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****THE NEXT DAY****

AJ sat with his mom at the dinner table. She had invited him to come have dinner with her and he gladly accepted. It had been too long since he had been able to spend extra time with his mom. As much as he had missed that, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering and Denise noticed that.

“Alex, honey, what’s bothering you?” she asked after placing his plate down in front of him and seating herself across from him.

“Nothing,” he smiled. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you aren’t here darling. You’re off in another world. Care to talk about what’s on your mind?”

AJ knew he could tell his mother anything, but even this was a little uncomfortable. He knew she was well aware of the things he had done, but never before had it been with one of his brother’s ex-girlfriends. “It’s nothing important. Thanks anyway, Mom.” He knew it wasn’t over; Denise gave him ‘The Look.’ She wasn’t finished.

Now, Alex, I know I’m your mother, but sweetheart, you know you can talk to me about absolutely anything. And the way you keep drifting off leads me to believe that this is serious.”

AJ smiled. “I know, Mom.”

“So, come on, spill it,” Denise prodded once more. This time, she pushed her untouched plate aside and propped her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hand. It definitely wasn’t over.


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“Are they closed?” Kevin asked—again.

“Yes,” Brianna said through clenched teeth. She was becoming very impatient. “My eyes are closed.”

“Okay…give me a second.”

Brianna shifted Kyra from one hip to the other and waited for Kevin to finish whatever he was doing. They had a short flight to, well, wherever they were and stayed over night in a hotel. She was beginning to think maybe Kevin was taking this surprise a little too far, but he seemed so excited. Brianna had to smile. “Can I open my eyes yet?”

“One more second.” It sounded like he was all over the room. “Okay, open.”

Brianna had to gasp. She was standing in a beautiful living room. And it looked exactly like the living room she and Kevin had ‘designed.’ There was a fireplace with the fire going. Hardwood floors with a large, elegant rug in front of the fireplace. The furniture was a set that she and Kevin had picked out a few months earlier. There was a Christmas tree in front of the large window and three stockings hung from the mantle. Brianna tried to blink back tears when she saw the sign above the mantle.

WELCOME HOME!

“Kevin…”

“Merry Christmas, baby.”

“How?”

“A lot of hard work. I made a lot of phone calls,” he smiled. “This was kind of a rush job and if there’s anything that makes you unhappy, it goes. It’s all the furniture we agreed on, so I think you’ll be happy. God, baby, I just wanted this Christmas to be perfect.”

Brianna turned to him, her eyes bright with tears. “I don’t know what to say. This is so…amazing. I love you so much. I wanna see the whole house,” she said, beaming. “I can’t believe I’m home.”


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“Just so you know, I’m driving back to Florida,” Bianca said to Holly as she climbed out of the car.

Holly frowned. “My driving isn’t that bad.”

“That’s what you think,” Bianca mumbled and headed for the front door. Judging from all the cars, everyone was already at her house.

“Home sweet home,” Holly grinned.

Bianca walked in her mother’s house and immediately forgot everything bad. All the hustle and bustle inside made everything seem perfect. When she heard a gasp, she looked over to see her aunt rushing toward her, arms open wide.

“Shirley! They’re home!”

Bianca laughed and gladly accepted her aunt’s warm hug. “Hey, Aunt Linda.”

“Bean, baby!” she heard her mother call.

It only took a minute to rush to her mother’s comforting embrace. “Mama!” Bianca inhaled deeply as she hugged her mother. “You smell so good, Mama. You always do.”

“I’ve missed you sweet pea,” her mom said hugging her once more. “Get comfortable and relax. I know you’ve got to be tired.”

Bianca and Holly hugged and greeted everyone and then relaxed. Bianca was so glad to be home with her family. Christmas on the road just wasn’t the same. Everyone was so interested in her career and they all listened intently as she gave them the ‘dirt’; her cousins oohing and ahhing over her life with the Backstreet Boys. Thankfully, everyone had been sensitive enough not to mention Nick.

“What about that Backdoor boyfriend of yours?” her cousin William asked loudly. “I thought he was coming with you.”

So much for sensitivity.

“Shut up, Will,” Bianca heard her Aunt Betty hiss to her son.

“Uh, that Backstreet Boy and I broke up,” she answered flatly. Getting up, she went into the kitchen where her mother and two of her sisters were baking and getting their traditional family Christmas dinner ready. They always had a big family get-together the week before Christmas.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Bianca asked as the three women buzzed around the large kitchen.

“No, sweetie, we’ve got it,” her Aunt Helen smiled.

“Go relax and watch TV,” her Aunt Virginia added cheerfully.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” her mother smiled and placed a kiss on her daughter’s cheek.

Not soon enough. “Well, I’ll be in my room if you need me.” She suddenly felt the urge to rip apart a stuffed animal. I’m surprised he didn’t mention my birthday.


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Ivy heard footsteps outside the room she was in. When she heard the door opening, she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard the man talking, but didn’t hear anyone else. He’s on the phone.

“No, don’t worry. She’s asleep,” she heard him say. Then, he said something Ivy never expected to hear. “We’re just off Highway 17 near a place called Pierson.”

Ivy stopped breathing. She knew where she was and she was finally gonna get out of there. All she had to do was call Howie. She listened carefully to try and hear anything else he might say, but was fairly sure he had ended the conversation. Moving a little, she gave him the impression she was just waking up. “What?” she asked, wiping her eyes.

“Have a nice nap?” he asked, giving Ivy a somewhat suspicious look.

“Well, I wish it had been longer, but I have to pee,” she said, ignoring the man’s accusing eyes. “Do you mind unlocking me before I wet myself?” This is my shot, she thought, becoming nervous. I’m going home.


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Nick walked downstairs to find his mother busy in the kitchen.

“Nice of you to join us,” she smiled and gave her son a kiss on the cheek.

“It smells good in here, Mom,” he said sitting down at the table.

“Well, it should,” she laughed. “I’ve been baking all morning.”

“You had some help,” BJ said, coming into the kitchen followed by her sisters.

“Yeah, Mom, you can’t take all the credit,” Leslie chimed in, Angel nodding her agreement.

“Where are Dad and Aaron?” Nick asked, interrupting their playful banter.

“Where do you think? It’s Saturday and there’s a game on. I’ll give you one guess,” BJ rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Well, I will leave you ladies to argue in peace,” Nick said and headed for the TV room where his father and brother were watching a basketball game.

Just as he passed the front hallway, a picture on the table caught his attention. He saw there were a few pictures in the large frame, but the one he noticed was a candid shot of him with Bianca a few days before her birthday. He had one arm around her waist and he was giving her bunny ears with his other hand. Bianca had her eyes crossed and was sticking her tongue out. There was no doubt the both of them were extremely happy. As silly as they looked, there was nothing bad between them.

“Yeah, but it’s not that way anymore,” Nick said, angrily shoving the frame into the drawer of the table before stalking off.