Chapter Fifteen

A couple of hours later Jenn was zooming down the motorway to pay her parents a final visit before they went back to the states the following day. All signs of a hangover had evaporated following her breakfast with Jon and the activities that had followed thereafter. That man had wicked ways and she shivered in delight thinking back on exactly how many of those he had demonstrated to her. She felt young and carefree, it was amazing how falling head over heels for a man can change one’s whole outlook on life!

Jon had stayed behind to meet with a few people on business and she had agreed to pick Steph up on her way back to the hotel in time for dinner. After a tearful farewell to her parents, she headed for the back roads in an effort to beat the commuter traffic from Dublin. Soon stuck behind a tractor and trailer on a narrow secondary road Jenn groaned in frustration. So much for making up time! Resigning herself to being stuck behind this guy for a while she flipped on the radio onto the national station. A selection of recession busting advertisements flooded through the car’s sound system all promising cut throat deals for one day only. Seriously! Does nobody think about anything except the damn recession? Swearing to herself she flicked onto one of the lesser known regional radio stations and swerved violently when a familiar voice crooned over the static.

And I will love you, Baby, Always
And I’ll be there forever and a day, Always
I’ll be there till the stars don’t shine
Till the heavens burst
And the words don’t rhyme
And I know when I die, you’ll be on my mind
And I’ll love you - Always

God the man was everywhere! Relaxing she hummed along to the familiar tune, smiling as the events of the last couple days replayed in her mind. Just as the final notes of the song faded away, the DJ’s voice came cutting in,

Ah yes Bon Jovi’s Always, one of the classics. And let me tell you people, word on the buzz this evening is that Mr Bon Jovi himself is visiting the city at the moment. Sources tell me the rock star has been spotted in one of our finer hotels entertaining a lady friend who has not been identified. Maybe love is in the air again for Bon Jovi who is rumoured to be splitting from his wife of over twenty years. Yes folks another Hollywood marriage has hit the rocks, maybe he’s looking for an Irish replacement - watch out girls!

The DJ chuckled and cut to another song but Jenn’s brain has frozen as she tried to process what she’d just heard. Fuck! Gritting her teeth she blew out a breath slowly through her lips. Jesus what if Steph heard that? Shit she wasn’t even sure how she felt about hearing that let alone anyone else. Just what exactly was she letting herself in for?

She drove along in a daze for a few moments trying to digest what she had just heard when her cell phone buzzed on the seat beside her. Snapping back to reality she grabbed it and glanced at the caller I.D - Karen. Grimacing slightly she answered the call bracing herself,

“Hey Kar!”

“OMG!! You will not believe what I just heard on the radio!!”

Jenn sucked in her breath sharply.

“Emmm, actually I think I will because I just heard it as well!”

Karen shrieked on the other end of the line,

“How exciting is this! You’re gonna be a real life celebrity -imagine my best friend - famous..”

“Karen! Stop!” Jenn cut across her friend sharply. “This is not what it’s about, I do NOT want to be a celebrity, I will NEVER be a celebrity. Jesus!”

Karen was quiet for a moment, shocked at Jenn’s outburst.

“Sorry hun, I didn’t mean to sound like that, it just shocked the hell out of me!”

Jenn instantly regretted snapping at her and spoke softly,

“No I’m sorry honey. I shouldn’t have jumped down your throat, it’s just that well I’m kinda shell shocked that’s all.”

The road in front of her was now clear and she pressed her foot down on the accelerator anxious to pick Steph up in time. Flipping the phone to loudspeaker she tossed it on the seat beside her and listened to Karen’s words.

“Honey I know this must be hard but look if you’re gonna be dating a rock star…well sweetie you’re gonna have to get used to it! But look, they don’t even know who you are, just a mystery woman so that’s not so bad.”

“Yeah for the moment you mean! And what do you mean by dating? Who said anything about dating?”

“Well….aren’t you?”

Jenn paused and wondered exactly how much she should tell her about what had happened since she last saw her.

“I dunno Kar, I mean I do but it’s just not something I really want to discuss with anybody yet. I need to figure some stuff out.”

