Chapter 4 Under A Florida Sunset

***Kalie’s Point of View***

                It took us two days to get back to Florida. Once Nick and I walked through the door my mom called on my cell phone.

                “She has perfect timing,” Nick chuckled.              

                “Hey Mom,” I answered putting my bags down. “What’s up?”

                “I just wanted to see how you are doing. Michelle called me and told me about your mishap in New York City. I tried calling you before but it went straight to your voice mail.”

                “I probably didn’t get any reception. We were traveling back to Florida.”

                “Where are you now?”

                “Nick and I just walked in the house actually.”   

                “Oh good! Welcome home baby. Would you like to come to dinner tonight? I’m pretty sure you don’t want to cook for yourself.”

                “Actually Nick and I are just going to relax tonight after we unpack and then go grocery shopping. Our fridge is barren. We both have laundry to do too. So thanks for the offer but we both want to just stay home tonight.” 

                “I understand. Will you be at Smith night tomorrow then?”         

                “Didn’t I miss Smith night for August?”

                “Nope. We are having it tomorrow night at Kim’s in hopes that you and Nick would be home.”

                I looked at Nick and asked, “Do you want to go to Smith night at Kim’s tomorrow?”

                “Sure. Why not.”

                “We’ll be there tomorrow,” I said to my mom.

                “Good. I’ll tell your sister for you. I will let you go unpack but before you hang up how are you feeling?”

                “I feel a little tired because I didn’t get a lot of sleep on the bus but other than that I am perfectly fine.”

                “I’m glad to hear. Again welcome home and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

                “See ya tomorrow.”

                Nick had finished bringing in our bags by the time I hung up my cell phone. We brought them into the laundry room and sorted out our clothes. Afterward we went grocery shopping and stocked up our fridge and picked up some ingredients to make dinner.

                After dinner, I grabbed an unused folder and pad of note paper and started writing out ideas for our wedding.

                “Honey,” I called out to Nick, “Where do you want to get married? And when?”

                “Isn’t it the bride’s decision?” he called back to me as he was washing the dishes.

                “For most couples, but I want this to be our wedding.  I would like your input on things.”

                “Honestly babe I don’t care if we get married in the back yard. I haven’t thought about any of this stuff because I didn’t believe in it until now. But I will say I want something a little out of the ordinary, like a destination wedding.”

                I tapped the pen I was using against my chin in thought, “I do like the sound of that. Maybe we can go to a tropical island and have the ceremony on the beach…”

                “At sunset,” Nick finished for me as he walked into the living room and sat next to me by the couch, “That would be quite romantic.”

                I grinned, “That would be quite romantic but totally expensive.”

                “So? I could pay for it.”

                “I don’t want you spending all your money on one wedding Nick.”

                “Kalie it’s not just one wedding, it’s our wedding.”          

                “Well what if our guests won’t be able to make it because it is a destination wedding?”

                “Then we just take those who can make it?”

                “What if they can’t afford to travel?”

                “Depending on who it is we are talking about I could pay for them too.”

                “I don’t know Nick. Tomorrow I’ll call Diangela’s daughter Lucy. She’s a wedding planner and she can help us out with everything. But for now how about we pick out who will be in our wedding party? Then we can work on our guest list.”

                “Ok. Who do you want as your bridesmaids?”

                “Kim, Michelle, Crystal, Lacey, and Katie.”

                Nick chuckled, “That was quick.”

                “I have been thinking about it since we left New York. Who do you want standing next you at the alter?”

                “Let’s see, I’m thinking Aaron, Chris, Dan Brian, and Rich.”

                “As in DJ Lani?”

                “Yeah. You are going to invite his girlfriend right?”

                “Of course I am. I wasn’t joking when I said I was going to.”

                From there we talked about who else we were going to invite to our wedding and we hit a snag when it came to Nick’s side of the family.

                “I know for a fact that my siblings will get along but I’m not sure about my parents. I sort of don’t feel like inviting them.”

                “Do they both know we are engaged?”

                “Yes. And they both said they were happy for us but that doesn’t mean they will behave at the wedding. For some reason my mom still starts shit when my dad’s around. I think she’s still jealous of my step mom.”

                “Do you want them there honey?”

                He shrugged, “At this point in time, I honestly don’t know. I have this bad feeling that my mother is going to say something and there will be a fight and then my siblings are going to get into it too and I really don’t want that happening.”

                “How about we talk to James about it tomorrow?”

                “James? As in Kim’s husband?”

                “Yes. His parents have gone through practically the same nasty divorce your parents have and he had to go through the same decision you have to. Sometimes it helps to get advice from someone who has lived through it.”         

                “You have a point there.”

                A little while later we finished our first draft of our guest list putting question marks next to Nick’s parents.

                “How about we take a break from the wedding planning for tonight and go get some ice cream? Maybe we can go to KJ’s and then sit on the dock like we used to.”

