Chapter 120

Posing for pictures was right up there on the list of Jon's least favourite things to do - behind interviews but above a root canal.  Anything longer than five minutes was too long as far as he was concerned. He knew lots of people took pictures of him, especially during concerts. That was fine - he didn't have to pose for those, so it didn't bother him. But he knew this was important to Brianna, so he'd suck it up.

The photographer was aware of Jon's feelings, but also wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity. He was walking a fine line.

Brianna could feel Jon's tension rise as time passed. She distracted him with teasing and kisses, but it only worked for a little while. When she sensed he'd reached his limit, she brought it to and end. "Okay, I think we've got lots to choose from. Thanks."

"Oh. Right. Okay." The photographer frowned. "Maybe just..."

Brianna caught Tony's eye.

"Got it." He murmured and stepped towards the photographer. "Hey man, I really liked that lest setup. Can we look at what you got?"

Aware of Tony's talent as a videographer/producer, the photographer was eager to show off his own skill. "Sure."

Jon made a beeline for the tent - and the bar.

When Brianna entered the tent, Jon handed her a glass of champagne. "Thanks." She studied his face, a smirk curving her lips.

"What?"

"Thank you for putting up with the photo session."

Jon shrugged. "No big deal."

She snorted. "Are you forgetting who you're talking to? I'm the one who had to listen to you bitch the whole tour about how much you hate photo shoots."

He shrugged again. "This is different."

"How?"

"This isn't 'look at me' type stuff. This is commemorating a special event."

"Ah. Makes sense." She leaned over to brush her lips over his ear. "It's so hot when you prove you're not just a pretty face."

Blue eyes glittered. "Yeah? I've still got the glasses I wore in Cry Wolf."

"Mmm." She purred. "Bring them on the honeymoon....Professor."

He grinned. "Any other requests?"

Before she could speak, another voice reached them.

"Hey Beautiful, they've got sake! Want some? I know how much you like it."

Amidst the men's laughter, Brianna shuddered. While she had very little memory of that night in Japan, she remembered the next morning very clearly. "I'll pass thanks Lemma. I might like it, but it doesn't like me the next morning."

"Are you sure?" Tico asked. "We're here to celebrate you catching your Iceman. Or.....what did she call him?"

"Herpes." David supplied. "Said he never really went away."

Ignoring her father's disapproving scowl, Brianna groaned and buried her face in Jon's shoulder. He just laughed and rubbed her back. "You're stuck with me now."

"Don't they have an ointment for that?" Richie wondered.

"Okay." Lisa looked around at the various band members. "Someone's got to fill us in."

"No, they don't." Brianna argued.

"David."  Rachel crooked a finger. "Sit down, let me get you a drink. Let's have a chat."

Brianna groaned again.

After circulating with their guests for awhile, Brianna noticed her mother waving at her and pointing at her watch. The catering staff were hovering around the edges of the tent. "We'd better sit down. They're ready to serve dinner."

Jon followed her to the head table and held her chair while she sat before taking the chair beside her.

Lifting the napkin off her plate to lay it across her lap, the printing of their names on it caught her eye. A thought struck and she froze. "What name was on the marriage register?"

"What do you mean?"

"Which version of your name was on the register?" How could she not thought to double check? She knew from all the paper work she'd done for various travel and legal documents since she'd started working for him, that even though he signed autographs 'Jon BonJovi', legally he was still 'John Bongiovi Jr.'. It had been her job to make sure the proper name was used in the proper place.

"Don't worry, I signed my legal name." He assured her. His lips twitched. "Looking for a way out?"

She snorted and shook her head. "No, worried we might have to go through all of this again." She locked her gaze with his. "This is the last time I'm getting married."

Jon reached over to squeeze her hand and kissed her.

"Hey! You're supposed to wait until someone taps a glass!" David hollered.

"She's my wife. I can kiss her when I want to." Jon shot back. To prove his point he kissed her again.

"I want to kiss her too!" Jake insisted, running up to the head table.

"Me too!" Romeo wasn't about to be left out.

Tony picked up his spoon and tapped it against his glass. "I think Sunshine should kiss all the Bongiovi men!"

"I agree!" Matt stood up.

"And since I'm the head of the Bongiovi family, I should go first!" John Sr. declared.

"Okay, okay!" Laughing, Brianna stood and walked around the table where she was immediately enveloped by the male half of her new family.

Jon shook his head, smiling indulgently when he noticed his new sisters-in-law watching him. "I think they love her more than they do me."

"Good. Then we know she'll be well taken care of." Rachel commented.

"Count on it." Jon assured her.

Since it was the second marriage for both of them, they'd decided to forego some of the traditions like tossing the bouquet and garter and all the speeches. Unbeknownst to either of them, their brothers decided differently. Jon's brothers said that since they'd been cheated (their words) out of their opportunity the first time they were not going to be denied this time. Brianna's brothers weren't about to be outdone by the other two.

"Men and their egos." Brianna rolled her eyes.

They flipped a quarter to see who would go first. Tony won.

"My nickname for Brianna is 'Sunshine'. Partly because of her flaming hair and golden eyes, but mostly because she brought light and life back to my brother when we weren't sure anyone or anything ever could. I get what he sees in her. She's beautiful, smart, caring, compassionate. What I don't get is what she sees in him."

"He came with the kids." Brianna quipped, winking at Stephanie.

The crowd laughed.

