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Nick slowly opened his eyes and groaned; he just wanted the day to be over and it was only beginning. He rubbed his tired eyes and sat up, looking out the window at the cloudless blue sky. Perfect day for a wedding, he thought miserably as he hauled himself out of bed and into the kitchen to make breakfast. Stabbing a hand through his messy hair, he opened the fridge and started looking for something to eat. After a few minutes, he heard Maddie’s soft footsteps on the hardwood floors as she ventured into the TV room to watch Saturday morning cartoons.

“Maddie, what do you want for breakfast?” he called as he continued to look through cabinets.

“Pancakes?” she appeared in the doorway looking hopeful.

“Pancakes it is,” Nick smiled and swept her up in his arms to give her a kiss on the cheek. As soon as he put her down, Maddie dashed from the kitchen before the commercials ended. Twenty minutes and a pile of pancakes later, Nick was calling to Madelyn to come get her breakfast before it got cold.

“So, what do you want to do today, Munchkin?” Nick asked, depositing a plate and glass of juice in front of Maddie. “We have a whole day ahead of us.”

Excitement flushed her young face at once. “Daddy, can we go out on the boat today?”

At her request, Nick glanced uncertainly out the kitchen window. Sure, it was beautiful now, but he knew they were calling for storms before the end of the day. He looked back at Madelyn; she was staring up at him with a pleading look. “We’ll see.”

Throwing her arms around Nick’s legs, Madelyn hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Daddy,” she grinned and out of the kitchen toward the living room.

***

Elisabeth was sitting at her vanity staring at her reflection when there was a soft knock on her bedroom door. Part of her wanted to pretend to be sleeping in case it was her mother. “Come in,” she said quietly after a moment. She watched the door slowly swing open and Katy stuck her head inside.

“Hey,” she grinned. “I didn’t know if you’d be up yet or not.”

“I’ve been up for a couple hours,” Elisabeth smiled. “I woke up around 5:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“Are you nervous?” Katy asked.

“No, not really.”

“Excited?”

“A little,” Elisabeth replied with a slight shrug.

“What’s wrong, Mom?” Katy asked as she pulled a chair over beside Elisabeth and sat down.

Elisabeth stared down into her hands for a minute before looking up. She surprised both Katy and herself when she realized there were tears glistening in her eyes. “I just don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.”

“You mean the wedding? What makes you say that?” Katy questioned and placed an arm around Elisabeth’s shoulders.

“I just want to be sure that this is the right thing for me, and right now I don’t feel that way,” she confessed as her tears turned into quiet sobs. “Up until recently I never doubted that any of this was what I really wanted.”

“What changed how you’re feeling?”

Before Elisabeth could come up with a halfway decent answer, the door opened again and Abigail stepped inside. “Good morning,” she began beaming. “How is the blushing bride this—” she stopped and concern filled her face. “What’s the matter darling?”

Elisabeth groaned inwardly and shook her head. “Nothing. Katy and I were just talking,” she said as she wiped her eyes. Forcing a soft laugh, she sighed. “I’m just being silly.”

“Oh, you’re probably just having a little case of nerves,” Abigail said with a bright smile. “I’m sure you’ll get over them soon enough; you probably just need a good breakfast.”

Elisabeth and Katy both watched as Abigail left the room to go make breakfast. That was her cure for everything in the morning. If something was wrong, just eat a nice, hearty breakfast and you’d be good to go. Right, that’s really gonna help me now, Elisabeth thought sarcastically.

***

“Hello?” Nick breathlessly silenced the ringing telephone.

“Nick? Did I catch you at a bad time?” Melanie laughed quietly.

“No…I’m good. I was just playing with Maddie. I’m gettin’ old so all this running is really starting to get to me,” he chuckled when he heard Melanie snort on the other end of the phone. “What are you up to today?”

“Not a lot. I have some errands to run and then I thought I might head down to get something to eat. I thought maybe you might want to join me.”

“Oh, well, I would love too, Mel, but I promised today to Maddie,” he said. He quickly added, “Can I take a rain check?”

“Absolutely.” Her tone made him almost certain she was smiling. “Well, I should get going. Tell Madelyn I said hi.”

“Okay, bye Mel,” he said then replaced the phone to its cradle. He turned around just in time to see Maddie charging toward him. Nick checked his watch and was surprised to see that it was almost noon. As if trying to let him know it was lunchtime, his stomach let out a low rumble of hunger. “Hey, Munchkin, you hungry?” Madelyn nodded. “Well, then we need to fix that.”

Just as they were about to walk out the door the phone began to ring again. Jogging over to it, Nick picked it up just before the answering machine could come on. “Hello?”

“Nick?” A female voice came across the line.

Nick stopped for a minute unsure of who was calling. “Yeah, this is Nick.”

There was a soft chuckle from the other end before the woman continued. “This is Angie Evans, my daughter Stacey is in Madelyn’s class at school.”

“Oh, okay,” Nick said and waited for her to continue.

