Part 10
"Guys, I'd like you to meet Sarah," said Howie as he held her hand.
Nick was the first one to move to speak to Sarah and in his eagerness, tripped over his own feet. Sarah laughed, "You have to be Nick."
Smiling his sweetest 'Carter' smiles and batting his baby blues, Nick said, "Yeah."
AJ spoke up, "No one else WANTS to be Nick."
Nick glared at him as AJ pushed him out of the way.
AJ took Sarah's free hand in his. "I'm Alex," he said as he kissed the back of her hand. "Whenever you get tired of 'Sweet D', let me know. I'll show you what a 'Bad Boy' is like."
Howie pushed AJ back as Kevin said, "Don't let him fool you. AJ's not REALLY that bad."
Sarah's attention turned to the tall man who'd greeted them at the door. He had a grace and charm about him that put her at ease immediately but yet, he was nothing like Howie. He was definitely easy to look at, as were all the others. She said, "Kevin, right?"
"Yeah. It's nice to finally meet you. 'D' has told me a little about you but he definitely didn't tell me how beautiful you were."
Sarah blushed as Howie squeezed her hand. Shyly, she said, "Thank you."
Howie said, "That leaves Brian."
Brian came forward and said, "Nice to meet you."
Sarah and Howie sat down with the others as Kevin went to put the steaks on the grill. He watched how easily Sarah joined in the group like she'd always known them and she wasn't bothered by WHO they were. He understood why Howie had fallen in love with her so hard and so fast. 'God, she would be perfect for me! Stop it, you moron! What are you thinking? This is Howie's girl...his angel. Don't even think about it!'
Howie interrupted Kevin's thoughts, "What do you think of Sarah?"
Kevin glanced awkwardly downward thinking, 'It's not obvious, is it?' and then to Howie he said, "She's everything you said she'd be. I'm really happy for you, 'D'."
"She's so incredible," said Howie as he watched her talking to the others. She would glance his way and he'd smile back at her.
"What kept you earlier?"
"Traffic and then Sarah wasn't ready."
Kevin laughed, "Typical woman in that respect?"
"Not really. She's just distracted by tomorrow."
Sarah had gotten up to join Kevin and Howie. She put her arms around Howie's waist and he gave her a kiss.
"Kevin, is there anything I can do to help?"
"Don't even think about it! You're the guest of honor. Just have fun."
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Sarah had a blast that night with the guys. They laughed, horsed around, and talked about each other. The guys told her stories about touring, how they met, and being on the road. They managed to embarrass Howie but Sarah loved it. She also managed to surprise them all, especially Howie. After dinner, she sat down at Kevin's piano and began to play. They stood around with her singing as she played and then Kevin sat beside her accompanying her.
The guys fell in love with Sarah that night. She put them all at ease and let them be themselves. She fell in love with them too. It was like getting four more brothers and it made her feel better about not having her family around.
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Saturday night, after having spent the morning in Fernandina, Sarah lay on the couch with her head in Howie's lap as they listened to music. Howie had his hand on her stomach and the other playing with her hair. He watched her as she played with his fingers.
"What 'cha thinkin' bout?"
"You. You have been so wonderful today. You don't know how much it meant to me to have you with me."
"I'm glad you wanted me to come along."
Sarah looked up at him. "You've done so much for me and you won't let me do anything for you."
"Just having you in my life is enough."
"I've only been with one man my entire life and I thought that was what love was all about but I know now I was wrong," she said as she sat up. Sarah turned around to face Howie and took his hand in hers. "Howie...Howard Dwaine...I never thought I'd say this so soon but...I love you with all my heart and soul."
Howie put his hand in her hair and leaned to her. His lips brushed hers ever so lightly, like a butterfly. He whispered, "I love you, Sarah Lee Taylor."
He kissed her, his tongue parting her lips and tasting her. At the same time, he lay her back on the couch covering her with his body. He ran his free hand up to her face holding he face between his hands as his tongue continued to explore her mouth, touching spots that sent shivers down Sarah's spine.
Howie pulled back from the kiss and looked into her eyes. "John will be home soon," he said softly.
"It is late," said Sarah breathlessly.
"Wanna go to bed?"
"Yeah."