They were on the longest part of their road trip and had thirty-six hours of driving until they reached Denver, Colorado for the next concert. It was the second leg of their North American tour and they only had about five weeks to go. Kevin and Brian each had their own busses so they had privacy with their wives. This bus was the one Howie, AJ, and Nick normally shared while touring North America. It was great fun when Amy and Nikki were along for the trip. The girls spent most of their time on the bus chatting and watching movies whenever their guys had work or serious sleeping to do. Having friends along helped her deal with the pressures of being a Backstreet Girlfriend.

Jacquie grinned at the top of her bunk. "I guess what's I am now," she thought to herself.

Six months had passed since that day at Faye's house in Texas when AJ made promises to her and her to him. Her grin faded. It was also the same day that Nikki broke things off with Howie. It was difficult to share her thoughts and feelings and experiences with her friend because she was afraid her joy would only cause her friend more heartache. And in sheltering her life from her friend, the distance between them grew as it typically does between friends with partners and those who remain alone.

Sighing, the brunette stretched once again before moving the curtain aside and slipping out of the bunk. Her bare feet made little sound as she made her way to the front of the bus. Howie glanced up with a wan smile when she entered before returning his attention to the computer screen before him. "Enjoy your nap?"

"Couldn't sleep." Jacquie rummaged through the cupboards and found her favorite mug. After pouring hot water in, she sat at the small table across from Howie and pulled a tea bag from the box at his elbow. "Find anything interesting?"

Howie pulled the hair tie out and let his hair loose down his back. "We're just in the middle of planning some events for the Foundation, but I can't be at one of the main fundraisers because of our touring schedule." His right hand massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Were they expecting you to be there?"

"No," Howie tapped a couple of words out before shaking his head and deleting them. "It was suggested, but since they added extra dates in Denver and in Las Vegas, I can't make it. I'm supposed to come up with a statement for them to read, but the words are just not coming."

"Want some help?"

The relief spread across his face. "Really? I usually just have one of the publicists come up with something, but I don't have the time." He turned the laptop around so she could read what he had.

"Hmmm," sipping her tea, she read the few sentences before setting her mug down and arching her fingers over the keyboard.

This was how AJ found them twenty minutes later. Howie was now sitting next to Jacquie at the table so he could see what she was typing. Sensing him enter, she looked up and her smile was warm and quick to come. "Who won?"

Shrugging, AJ picked up her mug, sipped and scowled at the cold tea. "It's not over. I was getting a headache from listening to Nick scream at the television." He added hot water to the tea and peered over her shoulder. "What are you two doing?"

"Your girlfriend is a genius, McLean." Howie finished reading over the statement Jacquie wrote. "This is fabulous. I had no idea you were such a good writer, Jaqs." He sent the email to the fundraising committee and switched off the laptop.

"It's really just knowing what to say that conveys the message with tact and genuine feeling." She smirked. "And having a good understanding of the subject matter." Her wink at Howie had them all laughing.

AJ rolled his eyes and handed the mug back to her. "This stuff is a piece of cake for her, D. She could do this stuff in her sleep."

"I have done it in my sleep. Junior year I was so stressed over this one exam that I was giving press conferences and composing news releases in my sleep. I think my roommate wanted to kill me."

AJ couldn't stop laughing. "Howie used to do the same thing years ago. He kept answering the questions we'd ask him between snores. It was hilarious."

"You went to college?"

Jacquie nodded at Howie's question. "I graduated a little over two years ago from Ohio State. Studied public relations and communications."

"I had no idea."

She curled up on the couch near the window AJ was looking through. "It's a really hard field to get into. I applied for a bunch of jobs and internships after I graduated, but firms were downsizing and our graduating class was one of the largest in many years in this field. So I've been working part-time jobs and spending time traveling until something comes along."

"Or someone." AJ leaned over the side of the couch and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I telling her that I could get her a job with our PR people, but she refuses."

"I just don't want to be responsible for writing press releases about myself."

Howie winced. "Yeah, that would be tough." Gathering up the cords for his computer, he bid farewell to the couple before heading into the back.

Jacquie raised her arms and stretched them high above her head. "I'd forgotten how much fun doing that stuff was."

AJ appreciated the view before settling down next to her. "Do you ever think about doing that for real someday?"

"Of course, I'm always looking for job openings. I've sent my resume out dozens of times each week trying to get a job."

He frowned. "I didn't know that."

She gave him a hard look. "AJ, I've been out of college for over two years and that little statement I helped Howie with is the closest I've come to a real job in all that time." She pulled her legs underneath her and turned to face him.

