Chapter 54

Richie was pouring coffee as they walked in, and he looked up with a smile.

“Good morning! How you doin’ Sara - sleep well?”

“I did, thanks. I must’ve been tired - Jon went out to the gym and I didn’t even hear him leave.”

Richie turned a stunned look on Jon.

“There’s something really wrong with you, Jon. You wake up next to a beautiful woman, and what do you do? You go to the gym!”

“Yeah, but at least I’m still alive.” Jon said with a grin at Sara. “This lady does not like to be woken up!”

“That’s true.” Sara admitted. “I’m so not a morning person! I usually need my coffee in the morning before I can be civil.”

“You seem okay to me.” Richie said. “Okay - there’s a ton of food here - I didn’t know what you liked, Sara. Except chocolate, obviously, but you can’t eat chocolate for breakfast!”

“Why not?”

“Jesus - it’s like talking to Ava! Help yourself - there’s plenty of proper food here.”

The three of them took plates and served themselves from a selection of bacon, eggs, sausage and potatoes. They were all hungry and ate in dedicated silence for a few minutes, then Richie cleared his throat.

“What are you two doing today, then?”

“Well, sadly enough, I need to go to work for a while.” Sara said. “I’ve been neglecting things a bit recently.”

“I said I’d drop you off, didn’t I?” Jon thought for a moment. “Tell you what - since I’m in the city anyway, I could go take a look at this apartment Sue found for me. Why don’t you come with me, babe, then I’ll take you to the studio.”

“I guess I could. Not like anybody’s waiting in the studio today - if I go in late, I leave late.” She gave a twisted grin. “The joys of being your own boss.”

“Good. That’s settled, then. What you doing, Richie? D’you want to come with us?”

“Naw - I think I’ll just hang here. I’ve got a date tonight, so I won’t see you until tomorrow.”

“A date with who?” Jon asked, his eyes narrowing as he wondered whether Denise had managed to sneak back into Richie’s affections.

“Just a pretty lady I met this morning, after Matt’s party. Her name’s Linda, but that’s really all I know about her.”

“Oh. Well, have fun, Rich. When do you fly back out?”

“Probably tomorrow, but I don’t really know. So long as I’m back on the weekend, for Ava, it doesn’t really matter.”

They finished eating, and Jon called his assistant to arrange the visit to the apartment, while Sara poured more coffee for everybody. While Jon was talking on the phone, Sara moved closer to Richie.

“So, what’s this Linda like, then? Or is it none of my business?” She suddenly worried she’d overstepped the bounds of their burgeoning friendship.

“Of course it’s your business, girl. You’re with Jon, which makes you practically family.” Richie grinned at her. “She’s beautiful. Blonde hair, I think she has brown eyes, but it was kinda dark - or maybe it was just my eyes this morning. Her hair’s quite short, kinda bobbed, you know? And she’s got a lovely voice, too, great smile. She works in a hospital.”

“I thought you didn’t know anything about her?”

“I don’t - that’s just what I’ve seen so far - but she gave me her card, that’s why I know about the hospital.”

“Well, I hope she’s as nice as you think, Richie. I think you deserve it, after what’s gone on recently.”

Richie gave her that wide, warm smile. “Thanks, Sara.”

“Okay.” Jon hung up the phone. “All set, babe. We can go over anytime - they’ll leave a key with the doorman, so we can have a look around on our own.”

Sara stood up, coffee cup in hand.

“I don’t mean to run off and leave you, Richie, but I really do have some work I need to do today, so I’d better go throw my stuff back in the bag, get ready to go.”

“Sure, Sara - I know you have your own stuff to do. But I want to see you again before I leave town, you hear me?”

“You’re not getting out of town until you tell me about your Linda.” She told him with a grin as she left the room.

“You two seem to be getting along well.” Jon observed with a smile.

“Hell, I love the girl already.” Richie told him. “She’s good for you, Jon. Long time since I’ve seen you so happy, and I didn’t even realise you weren’t happy before. Don’t fuck it up.”

“You know,” Jon sipped coffee. “I think we’re going to be okay. We talked last night, and this morning, and I think we’re good.”

“Yeah, right - you left Matt’s party to talk. Now I know there’s something wrong with you!”

In the bedroom, Sara quickly threw her things back into the bag. No point hanging her dress up, since it had spent the night crumpled on the floor, but she carefully put the red shoes back into their box before packing them away, too. She picked the sadly flattened rose off the bed, seeing the stain on the sheet, but there was nothing she could do about that. After a moment, she tucked the flower into a pocket of her bag - hell, it was already pressed flat, she may as well see if she could dry it!