“Well, tomorrow is Stacey’s birthday and she’s having a sleepover tonight and wanted me to call and invite Madelyn.”

“Oh,” Nick replied a little deflated. He had been looking forward to spending a little extra time with Maddie. “Let me ask her.” Placing his hand over the receiver, he motioned for his daughter to come over to him. “This is Stacey’s Mommy on the phone. She said that Stacey’s birthday is tomorrow so she’s having a little sleepover party tonight and you’re invited. Do you wanna go, Munchkin?”

Madelyn’s eyes lit up instantly. “Yeah, Daddy, can I? Please?”

Holding in his slightly disappointed sigh, Nick smiled and nodded as he put the phone back to his ear. “Angie? What time to I need to bring her over?”

***

“Knock, knock,” Katy said as she stepped inside Elisabeth’s makeshift dressing room—a tent set up on the sand away from the wedding site. “Oh my god, Mom you look beautiful,” she gushed.

“Thank you sweetie,” Elisabeth blushed and adjusted her dress. “What time is it?”

“A little before 5. Guests are arriving now and everything is on schedule.”

“Good,” she said as she expelled a nervous breath. She could already feel the butterflies forming in her stomach. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

“Nana is going over last minute details and Papa is just standing around looking bored,” Katy laughed. “You know how he is.”

“Yes I do,” Elisabeth said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Katy noticed. “Okay, I’m ready. Now all I have to do is wait.”

Katy looked at her mother, concerned. Shaking herself from her semi-trance, she took hold of Elisabeth’s hand. “I’m gonna go back out there and wait with Papa. He looked like he needed some waking up. If you need anything, just get me, okay?” Elisabeth only nodded. “I love you.”

With tears shining in her eyes, Elisabeth pulled Katy in for a hug. “I love you, too, baby.”

As soon as Kaitlyn had gone, Elisabeth began to pace back and forth. She felt sick. It was normal to be nervous before a wedding, but to have this much doubt? I wish I knew this was the right thing, her heart began to chant.

“It is. I love Ben and he loves me and…” she trailed off. And what? You’re gonna go off and life the rest of your life like a fairy tale? Don’t think so.

“This isn’t right. Why do I doubt this after all this time? I’ve never doubted Ben or our relationship before this, so why should it start now?” Because, Lizzie, you know that Ben isn’t the man you love; he will never be Nick.

Closing her eyes, Elisabeth tried to ignore her last thought. She did love Ben. She was startled to hear someone clear their throat behind her. She turned around and immediately forced a smile. “Ben, what are you doing in here? You know you aren’t supposed to see me before the wedding!”

“Aww, honey, do you really believe in all that mumbo jumbo? I couldn’t wait until the ceremony started; the thought of how gorgeous you must look was killing me and I had to come see for myself,” his eyes glinted with mischief as he began to advance on her.

Stepping back, Elisabeth wasn’t at all shocked to see a mix of hurt and surprise on Ben’s handsome face. “Ben, there’s something we really need to talk about.” Outside, Elisabeth could hear Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” begin to play signaling the beginning of the wedding.

“What could there be to talk about, Liz? I’m supposed to be out there right now; can’t this wait?”

“No,” she said as her tears started up again. “Ben, I-I don’t think I can do this.”

“Liz, baby, don’t you think this is just you being nervous? C’mon, we need to go,” Ben said as he tried to take her hand.

She pulled back suddenly. “No, Ben, I’m sorry” Elisabeth wiped her eyes with her hand and started out of the tent. However, before she could get outside, Ben grabbed her arm and refused to let go.

“You’re going to him, aren’t you?” his forehead creased with anger.

Elisabeth began to sob and looked down at the sand beneath her bare feet. “Yes, Ben, and I’m so sorry, but it would not be fair to you if I went through with this wedding. You have to understand that.” Looking into his eyes, she could see the pain. Placing a hand softly on the side of his face, she ran her thumb gently across his cheek. “You are going to make a woman very happy; she’ll be lucky to have you.”

She did not wait for Benjamin to say anything else as she set off to find Nick. This was her last chance to make things right.

***

Five o’clock. It was five o’clock on a Saturday evening and here he was, sitting at home, alone, with nothing to do. He had taken Maddie over to Stacey’s house an hour earlier and after a quick trip to the grocery store, Nick was back at home and bored out of his mind. He’d called Melanie as soon as he’d gotten his groceries put away, but she wasn’t home. She had probably made plans with one of her friends shortly after they’d ended their call earlier that day. Gram was out with one of her friends from her Women’s Group from church. And he was at home. Alone. Moping.

“Okay, what’s on TV?” he muttered to himself. Ten minutes later, Nick was shutting off the television, exasperated. “Not a damn thing to do.”

Then he had a thought that made him chuckle. “I could always go crash a wedding.” He was only half-serious. “Okay, Carter, time to stop being a bored townie.” Then, he suddenly had an idea. “I’ll go sit on the boat and watch the sunset.”

