"Oh, my god. You slept with her!"

Nick dropped the pen he’d been juggling between his fingers. Bending to retrieve it, he hoped his face wouldn’t give anything away. When he straightened, he frowned at Liz. "I don’t know where the hell you got such a crazy idea, but you’re wrong."

She leaned over her desk and stabbed her finger at his chest. "Why are you such a man? Do you have to screw everything with boobs?"

He could feel his face turning red, and he pushed her finger aside roughly. "Don’t talk about her like that. She’s not just some random woman, okay? And, no, I didn’t sleep with her. End of story."

"Oh, jeez. How did I know this was going to happen?" Liz sat back in her chair and studied him. He looked angry, frustrated, and embarrassed. "Does she know you’re in love with her?"

This time Nick nearly tipped the chair over as he got to his feet in one quick move. He towered over her, his eyes staring daggers into her. "Look, Liz. I didn’t come here so that you could poke at me over the most ridiculous stuff. I’m not in love with Autumn, she’s not in love with me. We’re friends at the most. If there was anyone that I’m in love with, it’s Lily. She’s got my heart wrapped around her tiny fingers." He sighed. "So if we could just talk about whatever it is you called me in here for, that would be great. If not, I’ve got places to go and people to see."

Yup, she thought. The man was a goner. She’d known, hadn’t she, that he’d fall face-first in love with Autumn? They were perfect for each other, but, if Liz knew her best friend—and she did—she knew Autumn would never admit to having feelings for Nick, either. The two of them would run in circles, she mused, before they realized that they belonged together.

"Okay." Liz gestured to his chair. "Sit, Nick. I did have something I wanted to talk to you about."

He sat. "What?"

"A bunch of us organized a surprise birthday party for Autumn. We knew she probably wouldn’t celebrate or anything while you guys were on tour, so we thought we’d give her a surprise." Liz paused long enough for Nick to remember the way he and Autumn had celebrated. When his mind drifted, he pulled it back and focused. Now, was not the time. "So, the party is in three days, in New York. We know the Boys will be there for all the promo stuff, so we thought it would be better to have it there. I’ve reserved the Hard Rock for us—you know, more casual and fun?"

"Uh, yeah. Okay. Sounds good to me." Nick shrugged. A party would be good. Maybe it would get that worried look off of Autumn’s face whenever she thought he wasn’t looking. He had yet to pry it out of her, but he’d find out. Sooner or later.

"So, where you come in is in getting her to the restaurant. Think you can handle that?" Liz tapped her pen against her notebook lightly and watched as he thought for a second.

"Yeah. I’ll just tell her that we should get out more and explore a little. She’ll probably hedge a bit, but I’ll figure it out." He nodded. "We’ll just have to find a sitter for Lily because we only had the au pair while we were in Europe."

She thought it was the sweetest thing that he sounded more and more like a father everyday. She no longer wished they were still together because it had become so perfectly obvious who he really belonged with. "Great. I’m sure it shouldn’t be too hard. I can find someone if you want."

"Nah, it’s cool. So, that’s Friday night, then?" Nick pulled out his cell phone to program the date and time into his schedule. "What time?"

"Friday. Get here there by ten. We’ll have everything set up by nine-thirty, so it should be pretty a good surprise." She smiled. "Thanks, Nick. I’m glad you’re willing to help out."

He stood now. "Yeah, sure. No problem. So I’ll see you then?"

"Yeah." And, as she watched him go, she wondered how long it would take him before he came to the realization on his own that he was so completely in love with Autumn.

***

As a result of his meeting with Liz, he was late for the interview he and Autumn had with Entertainment Weekly. Cursing at the obnoxious Los Angeles traffic, he wished that they hadn’t had interviews to take care of on the West coast. He’d been more relaxed in Tampa than he’d been in a long while. It had been nice to have the only people he needed to see be Autumn and Lily.

Suppressing the urge to flip the bird at the guy that cut him off, Nick turned into the parking lot at the offices of the magazine. Inside the main building, he was quickly ushered into the room where Autumn and Lily waited with the interviewer. He didn’t smirk at the fact that, if he wasn’t married to Autumn, he would’ve had to wait awhile before the pert receptionist would’ve even looked at him.

The instant he walked into the lounge, Lily bounced up and ran towards him, attacking his leg. "Daddy! Missed you!"

"Hey, Lily." He boosted her onto his hip and smiled over her head at the reporter who patiently waited. "Sorry I’m late. You know how traffic gets." He held out a hand. "Nick."

"I know." But she smiled anyway. "Ellen Greenberg. And I do know how traffic can be. Have a seat." She gestured to the sofa where Autumn sat, and Nick settled on it, giving her a quick kiss.

Autumn smiled at him and laced their fingers together. "You weren’t that late. Only twenty minutes or so. Lily couldn’t wait for you to get here."

