“Oh, this is the night, it’s a beautiful night, and we call it Bella Notte…”

“You’re watching that again?” Nat asked as she stood at the entryway to the living room, having just come home from her night shift.

Jamie, who was curled up with Georgie on the far right of the sofa, paid no attention. When Tramp and Lady unknowingly ate the same spaghetti strand, and when Tramp suavely nosed the last meatball in Lady’s direction, Jamie really could not help the tears in her eyes or the tennis-ball-sized lump in her throat.

Nat watched her girlfriend for a moment, made a slight shrug to herself, dropped her purse on the floor, and eased into the nearest chair without another word. Neither of the girls looked at each other or made a single sound until the end of the movie, and Nat was the one to retrieve the tape.

That was when Jamie finally acknowledged the presence of another human in that room. “Oh, hi, Nat.”

“Hey, lover girl. Enjoying yet another romantic movie night, I see.”

Brushing her eyes across Georgie’s soft arm as she sat up, Jamie asked, “Is there a problem with that?” She couldn’t help sounding a bit defensive.

“No. But you have been watching an awful lot of love movies this week, with Disney flicks constituting more than half.”

Jamie shrugged. “Guess I’ve just been in a lovey-dovey mood lately. More so than usual.”

Nat eyed her slyly. “Does this have anything to do with Mr. Kirkpatrick, by any chance?”

“And what’s it to you if it does?” Jamie demanded, cursing that infamous blush of hers.

“Well, don’t get your purple socks in a bunch, girl. I find it rather adorable, as a matter of fact.” The twinkle in Nat’s eye proved she meant what she was saying—or, at least, that she wasn’t ribbing Jamie quite so much this time.

At length, Jamie found herself confessing, “Maybe I am kind of falling for Chris. I mean, I always liked him well enough as a guy from ‘N Sync. But…”

“But now you’re seeing him in a different light.”

“I guess.” Jamie looked down and began to absently smooth Georgie’s gray fur with her palm.

“So what’s the problem?”

“Problem?”

“You don’t look or sound like you’re over the moon about it.” Nat now regarded her with authentic concern. “What’s eating you, J?”

Jamie didn’t want to tell her, but she couldn’t think of a good enough alternative, and she saw no point in trying to hide the facts. “I really don’t think I’m in his league.”

“In his league?”

“Come on, Nat, think about it. Can you honestly picture someone like him with someone like me?”

“So what? You’re plenty of fun to be around. I can count on one finger the number of dull moments you and I have had since the day we met. You’re funny, smart, easy to talk to, and as sweet as sugar. And your looks sure don’t hurt, if that’s what’s got you so concerned.”

“But I don’t meet the media’s standards. I may not be butt-ugly, but I’m far from sexy. Chris deserves special women—ladies who look good to the public’s eye in every way.” Like the contents of a bottle when the cork’s gone, everything Jamie had been keeping inside came spilling out all at once. “I’m five foot nothing, too generously proportioned in every area, my hair’s nothing worth bragging about; heck, I couldn’t get a proper tan if I stayed in a tanning salon for a week. All through school, I was the kind of girl who stayed home every night, and not because I was bogged down with chores or homework. I was lucky to be invited to one dance, even if it was on a just-friends level. I’m almost twenty-seven, and not once in my life have I kissed a boy outside of family. And now my path has crossed with that of one of the biggest pop stars in history. Everybody loves him and looks up to him. He doesn’t need somebody like me spoiling his image.”

“Is he that shallow?” Nat’s tone was unusually quiet, her expression uncharacteristically serious. “Does he care that much about your public appearance, Jamie Corrine Miller? Has he ever made you feel like a hindrance to his fame or a smudge on his reputation?”

Jamie managed to look her girlfriend in the eye when she answered, almost ashamedly, “No. I mean, sure, he’s been nice enough to me so far. He was the perfect gentleman at the movies and we had a truly awesome time at Friendly’s. I don’t think he would have left me either night if he didn’t have so many other pressing affairs. He was definitely nice enough to return my call and talk to me for a little while.” With one hand still clutching Georgie, she raked her free hand through her hair as she struggled for the words. “Even if he doesn’t care, he should care. Even if he wasn’t so rich and famous, even if he didn’t have so many eyes watching him, he would still deserve loads better than me.”

After a long, uncomfortable silence, Nat spoke again, as softly and stoically as ever. “Well, then, until he finds that ‘loads better,’ maybe you ought to put him to the real test and see what happens between you two. And who knows? Maybe you’ll both discover that you’re not so different after all, that you just might make a good match after all.”

The sigh that Jamie gave out would have filled a small sail, but she raised no further protest.

Now Nat stepped closer and slid her thin arm across Jamie’s broad shoulders. “At the risk of ripping off that corny Christina Aguilera song,” Nat continued, “love will find a way. If it’s meant to be legitimate between you and Chris Kirkpatrick, it will work itself out.” She gave Jamie a light squeeze. “Just you wait, J-girl. Just you wait.”

Jamie’s only response was inward. If it doesn’t work itself out…that’s what I’m afraid of.

Chris didn’t say yes or no. 

One by one, his mates approached him, as warily as if he were a ticking bomb. JC sat on his right side while Lance took the left; Joey and Justin opted to remain standing.

“We know something’s up,” said Lance with his arms folded over his chest. “Tell us what it is.” 

“It’s nothing,” Chris said without looking up.

Justin scoffed and gave Chris’s ankle a light kick. “You do realize you’ve never been able to hide your emotions very well, don’t you, Mr. Kirkpatrick?”

Joey added, “Maybe you can fool the public, but with us, you might as well have been trying to hide a three-ton purple elephant with green stripes and blue and yellow polka dots in your shower.”

That last part convinced Chris to take his hands away and raise his head all the way. Regarding Joey with mixed irritation, bewilderment, and a hint of amusement, he commented, “That’s about the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard you say, Joe. And that’s saying a lot.”

JC wrapped his arm around Chris’s shoulders. “Come on, Chris,” he said softly. “What happened to you tonight? You were just fine when we were leaving the studio earlier. What event took place between there and Sizzler to make you so upset? Is this about Allie? Did she leave you another threatening message, or what?”

Unable to help himself, Chris jerked away and snapped, “Damn it, JC! What’s with you and the third degree? Why does everybody have to be constantly poking their big, fat noses in where they don’t belong? Why don’t you all just get off my back and stay off?”

A deafening silence followed this outburst.

All four guys gaped at Chris, their expressions ranging from shell-shocked to wounded. JC (whose expression was a mix of all the above) ended up breaking the silence again, his voice almost inaudible even for Chris’s ears. “All right. Okay. Fine. If that’s how you want it, that’s how you’ll have it. Do excuse me.”

“Excuse all of us,” said Lance as he slowly got to his feet and turned away. “We’ll be more than happy to let you figure it out your way.” 

“Good luck,” Justin added in a tone that could have drawn blood.

Chris would have apologized then and there as he watched everyone head for the door, but his tongue was a useless blob.

Even after the quartet had left the room, what Joey said in the hall was distinct enough. “I swear, I’ll never understand him. One minute he’s all fine and dandy, and the next he’s all on edge and meaner than a snake.”

Then Justin said, “Sometimes I love that guy. Other times, I would love nothing more than to dump him out a ten-story window.”

Closing his eyes again, bowing his head once more, Chris put a single hand over his face this time…but not before a single tear had found its way clear down his cheek.