                “Sounds good to me.” I was starting on a few sketches of bridesmaids dresses and debating the color scheme of the entire wedding in my head. I was starting to go a little crazy with it and Nick could tell.

                The sun was just starting to set as we snacked on our ice cream cones. We sat at the edge of the dock by Nick’s boat and watched as the colors turned into beautiful shades of purple, pink and orange. Orange wasn’t my favorite color but I had to admit that the orange color of a Florida sunset was absolutely gorgeous, especially how it blended into shades of pink and finally into purple. Nick and I have watched a lot of sunsets together but we both agreed that nothing was more beautiful or romantic than the sunsets of home. An idea popped into my head.   

                “I wanted to do it here,” Nick said randomly.

                I chuckled, “Wanted to do what babe?”

                “Propose.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah. I thought about it actually after I proposed. I came up with this whole speech when we watched that one sunset together on the bus the next night. And when you mentioned that there was no sunset prettier than the one we watched together after dumping the ashes of those pictures that you burned, I nearly kicked myself for not waiting and proposing here. And there is nothing more romantic than watching a Florida sunset with you. Plus I found it fitting to give you an engagement ring in the same spot that you dumped that broken promise ring seeing as how I will never break a promise to you.”

                “Well do you remember what you wanted to say?”

                “Yes I do.”

                “So,” I took off my ring, “Let’s pretend that you didn’t propose and pretend that you are proposing to me right now. I have no clue that you are proposing to me. Make it legit.”

                He took the ring from me and chuckled, “Ok then.”

                He put the ring in his pocket and began, “I wanted to bring you here tonight to give you a new ring. And I chose to bring you here because this is where we dumped the ashes of your past and started new with each other. We watched the sunset that night and it was one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen, besides you.”

                I smiled at the complement and after he let out a nervous laugh he continued, “So it’s here, at sunset, where we have laughed, cried and moved on from the past together, is where I want to ask…”

                He paused as he took out the engagement ring, “Will you marry me and just like the sunset we’re watching, put an end to the old and start anew?”

                A huge smile came across my face and I exclaimed, “Of course I’ll marry you!”

                I caught him by surprise as I grabbed him into an exuberant hug.

                My fiancé laughed as he slipped the ring back on my finger, “You’ve got some acting skills girl. It made it seem like you were saying yes all over again.”

                “I was,” I answered looking into his eyes.

                “What do you mean?”

                “It’s our one year anniversary today. I always kind of hoped that you would propose on our anniversary. It’s a girl thing I guess. You know, the hopeless romantic picturing the perfect engagement.”       

                “And I hit you with a proposal on a tour bus.”

                We both laughed and I grabbed his hand, “It was totally unexpected, which in all honesty I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”  

                “We’ll I’m glad you said yes. Both times.”

                “And I’m glad that you proposed. Both times.”

                We stole a sweet kiss then I said, “I have an idea Nick.”

                “What is it?”

                “How about we have the ceremony right here? Right here on this very dock. We can say our vows under a Florida sunset. Then we can party it up in the yacht club to celebrate with our friends and family. And we can start a new life together right here like you just said. It’s the place where the sunsets on an old day and rises again for a new one. It’s where our past rises into a grand new future together.”

                “I think it’s a perfect idea.”

                I took out my cell phone to take a picture of the perfect sunset before me. Nick, who always carries a camera, also took a picture and then we took a picture of us kissing with the sunset behind us.

                The next day I contacted Lucy, the daughter of my dance coach Diangela. I had known Lucy for a long time. She used to take dance lessons with me in her mother’s class. When she graduated college she quickly became known as one of the best wedding planners in Florida. Once Lucy heard it was me she practically raced over to the house to have a face to face appointment.

                “I am so happy for you!” Lucy greeted me when I opened the door. “Congratulations!”

                “Thank you Luce! This is my fiancé Nick.”

                They shook hands and Lucy said, “It’s nice to meet you Nick. And you have probably heard this a lot but you look a lot like Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys.”

                I answered for my humble fiancé, “That’s because he is.”

                “Oh wow! This is awesome! It’s going to be my first celebrity wedding! This is exciting!”

                The three of us sat down and talked for a while and discussed where we wanted to have the wedding.                

                “I have done a wedding on the beach there and I have pictures of it in my portfolio. Maybe that will help with some more ideas with the floral arrangements. And I have the number to the yacht club. How about we call them now and see what they have available in terms of a wedding date for you two?”

                I looked at Nick, “Do you have anything in mind?”

                “I was thinking about October when the sun starts to set a little earlier.”

                “October it is then,” I replied with a smile.           

                Lucy pulled out her planner to look up dates and before we knew it the ball really started to roll as ideas for our wedding slowly started to form into reality.

                Later that night at Kim’s, my family surprised me with a Smith style, and by Smith style I mean put together last minute, engagement party. My sister even invited my best friends, all six of them.

                After dinner all of the women gathered around in the kitchen and started talking about the wedding plans I had just put to paper a few hours earlier.

