Chapter 75

The gate buzzed announcing a visitor. Jesse looked out the window at the car coming down the driveway. "Grandma's here."

Jon looked at his watch. "She's early."

"Why is she here?" Stephanie eyed her father suspiciously.

"I have to go out tonight, so she's here to keep you company."

"Where you going?" Jake asked.

"A benefit for Covenant House."

"Are you going alone?" Stephanie hoped his answer was the one she wanted to hear.

Jon shook his head. "We've been doing some projects with them through the Foundation, so Bri's coming with me." It was one of the few ways they could go out together without causing speculation. Even if they were photographed together, Brianna was identified as his assistant, so no one questioned her being with him. Still, he wished they didn't have to hide their relationship. He wanted to be able to hold her hand walking down the street, put his arm around her at a gathering like this.....hell, just go to a movie!

He sighed. Brianna kept telling him to be patient. Easy for her to say. She didn't have to try and sleep with a hard on! As usual, once he'd decided on a plan, he wanted to put it into motion immediately. He wasn't used to being stymied - especially by his own kids! But Brianna was right. If the kids weren't on board, weren't comfortable with his having a girlfriend, the relationship would never work.

He hated that she was right most of the time.

Stephanie and Jesse exchanged grins and a high five behind their father's back. 

"Say hi to her from us." Stephanie instructed.

Jon nodded nod went to get changed.

When the car pulled up in front of her apartment building, and Brianna came out, Jon tried to catch a glimpse of what she was wearing, but her coat was in the way. He did manage to get an eyeful of her legs as she climbed in the car. "Hi."

"Hi." She leaned over and kissed him.

"The kids say hi."

"So they know I'm going with you tonight?"

He nodded. "I told them the Foundation was working on some projects with the Covenant House people."

"Mmmm."

"What? You're the one who said we had to wait to tell them."

"I'm not upset. It's the right way to do it....until they're ready."

Jon grunted and slanted her a look. "You do know what signs we're looking for, don't you?"

"Yes." She patted his hand. "Hang in there, I think they're getting close." She hoped so. She wasn't liking the secrecy any more than Jon was. But she'd never let him know that. It wouldn't be a good idea for him to think he'd won her over so easily. He only truly appreciated what he had to work for.

They arrived at the hotel where the benefit was being held and made their way to the ballroom, where Jon helped Brianna take off her coat. His eyes licked over her appreciatively. Her dress was a sheath that skimmed her curves and ended just above her knees with sheer long sleeves. It was simple, yet elegant, exactly what he'd come to expect from her. The emerald colour made her stand out like a jewel in the sea of black surrounding her.

"Will you be okay here for a minute while I take these to the coat check?"

The huskiness of his voice made her shiver. It was a struggle to remember the public image they needed to present. "As your assistant I should do that." She reached for their coats, but froze at the glare she got.

"My mother would skin me alive if I let you. She raised me to be a gentleman."

"Uh huh." She retorted dryly. "Five months ago you wouldn't have thought twice about letting me. In fact, you would have expected it."

There was too much truth in her statement for him to argue, so he didn't bother trying. "Brat." He growled and turned towards the coat check.

Brianna grinned and stepped into the ballroom. The decorations were harvest themed with groupings of cornstalks in the corners and gourds in the table centrepieces. Spying the bar in the corner to her left, she started in that direction. She ordered a glass of wine for both of them and had just started back towards the door when she heard someone call her name.

"Bri!"

She turned to see her brother Michael walking towards her, his wife Lisa a step behind him. "Hey!" She hugged them both as best she could with her hands full. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Covenant House is one of the organizations our firm supports." Michael explained. "I'm the designated representative tonight."

"What about you?" Lisa asked. "What brings you here?"

"I hope you're not two fisted drinking already." Michael added nodding at the two glasses in her hands.

Brianna looked at her sister-in-law and they both rolled their eyes. "Jerk! Jon's foundation has been working with them on a couple of projects. He wanted to be here, and I came with him." Brianna answered truthfully.

"You mean I'm finally going to get to meet your famous boss?" 

"Yes, and be nice." She admonished him.

"Sure," Michael craned his neck, looking for the rockstar. "Where is he?"

"Coat check."

Michael crooked a brow, but Lisa smiled. "So he's a gentleman too."

Jon entered the ballroom and glanced around  looking for his date.  He finally spotted her talking to a couple he didn't know. Something about the man's body language towards Brianna had him seeing red. Or maybe it was green. Either way, his defences were on full alert.

As he got closer, something about the man seemed familiar but Jon was pretty sure he'd never met him. When the man bent to speak quietly to Brianna, then straightened and laughed, Jon swallowed a growl and moved faster. Reaching them, he sidled in next to Brianna, looked the man in the eye despite being a few inches shorter, and held out his hand. "Hi. I'm Jon Bon Jovi."

