Part 1
The whole morning had been a flurry of activity in preparation for the big day, the marriage of Brianna Walton to teen heartthrob, Nick Carter. Press and fans were everywhere she went, the hair salon, the dress shop, the florist…they all wanted pictures of the woman who had landed Nick and managed to get him to propose and they wanted the story. Boy, were they ever in for a disappointment!! Rumors had been rampant as to how Nick had proposed and of course, every scenario had been the most romantic imaginable but Brianna refused to shatter the fans’ dreams. She’d kept her mouth shut about the proposal letting management spin their own story of how Nick had proposed at a basketball game.
Brianna and Nick had been childhood sweethearts, growing up in Tampa together, attending elementary school together, and when the Backstreet Boys had become a reality, they’d stayed connected through emails and phone calls. They adored each other and were best friends. He’d dated a wide variety of other women but Nick never attended a big event without Brianna on his arm. What made things even better, the fans actually LIKED Brianna, management liked her, and his parents liked her.
Gathering her things, Brianna was about to walk out the door to head to the church when the phone rang. Thinking it was Nick because he’d called her a hundred times that morning, she set her stuff down and grabbed it, ignoring the caller ID.
“NICK!! Would you STOP calling me!! I’ll NEVER make it to the church on time if you keep calling,” she scolded without even giving the other person a chance to speak.
“Bria?” came the voice on the other end.
“Howie?” This wasn’t happening to her.
“I need to see you….please?”
“I’ll see you at the church,” she said weakly hoping that he wouldn’t press the issue. Howie was Nick’s best man and she knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid him today but she could avoid being alone with him.
“No, what I have to say can’t be said at the church. Please…wait for me at your apartment? I’m only a block away.”
There was silence on her end.
“Bria?”
Softly, she said, “I’ll be here.”
