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Everything Your Heart Desires Chapter 24 Ann Richardson sat with her middle son and toyed with the napkin in her hand as she eyed the doorway. �Mom.� Tim grabbed the frayed paper from her hands. �You�re making ME nervous, and I already know Kristy.� Tim chuckled at his mom�s habit. While all of the Boys� families were all looking forward to seeing the dress rehearsal of the new tour, Mrs. Richardson was even more excited about meeting Kristy. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is exactly what Ann thought as Kevin and Kristy walked through the door. A mother�s eyes see things differently than other people�s. As they entered the room, Ann wasn�t impressed with what an attractive couple they made � Kevin�s dark hair and complexion contrasting Kristy�s golden-blond looks. She wasn�t focussed on the outfit Kristy had carefully chosen for work that day � a long royal blue and white floral skirt, white sweater set and white sandals � or how her shoulder-length blond hair was slightly curled to frame her pretty face. What she did see answered all her questions. Ann watched her son whisper something in Kristy�s ear as they stepped through the door, his arm still wrapped protectively around her waist. She saw how the slight nervousness in Kristy�s expressive hazel eyes was replaced with a look of love and happiness as she turned to Kevin and smiled up at him. And Ann definitely saw how Kristy�s bright smile effected her son as his smile matched hers in its intensity. This was it. Kevin had found the love of his life. Ann silently shared this realization with her husband. �Our little boy has fallen in love, Gerald.� �Mom. This is Kristy.� Kevin said the words with such love and pride, Ann felt her eyes tear slightly. Kristy stepped forward as Ann rose from the couch. The two exchanged a small smile and then embraced each other with only a moment�s hesitation. Kevin smiled and took a deep breath. He�d known these two special women would get along, now he was absolutely sure of it.The family and close friends of the Backstreet Boys and their band gathered in a restaurant - closed to the public that evening for a private party. Cheryl and Howie sat with his family, still not thinking about food as their eyes rarely left each others�. Kristy sat with Ann, Tim, Brian and the rest of their family while Kevin talked with some of the production team about some changes he wanted to make after their dress rehearsal that night. If the families� and friends� reactions were any indication, the new tour was going to be a huge success. Kristy now felt much more at ease, having spent the entire concert with Ann, talking and laughing as she and Tim had told stories of Kevin�s early performances. During the private concert, the Boys had taken some liberties and paid extra attention to their ladies in the audience, pulling their moms on stage for �The Perfect Fan� and personalizing some of the stage show for their girlfriends. Kevin had drug Brian to Kristy�s side of the stage during �As Long As You Love Me� so he could sing his part of the second verse in front of her... a sexy smirk on his handsome face as he pointedly directed �the� line towards her. Tim had coughed as his brother and cousin rejoined the rest of the group and leaned over to Kristy who was shaking her head, a faint flush on her cheeks. �I thought this was supposed to be a family show!� Kristy had blushed deeper and glanced at Ann who hadn�t seemed to notice Kevin�s actions or her reaction. �Thank God,� Kristy had thought, hoping the two guys would behave themselves for the rest of the evening and not give their mom the wrong impression about her. Cheryl and Polly stopped by the animated �Southern� table and Kristy excused herself to accompany them to ladies� room. �So, you�re still standing. I assume it�s going well?� Cheryl teased. She could tell Kevin�s family had quickly accepted Kristy, and her friend�s bright smile confirmed that the awkward stage had passed. �Ann�s great! His whole family � well at least the small portion that�s here � is wonderful,� Kristy said, smiling as she thought of Kevin and Brian�s huge family. �They want me to come out when the Boys perform in Kentucky and meet the rest of the clan!� Polly chuckled. �Guess you�re not totally out of the woods then, huh?... No pun intended!� The girls all laughed and Kristy shook her head. �Not entirely, but the hard part�s over. I do still have to meet Gerald Jr. and his family, but with Ann and Tim on my side, it should be okay.� Cheryl and Polly noted the mischievous twinkle in their friend�s eyes. �I just can�t wait till they perform in Portland... then it�ll be his turn!� Cheryl laughed, recalling Kristy�s stories of how her large, animated extended family was the ultimate �test� for any of the young adults� significant others. Cheryl had a feeling Kevin would do just fine with them, but Kristy would certainly enjoy the shoe being on the other foot!�Hey Mom!� Kevin said, joining the table and giving his mother a kiss on the cheek. �Where�d my angel go?� Tim grinned at the look of anticipation on his brother�s face as he glanced around the restaurant. �Pol and Cher stopped by...� �Bathroom,� the two brothers said in unison. �So?� Kevin said, smiling down at his mom. �She�s absolutely lovely Kevin. Everything you said she was... sweet, smart, pretty. Although...� Kevin frowned slightly as his mom paused. �If her parents end up coming to see your show at some point, you may want to tone down a certain line... I thought the poor girl was going to crawl under her chair!� Kevin and Tim�s eyes widened. �You caught that?� Kevin asked. Now it was his turn to blush. �I have eyes. And three children... you boys think the stork brought you?� �MOM!� �Eww!� Kevin and Tim groaned as they covered their ears, eliciting laughs from the rest of the family. Kristy approached the table at that particular moment, and quirked her eyebrows at what caused such a reaction from the two. �I don�t think I want to know,� she giggled as looked around at the laughing faces. �Wise decision!