Part 2
The plane had barely lifted off when Becca began to obsess.
"Sarah, look at me," she moaned. "What's he going to think? He's going to hate me I just know it. And-"
"Becca?" she interrupted.
"What?"
"Stuff it." She added, "Here", handing her a souvenir tour book from the first leg of the tour. Before she could hear any further comments, she pulled out her walkman and put the earphones on, effectively ending the discussion.
It had barely been an hour when they felt the plane dip to the side and begin to descend toward Key West. Sarah stole a glance at Becca, and immediately regretted her harsh tone. She was very obviously terrified.
"Bec, he's going to be so glad to see you." She took Becca's hand. "You'll see, you just have to trust me."
"How many times can he just take me back, Sarah? I've been such a flake with this relationship." She sighed.
"Becca, he loves you with all his heart. I was there, I saw his face when he read your emails and when he got your letter … he was like a little kid celebrating Christmas and his birthday all at once."
At the mention of his birthday, Becca paled. "I bet it wasn't this last birthday he was remembering …"
"There'll be more birthdays, Bec, just don't miss the next one. Look," she said, pointing to the ground, "there's the landing strip, and I can see the cars …."
"How much does Howie know?"
"Everything, Bec. You know I don’t keep anything from him. He's not gonna condemn you for what you did, Bec. God knows, we're not perfect, either." She patted her friend's knee and prepared for landing.
The plane had barely stopped when Sarah was out the door and running into Howie's arms.
He laughed, spinning her around. "Whoa! Angel, it's only been about 12 hours since I saw you!"
"So what? That's twelve hours too long," she said, kissing him soundly.
They broke apart to find Becca watching with a silly grin. "Nothing changes, does it?"
Howie put Sarah down, going immediately to hug Becca. "Welcome home, Bec," he said quietly.
"Thank you Howie. For everything." She hugged him tighter, overwhelmed by the sense of belonging that swept over her.
"I'm happy to help, but we have to get going. The guys don't know where I am and Nick's suspicious enough already." It didn't escape him that Becca winced at the mention of his name. "Bec, it's gonna be fine. Trust me."
Finally she laughed. "At least you two are on the same page in the script."
"Yeah, well, that's love for you." He looked at Sarah once again and winked. "It really is going to be fine, Becca. You look great, by the way," he said, looking her up and down.
"Definitely more of me to love," she quipped.
"That's for sure. God, I can't wait to see Nick's face!"
"Bec, are you going to the taping?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know. Howie, there's no chance that he'll see me?"
"Not a one. I have a great place picked out for you. You can watch from upstairs, and as long as you can control yourself he'll never know you're there."
"Howie!" Sarah reprimanded.
"I'm kidding! But I know you women, get you within ten feet of your men and control goes out the window." He laughed, ducking as Sarah took a swing at him. "Your car is over there. Sarah's going with me, that'll put all the suspicions to rest."
"Suspicions?"
"I'll tell you about it in the car, Angel. Bec, as soon as the taping's done the driver has express directions to get you back to the beach house as soon as possible. I want you there before we get back with Nick. I'll make sure the other guys head off somewhere else."
Becca nodded. "Thanks, you two."
"See you back at the house, Bec. Enjoy the show!" Sarah waved, walking away hand in hand with Howie.