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Chapter One

“I’m sure it’s going to fit. All we have to do is tug a little more and…”

All of the girls winced as the sound of ripping fabric filled the room.

My name is Olivia Ryans and at the moment I felt like a whale. I was at the final dress fitting for my friend Rochelle’s wedding. In three days she was going to marry AJ McLean, Backstreet Boy extraordinaire. Rochelle and I had met at the beginning of summer when I was hired as an intern on the Backtreet Boys summer tour. My job was to videotape and photograph the entire tour. Along the way I also fell in love with one of the guys, accidentally slept with another, found out I was pregnant, and was proposed to on stage. Not bad for three months, right?

Rochelle had been completely confident that I would have no problem with my dress. We had tried it on every week for the past month. We had ordered it in a bigger size just in case. In fact, three days ago it fit fine. And now, it wouldn’t even zip up half way. At just a week shy of five months pregnant, I had exploded.

And it was all Nick Carter’s fault.

In all honesty, it was probably slightly my fault. I had developed a craving for frozen bananas and nacho cheese Doritos. And of course as a loving fiancé and dad-to-be, Nick went to the store every other day to buy me another box of chocolate-banana goodness and overly processed chips. Now the evidence of my gorging was evident.

I turned around to survey the damage; the zipper was hanging completely off the fabric in defeat.

“I’m sure this came be fixed,” Leighanne said. She tugged at the fabric.

“It’s not like it’s just a little tight,” I said. “This is like a Grand Canyon problem.”

Leighanne walked all around me; she seemed to be taking measurements with her eyes. She scared me sometimes.

“We’ll just put in a back panel,” she said snapping her fingers. “No big deal.”

Rochelle got the seamstress in the room while Leighane described possible fixes to my dress. I absolutely adored Leighanne. She was married to Brian Littrell, who was Nick’s best friend. Brian also happened to be the other boy that I had slept with, but that’s a long story. In the end, everything had worked out and Leighanne and I were closer than ever.

“We can do that,” the seamstress was saying. “Maybe instead of a zipper we can do a corset back. That way if she gains any more in the next three days you’ll have some wiggle room.”

I made a face. I vowed that as soon as I got back to the hotel, the frozen bananas and Doritos were going in the trash.

I stood as still as possible while the seamstress worked on the fix. While she did, I looked in the mirror at the other girls.

Leighanne was absolutely stunning. I would never had a figure even close to hers; she had it all: the small waist, the large chest, the blonde hair. The fact that the black bridesmaid gown made her look just that much more elegant blew my mind. If I didn’t love her so much, I’d hate her.

Then there was Leigh, Howie’s wife. She was a beautiful brunette and was one of the sweetest people I had ever met. Howie and her made the perfect pair. Both Leighanne and Leigh had a son, but looking at them now you would never be able to tell that they were once pregnant. And huge. Like me.

The seamstress told me to turn; I did as she said. Meanwhile, Rochelle was stepping into her dress one last time. Her wedding gown was beautiful. It only came to her calves, as did all of the bridesmaid dresses, but it was made of amazingly detailed white silk. Around her waist she wore a black satin ribbon. Her veil was black and white lace. Some people might have thought the black was a little macabre, but knowing Rochelle and AJ, I was surprised to see so much modesty. And white.

The wedding was going to be a huge event; it was taking place on Halloween. The rehearsal dinner the night before was going to be a costume party. AJ had a best man and five groomsmen; Howie had taken the honor of best man. Brian, Nick, Kevin, and two of AJ’s close friends made up the groomsmen. Rochelle had a maid of honor and five bridesmaids; Rochelle’s sister, Denise, was maid of honor while Leigh, Leighanne, Kevin’s wife Kristin, Rochelle’s best friend Wendy, and I were the five bridesmaids. I had never seen so many girls cramped in one room in my life.

“Are you getting nervous?” Leigh asked. Rochelle smoothed out the back of her dress.

“No, I’m ready to get this show on the road,” Rochelle said with a laugh. “I’m sick of AJ obsessing about every little thing. You know how many places he called trying to find black orchids? The man’s a freakin’ metrosexual.”

We laughed. AJ had been obsessing over the wedding for months. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to get it over and done with.

“I think this will do sweetie,” the seamstress said to me. I sighed in relief and slipped the dress over my head.

“Look at the sweet baby bump,” Kristin said. She sighed. “Oh, I remember when I was pregnant with Mason. I felt like a blimp.”