"Well, I’m here now, so why don’t we go ahead and get started?" He flashed another grin at Ellen.

"I’m glad you could fit this interview into your hectic schedules," she began. "How has the promotional tour been going?"

Autumn squeezed Nick’s hand to indicate she’d go first. It was a little system they’d worked out after the first four interviews they’d given as a couple in which they tended to speak at the same time. "It’s been really amazing. Europe was so receptive to the Backstreet Boys, and we all have high hopes for this album."

"From the press reports in Europe, it seems as though the three of you were quite a hit over there as well. In fact, Nick, didn’t your bandmate, Brian, say that your album would hit the top because of the star power behind your marriage?"

Nick shifted Lily so that she could wiggle out of his arms and play with her toys on the floor. "He was just joking with that one, but, yeah, sometimes it feels that way. It’s been overwhelming to say the least. I could tell you that Autumn and I just want to be any other newlywed couple, but…"

"But you’re not," Ellen finished for him. "You’re Nick Carter and Autumn Evans. It’s hard to hide from the attention those names garner. Do you do anything to find a little sense of peace amidst your crazy lives?"

Autumn smiled. "We just spent the better part of a week in Tampa, at Nick’s—well, our home there. It was very relaxing to be out of the limelight for awhile and just be Nick, Autumn, and Lily. I don’t think anything can prepare you ahead of time for the kind of stress all the media attention can cause. But I think I speak for both Nick and I when I say that we are each other’s stress relief."

"Luckily, you two have been able to travel around together for the past few weeks, so it must be easier." Ellen glanced at her notepad briefly. "So, tell me, have you made any sort of contact with Summer in the past few months, Autumn? Or is that relationship dead because of the drama and pain it caused?"

Nick felt her tense and immediately slipped an arm around her shoulder and stroked his hand soothingly up and down her arm. She managed to smile at him before answering the question. "Summer is who she is, and I am who I am. We tried to make peace with each other, but it hasn’t exactly worked. After she and Nick had an unpleasant altercation in a department store in March, I gave up trying. I think she’ll always try to make my life a little more difficult, but I’m going to try not to let it bother me. What good would it do? I like my life the way it is, and I’m going to do my best to keep it as simple and easy as possible."

"That’s very mature of you," Ellen commented.

"We’re all adults, Ellen. There’s no point in being petty and childish and taking potshots at each other. End of story." And, with her soft voice, Autumn closed the subject.

Ellen nodded. "All right. So, how about your future as a family? Where do you two see yourselves in a few years?"

"Hopefully still together," Nick replied with a smile. "Success in our careers will always be a goal, but I think it wouldn’t mean much if we weren’t together to support each other in our victories and, obviously, failures." It didn’t occur to him that he actually meant every word he said, and that Autumn sensed that.

She laid her other hand over his. "That’s exactly how I feel. I think our priorities for now and the future are each other, Lily, and then, after that, our careers. Without family, really what would we have?"

"And speaking of family," Ellen leaned forward, "are there any plans on expanding it? Maybe giving Lily a sibling or two?"

Lily perked to attention at the sound of her name, and she sat and looked from Ellen to her parents and back as though she, too, were waiting for the answer.

Neither Autumn nor Nick had a single thing to say to that for a few moments. Finally, finding his voice, Nick managed to answer easily. "Right now, our focus is the family we have right now. We’re just figuring out how to balance everything and stay sane. When the time’s right, we’ll add to it." He didn’t say how appealing it suddenly sounded to have a child with Autumn. The thought scared the living daylights out of him.

"There’s nothing I want more than a houseful of children," Autumn began. "But, Nick’s right. Right now, it’s hard enough handling the busy lives we run and taking care of Lily. We want to be sure that we could devote all of our time to our family before we have another child."

Ellen nodded, obviously pleased with the answer. "That sounds like a good plan. Too many couples in Hollywood end up having children and getting divorced because the pressure become too much and cracks their marriage. The two of you are a refreshing change."

"Thanks," they replied simultaneously and wished desperately for the interview to end.

***

Nick whistled cheerfully as he unlocked the front door and stepped into the cool quiet of the house. He imagined that Lily was down for a nap because it was just that time of the afternoon. Half thinking about grabbing something to munch on, he started towards the kitchen.

He was bursting to tell Autumn about how adorable and tiny Kevin and Kristin’s newborn son, Mason, was. The baby had been born early that morning, and Nick had rushed over as soon as he could to see the happy family. Kevin had been beaming with pride and joy as he held his son. Mason had seemed so tiny and fragile in his arms, and, when Kevin had offered to let Nick hold the baby, Nick had refused. What if he’d dropped the baby, broken him or something?

Kevin had laughed and said Nick wouldn’t feel that way when his own were born. It had felt as though he’d been hinting at something, but Nick hadn’t had the heart to outright lie to Kevin about his fake marriage. So he’d just shrugged and said, "We’ll see."

