Abby sighed. Why couldn’t Leighanne just give up on this? Abby had to admit that Leighanne had been wonderful. She had arranged for licenses and a church and a minister. She had kept everything secret. She had arranged for a small bouquet of flowers, wondering why she had been told sharply ‘no roses!’ by both Abby and Nick. She had planned a luncheon for them after the ceremony. She had welcomed Abby into her home and kept her calm.
“It’s a white suit. It will do.”
“It’s a nice suit, Abby. I like it. I really do. But you need a wedding dress. This is your big day. You are keeping it low-key and that’s great. But you want to remember this day forever.”
Abby had seen pictures of Leighanne’s wedding dress. It scared her. “I guess I’m just not a wedding dress kind of girl,” she said.
“It doesn’t have to be your typical beaded-bodice-full-skirt-veil kind of dress. Trust me. Let’s go shopping.”
Abby did trust Leighanne. She was very nice and caring and had put a lot of effort into the wedding. Abby didn’t want to hurt her feelings. So she’d go shopping with her. If she didn’t find anything, she had the white suit. Because there was no way she was buying a wedding dress.
Leighanne watched Abby make up her mind. She liked this girl. She thought she was completely different from Nick, and she couldn’t begin to imagine them together. But she thought they’d be good for each other. Brian was delighted that Nick was going to settle down and not with some airhead starlet, like most of the girls he dated, but with someone down-to-earth. Abby wasn’t all that much in the looks department, thought Leighanne, but she had class…and talent. Brian had sent her Abby’s stories. Leighanne loved them.
“Okay, let’s go shopping,” said Abby with another sigh. There’s no way I’m buying a wedding dress, she said to herself.
“Yes, let’s,” replied Leighanne. You’ll see, she thought, we’re going to find the perfect dress!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~They found the perfect dress. It was ivory lace, very simple. The skirt was floor-length but not full at all, just a bit of a flare. The bodice was tight to a fitted waist. The sleeves were long. The lace went up Abby’s long neck and ended in a stand-up collar.
“You are trying this one on,” insisted Leighanne.
Abby had looked at dresses with her, but Leighanne knew she was only humoring her, that she had no intention of actually buying a dress. Leighanne guessed that Abby hadn’t spent a lot of time poring over bridal magazines or thinking about her wedding day because she seemed to have no idea of the variety of dresses available. Leighanne had walked her through a couple of shops. She thought Abby’s eyes had shown interest in a couple of them, but she had shaken her head and moved on. Leighanne was not deterred. She knew they’d find it.
Abby looked at the dress. It was pretty. Nice and simple. It didn’t scream ‘wedding dress’. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll try it on.”
Abby put on the dress and came out of the change room. Leighanne’s mouth fell open. “Oh,” she said and put her fingers over her lips. “Oh, my.” Abby could see tears forming in the corner of Leighanne’s eyes. Jeez, she thought, it’s just a dress.
Leighanne turned her to the full-length mirror. “Oh,” said Abby. “Oh, my.”
It was beautiful. It suited her perfectly. “It even makes me look like I’ve got boobs,” said Abby in wonder.
“We are buying this dress!” said Leighanne.
“But no veil!” insisted Abby.
“No veil,” answered Leighanne. Of course, no veil. This dress didn’t suit a veil. “What about a hat or some flowers in your hair?”
“Leighanne…”
“Okay, okay, just the dress. But Abby, it’s beautiful. Nicky’s going to die when he sees you in it.”
“Well, that wasn’t exactly the effect I was hoping for, but…” tossed Abby over her shoulder as she disappeared into the change room.
Leighanne laughed. She liked Abby’s sense of humor. Nick was a lucky man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The lucky man was so nervous he almost fell off the stage in Charlotte. They were heading to the airport right after the show. Tomorrow morning, he would be getting married. He had added three people to the guest list, with Abby’s permission. Brian had spilled the beans to Kevin who insisted that he wanted to be there. Howie and AJ said they weren’t missing this show either. Nick said he’d have to ask Abby.
I ain’t missin’ it, Kevin had drawled. If she says no to you, I’ll talk to her myself. Uh oh, thought the others. Kevin did not take ‘no’ for an answer. He stood by the phone while Nick called, prepared to take it from his hand at the first sign of reluctance on Abby’s part.