"So I'll hire you. Or one of the other guys will."

"AJ," she rubbed her eyes. Her earlier adrenaline was quickly fading. "No. I need to know that I can do it on my own."

He pulled her into his arms. "I understand, Jaqs."

"Just in case, ask me again in six months. Even the strong and stubborn must earn a living."

"You got it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first of two concerts in Denver was over and rather than explore the town, Jacquie opted to stay at the hotel and spend the day working on her computer. It had been some time since she was able to sign on to talk to her friends online.

Amy had been accepted into her first choice university and was less than a month from graduating from high school. For security reasons, Nick was not able to attend her graduation, but he was flying her out to travel on tour with the group for two weeks. Jacquie was able to let Amy know all the specifics that Nick never could remember to tell her when they spoke. They were looking forward to seeing each other again.

Jacquie's conversations with Faye were discouraging. Neither had heard from Nikki in several weeks, other than the occasional email, so they knew that she was busy working back at the publishing house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When AJ returned to the hotel after the concert that night, he was expecting Jacquie to already be in bed, asleep. Instead, he found her still sitting behind her computer, all the lights on, and a barely touched plate from room service next to her. She was completely focused on the work before her and never noticed him come into the room until he was standing behind the chair and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Wha-?"

"It's just me." His hands massaged the base of her neck. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"I couldn't sleep." Her eyes were sad. "Oh, AJ! I miss Nikki so much."

“You’re not the only one.”

She turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Howie’s suffering.” AJ snagged a few carrot sticks from her plate before collapsing on the couch. “When we’re out on stage or at interviews or anything in front of the cameras, he’s fine. But he’s just down the rest of the time.”

“Glo left last week.”

AJ glared at her. “You know there’s nothing there.”

Logging off her computer, Jacquie stretched and moved away from the desk. “I know.” She sat next to AJ and started running her fingers through his hair when he moved his head to her lap. “So what are we going to do about it?”

“We?”

“Howie’s your best friend and Nikki’s mine. She’s been working herself to death at the publishing house and all her emails have been one-liners. I’m worried.” Jacquie tipped her head back to rest on the back of the couch. “Too bad we can’t just lock them in a room for a few hours and see what happens.”

“Yeah, that’s too bad…” AJ’s voice trailed off as an idea started bubbling in his head. “Where are we headed after Denver?”

“Nevada, I think.” AJ’s grin stilled her hand. “What?”

“Vegas, baby.” Perfect, he thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikki’s thoughts were in the pages she was editing when the phone rang. She took the red pen out of her mouth and groped across the desk until she located the handset. “Nicole, here.”

“Trickster! How are you?”

The older girl smiled as she heard her friend’s voice. “I’m good, Jaqs. How are you?”

“Never better. Whatcha doing?”

“Working.”

“You’d better have this weekend off.”

Setting down the pen and the pages, Nikki ran her hand through her hair. “I don’t know, Jacquie. I’m in the middle of a huge project.”

“Well, I’m in the middle of planning my wedding and I need a maid of honor.”

Bobbling the handset, it took Nikki a moment to figure out what end went next to her ear. “WHAT?”

Jacquie’s giggles came across the line. “The tour’s going to be in Vegas this weekend, so AJ and I thought it would be fun to visit one of those little chapels on the Strip while we’re there.”

“Jaqs, you’re talking marriage. Are you serious?”

“Yes, and it’s all hush-hush, so no selling the story to the tabloids.” Nikki’s snort had Jacquie laughing again. “Amy’s on tour as well, so you can room with her. You fly out Friday at five, I’ll email the details to you. I’ll have someone meet you at the airport to bring you back to the hotel. We’re staying at the MGM Grand.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say yes. I did.” Before Nikki had a chance to say anything else, her friend was saying goodbye and had hung up.

“That went pretty well.”

Jacquie looked up with a grin at AJ. “She’ll be there, I know it.”

“It’s not like you gave her a chance to say anything otherwise.”

She tossed her cell phone in her bag and finished folding her clothes in her suitcase. “Just call me your friendly steamroller.”

Laughing, AJ grabbed her around the waist and swung her around. “Feel free to roll me anytime.” Her laughter echoed out of their hotel room and down the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was late Friday night when Nikki dropped her bags in the hallway and started pounding on the hotel room door. “You had better be in there. I did not fly across the country because of your stupid phone call to get an empty room.” Her knocking got louder. “Jacquie?”

