Of all the people Angie picks to marry, she picks a guy who lives in Florida.
Tampa, Florida.
It doesn�t help that he�s a complete jerk.
I heard Mike say something to whatever guy he�d chosen for his best man while I looked around at the various stores around the semi-deserted street.
��Kara.�
I heard Mike say my name, but pretended not to in hopes I wouldn�t have any unneeded conversations with him.
I�m not too fond of him really.
�Kara!!�
But ignoring Angie is another story.
�What?�
I turned towards her, feigning innocence. She carefully enunciated each word she said as if I was slow.
�This is Nick, Michael�s best man.�
Yeah, whatever. That�s nice.
I turned towards this guy I�d been told to play nice with.
And he was staring at me.
With good reason.
�Hi, I�m Kara MacIntosh.�
I stuck my hand out, feeling as if someone had just kicked me in the stomach as I tried to play off the shocked look that might have crossed my face.
Please play along. I don�t want to explain.
He swallowed hard enough that everyone should have noticed and his eyes were probably wide behind his sunglasses to match his gaping mouth.
But he grabbed my hand anyway, hesitantly as if he wasn�t sure it existed or it might break in his grip. His voice wavered slightly when he talked.
�I�m Nick Carter.�
Yeah you are.
*
Why is she pretending like she�s never met me?
She knows me. She knows me a lot. She knows me enough that I could pin her against this window and kiss her for the next thirty minutes and I wouldn�t feel weird about it. Even when people stopped to watch.
Yes Mike, I really want to sleep with the maid of honor.
Maybe we�ll even skip the wedding.
After I shake some sense into her.
�It�s nice to meet you.�
Her voice was quiet and, now pulled out of my sex-starved thoughts, I noticed her pale face and the tears that slowly filled her eyes.
I still have a hold of her hand.
And I�m afraid to let go.
I nodded as she pulled her hand and eyes away from mine.
�Yeah, Kara, I was just telling Nick about how you just graduated from high school last week.�
Her head snapped in Mike�s direction, panic temporarily flashing across her eyes.
Oh my god.
She�s only eighteen?
*
No. He couldn�t have. Nick can�t know how old I am. He thought I was so much older. He thought I was his age.
God damn it MacIntosh. I thought I�d gotten myself together.
I thought I�d never see him again.
And here he is.
I felt my head nod slowly against my will, confirming what I didn�t want him to know. I felt my stomach tie into a few more knots as I felt Nick�s eyes burning a hold through me.
It�s the dress.
For the first time, I�d convinced myself to slip into this stupid dress and I immediately ran into Nick fucking Carter, the very person who bought this goddamn dress for me.
Where�s the tracking device?
�So are we going to get this dress I�m supposed to wear?�
I�m being such a bitch. Why am I being a bitch?
I glanced at Angie before walking past Nick, my shoulder brushing against his bare arm. I felt his eyes following me as I opened the door and turned back to glance at the three of them staring.
�Are we?�
My voice grew quiet as I pleaded with my eyes for Angie to please let us leave while trying to avoid any looks in Nick�s direction.
She glanced at the two boys before shrugging and following me inside the store.
Oh god.
I�m about to spend a week with Nick.
As Angie talked to some woman behind the counter before they led me to some dressing room, I tried to keep my legs working.
My heart is beating too fast. I think I�m going to pass out again. Nick seems to have that affect on me.
I didn�t get a warning. I didn�t have time to prepare myself at all.
My cousin and the fitting lady talked about the wedding while they tried to find Angie�s wedding dress and the dress I�m suppose to get taken in. While flashbacks played in my head of last January, I propped myself up against the wall and closed my eyes against the tears.
I thought I�d gotten past this.
*
I felt my lungs constrict as I realized I�d been holding my breath from the moment I saw her.
She just happened to walk through a door and, even though I know I�m going to see her again - probably a lot of �agains� - over the next week, it almost feels like she�s walking away.
And when her shoulder barely brushed against me, the sparks jumped through me.
Like all the other times.
We�ll find each other again.
The third time.
That has to mean something. We wouldn�t keep running into each other if this wasn�t meant to be.
Mike punched my arm, pulling my attention from the glass door Kara had just walked through.
�She�s eighteen Nick. Hot when she wants to be, but a total bitch. And eighteen.�
My head shot in his direction, the muscles in my arm started to spasm as I tried to convince myself not to punch him the moment the word �bitch� passed his lips.
�Stay away from her. Seriously. She�ll crush you.�
It sounded like he was going to continue when he saw me glaring at him. He gave me a quizzical look that soon melted into calm consideration.
I think he�s putting things together.
�Come on. Let�s get this over with.�
Mike put his arm around my shoulders and we passed through the door the girls had gone through moments before.
�Don�t fear, even though you�re at a loss
I�m numb, a shell of empty thoughts
But you glow, you stretch and pull me out
Does that trouble you?