“Quit the bullshit my friend! I wasn’t that drunk the other night and it was perfectly obvious what was going on between the pair of you! Stop being such a drama queen and enjoy it!”

Well hell Karen! Don’t beat about the bush anyway, Jenn thought to herself. Sighing she forced herself to admit that at least Karen was talking sense.

“Yeah I know you’ve got a point but there’s more to this whole thing than just Jon and I. For one there’s Steph, I mean her parents are only separated a few months for Gods sake.”

“Yes I understand that but they are getting divorced right?”

“Well, yeah….actually I don’t really know. I haven’t discussed that with him.”

Realisation suddenly dawned on her. What the hell did she really know about Jon’s personal life. Legally he was still a married man. Oh crap, things were already getting complicated. Her stomach was starting to feel queasy at the thought of it.

“Well sweetie if you want my advice, and you’re gonna get it anyway, you better make that top priority to talk about with him before this thing, whatever it may be goes any further!”

“I will Kar, look I better go - I’m on my way to pick up Steph. I’ll call you when I’m back in the states ok?”

Karen’s voice was filled with concern as she replied,

“You take care of yourself sweetie and remember I’m just a phone call away alright?”

“I know honey, chat soon.”

Hanging up she stared at the empty road before her. Getting to Steph on time wasn’t gonna be a problem but was talking to her going to be one? She really hadn’t bargained on getting herself into this much strife when she took on the job. She grabbed for her bag on the floor and found her pack of cigarettes. She’d been doing pretty good on cutting back on them the past few weeks but now was definitely a time for nicotine. Inhaling deeply, she relaxed as the rich smoke hit the spot. A disgusting habit she knew, but it sure had it’s advantages at times.

About ten minutes later Jenn swung into the old farm yard to see Steph and Tommy sitting on a fence waiting for her. Waving at them, she turned the car around to face out, giving the young couple time for their final goodbyes. Any fears she might have had about talking to Steph vanished as soon as she had joined her in the car. Steph didn’t let her get a word in edgeways the whole way back to the hotel, filling her in on her day at the farm and Jenn was more than happy to let her babble away.

As they made their way up to their rooms, Steph enquired what herself and Jon had gotten up to during the day.

“Oh nothing much, I visited my parents and I think your Dad had some work things to sort out.”

Jenn hoped she wasn’t blushing and if she was Steph didn’t seem to pay any heed.

“Oh I might have known, Dad’s itching to get back to work again. If Richie is still at home when we get back we won’t see much of them!” Steph grinned and rolled her eyes. “Suppose it won’t really matter anyway, we’ll be busy with the horses won’t we?”

Jenn ignored the pang she felt when she thought about the possibility of not seeing Jon so much when they got back to Jersey. Smiling she clapped a hand on Steph’s back.

“You bet we will be! From dawn to dusk!”

“Cool! See you for dinner in a bit!” Steph headed upstairs to the suite as Jenn opened her door. The first sight that greeted her was a large bunch of creamy white lilies, set in a vase on the vanity table complete with a large bow holding them together. Crossing the room to smell them, she picked up the small card left beside them. Smiling she read the scribbled words,

Hope you had a good day , missed you! Xx

The flowers were beautiful but Jenn’s mind was whirling. Things were moving so fast and a fear was growing in her gut that this situation was one she couldn’t control. Slumping on the bed she put her head in her hands and watched as a solitary tear ran off the tip of her nose. She had so many emotions playing all at once in her head that the noise of them was deafening her. She should be the happiest woman alive on the planet, an incredibly sexy rock star had just sent her flowers and wanted to see more of her yet she didn’t feel as if she fitted into the scene. What the hell was wrong with her??

Sighing she got up and paced the room. A serious conversation was needed with Jon. That morning he had made everything seem so simple but a few hours had blown that theory out of the water. This was too important to screw up for her own sake as well as that of Jon and Steph’s. Heading for the shower she resolved to discuss everything with him after dinner if she could get him on his own for a bit. If she didn’t sort this out soon she’d be jumping from her fourth floor bedroom window and that sure as hell wasn’t going to sort anything out!