Brianna stared at her boss/boyfriend, not sure whether to be amused or annoyed. She'd never seen him like this before. The waves of aggressive testosterone coming off of him warned her to step in. "Jon, this is my brother Michael and his wife Lisa."

Jon glanced at her and raised his brows, his demeanor instantly changed from hostility to eagerness. "Yeah?" He looked back at the other man, now seeing the resemblance - the tones of red in his hair, the shape of his golden flecked eyes - and understood why he looked familiar. "Well, it's nice to finally meet some of Bri's family."

"We've been trying to figure out whether she's hiding us or you."

Brianna sighed and looked at her hands. Maybe she was going to need both glasses of wine after all. This could be a long night.

As if reading her thoughts, Jon reached out to take a glass. "Is one of those for me? Thanks." He turned back to Michael. "So what kind of business are you in?"

"We deal with international investments."

Brianna made a snoring sound.

"Hey! It's built you a nice little nest egg." Michael reminded her.

She shrugged. "Doesn't mean it's not boring as hell."

He snorted. "Says the woman who worked for the CEO of a company that makes widgets. Did you ever figure out what they even were?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "And now I tour the world with a rock band. Beat that!"

"Children please!" Lisa interrupted. "What will Jon think of our family with this kind of behaviour?"

Jon had been watching with amusement and now waved aside Lisa's concern.  "You should see my brothers and I go at it. This was very tame."

"Come on," Brianna urged Jon. "We should say hello to the organizers and find our table." She glared at her brother. "See you later."

Chuckling, Jon let her lead him away. "I'm beginning to see why you were avoiding introducing me to your family."

"Yeah, Michael's a bit of a pain in the ass. And he's the most agreeable one of the bunch!"

"And where do you fit into the spectrum?"

"Where do you think?"

Her tone shook his wits back into place and he caught himself before he said something that would have him grovelling for weeks. "Based on my knowledge of you, I would have to say that you're the rose among the thorns."

She snorted at his corny reply, but let the subject drop as they circulated amongst the crowd.

As luck would have it, they found themselves at the same table with Michael and Lisa. Brianna bit back a groan. Jon squeezed her knee under the table and fought not to let her see how pleased he was with the situation.

They made small talk until the salads arrived. Michael watched his sister pass her tomatoes to Jon's bowl and take his cucumber slices. Catching her eye, he raised a brow and waved at her fork hovering between their bowls. "You've obviously spent a lot of time together."

She matched his expression. "Doesn't your assistant know which foods you like and don't like? And don't you expect her to make sure you don't get what you don't like?" She knew he was fishing for the status of their relationship, but she wasn't ready to tell her family yet. Until they had the kids' blessing the fewer people who knew the less chance of the kids hearing about them through rumours.

"Yes, but she doesn't usually take it right off my plate."

"No, she does it before your plate ever gets to you. Luckily for me, Jon is a little more reasonable than you are."

Jon looked at Lisa. "Do they always need a referee?" He asked quietly while the siblings continued to bicker.

"Only occasionally." Lisa eyed her sister-in-law thoughtfully. Only when one of them is trying to hide something from the other. She changed the subject. "Bri told us about your loss. I'm sorry."

Jon nodded. "Thank you."

"How are your kids coping?"

"There've been some rough patches, but on the whole, pretty good. Bri has been a huge help. She's great with them."

Lisa wasn't surprised. "She loves kids. Spoils ours rotten. We always felt bad that she didn't have any of her own. But the asshole she married kept putting her off. Too bad she didn't see what a schmuck he was sooner. She was meant to be a mother." She watched him carefully for his reaction, but he only nodded in agreement.

The end of the evening found Jon and Michael standing together waiting for the women who had made a trip to the ladies' room.

Michael debated how to say what was on his mind, and in the end, just said it. "Despite what you might think given our behaviour tonight, I love my sister very much. I don't like seeing her hurt or unhappy. She got a raw deal with the asshole she married and she deserves better. She's a wonderful, caring woman who deserves to be loved and appreciated. To be happy."

Jon heard the message - and the warning - loud and clear. And he didn't disagree. "She does."

"Ready to go?" Lisa asked her husband as she and Brianna joined them.

"Yes." Michael replied. "I think we've done all we can here tonight."

Bidding them goodnight, Brianna watched them walk towards the door. "What was that all about?"

Jon shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Jon seems like a decent enough guy." Lisa observed as they navigated through the late night traffic.

Michael grunted.

"They're sleeping together."

"Did Bri tell you?" Maybe he should have been a little more direct with the man.

"No, but you can tell by their body language and the way that they talk to each other."

"Ah. Women's intuition." He considered, then shrugged. "If he hurts her, rockstar or not, I'll kick his ass."

Lisa patted his hand. "Yes dear, I know you will."