"Ah. That explains it. They're pretty great kids. Even after working for Jon and seeing him at his worst, she still agreed to marry him." He shook his head in wonder. "Brave girl. For the love she's shown Jon and his children, for being the wonderful woman she is, we're overjoyed to welcome her into our family." He pointed a warning finger at his older brother. "Don't screw it up. Please, raise your glasses and join me in toasting Brianna. Thank you for brightening up our family."

"To Brianna!"  The crowd chorused.

Richard wasn't going to be out done. "When Brianna told us she was going to work for a musician, I thought she meant a maestro or maybe a conductor for a symphony."

The crowd snickered.

"Yeah. When I found out she was going to tour the world with a rock band, I started looking for a good psychologist. I was convinced she'd lost her mind. I had visions of drunken orgies and trashed hotel rooms. So I did a little investigating into this man my sister was hanging out with. You can imagine my surprise - and relief - that the rock and roll stereotypes didn't seem to apply to these guys."

"Not recently anyway." David sighed.

"Although some of the events during the late eighties seemed to be more than a bit hazy."

"For us too." Richie admitted.

The crowd laughed.

"What I did find was that the drug addled degenerate I expected to find turned out to be an upstanding businessman, philanthropist and father." Richard wiped his brow in mock relief. "And the Wilson family is pleased to welcome Jon and his terrific children to our clan." He raised his glass. "To Jon. Look after my sister. Make sure you keep her happy.....cause her paybacks are a bitch."

"To Jon!" Laughter and clinking glasses filled the tent.

Jake stood in front of the newly wedded couple. "Bianna, can we dance now?"

Seeing that everyone had finished eating and the band was ready, Brianna nodded.

"Yay! It's party time!" Jake announced loudly.

That was the band's cue. The only request that Jon made was that they not play any Jovi, and the band was happy to comply. They could play it, but seeing the composers sit and smile politely while they did would have been demoralizing. Still, they were thrilled with the opportunity to show what they could do.

They didn't have any formal dances, although the bride and groom did dance with each other first. In fact, while Jon surprised everyone by dancing more than they expected, his choice of partner was mainly his wife. Brianna, on the other hand, felt like she danced with every male there - some more than once.

Brianna had insisted the she wanted the guys to just relax and have fun, but she wasn't surprised to see Richie join the band. The look he sent her before turning to confer with them at one point set off warning bells.

The intro to the next song made Brianna pause, then laugh and step onto the dance floor area when she recognized it as Take My Breath Away - the love theme from Top Gun. "Where's my Iceman?"

"I think she means you Daddy." Stephanie nudged her father. "Although the lead character was Maverick." She studied him for a moment. "But you do look more like Val Kilmer than Tom Cruise."

"I thought I was Goose." Jon commented as he took his wife in his arms.

Brianna smiled and pressed closer lifting her face to his. "Oh you're a stud, but you're my stud.....and I'm not sharing."

"Ah." He kissed her then raised his head slightly. "I don't share either."

"Guess we're stuck with each other then."

"Guess so."

She pulled her hand from his and slid both arms around his neck. "Lucky us." Oblivious to the people around them, lost in the music, the feel of him against her, his scent surrounding her, the warmth and love in his cobalt blue eyes, she brushed her lips over his, then went back for a deeper taste.

Applause jarred them back to awareness. Blushing, but not the least bit repentant, Brianna laughed and let Jon lead her from the dance floor.

At the edge of the floor, Edward blocked their path. "Brianna, your behaviour is unacceptable. You're acting like a trollop! I insist you stop immediately. You were raised better than that."

As Brianna's shoulders drooped, Jon stiffened.

But Edward wasn't finished, "I assume now that you're married....again, you will be forgetting about this working nonsense, especially with four children to care for."

Letting go of her hand, Jon slid an arm around her waist and hugged her close to his side, "First of all, her behaviour is perfectly acceptable, even expected of a new bride - especially mine. Since she is now my wife and will carry my name, I would say my opinion now outweighs yours. Secondly, I have no problem with my wife working outside the home if she so chooses. I believe in supporting and encouraging the women in my life, not belittling and demeaning them."

He kissed her temple. "But I hope she will continue to be my assistant. I've never found anyone as capable and efficient as Bri is. She understands what I'm trying to achieve and what I need to make it happen. She can see potential problems and fixes them before they can happen. I don't know what I'd do without her."

"And yet I understand you're leaving her at home when you leave on tour in a few weeks."  Edward pointed out.

"Not for the whole tour." Jon contradicted. "We're still working out a balance between my needs and the kids'. I definitely can't make it through a whole tour without her. She's spoiled me."

Brianna smiled at him.

Jon glanced around. They'd kept their voices calm and their expressions pleasant - as long as no one looked at them too closely, but he didn't want to press their luck. Now was not the time to have a heated argument with his father-in-law. "Now, if you'll excuse us, it's time for us to get changed and ready to leave."

As they walked towards the house, Brianna squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

"I told you I wouldn't stand by and watch him treat you like an incompetent little girl. I didn't want to have a big argument in front of everyone on our wedding day, but he needs to know I don't agree with his views and I won't tolerate his behaviour in our home."

Inside the house, she pulled him to a stop and reached up to kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He glanced at his watch. "We'd better get a move on."

"What time does our flight leave?"

"When ever we're ready. I booked a private flight."

"Then what's the rush?"

"I've waited long enough to get you all to myself." He gave her a heated look over his shoulder as he headed for the stairs. "I've spent way too many celibate nights planning what I would do to you once I get you alone with no chance of interruptions. My patience has run out." He pushed her ahead of him up the stairs. "Move that gorgeous ass Golden Eyes. Paradise awaits."