Abby had said, of course, they could attend. But that was all.
Well, maybe one more, said Nick. Kevin wants Kris to fly in. Is that okay?
That’s okay, Abby had replied, but Nick…
No, no, he’d insisted. That was it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“You okay, Nicky?” asked Howie with a grin, as they sat in the lounge. They had raced there from the show. Good fortune and strong tailwinds would get them to Atlanta by midnight.
“Shit, D, I got butterflies the size of tanks in my stomach.”
“You aren’t thinking of backing out, are you?” asked AJ. If Nick wasn’t entirely sure about this, he shouldn’t do it, thought AJ. He knew that from experience. But he thought this was just nerves.
“No, no way. It’s just…such a big step.”
“Yeah, no more getting out there,” said Kevin. “This is your woman, your only woman for the rest of your life. You get that, don’t you?” The others pressed their lips together and tried not to laugh. They’d been expecting the Big Brother Kevin speech for the last three weeks; it looked like it had finally arrived.
“I get it,” said Nick.
“This isn’t a car that you can trade in when the ashtray’s full. This is your life partner,” continued Kevin.
AJ snorted at the car remark but stopped when Kevin turned his green eyes on him. “Sorry, Kev,” he muttered. AJ looked down because he knew if he made eye contact with Howie, he was going to lose it.
Brian jumped on the bandwagon. “Being married is amazing, Nicky. I had doubts too. You know, I wasn’t even much of a player and I wondered…”
“I don’t have any doubts,” said Nick. “I…”
Kevin rode over his words. He had things he wanted to say and he was going to say them. Nick listened patiently and earnestly, trying to ignore the tattooed giggler beside him. He listened to words about honesty and trust and faith in each other.
“Thanks, Kev,” he said, when Kevin paused to draw a breath. “Those are good words. I’ll remember them. But I’m not afraid that I’m not doing the right thing. I know I am.” Nick meant those words. He didn’t want to be a player. He was delighted that he was only going to have one woman for the rest of his life. “I don’t care that my dating days are over. I want them to be over. I’m just nervous that I’ll do something…”
“…Nicky?” asked AJ with a grin.
“Yeah…something Nicky…like screw up the words or forget her name…or my name!”
The five men laughed together. “Any and all of those are a possibility,” said Brian with a chuckle. “But so what? If it happens, it happens. It doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah,” added Howie. “There’ll only be us there. It’s not like it will make the papers.”
“And you know we’ll never say anything to you about it ever again,” said AJ, all wide-eyed innocence.
Nick grinned and shook his head. “Only every day for the rest of my life, right?”
“We might give you Sundays off,” said Kevin. “Oh, they’re calling our flight.”
“Off we go into the wild blue yonder…Kev’s favorite place to be,” said Brian, who did not enjoy flying. He knew that AJ and Nick weren’t wild about it either. Howie was on Kevin’s side. He loved to fly.
“After the groom,” said Kevin with a laugh, motioning Nick to the jetway. “Let’s go get you married.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“They should be landing soon,” said Kris, looking at her watch. “And then there’ll be all the…” She did mental calculations, factoring in luggage and limos and security guards. “12:30. The best they can make is 12:30.” She was excited because she was going to be in Kevin’s arms tonight. He was coming home with Brian. The other three were staying in a hotel downtown.
Leighanne counted on her fingers. “Yes. The flight lands at 11:20. They only brought carry-on. The rest will come on the buses tomorrow. And there’s two cars, one for here and one for the hotel.”
A sound from the sofa made them turn. It was a sigh from Abby, who was sitting with a sleeping child cradled in her arms. Leighanne smiled fondly at them. Abby had bonded with her son immediately. He had become her shadow, tagging along behind her, saying “Abby, Abby,” in his sweet, sing-song voice.
“Are you scared?” asked Kristin.
“I was before I got here, but I’m okay now,” answered Abby. “Once I saw how Leighanne lives…how normal it is.” She paused. “I guess I was afraid of always being surrounded by security and fans, but I mean, we went shopping and walked the dogs and no one bothered us.”