                “So,” Kim started, “Knowing you and how you always plan things way in advance how are wedding plans going?”

                “We actually sat down with our wedding planner today and picked a date and started talking about over all concepts. We don’t have anything set in stone yet except where we are having it and when.”

                “Give us details!” my oldest cousin Karen exclaimed.

                “Nick and I are going to be married on October 1, 2011. The ceremony will be on the dock where Nick keeps his boat and then the reception will be in the ball room of the yacht club. And we will be saying our vows as the sun is setting.”

                “Awe! How romantic!” Crystal swooned.

                “Have you picked anything else?” Mom asked. “Like bridesmaids?”

                “Actually all of my bridesmaids are in the room if they all say yes.”

                “Who?!” Katie asked.

                “Michelle, Crystal, Lacey, and Katie. Will you all be my bridesmaids?”     

                “Of course!” they all replied.

                “And Kim, will you be my matron of honor?”

                My sister came over and hugged me excitedly, “Of course I will!”

                “Well that was easier than I thought!”

                We all laughed then Michelle asked, “So what’s the color scheme?”

                “Let me guess,” Katie commented, “purple.”

                “That’s a part of it,” I nodded my head. I took out my cell phone and showed off the picture of the sunset that inspired my color scheme. “I think there is nothing prettier than a Florida sunset and I think these colors blend perfectly together.”          

                “I do like those colors together but you are not getting me into an orange dress,” Kim said.

                “Yeah no orange for me either Kayl,” Michelle agreed.

                “Trust me I wouldn’t put any of you in an orange dress. I was thinking more of a darker pink or a purple. But we have plenty of time to figure that out. I was thinking about having all of us go together to look and then too we can go shopping for my dress.”

                “Am I included in this?” my mom questioned.

                “Mom, of course you are. I want both you and Dad there.”

                “So when are we going dress shopping?” Lacey asked.

                “Well Nick and I don’t finish tour until March 26.”

                “I thought you were finished with tour.” Crystal commented.

                “Well we finished the American leg of tour. But we have a break until February. Tour starts up again February 18th, 2011 in Brazil, we will tour the rest of South America until March 10 and then we go to Central America and after that we have two show days in Vietnam. The last show is March 26th and we should be home by the 28th.”

                Kim pouted.

                “What’s that pout for sis?”

                “I thought you were home for good.”

                “Not quite yet. At least I have until February to relax and plan this wedding.”

***Nick’s POV***

                “So you finally did it huh son?” Mr. Smith patted my shoulder.

                “Yes I did and I’m glad I finally did. I was nervous as hell though.”

                “We all know that one,” Kyle responded looking around the room full of married men.

                “You have a date set already?” Kasey asked.

                “October 1st of next year. We’re having it at the yacht club.”

                A worried look came across Mr. Smith’s face.

                “Dad what’s wrong?” Kyle asked.

                “The yacht club is a little pricey. I’m not quite sure if I can afford that Nick.”

                “You don’t have to worry about it. I got it covered.”

                “But it is the bride’s family who is supposed to pay for the wedding.”

                “Mr. Smith…”

                “Dad or Papa Smith, please. I already consider you a member of this family Nick,” he interrupted me.

                “Dad,” it felt weird calling him that, “I don’t want you to worry about the cost of anything when it comes to this wedding. My money’s burning a hole in my pocket anyway.”

                “It’s my baby girl’s wedding though. At least let me pay for her dress.”

                I opened my mouth to decline but he beat me to it, “I am not going to argue Nick. I am paying for Kalie’s dress. No matter how much it is.”

                I nodded my head knowing I wasn’t going to win, “You can buy her dress but nothing else.”

                He chuckled, “Deal.”

                We shook hands then I changed the subject when James, Kim’s husband stepped in the room, “I have a question for you James.”

                “Ask away.”       

                “How did you decide to invite both of your parents to your wedding?”

                “I’m guessing your parents went through a nasty divorce too huh?”

                I nodded my head.

                “Well to tell you the truth I called both of them up when Kim and I started to plan our wedding. I threatened to kick them out of the wedding if they weren’t civil towards each other. They agreed and our wedding went off without a hitch or any drama.”

                “Speaking of drama,” Kasey spoke up, “Will there be any press coverage that day?”

                “I don’t want there to be but I honestly have to talk to my publicist and Kalie. We haven’t even discussed that yet and I haven’t even told my publicist that we are engaged. She doesn’t even know that Kalie and I have been dating for a year.”

                “I’m surprised that you have kept it a secret for this long. That’s impressive,” Mark said.

                “Yeah. She’s my best kept secret.”

                Kalie walked in a few seconds after I said that and said, “You ready to go home babe?”

                “I’m ready if you are.”

                She said her good nights and answered a few more questions about the wedding planning then we left for home.  On the way home we talked about how privet we wanted our wedding to be and we decided to not tell my publicist.