others were. How often did Abby see Ronni? And were they talking about him? He kissed Abby’s fingers and watched her slip down into sleep. Then he went back to his game room and picked up the phone.
“How is she?” asked Ronni, as soon as she heard him. Not well enough to go to the concert, she hoped.
“Um, she’s okay…she’s gone back to sleep now.”
Good, thought Ronni, we can have a nice, long chat.
And they did. Ronni skillfully manipulated the conversation. She asked questions about the tour and made references to their time together…nothing overt or steamy, just recalling this event or that, anything to put Nick in a Ronni frame of mind.
She knew she had him when he laughed at one point and then broke it off sharply. I don’t want to wake Abby, he said. I’ll just close the door. They talked for an hour and at the end of it, she not only had her backstage pass and her ticket to the fan conference. Ronni was pretty sure she had Nick Carter as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Abby felt a little better when she woke up in the morning. Wow! Talk about a lost weekend! She could barely remember the last two days. Nick was home, she remembered that. And Terence. Terence was there too. Or maybe she’d dreamed that. And Ronni? She’d dreamed about Ronni, she knew that. There was no way she was there!
Abby got out of bed and went to the washroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face and exhausted herself. She barely made it back to the bed. Okay, so she wasn’t out of the woods yet, but at least the fever was gone.
“Hey, Baby!” Nick spoke to her from the doorway. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” said Abby. “Much better.” She smiled wanly.
“But you’re staying in bed today,” said Nick. It was a statement, not a question.
Abby’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, I guess I am. I’m sorry, Nick…I wanted this to be…a homecoming. I wanted to show you the apartment and…”
“Ssshhh,” soothed Nick. “It’s okay. I explored it from top to bottom last night while you were sleeping. It’s wonderful. It feels like home.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You did a great job.” He put his hand on her forehead. “I think your fever’s gone.”
“Yes, I think so too. I was a bit out of it, wasn’t I?”
“Oh, I’d say more than a bit. You scared the hell out of me and Terence?”
“So Terence was here!” Abby nodded. She’d been right about that.
“Don’t you remember?”
“It’s all a bit hazy,” admitted Abby. “I hope I didn’t say anything too stupid.”
Nick laughed. “You said ‘I’m sorry’ five hundred times. Does that count?”
“I’m sorry…I mean…” Abby laughed.
“Five hundred and one,” said Nick, putting his hand on her face. “I’m going to make you tea and toast. You have to take a pill.”
“What time do you have to go?” asked Abby.
“Terence is picking me up at nine. He’s bringing Patrick. He’s going to stay with you for the day.”
“That’s not necessary, Nick. I’m feeling a lot better. I can look after myself.”
“It’s Patrick or your mother. Take your choice.” Nick wasn’t going to argue about it.
“It will be nice to see Patrick again,” said Abby.
Nick laughed and shook his head at her. “You nut. I’ll make your tea now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Terence and Patrick arrived. Terence didn’t even hesitate but went straight to Abby’s bedroom. He felt her forehead and told her to drink some water. He called Patrick in and showed him where everything was in the bathroom. He gave him a list of instructions that had the other three biting the inside of their cheek to keep from laughing.
“Terence, I’m fine, really,” said Abby, when he wound down. “You’ll scare Patrick if you keep talking like that.”
“Do you want me to describe how you looked when we came in here last night?” asked Terence.
“I believe ‘awful’ was the term used,” said Abby with a smile. Nick groaned.
“Well, that was only eighteen hours ago, give or take. You’re not over this yet.” He turned to Patrick. “Keep her in bed. Make sure she drinks eight ounces of fluid every hour. The silly woman nearly dehydrated herself. And keep feeding her.”
“Yes, Sir,” said Patrick, stopping just short of snapping off a salute. “I can handle her. I’ve got three younger sisters.”
“Okay, then,” said Terence and the two bodyguards left the room.
“I gotta go,” said Nick, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed. He picked up her hand. “I want you to take care of yourself. I want to see a big improvement. I won’t be able to leave here tomorrow unless I know you’re okay.”
“Maybe I’ll just get sicker then and keep you here,” said Abby with a smile. She squeezed his hand. “Go to work,” she whispered.
Nick kissed her fingers and went out of the room.
On the way to the venue, he told Terence that he needed a backstage pass and a ticket to the fan conference left at the box office.
“What’s the name?”
“Ronni Fenton?”
“Okay,” said Terence. “Who’s he?”
“It’s a she,” said Nick. “Just someone I used to know.”
Terence glanced at him sideways. There was something in Nick’s voice. But the young blond man was staring out the window with no expression on his face.
“Okay,” said Terence. “I’ll take care of it.”
