Nick’s head turned in surprise as she opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the stream of bright sunlight filtering in from the bay window. His face mirrored his thoughts as his eyes grew wide in disbelief at what he was seeing.

"Hi, Nick," she said with a smile. "Long time, no see!"

Howie couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Nick’s face as Kristina walked over to him and ruffled his hair.

"What? Cat got your tongue, Nicky? I’ve never known you to be so quiet," she laughed.

Nick looked at Howie and then back to Kristina. "Kris? Is that really you?"

"The one and only, in the flesh."

Nick bounced off the couch, picking her up and swinging her around. "Oh my God, girl! Where the hell have you been?"

"Put her down, Nick" Howie said from behind, his voice resonating authority.

Kristina leaned over and whispered into Nick’s ear. "Don’t mind him, he’s being overprotective and probably will be for a while. Put me down and I’ll explain."

Nick did as she asked and turned to Howie with a big smile. "Man, I’m sorry. I had no clue she was back."

"It’s okay. It all happened pretty quick."

"Nick? You hungry?" Kristina asked as she strolled casually into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door.

"Umm…hello, Kris? It’s me - I’m ALWAYS hungry!" he laughed.

Kristina laughed out loud at Nick’s response as she pulled out eggs, cheese, milk and ham from the refrigerator. "Yep. You’re right, Nicky. Always ready to eat!"

She turned to find Howie smiling at her. "Are you making my favorite omelet?" he asked.

"Uh huh" she said as she leaned in closer. "And I’ll expect proper payment for it after Blondie has gone home."

Nick smiled as he watched Kristina and Howie kiss. He was amazed at how in love they seemed, even though she had been gone for so long. He wanted to ask why she had taken off, but he knew that she would tell him when she was ready. He had missed her tremendously. They had become instant friends from the first time Howie had introduced them, she was like the big sister he had never had and he had missed her advice AND her teasing over the last year.

Howie and Kris caught him watching them and laughed. Kristina winked and then turned her attention to the stove as Howie made his way over to where Nick was sitting.

Moving closer to the edge of the couch, Nick leaned forward. "Oh man - she looks great. I like the blonde hair, don’t you?"

Howie glanced over his shoulder, the love in his eyes speaking volumes to Nick. "It works just fine for me," he said.

"I didn’t mean to intrude on you two. I didn’t know that she was here."

"It’s okay. I’ll get you back later," Howie laughed.

"When did all of this happen? Why didn’t you tell us?" he asked excitedly. "You know how much I love Kristina! I missed her man, but I didn’t want to say too much to you about it cuz I knew that you were upset by her leaving like that."

Howie’s facial expression changed from one of happiness to one of seriousness. "Kevin found her two days ago and we have been here trying to piece our relationship back together and work through some issues."

"Found her? What do you mean, Kevin found her?" Nick asked.

Kristina interrupted the conversation by calling out from the kitchen. "Hey ‘D’, got any Tabasco sauce?"

"In the pantry, baby" he said before continuing his conversation with Nick. "Yeah, it’s a long story but basically she was singing at Tabu and Kevin found her there and called me."

"Holy shit! Why didn’t your brother tell you?"

"He didn’t know about our past together and she didn’t know it was my club."

"That’s strange, bro. Really strange."

Running his hands through his curls, Howie said, "I know. But the important thing is that she is here and we are together. I’m not going to let ANYTHING come between us again."

"Did she tell you why she left in the first place? I mean, it’s obvious that she loves you."

"There is a lot you don’t know, Nick, but she needs to be the one to explain that to you. I CAN tell you that she really didn’t have much of a choice."

"I don’t guess it really matters. She’s back and if you are cool with it, I’m cool with it. It’s just really good to see her again and to see you so happy" Nick said smiling.

" I love her. I always have and always will" Howie said with a smile.

Nick laughed. "I never would have guessed that!"

Chapter 23        Index