“They’re not here.”

Nikki turned when he spoke. “Where are they?”

Howie shrugged. “They disappeared about two hours ago right after they told me their plans.”

“So they’re serious?”

“Seems like it.” Howie held the door open. “Want to come in and sit down?”

Her thanks was murmured as she stooped to pick up her bags and went into his hotel room. Rather than take the offered seat, Nikki walked over to stand before the window. “What are we going to do?”

Howie closed the door. “My guess is to wait until they contact us.” He watched her as she looked out at the desert. “How have you been, Nikki?”

“Busy. You?”

She saw his shrug in the reflection on the glass. “The same. This tour has had so many extra concerts added that none of us really remember where we’re going next. It’s great that the fans want to see us, but I wish it was time to go home.” Howie dragged his hands through his hair. “Tonight was supposed to be our night off to relax before the concerts start up again tomorrow, but now with AJ’s antics, I’m not going to get any sleep.”

“You don’t even get your birthday off?”

Howie laughed. “They asked me if it was okay, and since I had nothing else to do tomorrow, I agreed.” His laughter faded. “I’m surprised you remembered that.”

It was Nikki’s turn to laugh. “I’m a fan, Howie. Those things are ingrained in us during the brainwashing sessions.”

“Most girls stop caring about the group whenever one of our relationships ends.”

She finally turned to face him. “Just because we’re not dating anymore doesn’t mean I don’t like your music any less.”

“That’s good to know.” Before he could say anything else, his cell phone rang. “Hello? AJ? Where are you two? Yes, she’s here.” He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to jot down the information AJ was giving him. “Alright, we’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. Bye.”

“Where are they?”

Howie looked at the paper. “The Little White Wedding Chapel half way down The Strip. Do you want to change before we leave?”

Nikki glanced down at the suit she was wearing. “No, this will be fine for knocking their heads together. Let’s go.”

“Nikki?” She looked up at him. “Before we leave, I want you to know that I’ve missed you. Not just as a girlfriend, but how it was before we started dating. I miss having you as a friend.”

Her breath caught as she let herself really look into his dark brown eyes. “I’ve missed you too, Howie. But I don’t know if we can go back to how it was before this all happened.”

Just hearing that she missed him too was enough for Howie. “That’s okay, Nikki. I’m just glad you’re here.” “Me, too. Now let’s go deal with our impetuous friends.”

“Ooh, impetuous! Big word,” Howie teased as they left the hotel room. “Do it again!”

Nikki rolled her eyes. “Are you going to be like this all night?”

“Only until we get to the chapel. Then it’s no more Mr. Nice Howie. Let’s go!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“He did say she was here, right?”

AJ nodded. “They’ll be here any minute. Do you want to go wait out front?”

“Nah,” Jacquie whispered. “I’d rather stay here and watch the show.” Then a thought occurred to her. “Alex, what if they don’t try to stop us?”

He shrugged. “Then I guess we just do it.”

“Why that’s the most romantic proposal I’ve ever heard.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll be here.”

They were sitting in one of the smaller public chapel rooms watching different weddings take place. It had taken them an hour to find a chapel that was willing to accommodate such a celebrity wedding and one that understood their motives. Marcus, AJ’s bodyguard, was waiting in the lobby for their friends to arrive.

Ten minutes later, the chapel doors flew open and Howie stormed into the chapel with Nikki right on his heels. Luckily, no ceremonies were taking place, so the foursome had the entire chapel room to themselves.

“Are you two insane?”

Jacquie swallowed her greeting at Nikki’s scream. “No, we’re in love. Insane people get institutionalized. People in love get married.”

“Same thing.”

“It’s not the same thing!” Jacquie glared at her friend.

Nikki stormed over to where the couple was sitting. “You are too young to be getting married.”

“Thanks for the advice, Mom, but I am an adult. That means I can get married if I want to.”

“Here?” Nikki gestured around the room at the garish paintings on the walls and the bright red carpet covering the floor. “This is tacky.”

Jacquie shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s not the most tasteful place, but it’s available.”

“Jaqs, you can say the same thing about a hooker.” Nikki’s voice lowered as she sank into a nearby chair. “Please don’t do this.”

“Why?”

“A wedding should be something special, not just something you decide to do because there’s nothing on television.”

“But I love him.”

Nikki rubbed her hand across her eyes. “That’s wonderful, sweetie, but is that going to be enough?”

Jacquie moved to sit near her friend. “What do you mean?”

“Love is wonderful, but you haven’t been dating that long.”