Grabbing his keys and a light jacket, Nick decided he’d had a brilliant idea. He’d call Winnie and leave a message letting her know where he would be just in case she got home early and called. That’s all he would need to do; no need to take his cell phone since he wouldn’t be gone that long. Locking the front door behind him, Nick stepped out onto his front porch and stopped dead in his tracks. It couldn’t be…

But it was.

Standing at the end of the walkway, Elisabeth had stopped when she saw the front door opening. Now that she was face to face with Nick, she was unsure of what she should say. Nothing she had thought of seemed like the right thing to say.

Nick continued slowly down the steps, but stopped once he was completely off the porch. He wasn’t sure what this was about, but he had a feeling he was going to find out. “I thought you were getting married today.”

Elisabeth noted that his tone wasn’t angry or irritated, but matter-of-fact. “Yeah, that was the plan,” she answered in the same tone and took a few steps forward.

Nick didn’t move. He only asked, “What happened?”

I am thinking of you
In my sleepless solitude tonight
If it's wrong to love you
Then my heart just won't let me be right
'Cause I've drowned in you
And I won't pull through
Without you by my side
I'd give my all
To have just one more night with you
I'd risk my life
To feel your body next to mine
'Cause I can't go on
Living in the memory of our song
I'd give my all
For your love tonight

“You did,” she took another half step forward.

“I did?” Nick asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I couldn’t go through with it because I had to come see you. I had to be sure that what I was doing was a mistake.” She watched as Nick took in her words, but remained emotionless. “I’ve spent the last two weeks, no, the last six years in denial. I have been lying to myself and everyone around me since I left and I just can’t lie about it anymore. I love you, Nick. I always have and I always will.”

Baby, can you feel me
Imagining I'm looking in your eyes
I can see you clearly
Vividly emblazoned in my mind
And yet you're so far
Like a distant star
I'm wishing on tonight
I'd give my all
To have just one more night with you
I'd risk my life
To feel your body next to mine
'Cause I can't go on
Living in the memory of our song
I'd give my all
For your love tonight

Nick’s heart swelled up at her words, but he was determined to show no emotion just yet. “What about Ben and your mother? Don’t you think they’ll have something to say about all this?”

“Damn it, Nick, if I cared, even a little, about what they thought of me being here right now, I wouldn’t have bothered coming,” she said taking her final step forward; they were now just inches apart.

Nick looked Elisabeth over closely. He could see the tearstains on her cheeks and her mahogany hair was billowing in the light breeze. Even now, he thought, she was just as beautiful as she was the first day they “officially” met.

“Well,” she was becoming impatient. “Spit it out.”

“Have we met?” Nick asked as he studied her beautiful features. She had creamy brown eyes, with just a hint of green and her skin was slightly tanned. Upon closer inspection, he could see a slight smattering of freckles across her nose and on her forehead. Her dark chestnut hair was pulled half up and there were a few wisps falling into her eyes. She didn’t look much older than him, but he couldn’t be sure of her exact age.

Placing her hands on her slender hips, the woman sighed in annoyance. “Excuse me?” She was getting tired of playing games with this guy.

“Haven’t I seen you somewhere?” Nick asked, taking in her beauty. He didn’t know what it was about her that made him want to stare, but there was something. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he was sure this couldn’t have been the first time he had ever laid eyes on her. “You just look so familiar.”

“Well, I’m afraid that you’ve got me mixed up with someone else. I’m not from around here.”

As soon as she said that, he knew. She was from Sunset Beach. She was the beauty that he bumped into leaving Pizza Village the night he broke it off with Dee-Dee. The one he had mistaken for the bitchy girl that had plowed him over at the beach that same day. “I knew I’d seen you before! You’re from Sunset Beach.”

Her eyes went wide when he said that. “Well, no, I’m only visiting for the summer. How did you know?”

“I bumped into you the other night. Look, I’m sorry I got so mad; it just doesn’t seem like this day can get any worse. I’m Nick,” he said politely extending his hand. “I’m not always like this, I promise. I guess we both had to bump into one another somehow.”

Smiling at his goofy grin, she placed her petite hand in his. “I’m Elisabeth.”

“Well, it was nice to finally meet you. Now, how ‘bout we figure this mess out?” he asked with his most charming smile.

Now, six years later, here they were again.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Elisabeth’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “God, I must look really pathetic, huh? I know you told me that you had moved on with your life, but I haven’t. And I had to be sure that you know just how much I still love you.”

Pushing all other thoughts out of his mind, Nick wrapped his arms around Elisabeth and placed his lips on hers. Their kiss was soft and romantic, but the electricity flowing between them was undeniable. Slowly, Nick broke the kiss and nuzzled his face into her neck as his tears began to flow. “Come watch the sunset with me.”

I'd give my all
To have just one more night with you
I'd risk my life
To feel your body next to mine
'Cause I can't go on
Living in the memory of our song
I'd give my all
For your love tonight
Give my all for your love
Tonight*

***
* “My All” by Mariah Carey