Chapter 79
Angie, Pollyanna and John all arrived to the club at the same time as Nick and Fiona. They were quickly ushered inside by security, only to find Howie, Kristina, Sarah and Alex talking excitedly.
After several minutes of small talk and introductions, since both Sarah and Fiona were new to many of them, the group sat down to dinner and an explanation of Kristina and Howie’s decision to not only go public about their relationship but the fact that they were now engaged.
Each of them congratulated the couple on their impending marriage and voiced their concerns of discussing the facts regarding Stephen. It was a highly enlightening evening and one that would prove to make them all stronger in their respective relationships. At the end of dinner, they all had agreed that it would be best for the couple to go public with all that had happened and they were also in agreement to do whatever they could to make things as easy as possible for their entwined families.
Sarah herself had expected several of them to be angry at her considering her relationship to Stephen; however, she couldn’t have been more surprised to find that they were all behind her. She felt a peace beginning to overcome her mind and body, hoping that everyone around the world would soon embrace her and her family once again as they heard the truth.
As Kristina excused herself to get ready for her set, Sarah and Fiona followed her to the dressing room to help, while Howie’s sisters helped John get the club ready to open the doors. Nick, AJ and Howie on the other hand, stood in the corner discussing the situation with Kevin and what needed to be done as far as management was concerned.
An hour later and the club was packed, Kristina was ready to take the stage and they all headed to the special table that Howie had arranged off to the side of the stage.
Kristina took the stage, her dearest friends, along with Howie’s family all smiling as she winked at them. Alex was wolf whistling, Howie was grinning from ear to ear with pride and both Sarah and Fiona were cheering loudly as she started the night off with one of her more upbeat songs.
The third song into the set, the crowd proved to be happy that she was back as they moved closer and closer to the stage, screaming wildly. Taking a sip from her water bottle, she motioned for Howie to join her onstage.
"This next song is really special to me. I wrote it about someone you all know that is near and dear to my heart. He found me during a really difficult time in my life and taught me how to love. I wrote this for my fiancée, the owner of this amazing establishment, Mr. Howie Dorough."
He bowed gracefully, kissing her cheek and attempting to walk from the stage back to his seat. Instead, she held tight to his hand as she used her free hand to adjust the headset that served as her cordless microphone, freeing her hands to use as she pleased. And what pleased her was to be able to hold onto him as they danced.
The music began and the soft Latin beat sent the crowd into a frenzy as she coaxed Howie into swaying his hips with hers to the music.
"He comes from a foreign place, an island far away.... Intrigues me with every move till I’m breathless, I’m helpless, can’t keep my cool. Steals my heart when he takes me hand, and we dance to the rhythm of the band. "
At that point, Howie gave in and reached for her, taking her hand in his and pulling her tightly against his chest, eliciting a loud catcall from Alex and John. Kristina continued to sing, her eyes locked on his, his hands on her waist as they salsa’d across the floor.
"I feel his fingertips grip my hips and I slip as we dip into a state of bliss. Mama used to warn me to be ware those Latin lovers."
As the two of them danced, lost in their love for each other, the feeling of being on stage together and the reaction of the crowd, they didn’t notice the man in the back of the club that grew angrier by the moment at the display before him. He had known who she was the minute she took the stage, smiling smugly as if she had escaped him and had her secret life all wrapped up securely. Then, when she brought ‘lover boy’ to the stage and announced their engagement, that set him off completely. He was even more determined than ever to make them both pay. By the end of the night, her boyfriend would be dead and he will have made sure that they both suffered long and hard before finishing the job he had started more than a year and a half ago.
He watched as the two of them kissed when she finished her song and Howie exited the stage. With his fists balled tightly, he slowly moved closer to the one who held his heart and broke it at the same time. The one that he thought he had taken care of. The one that was supposed to have been dead.