Nick wished Aaron would hurry up and finish the song. He wanted to go home to his family. They had spent the morning laying down the last part of the track. Now, he was on his way to pick up a gift for his wife. Mandy offered to drive him to the jewelry store.

“I really want to meet your wife. She sounds like a great woman.”

“She is. I think you two would get along great.” Nick commented as the walked into the jewelry store.

“Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?” The clerk asked.

“I’m here to pick up a ring. The name is Nick Carter.”

“I’ll be right back sir.”

Nick and Mandy looked at the jewelry in the display. The clerk came back out with a small velvet box.

“Here is your ring.” Nick gave the clerk his credit card.

“Let me see it Nick.”

Nick opened the box.

“It’s gorgeous, Nick. She’ll love it.” Mandy gushed.

The clerk handed Nick his credit card and they left he store.

----------------------------------------

I sat on the couch watching TV. Rachel and Jackson were spending the day with some friends from school. I was bored. I flipped to the E channel. Lindsey Lohan, don’t care about her. Then all of a sudden I saw my husband on the screen.

“In recent days, Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys was seen at Tiffany’s with pop singer Mandy Moore. The two look awfully close while looking at jewelry. Look at the smile on her face. Nick is currently married to Ashton Richardson Carter, sister of former Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson. Other sightings include Starbucks and Target. No word on if the wife knows what’s going on. We’ll keep you posted.” Ryan Seacrest’s voice blasted through the room.

There had to be a misunderstanding. Nick wouldn’t cheat on me. Not after everything that happened. Nick and Mandy were just friends. I couldn’t take another heart break. My kids couldn’t deal with a situation like this. What about the baby we were having. Everything was perfect until he went to L.A. First it was the scene at the nightclub and now he was parading around Hollywood with another woman.

I was mad. I didn’t know if I should call Nick at that moment or not. I didn’t want to start yelling at him. I decided to wait until I was calmer. Right now I was fuming. Nick might not even know that it was plastered on the television.

I got up and started picking up the family room. I picked up Rachel and Jackson’s toys and put them away. I got all the dirty laundry and took it to the laundry room. I placed some clothes into the washer. Then I got out the sweeper. I was still furious with Nick and cleaning wasn’t helping. I couldn’t take it any longer. I had to call him.

I dialed his cell phone. After a few rings, his voice mail came on. I didn’t leave a message. I decided to call Aaron’s house.

“Carter’s house of freaks.”

“Aaron is Nick around. I really need to talk to him.” I quickly asked.

“Yeah, here he is.” He threw the phone in Nick’s lap.

“Hey sweetie.”

“Nick, cut it out. I’m not in the mood.”

“Ashton what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong, Nick? Have you watched the E channel today?” I yelled into the phone.

“Stop yelling. No, I haven’t had the TV on. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“How’s Mandy? You seem to be spending time with her instead of helping Aaron with his cd.”             

“I have been working on Aaron’s song. We just finished this morning.”

“Well the cameras have spotted you and Mandy together at a variety of places in Hollywood. They showed you at Starbucks, Target, and Tiffany’s. You looked especially comfortable at Tiffany’s. I hope she enjoys whatever you bought her.” Tears started falling down my face.

“It’s not what you think. Mandy and I are not together. We are just friends.”

“Nick, this is the second time you’ve been caught in a compromising position. I’m beginning to have my doubts about you Nick. Maybe going to L.A. wasn’t a good idea.”

“Ashton, nothing happened. I would never cheat on you, and you know that. You encouraged me to go to L.A. I thought you trusted me.” He sounded defeated.

“I do trust you. I always have. I guess I’m just insecure about things. Everything has been going great and it frightens me.”

“Ashton, I get that. I am head over heels in love with you and nothing will change that. No woman could take me away from you. You would kill them first.” Nick laughed.

“I’m sorry I over reacted. I’m going to blame it on my hormones. I miss you. When are you coming home?”

“I have a flight home tomorrow. I should get to Orlando around noon.” He smiled knowing he was coming home. It had been a long two weeks.

“I can’t wait. So what did you buy at Tiffany’s?” I prodded.

“I can’t tell you. It’s something special for you. I’m planning a special date for us on Saturday.”

“I can’t wait. I got to go pick up the kids. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love, Ash. Bye.”

I grabbed my keys and hurried to the car. Nick must have thought I was being irrational. I didn’t mean to be. I guess I was a bit paranoid about our relationship, especially when it came to other women. I think knowing that he slept with Chelsey made me think differently about the situation. I trusted him completely, but I didn’t trust the women around him. At least I could blame my moodiness on hormones. It was great to be pregnant.