“We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“Okay, so you have friendship and love. What about your career? The Jacquie I know is not going to be content to just sit around and wait for her husband after concerts and interviews. You spent all that time in school and to do what? Travel in a tour bus six to eight months out of the year?”

“I’m not asking her to be a trophy or just wait for me all the time,” AJ piped in. “Kristin and Leighanne both have careers. Jacquie can have one too.”

Nikki waved off AJ’s comment. “And what about the publicity? The fans? Everything you do or don’t do is going to be under the microscope. You’re going to be hated by lots of people simply because of the man you’re married to. How are you going to deal with the long hours he spends in the studio or on tour or out at publicity events?”

“How am I going to deal with having to spend those long hours in the studio or out on tour or at those events knowing that she’s not there with me?” AJ said. “I’ll tell you how – by trusting her. Same as she’ll do for me.”

Nikki was taken aback by the sheer emotion in AJ’s eyes. “But trusting is hard.”

“That’s why both people have to do it.” Everyone looked up at Howie’s statement, but his eyes were only for Nikki. “But you also have to give each other a reason to trust. I didn’t do that. I only gave you reason to distrust me. I never talked about you. I made plans with other people during our time together. I moved into the relationship and didn’t bring our friendship along for the ride.” He knelt down next to Nikki’s chair. “Every other relationship I’ve had missed the one thing we had – friendship. I’m so sorry, Nikki.”

There were tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “Didn’t you trust me?”

“Oh, yes. I trust you more than just about anyone else I know.” He reached up to caress her face. “I just forgot to trust myself.”

Unable to form the words, Nikki leaned over and softly pressed her lips to his. Howie framed her face with both hands and kissed her back. When at last they separated, he moved only to press his forehead to hers.

“I love you, Nicole.”

“I love you, Howard.”

“So does this mean you’re back together again?” Jacquie’s voice had everyone laughing.

Still looking into her eyes, Howie smiled and said, “Yes.”

AJ checked his watch. “We’re due in the main chapel in a few minutes. You two want to come with? We could always have a double wedding.”

Nikki’s jaw dropped. “You’re still serious about doing this?”

“After that wonderful display, how could we not?” Jacquie’s eyes twinkled.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, AJ,” Howie chimed in. “You know the other guys are going to kill you when they find out.”

“That’s a good point,” AJ rubbed his goatee. “Wanna call this off?”

Jacquie looked around the room. “Yeah, I don’t want to get married here. This place is tacky.”

Nikki and Howie looked at each other before turning in unison to glare at the other two. “Are you telling me that I flew all the way out here for this?” Nikki growled.

“For Howie? Yeah, you did.” Jacquie smirked as she took AJ’s arm.

“I guess I did.” Nikki grinned at Howie.

Before the four could get to the door, Marcus stuck his head through and gave a sigh when he spotted them. “Did it work?” AJ nodded and gestured to the couple behind him.

“You two weren’t really going to get married, were you?” Howie asked.

“Only if you didn’t show up to talk us out of it.” Jacquie grinned. “Let’s get out of here.”

Glancing once more behind him, Marcus stepped inside the room and shut the door. “That’s not going to be so easy. D and his lady didn’t take any precautions when they raced in here earlier. There are photographers and reporters outside, three-deep.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Run outside and yell ‘Just kidding’?”

Howie rolled his eyes. “Very funny, AJ.” He thought for a moment. “Let’s call Brian.”

“Brian?” Jacquie asked.

“Yeah,” AJ nodded. “He’ll understand. Kevin would just yell at us and Nick would just laugh.”

Howie already had his cell phone out and was hitting speed dial. “Hiya Leighanne. It’s Howie. Is Brian around?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The reporters and an ever growing group of fans surrounding The Little White Wedding Chapel were forced to move when a long black stretch limousine pulled up to the front doors of the chapel. Flashes and shouts from the crowd flared when the limo door was opened and the remaining three Backstreet Boys emerged with their respective wives and girlfriend. All were dressed nicely and waved for the cameras but didn’t stop to chat.

Once inside, they were greeted by the other four. Everyone said hello to Nikki, of course, Kevin started lecturing and Amy kept telling Nick to quit gloating.

“So what are we going to do?” AJ asked.

“It’s a wedding chapel, right?” They nodded at Brian’s question. “Someone’s going to get married.”

Jacquie jumped up from her seat. “But we don’t want to get married!”

“You don’t?” Kevin’s voice was stern.

“Well, not here. We just wanted to get Nikki and Howie back together, that’s all.”