Kristin and Leighanne exchanged a glance. That’s because you weren’t with Nick, they thought. And when all five of them blow into town, it’ll be your worst nightmare. Kristin didn’t want to scare Abby but she didn’t want to hide anything from her either. “It’s a little different when the guys are actually here,” she began tentatively. “We’re just the wives. Nobody pays any attention to us when the guys aren’t around. But it’s different when they are. When Kevin and I go out, there are always fans…”
“But when he’s not around, you can have a normal life, right?”
Kristin nodded.
Abby smiled. “Then that’s okay. That’s all I want.”
Kristin and Leighanne looked at each other. Abby was planning her life based on Nick not being there? Abby intercepted the glance. Dammit, she thought.
“Um…because…you know…” she tried to fix things, “the rest of the time, when he’s there, I won’t mind any of it, because…well, because he’ll be there.”
The two blondes smiled at Abby and then at each other. Leighanne looked at her watch. “They should be here soon. It’s almost midnight.”
Abby smiled at them both and dropped a kiss on the head of the blond cherub in her lap. She knew they were excited to see their husbands. She was not going to see Nick until tomorrow because Leighanne had decreed that it was bad luck to see the bride the night before the ceremony. AJ and Howie were to take him to the hotel and tuck him in so that he would have a good night’s sleep and be refreshed for the morning.
They heard a commotion at the front door. The cousins were here! Leighanne and Kristin moved quickly to the hall. Abby stood up slowly, careful not to wake the sleeping angel in her arms. Through the doorway, she could see Kevin and Brian scoop their wives into their arms. As she drew nearer, she could hear little whispers, “…love you…missed you…home, babe…”
“Hey, there!” He whispered it so softly that she almost didn’t hear it. Abby turned her head toward the front door. There were three more Backstreet Boys standing there, grinning at her.
“Nick!” She mouthed the word.
He walked over to her slowly. The kissing couples stopped what they were doing. Brian let go of his wife and reached for his son. “I’ll take him,” he said.
“And I’ll take her,” replied Nick, pulling Abby into his arms. He hugged her tightly and she hugged him back. They swayed back and forth together. “You came,” he whispered into her ear.
“So did you,” she answered softly.
Nick let her go and cupped her face gently in one hand He ran one finger down her nose. “Scared?” he whispered.
“Not any more,” she whispered back.
“Me neither. I…”
Nick was interrupted by a loud ‘ahem’.
He turned. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” He took Abby’s hand and squeezed it. “Abby, this scruffy bunch are my brothers…Brian Littrell…Kevin…” He introduced them one by one. Each shook Abby’s hand solemnly and said ‘pleased to meet you’.
“I thought you were all going to the hotel,” said Kristin. Leighanne gave a snort of disapproval at the change in plans.
“Someone couldn’t wait to see his bride-to-be,” drawled Kevin.
“Hey, I wasn’t the only one. You all said you wanted to meet her too.” Nick slipped his arm around Abby.
Leighanne yawned. “Trust you bunch not to do what you’re told! Okay, you’ve met her. She’s a doll. Take it from me.” Kristin nodded her agreement. “But now,” Leighanne continued, “it’s time for me to get my younguns to bed.” She wagged her finger at Howie and AJ. “You get him to the church tomorrow for ten.” She turned to Nick. “Don’t be late and don’t be hung over.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” replied the three meekly.
“We’ll wait in the car, Frack,” said AJ and he and Howie went out the door. The married couples disappeared into the living room, leaving Abby and Nick alone in the hall.
They stared at each other for a moment. “No cold feet?” Nick asked, needing to hear her say it.
“No,” she replied with certainty. “None. What about you?”
“Nope,” he said. “This is the deal of a lifetime for me. I can’t wait.”
“Okay, good then. It’s a deal. We won’t stand each other up.” She held out her hand. He shook it firmly. Deal, they both whispered.
Voices approaching from the living room told them that their moment alone was nearly over. Nick leaned down and pressed his lips to Abby’s. “Marry me,” he whispered, as he drew back.
“I’m free tomorrow at ten,” she answered with a smile.
“That’s a date, then.” Nick brushed a finger down the side of her face and went out the door.