�The buffet tables remained well supplied with delicious food and the bar kept the spirits flowing... but for two couples, food and beverages were the last things on their minds. Howie pulled Cheryl towards the dancefloor as a big-band swing song started and the two showed off some of their moves from their date the week before. Not to be outdone, Kevin extended his hand to Kristy and led her to the floor. Kristy had been dancing with Kevin several times, but they�d never swung together before. She knew he�d been a ballroom dance instructor �in a prior life� and smiled as he expertly led her in some basic steps. What Kevin didn�t know was that Kristy loved to swing. She�d never had any formal �big band� lessons, but through her country background, she�d learned to cowboy swing with the best of them... and essentially, a lot of the moves were the same. Kevin soon realized that whatever he led, Kristy could follow, and he began increasing the level of difficulty � as most of the other eyes in the room turned to watch the two attractive couples on the floor. The song drew to an end with both couples slightly out of breath from laughing and dancing with such energy. The rest of the room broke into applause as the men dipped their ladies. Howie righted Cheryl and pulled her to him for a close embrace, his breath quick and warm against her ear. He pulled back and brushed his lips across hers � first lightly, then again in a lingering kiss. Kevin held Kristy in a low dip then slowly pulled her up, their bodies brushing against each other. With her finally in front of him again, he lowered his head and drew her lips to his for a slow, sensuous kiss � one hand buried in her soft, thick blond hair and the other on her back, keeping her pressed to him. For the first time all evening, Kristy wasn�t thinking about what kind of impression she was making � she wasn�t thinking about anything at all, except how much she loved the man in her arms and how incredible his lips felt on hers. When they finally broke apart, they faintly recognized the sound of loud applause and cheers coming from off the dancefloor. Both couples blushed, realizing � possibly for the first time in minutes � that they weren�t alone. Howie looked over to his family�s table, saw them smiling at him, and knew they were as happy for him as he was. Kevin grinned as he saw Brian, Harold and Tim give him the �thumbs up� sign and his mom raise an amused eyebrow at his display of affection. He used to always tease Gerald Jr. and his wife about their �PDA�s� when they were first married. Now he understood. He couldn�t stop himself from kissing Kristy again as he realized just how much he loved her.Howie approached Paula and asked her for the next dance as the soft music of �The Way You Look Tonight� played overhead. He joined Kevin, A.J., Nick and Brian with their respective moms on the dancefloor and once again thanked her for all her love and support throughout the years. Cheryl smiled warmly as she watched the touching scene before her. �May I have the honor?� She raised her bright hazel eyes to see Hoke�s smiling face and smiled as she took his hand and followed him onto the floor. �Whatta ya say Kris?� Kristy smiled at Tim and nodded, joining him on the rapidly filling dancefloor. �I hope you appreciate what I�m risking here.� �Oh c�mon, I�m not THAT bad of a dancer,� Kristy teased. Tim chuckled. �I meant inciting Kevin�s jealousy. You know he�s kinda insecure...� Kristy nodded seriously, her eyes twinkling. �Yeah, he has a real self-esteem problem.� �Can you blame him? Growing up in MY shadow... the guy can�t help but feel inferior.� The two laughed as Kevin and Ann passed near them. �Hey T. Is he behaving himself, Angel?� Kevin asked, sending his brother a comical �suspicious� look. �Never!� Tim and Kristy replied in unison. �That�s it! Time to trade!� Ann laughed as Kevin grabbed Kristy from Tim�s arms, and ended up finishing the song with her other son. Howie glanced over to see Cheryl and his dad dancing together and smiled, his heart swelling with a feeling he wasn�t quite ready to define. He smiled brighter as he caught Cheryl�s eye and navigated himself and his mom closer to the other couple. �Excuse me, son, but may I cut in for a dance with my lovely wife?� Hoke asked, chuckling as Howie was immediately at Cheryl�s side. Denise danced with A.J., watching her two eldest �sons� with their moms, and then with their new girlfriends. Over the course of the evening, she�d been watching them a lot. Her initial impression of Kristy was changing as the attractive blond became more comfortable around Kevin�s family and her friendly personality shone through. She was still very impressed by Cheryl and was extremely happy for her son�s best friend as she watched them talk quietly and laugh while they danced. �Alex,� Denise started, also drawing A.J.�s eyes from his friend and Cheryl. �Do you think the Kris and Cher would be interested in helping out around the office while you Boys are on tour?� A.J. shrugged. �I think they�re both pretty busy with their jobs, but with Train and D away, they might appreciate the distraction. You can always ask �em.� As the song finished, A.J. called out across the room. �Hey! Sparky and Spunky, Mom wants to talk to you for a second.� His use of his their nicknames drew chuckles and mischievous smiles from the rest of his bandmates and curious looks from the rest of the people in the room. �Sure thing... Crazy,� Kristy mouthed off as she and Cheryl started across the floor. Nick laughed loudly and pointed at A.J., who grimaced slightly. Kristy and Cheryl both turned to the youngest member and simply raised their eyebrows, quieting his outburst. Denise watched all this with obvious amusement. Evidently these girls could handle themselves just fine. �Hmmm... Sparky and Spunky, huh? Do I dare ask which is which?� Denise smiled at the two spirited young women before her. She recognized the twinkle in the two pairs of amazing blue-green eyes. �They�ll do just fine.�Next: Chapter 25 |