Nick began to walk past the family room when he heard a voice he hadn’t expected to hear again, unless it was from behind bars. Frozen in place, he stood in the doorway and watched Summer’s face on the television screen. Autumn blocked his view a bit as she stood in front of the television, but he didn’t say anything. Couldn’t.

"Time’s coming up, sister dearest. You’d better start watching over your shoulder and keeping an eye on your family. The other notes and pictures I’ve been sending you, they were nothing. This is the big, red-letter warning. I’m watching you, and, when you least expect it, I’ll destroy your life. Just like that." She snapped her fingers and laughed. The screen went blank five seconds later.

Autumn just stood, staring, at the screen. She felt so numb and cold. So cold inside.

"What the hell was that?"

She spun around and found Nick, fists clenched, in the doorway. His face was furious as he stepped into the room, the look in his eyes murderous as he strode towards her. His hands weren’t gentle when they took hold of her shoulders and shook her. "Nick." His name was a terrified whisper on her lips.

"Is this what you’ve been hiding from me for weeks, Autumn? Summer’s been fucking threatening you, and you did nothing? You just hid it from me and everyone else? Was that your way of protecting us, or are you just too selfish to share anything?" Every question was punctuated with the tightening of his fingers on her shoulders until she was sure she would bruise.

Autumn pushed him away and glared at him. "So what if I didn’t tell you? It’s nothing you have to worry about! I have it under control."

"Under control?" He was shouting now and couldn’t stop himself. "Worrying and losing sleep over it is the way you control the situation? Don’t tell me you haven’t been sleeping," he warned her when she opened her mouth in protest. "Just because we don’t sleep in the same room doesn’t mean I don’t know that you’re not sleeping well. Damn it, Autumn!" He spun away to pace angrily. "We’re supposed to be a team, and you’ve kept me out of the game this whole time. Well, too bad. I just dealt myself in."

She tried to find her anger and couldn’t. She was just tired of the whole thing—tired and oh so scared of what would happen. If Summer would make good on her threats. "What are you going to do that hasn’t already been done?"

"You’re going to hand over everything she sent you, and I’m taking it to the cops. We’re getting a restraining order out on her."

"No! Nick, no." She swallowed hard at the temper on his face. "Look, I don’t want the whole world to know what’s going on. If we take it to the police, the press will be all over us. I don’t want to give Summer anymore airtime than she’s already received."

Nick tried hard to find calm when all he wanted to do was tear the city apart, find Summer, and strangle her himself. "Fine. We’ll just expand security." He took a deep breath and decided he was still entirely too angry to be around Autumn at the moment. "I’m going to go call management and figure something out."

When he stalked out of the room, Autumn sighed and sank onto the couch. Her life had just gotten fifty times more complicated, and all she wanted to do was take her daughter and run.

***

3:00 AM.

Autumn didn’t need a psychiatrist to tell her that she couldn’t sleep because of anxiety. Of course, she was anxious. She was also distressed, worried, and afraid of who could be skulking around outside the house, just waiting to find a way in to hurt her or her family.

Nick had been right, she admitted. Pressing her face into her pillow to suppress a scream, she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart. He’d been absolutely right. She should’ve told him and security the instant that first threat had shown up in the mail. If she had, Summer might not have gotten this far.

She hated admitting she’d been wrong.

She turned over onto her back and stared up at the darkened ceiling. Nick hadn’t said a single word to her since he’d walked out of the family room that afternoon. For Lily’s sake, she’d been cheerful at dinner, but neither of them spoke a word to the other. He was so angry with her, and she knew he had the right to be mad.

Autumn knew she’d have to apologize first. There was no way around it. She couldn’t handle the whole Summer situation if he was angry with her, too. She’d come to rely on the support he offered her, which often surprised and confused her at the same time.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep, she slid out of bed and, pulling on a robe over her tank top and pajama pants, she padded out of the room. She didn’t know she was going to go to Nick’s room until she stood in front of his door with her hand on the doorknob.

He was probably sleeping, she told herself. Besides, the apology could wait until morning. She’d be dead of anxiety by morning, part of her argued. She needed to spill out all the fears she had to someone, even if it was Nick. Especially if it was Nick.

She pushed open the door quietly and peeked in. The light from the hallway slanted into his room and across his bed. His tidily made up bed. Autumn stepped into the room and frowned. Where was he?

Then, she heard the click of a lighter and headed towards the door to his balcony. She found him, leaning against the railing, flicking his lighter on and off absently as he studied the city glowing below them.

"Nick?"

He jolted and turned to find her framed in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I—I couldn’t sleep. You?"

"Same." He turned away from her and looked back at the city. It hurt to look at her and know she didn’t trust him with what was important to her. It hurt more than he’d expected it to hurt.

