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Chapter Sixty Six – Newfoundland

“Why are you crying?” Nick said incredulously. I was getting my equipment ready for sound check and I was bawling my eyes out.

“I just can’t believe it’s over. The tour’s over,” I said with a wail.

“Don’t mind her,” Leigh said. She handed me a box of tissues. “Hormones,” she whispered to Nick.

“No it’s not,” I moaned. I dabbed at my red, puffy eyes. “Doesn’t anyone else think it’s sad?”

Nick grinned. “Hey cheer up. We’re kind of like Frosty the Snowman. We do come back again someday.”

“Backstreet’s Back, alright!” AJ sang from the corner.

“I mean if it makes you feel better, the cruise is in a little more than three months,” Nick said cajolingly. I gave a mighty sniffle.

“You’re right,” I said with a sigh. “I’m sorry.”

Nick kissed my forehead. “Let’s go. We’ve got check.” As he headed out on stage, I walked in the opposite direction to get out on the actual venue floor.

“Hey you guys!” Howie yelled out at the crowd.

“How’s it going Newfoundlanders?” AJ screamed. The VIPs screamed back.

“We want to thank you for being here with us today,” Nick said. “This is our last sound check. Tonight we are officially celebrating the end of the This is Us tour. It’s been an amazing ride.”

They launched into Shattered. I launched into another bout of tears.

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By the time the concert rolled around, I was feeling much better. Having cried out my sorrows earlier in the day, I actually felt a little thrill at being able to say I had seen the Boys finish off a whole tour. That meant a new album, new music…

It was exciting.

“Now, if you haven’t heard,” Nick said as they paused between songs. “We’re pretty infamous for pranks out on tour. Right fellas?”

The guys nodded. “Well, tonight we thought we’d be on our best behavior,” Nick added. “We’re not pranking each other.”

The other guys nodded again. I watched them all head to a different part of the stage.

“Instead,” Nick continued. “We’re pranking you.”

Four super soakers appeared out of thin air. Shrieks abounded as the jets of water hit the crowd. Farther back, big nets of silly string and confetti floated down on those in the stands.

It made my day. I have to admit that the girls that dress up in heels and sexy dresses to go to a concert bother me. There was something refreshing about seeing perfect makeup and hair doused by water and pieces of sticky yellow string hanging off of chins.

It was a job well done. The guys tossed the soakers to the crew and then took a seat on the barstools. They swapped out More than That and launched into Siberia. The crowd swayed along, I saw Leighanne backstage. She was watching Brian lovingly, mouthing every word. After they finished, they remained on their barstools, smiling out at the crowd.

“Now that we’ve slowed things down, we’d like to give a shout out to our dancers and the entire crew for making this possible every night,” Brian added. The crowd cheered as the dancers came out and took a bow. A few stagehands were specifically pointed out and jogged onstage with a quick wave.

“And,” Howie said after the last stagehand jogged past. “We’d like to give a special thank you to a new member of the Backstreet family. Liv, come up here a moment.”

I looked up surprised. I shook my head back and forth. Nick came over and jumped off the stage. Every single guard was over in a flash. With a grin, he grabbed my waist, hoisting me onstage. He scrambled back up after me.

I stood, turned, and looked out at the audience. Dancing during Masquerade had been one thing; I mostly had Nick’s face to concentrate on. Now I was staring back at a sea of curious eyes, some of which probably were freaking out because Nick Carter touched me.

“Olivia has been our videographer and photographer during the U.S. and Canadian legs of the tour. So, if you’ve enjoyed watching any of the footage from the past couple months I think you need to give her a round of applause,” AJ said.

A thunderous clapping met my ears. AJ gave a wolf whistle. I waved awkwardly; my face turned as red as a lobster. When the applause died away, I turned to look at Nick again.

“I should also mention Liv’s other job,” Nick said. I raised an eyebrow as he walked towards me. I looked at him like he was crazy.

“Liv’s done something no other woman has done,” he continued. An instrumental version of No One Else Comes Close started playing. I heard a rush of loud murmuring begin in the crowd.

“Nick,” I whispered. He just shook his head, smiling.

“Liv, no matter how I fight it I can’t deny it, I just can’t let you go,” he sang out over the music. Images of close-ups of Nick singing in the I Still video juxtaposed with the real thing. I felt my entire body freeze as he sank to one knee.

The crowd seemed to disappear. I couldn’t tell if they were yelling, cheering…for those few seconds I didn’t even realize they were still there.

His hand snaked into his pocket. On the way out it got tangled in his pants chain. With a nervous shake of the wrist he held up a black velvet box and pushed it open.

A beautiful diamond heart ring was nestled into the black velvet lining.

“Liv, will you marry me?”

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“I got it all on tape,” Rochelle said. “The look on your face was priceless.”

She held the camera out to me and Nick. My mind was a total blank slate; I think the shock still hadn’t worn off. On the screen, I saw Nick sink down to one knee and open the box. I saw my digital self put her hands to her mouth and take a step back. Nick slid closer on his knee. I saw myself take another step back. He slid forward again and I heard him repeat the question.

That’s when I nodded. He plucked the ring (that was now very comfortably nestled on my finger) out of the box and slid it on my hand. I watched him stand up and scoop me up, covering my face in kisses.

Nick laughed softly; his breath tickled my ear. “Do you remember any of that?”

I shook my head. “Everything before I nodded is a little bit of a blur.” I took a deep breath as I glanced down at the ring; it sparkled back at me. “I still don’t believe it.” Nick kissed my neck, then turned to look at the guys.

“And who’s idea was it to play Another One Bites the Dust?” Nick complained.

Brian and AJ looked at Howie. Nick looked surprised.

“Really?”

Howie grinned. “Hey, you’re the last one.”

They all took a moment to let that realization sink it.

“Our little Nicky is growing up,” Brian said, pretending to wipe away a fake tear.

Everyone laughed. AJ popped open a bottle of champagne.

“Dude,” Nick said. AJ looked at him. “What?”

“Why are you opening liquor?”

AJ grinned sheepishly. “To celebrate?”

“You better have some grape juice for you, me, and Liv,” Nick said.

“Me too!” Baylee piped up.

We settled for ice water. After a round of toasts, everyone drifted off to their busses to get packed up. Everyone’s flights were scheduled to take off in the morning. Nick and I were the last ones backstage. Without a word we walked back onstage and sat down, staring around. It looked totally different without thousands of screaming fans and equipment.

“I was afraid you weren’t going to say yes,” Nick teased. I leaned into him and smiled. In all truthfulness, I hadn’t thought I would say yes. Then I looked in Nick’s eyes and…it was all over.

In truth, it had been all over from the very first day when Nick winked at me and told Tony and Anderson that I got his vote.

In the end, I had gotten so much more than a vote; I had gotten his heart.