Nikki turned to stare at her friend. “This was just a ruse?”

Jacquie cringed. “Yeah.”

The older girl wrapped Jacquie in a big hug. “Thanks.”

“If AJ and Jacquie aren’t getting married, then who is?” Amy asked.

“We originally had plans to do this at another chapel, but it’s fitting to have y’all here with us,” Leighanne smiled. “Brian and I are going to renew our vows and we’d be honored if you’ll join us.”

“Yeah, Leigh wouldn’t let me have an Elvis impersonator at our first wedding, so now’s my chance.” Brian joked.

The wedding coordinator stepped forward and handed Leighanne a small bouquet of flowers. A slightly stunned group followed the couple down a side hallway until they reached a door at the end.

Inside was a very simple, yet elegant chapel. Soft music came through discreet speakers on the wall and the colors were muted pastels and rich ivories.

“Man, if they had told us this was here, we would have gotten married.” Jacquie muttered under her breath. Nikki, whose arm was linked with hers, simply laughed.

The ceremony was beautiful. Leighanne, being six months pregnant, cried happily through everything. At the end, she tossed her bouquet with no advance warning, and Nick was the one to catch it.

All ten people left the chapel together and shared the news with the reporters. Unhappy with the lack of scandal, many reporters and photographers left. The guys spent some time talking to the fans before piling into the limo.

Back at the hotel, everyone gathers in one of the suites to celebrate the ceremony and once the clock struck midnight, a knock sounded at the door. Kevin opened it to reveal a large cake covered in candles for Howie.

Bottles of champagne were opened and glasses were passed around to toast the Birthday Boy. After blowing out the candles, Nick asked Howie what he wished for. Refusing to respond, Howie pulled Nikki close for a kiss. And smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Long after the party ended, AJ and Jacquie opted to take a walk down The Strip. They made their way into The Venetian hotel and wandered past the casino. Hand-in-hand they strolled past the closed shops and followed the canal until they reached the large plaza with the artificial sky and places where street vendors and sidewalk performers gathered during the day.

The large bridge crossing the canal was to their left and just beyond that was the gondola the hotel used for weddings. Jacquie stopped at the top of the bridge and looked down into the water.

“What is it?” AJ stood next to her.

She shrugged. “I was just thinking about what would have happened if they hadn’t arrived to talk us out of getting married today.”

“Would you have gone through with it?”

“Would you?”

“I asked you first.”

Jacquie shrugged again. “Probably not.”

“Oh.” AJ turned to look out at the water.

“I just want a real wedding, AJ. With flowers and a cake and a dress and our families there.”

He smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. Our parents would have killed us.” He looks out into the plaza. “You’d like Venice. It’s romantic and fun and so much culture.” An idea crept into his head. “Have you ever heard of the bridge kissing traditions?”

“Bridge kissing traditions?” Jacquie looked up with a grin.

“Sure! When you’re riding in a gondola, every time you pass underneath a bridge, you kiss for good luck.”

“I certainly hope you’re with someone worth kissing when that happens.”

“Shush, there’s another tradition.” AJ smiled. “When you’re crossing over a bridge, you still kiss for good luck – after all, this is Italy – but only after throwing a coin in the canal.”

“Really?” Jacquie arches an eyebrow. “But I don’t have any coins, so I guess you’re out of luck.”

AJ reached into his pocket and pulled out several coins. Jacquie looked into his hand and saw a sparkling diamond ring among the spare change.

“What is that?”

“What do you think it is?” AJ grinned as her jaw dropped. “I love you, Jacquie, as a friend, as a companion, as a lover. I want a real wedding, too. With the flowers and the cake and all our families and friends there. But most of all, I want a real marriage. With you.”

Jacquie reached in to his hand and pulled out a quarter. Tossing it over her shoulder, they heard the tiny splash right as she reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss.

“Yes.”

His smile was brighter than the street lamps lining the bridge. Plucking the ring from the coins with his right hand, he slid the ring on her left ring finger. Then he wrapped his arms around her and proceeded to thoroughly kiss his fiancée. Her laughter was infectious as she heard the rest of his coins hit the water below. With a chuckle, he pulled slightly away. “What’s so funny?”

“Coins first, then kiss.”

“Ah, when in Rome,” AJ quipped.

“Venice, not Rome.”

“Same thing.”

“Different cities.”

“Same country.”

“Is it always going to be like this between us?” Jacquie looked up at him with a smile.

AJ’s smile matched hers. “God, I hope so.”