***At the bridal shower***
 
 
    "Oh you guys, this is great!" I exclaimed as I unwrapped a huge frame.  Inside the frame was a beautiful painting of Nick and I together, painted from a picture that had been taken last summer.  Tears welled up in my eyes and I thanked them again.  As the flood was about to let loose, there was a knock on the door.
 
    "I'll get it."  Jayme got up and sprinted toward the door.  "Oh, hey Nick..."  She stopped when she saw how upset he looked.  "Um, I'll get Sam for you."
 
    "Thanks Jayme."  I got up from my chair and went over to where Nick was standing.  "Babe, I need to talk to you for a second."  He looked at all the girls staring back at us and added, "In private."
 
    "Sure, um, let's go into the conference room downstairs."  He nodded his approval, and I mouthed to Jayme "Be back in a bit."
 
    As we went downstairs, Nick was wringing his hands and running his fingers through his hair repeatedly.  Normally, I loved it when he did that, but now for some reason it made me worry.
 
    We reached the room, and Nick closed the door.  "You'd better sit down for this one."  I sat.  Nick breathed out long and loud and he started talking.
 
    "Ok, you know how we're always honest with each other, right?" I nodded.  "Alright.  Well, tonight when the other guys went to get a surprise for me, AJ had a different surprise.  I told you about my ex-girlfriend Jill right?  Well, it was her.  She was dressed really slutty, and she came over and sat on my lap.  She was sayin' all these things to me in a real sexy voice, and trying to get me to do some things that I knew I would regret later.  But while she was doing all this, it really turned me on for a bit.  For a couple seconds I really wanted to be with her again.  But then-"
 
    "Stop!" I cried.  "Just don't say any more.  I don't want to hear it.  We're supposed to get married really soon Nick.  I'm know that I want you, but after hearing this, I don't think you know what you want!"  I spat out the last part and ran to the door.  Nick caught my arm and I tried in vain to get away from him.
 
    "Listen to me!"  I stopped struggling and stood facing him with an angry look on my face.  He continued.  "I know what I want too, and it's not Jill.  I've known what I've wanted since the first time I laid eyes on you."  His voice was low, almost fierce.
 
    As I looked into his eyes, my insides turned to jelly.  "What?  What do you want?" I challenged him.
 
    He gritted his teeth.  "I want you, girl.  Heaven help me."  With that, he kissed me intensely.  And with that kiss I knew that he meant it.
 
    When he finally pulled his lips from mine, he spoke breathlessly, "I'm so sorry about Jill.  Are we ok?"
 
    "Oh, we're better than ok."  I raised my face to his and kissed him again.
 

    ***The next day***

 
    "All right, here's the announcement you've been waiting for everyone: we're taking a 2 month break from the tour starting Friday.  After the first month, we'll all meet back in Orlando for some photo shoots, radio spots, and to record the next video.  That'll take us to the end of the break, and then we're touring North America.  Sound good?"  Denise smiled as she heard the whistles and yells of happiness as the response to her question.  "Great!  Then let's give the last 2 shows all we've got!"
 
    Everyone cheered once again, and we all got up to go our separate ways.  Nick made his way over to me and whispered in my ear, "Shall we go make that phone call home?"  I nodded in anticipation and we raced back to my room to call my parents, and his parents, and let them know that the wedding would be taking place next week.
 
    What followed was a flurry of questions and excitement.  Each of our families wanted to know what they could do to help with the final preparations and so on.  We told them what needed to be done before we got back to Winnipeg, and they seemed to be more calm knowing that there was something for everybody to help out with.  When we finished with all of the phone calls though, there was still one crucial thing that needed to be done: I hadn't yet gotten a wedding dress.
 
    "That's no problem" stated AJ when I mentioned it to him.  "You've got your pick of who you want to shop with: the girls, who will undoubtedly bawl and get all mushy over every dress you try on, or 4 guys who will be totally honest with you.  Your choice, baby doll."
 
    I grinned at AJ's affectionate nickname for me.  "Alright AJ, you and Brian and Howie and Kevin are my decision.  But when we find the perfect dress, y'all can absolutely not tell Nick what it's like.  It's supposed to be a total surprise for him, alright?"
 
    AJ smiled as he took my hand and kissed it gently.  "You have my word, your highness."
 
    It took a while for us to get everything organized, not to mention giving Nick something to occupy his time with.  When everyone was finally ready to go, and Nick was engrossed in his new Nintendo game, we slipped out the door and into the limo.  AJ had done his homework and made a list of all the best bridal shops and their addresses.  When we'd reached the first one, we all piled excitedly out of the limo and headed into the shop.
 
    "Oh!" I exclaimed when I saw all of the dresses.  They were absolutely exquisite.  A tall, thin, professional looking woman came over to us and asked us a question in German.  AJ stepped forward and answered her, and the woman nodded.  She tried again, this time in English.  "What can I do for you today?"
 
    I grinned like an idiot and just stood there, unable to speak.  Once again, AJ came to my rescue.  "The lady here would like to find a wedding dress.  She's not sure exactly what style she wants yet, so if you could tell us what would look good on her, that'd be excellent."
 
    I stared at AJ.  It was eerie how he was taking control like this...like he'd done it before or something.  Weird.
 
    The woman bobbed her head up and down, took me by the arm and led me back to the dressing rooms.  I sent a helpless look to AJ, and he grinned warmly at me as he and the rest of the guys found places to sit and wait.
 
    The first dress the woman (who's name was Dorte, pronounced Door-tay) gave me was a simple one.  It was a sleeveless gown, with a short train and a sequined bodice.  There was a fluffy bow on the back just below the waist.  I tried it on, and walked out to where Kevin, Brian Howie and AJ were sitting.  They took one look at me, and promptly stood up.  "Wow" breathed Brian.
 
    Howie came over and hugged me.  "You look beautiful Sam.  Nick's a very lucky guy."
 
    I looked at them all in disbelief.  "You guys!  This is only the first one!  AJ, you said you wouldn't get all mushy!"
 
    AJ looked up at me and grinned.  "I said I wouldn't, but I can't make promises for these other guys!"
 
    I groaned and asked, "Ok, seriously guys, what do you think of this one?"
 
    Kevin piped up.  "Well, to be honest, I think the sequins are too much.  Maybe you could try one without the sequins?"
 
    "You got it."  I headed back to the dressing room, hiking up the dress as I left.  5 minutes later I came back out in a hideous looking gown, with a terribly long train, the puffiest sleeves you've ever seen, and lace all over it.  It was gaudy.
 
    Every one of the guys tried to keep a straight face as I walked towards them.  I noticed them straining not to laugh and whispered "She said this is the one that everybody seems to like best, but no one ever buys it.  She told me that whenever someone tries it on, whoever is with them gushes compliments, but she can't figure out why no one wants to pay for it.  Go figure."
 
    Brian snickered.  "You look like a cream puff, Sam!"  The rest of the guys burst out laughing and I held my finger to my lips.
 
    "Shhh!  She'll hear you!  I'm coming back out in a second, and then I think we should go to another store and keep looking."  I shuffled back to the dressing room and heaved a huge sigh.  This was going to be a very long day.
 

Chapter Twenty-Five
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