Part 45
In the limo headed home, Sarah lay with her head in Howie’s lap and he played with her hair as he stared out the window. He was thinking about how close he’d come to losing the love of his life and how easy it came to him to protect her. It wasn’t in his nature to do this. He had been raised in the church, to be Christian, and he knew right from wrong. But damn, this was Sarah, the ONLY woman who had ever made him willing to go to ANY lengths to give her the world. He looked down at her as she slept peacefully and smiled. ‘A lifetime, Angel….we have a lifetime together.’
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"Hey, D…isn’t it time for TRL?"
Howie had been sitting out on the balcony while Sarah had been putting their stuff away when she called to him. He looked at his watch, "Yeah, I guess so. Why?"
"Well, isn’t Carson gonna do the exclusive today?"
"I guess so," answered Howie as he came into the room.
Sarah was turning the television on and the first thing they saw was a picture of the two of them. "Looks like he’s gonna run the story."
The two sat down together to listen to the story. "I had the privilege this past weekend to spend some very special time with some of our good friends, the Backstreet Boys. As you know, they performed for us when we were in Key West for the Retirement Home Special. Our cameraman and I were privileged to get a special invitation - - to film the wedding of Howie Dorough to his long time girlfriend, Sarah Taylor."
The girls in the studio audience gasped, then began to smile and applaud as video footage of the ceremony and reception began to play. The editing was a masterpiece, very carefully showing only the Boys and Sarah. No mention was made of the new song OR Nick's announcement of his pending marriage to Becca. There was one parting shot of Nick catching the garter, wearing the typical Carter smirk, but that's where Carson craftily left the audience hanging. No teaser, no promised follow-up, just warm congratulations to the newlyweds from everyone at TRL and MTV.
The crew rolled the footage of Sarah and Howie saying their vows and Sarah squeezed Howie’s hand. She whispered, "It was so beautiful, D.’
Howie kissed her, "Yeah, it was."
He reached for the phone and started dialing as Sarah asked, "You calling Carson?"
Howie nodded his head ‘yes’ and waited for Carson to answer. "Hey, Hey! Carson! What’s up?"
"Howie…dude! Thought you’d be on your honeymoon! Thanks for calling us."
"Well, you know…the wife wanted me to make sure we called you to let the fans know that we appreciate all the love and support we’ve received over the last few months. And yeah, we’re on our honeymoon."
"So, where are you?"
Howie laughed, "Now THAT is something I’m not gonna give out. Let’s just put it this way, we’re together and we’re having a ball."
Carson laughed too. "I hear you. Look, thanks for allowing me to show this. We really appreciate it."
"No problem. We BOTH wanted to share the happiness with the fans and we hope that they’ll continue to support us in the months to come. We’ll be hitting the road again in a couple weeks. Hey, I also want to remind everyone in the Orlando area about the Dorough Lupus Foundation Benefit coming up this weekend, June 1 and 2. Sarah has really worked hard to pull this together and it’s gonna be a blast. She’s even gonna sing at the charity concert."
"So is Sarah involved with your foundation?"
"She’s been involved with it since about a month after we started dating and some of the fans who went on the cruise this past Christmas were lucky enough to meet her. She’s been a HUGE asset to my company as well. She handles my business while I’m out on the road."
"Can the fans expect to see less of you now that you’re married?"
"No way man! The fans are the ones who keep the Backstreet Boys going. I’ll still be out there meeting and doing for the fans. You can expect to see more of Sarah though. She will be going with me on the road for the rest of the tour and you might also get to hear her sing! I’m trying to convince her to put out a CD of stuff that the guys and I have written for her but she’s kinda shy."
The audience cheered and Carson said, "Sounds like she’s got support from your fans! Look, Howie, thank you and Sarah for letting us share this news with everyone and when you’re in the area, PLEASE stop in and see us! We’d LOVE to have you here."
"Sure thing, Carson. And to the fans, Thanks from my heart! You mean the world to us!"
That got a huge round of applause and as Howie hung up, Carson said, "Well, there you have it. Howie D. is married and you heard it here FIRST on TRL….Now, at number one, here’s the Backstreet Boys with ‘More Than That’."
Sarah gently elbowed Howie, "Shy, huh?"
Howie laughed as he took her in his arms and lay her down on the couch.
Covering her body with his, he said, "Well, what other reason do you have
for NOT recording?"
"Content to let my husband shine in the spotlight."
"You have your own spotlight in my heart, Angel. How about a walk on the beach?"
"Sounds perfect."