Autumn stepped onto the balcony and laid her hand on his back. She could feel the way his muscles were tensed and knew he was still upset. "Nick, I know you’re still angry with me. Please, can we—can we talk?"

Oh, now she wanted to talk. Nick suppressed the flare of temper. Sure, why the hell not, he thought. It wasn’t as though he was doing much. "Fine." He looked down at her and noted that she shivered despite her robe. "Let’s go in. It might be summer, but it’s still kinda cold at night. Can’t have you getting sick, can we?" There had been a bite of anger in his words, and he saw her wince before looking away. Sighing, he reached out and took her hand. "I’m sorry. I guess I am still angry." He led her back into his room and flicked on the bedside lamp, so its glow bathed the room in soft light.

Autumn sat, cross-legged, on the bed as he settled onto it in the same way. She wondered where to begin. "I just wanted to say I’m sorry."

"What?"

She sighed a little. "I know what I did was stupid. Keeping it to myself was a dumb thing to do, but I didn’t want to make anyone worry. Everyone was so happy with the way things were going on tour and with our publicity that I just didn’t want to toss the wrench into the works."

"Don’t take the blame for the threats, Autumn." His voice was quiet as his hand rested on hers. "Summer’s the one to blame. Not you."

"I should’ve told you," she replied. "I wanted to. There were a dozen times that I wanted to tell you, but then I thought of how relaxed you were. For the first time since January, you were having fun, and I didn’t want to wreck that. You took the time and effort to help me fix my image when you didn’t have to. I just didn’t want to bother you with it anymore."

He tried not to be annoyed. "You know, I figured you were pretty smart, but that’s one of the dumbest things you’ve ever said. I don’t care how fake our marriage is, I meant it when I said I’d take care of you and Lily. We’re a team for the next six months, and that means trusting each other." He pressed his fingers to his eyes. "You hurt me."

"Oh, Nick." His hands were in hers. "I didn’t mean to. I just—I thought I was doing what was best."

"No, you don’t get it, do you? I care about you, Autumn." He watched her eyes flicker with surprise and pleasure before the sorrow returned. "You’re a friend. You’ve become one of my closest friends, and I’d hoped I could be the same for you. If you had a problem, I thought you’d come to me just like I’d go to you when I needed help. You saw my mother, you helped me deal with her. How could I not want to return the favor by helping you with your sister?"

She didn’t know what to say. "I wish I had come to you. I’ve come to rely on you for a lot, Nick. I didn’t know I could hurt you, and I’m sorry I did." There was a hot ball of emotion rising fast in her throat. "I’m so sorry."

When her voice wavered and cracked, he looked up at her face. The first of the tears were slipping down her cheeks as she tried to swipe them away. "Oh, Autumn. Come on, don’t cry. Please don’t cry."

Autumn pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, trying to stem the flow of tears. "I know. I can’t help it. I feel like I’ve been trying to hold everything together, and it’s just been too much. Oh god, Nick." The first sob ripped through her, and she buried her face in her hands. She didn’t notice when Nick scooped her up and held her close. Her tears transferred onto his t-shirt and soaked through.

He didn’t know how to offer comfort but knew that there weren’t any words that would help. So he held her, giving her someone to hold onto. When her shuddering sobs slowed and she rested her head against his chest, her arms curled around him, he stroked his hand soothingly over her back. "Feel better?"

"A little. Yeah." She sighed. "I’m just so tired of being scared and worried. Combined with constantly keeping up a façade for everyone is just exhausting." She tilted her head back to give him a teary smile. "Thanks for just being there. I needed it." Her head returned to where it’d rested. "I guess I need you."

The words blew through him and filled him with the sweetest sensation. "I guess I need you, too." His lips brushed softly over her hair. "You should sleep."

"Can’t. I keep imagining that I hear someone creeping around outside, ready to break in." Her fingers clutched at his shirt. "I just don’t want to be alone, Nick. Not tonight."

"Okay." Nick leaned back against his pillows, Autumn still in his arms. "Hey, want me to sing you a song? Rumor has it, I’m kind of a big deal as a singer. So pick a song, any song, and I can sing it."

She chuckled a little. "Sure. Can you do Safest Place to Hide?"

He was surprised at her choice. "I thought you didn’t know any of the songs I’ve sung."

Autumn lifted her head and studied him. "Nick, you’ve seen my one movie, and you watched the filming of my other one. I just thought it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t listen to your music. Besides, what if I was asked which one your songs I liked the most in an interview?"

"You have a point. So, did you like any of our stuff?"

"Of course." She kissed his cheek and settled back. "So, are you singing or what?"

Nick held her a little closer and let himself absorb the pleasure her words had given him. Then, he began to sing softly.

He felt her breathing even out as she fell asleep. Lying there with her in his arms, he finally admitted to himself what he’d spent weeks denying. He was in love with her.