I knew she was trying to be nice, but boy, I didn’t need to be reminded about how I was feeling. I slipped into my clothes. Where everyone else had come in sleek jeans and trendy fall jackets, I was bumming around in one of Nick’s old Buccaneer’s t-shirts and a pair of jogging pants.

“I noticed Nick’s gained some sympathy weight,” Leighanne said as she stepped up to the mirror. I smiled.

“Yeah, he’s gained five or ten pounds.”

“Brian did the same thing,” Leighanne said, sighing as she reminisced. “I don’t think I’d ever seen him happier. We both sat on the couch and ate tons of potato chips. Of course the guys teased him like no tomorrow.”

I smiled. “Something tells me Nick’s not going to get off easy.”

Leighanne squinted in the mirror. “Ugh what a great time to break out,” she complained. She looked at me and shrugged. “What’s a girl to do?”

I watched Rochelle wiggle out of her dress and head into the bathroom for her clothes. Her sister Denise took the opportunity to address the rest of us.

“Alright, I’ve got the final itinerary for the bachelorette party.”

I stifled a groan. I had forgotten that the party was that evening. Luckily, AJ and Rochelle had both decided to stay in town for their parties. At first AJ had suggested Las Vegas, to which both Brian and Nick had emphatically screamed ‘No!’ In the end they convinced him to stay in Orlando.

Denise passed out a sheet of paper with one location written in red.

“No bar hopping?” Wendy asked. She seemed surprised and a little disappointed.

Denise smiled. “Nope, the party’s coming to us.”

-----------------------------

I stood in front of the mirror in my hotel room; I had changed for the fiftieth time. Everything I tried on just didn’t seem right for a bachelorette party.

“You’re not dressed yet?” Nick asked. He was tugging his neck through a plain white t-shirt. He grabbed his black jacket off of the back of a chair.

I threw up my hands. “Nothing looks good.”

Nick grinned. “I’m a big fan of nothing.”

“Nick!”

He laughed. “Okay, let’s see.” He rummaged through the massive pile on the floor and held up a pair of jeans.

“These?”

“They don’t fit.”

He held up a pair of black dress pants.

“These?”

“They don’t fit.”

He sat down in the pile of clothes and looked up at me. “Seriously? All this stuff fit three days ago when you packed it.”

“I know that,” I said, my voice breaking a little bit. “I’m fat. And it’s your fault.”

Nick looked at me in surprise. “My fault?”

“It’s all of the chocolate covered bananas.”

“Don’t forget the chips.”

I glared at him. He smiled. “Oh c’mon, it’s normal. You’re eating for two. You’ve got cravings. It’s my duty to make you happy.”

I slid on a black knit dress. It fit, but clung to my stomach. Resigned to my fate, I bent down to pick up a jacket to cover up my bare shoulders. As I did so, I felt something I had been eagerly waiting for.

The baby kicked.

“NICK!”

“What? I’m sorry; I won’t buy any more chips.”

I shook my head. “No! The baby kicked!”

His face lit up. “Really?”

I nodded. It happened again. “Come here!”

He stood up and came over. His palms rested gently on my belly. He looked down; noting happened. He looked up at me. I felt another kick. His eyes quickly looked back down.

“That is so cool,” he said breathlessly. He looked back up and kissed me softly. I smiled and slid my arms around his neck.

“You know what this means right?” he added. I shook my head.

“I think that means that the baby’s starting to protest the thought of no bananas and Doritos.”

I laughed.

“You’re probably right. Are you going to behave yourself tonight?” I asked softly, running my hands along the back of his neck.

“Absolutely,” he said, tugging me closer. “Even though now I’d rather just lay in bed with you and feel our soccer star.” He kissed me again. “What about you? Are you going to behave?”

I smiled. “Oh you know how all those guys love us pregnant chicks.”

He kissed me again. “I know I do.”

After a few more minutes of kisses and a few more ‘hello world’ kicks, we said goodbye in the hotel lobby.

“I guess we’re designated drivers, right?” Nick said, jingling his keys. I held up another set.

“You got it,” I said.

“Well we can get some good blackmail footage. Plus,” Nick grinned. “I’ll be completely conscious when I get back to the room. And I’ll probably be ready for some special entertainment.”

I laughed. “Me too. You can be my Chippendale.”

With one last kiss, we headed out. Nick drove one direction; I drove another. For a fleeting moment I worried about what trouble the boys were going to get into; then I remembered I had the female equivalent of AJ on my hands.

I was in big trouble.