She dumped her bag on the bed and went into the bathroom, drying her hair then knotting it back again before heading back to the sitting room, where the guys were chatting.

“All done?” Jon asked, and she nodded affirmatively. “I’ll go get my stuff together, too, I guess.”

Took Jon all of about a minute to open his bag, gather his clothes and drop the whole lot in, zipping the bag closed again. He wasn’t much for packing. While he was alone in the bedroom, he pulled out his cellphone and made a quick call, then returned to the sitting room.

“I’m ready when you are, babe.” He told Sara.

“I know you are.” She replied without thinking, then clapped her hand over her mouth. “Whoops. That was only meant to be a thought! I’m ready to leave, is what I meant to say.”

Richie and Jon laughed at her, both at the innuendo and her reaction, and Richie stood up when she did, hugging her goodbye. Jon waved a hand at him, then led Sara out to the bedroom, collected their bags, then out of the suite and into the elevator. They rode it all the way down to the garage. While Sara had been packing, Jon had called down to say he needed his car, and when they exited the lift the Chevelle was sitting in front of them, driver’s door open and waiting.

The valet did a quick double-take when he saw Jon had a companion, but stepped forward to take their bags, putting them in the trunk then opening the passenger door for Sara.

“Ma’am.”

“Thank you.”

Sara slid onto the deep blue leather seat and the valet closed the door. Jon climbed into the driver’s seat, handing the valet a bill as he closed the door.

“Thanks for looking after her.” He said with a grin as the valet pocketed the money.

Jon turned the ignition, the engine roaring before settling to a steady, burbling beat, and he drove slowly toward the exit, slipping his sunglasses on as they reached daylight. Sara reached into her handbag and put on her own glasses, then Jon eased out onto the road, joining the flowing river of boring, bland modern cars.

“What d’you think?” Jon asked after a few minutes, seeing the smile on Sara’s face every time he revved the engine. “Like her?”

“She’s gorgeous. I love her.” Sara said, turning to face him, strands of her hair escaping the knot as the wind blew through the car. “Must be a lot harder to drive than a modern car, though.” She’d noticed the muscles flexing in Jon’s arms as he turned the car through some corners, since the classic car didn’t have the luxury of power steering. Okay, so she’d been fascinated by the movement of those muscles, remembering the strength in them, but she wasn’t about to tell him that!

“Actually, she isn’t. You just need to love her a bit more.” Jon suddenly peered up at a building, braking. “I think this is us, here. Yeah, this is it.”

He pulled in at the kerb in front of an old building, parking the car and jumping out. He hustled around the front of the car to open Sara’s door for her, taking her hand to help her out then shutting the door behind her. They went into the building, and the uniformed doorman obviously recognised him, laying down his newspaper and stepping out from behind his desk with a key in his hand.

“Mr Bon Jovi, good morning. Ma’am.” He nodded pleasantly to Sara, who smiled back.

“Hi. We’re here to take a look at an apartment.” Jon said, and the doorman held up the key.

“Yes, sir. You’re going to the top floor, the penthouse, so there are no neighbours. The elevator will only operate if you use this key, which also opens the apartment.”

“Thanks.” Jon took the key, taking Sara’s hand and leading her toward the elevator.

Inside the elevator, he slid the key into the panel before selecting the top floor. As the door slid closed, he pulled the key out again. The elevator was classically styled, with timber finishes and brass rails, but obviously more modern than it appeared, since it covered the distance to the top floor in less than a minute, the door opening to reveal a plush marble foyer, with smooth white walls and a single door facing them. Jon unlocked and opened the door and they entered the apartment, closing the door.

The door opened onto a short hallway, with sunlight emanating from the far end, drawing them down the corridor, passing by doors without looking inside. There was a sharp bend at the bottom of the hallway, and when they turned the corner, they went down a couple of stairs into a huge sitting room, floor to ceiling windows the source of the light streaming in.

“Wow.” Sara said softly, instinctively crossing the room to the windows, looking out onto a small park.

She turned around, taking in the rest of the room, Jon still standing at the top of the stairs, watching her. The apartment was unfurnished, wooden floors glowing in the sunlight. Off to the right as Sara looked was a large, beautifully fitted kitchen, granite surfaces and cherry cabinets. A door led off to the other side of the stair, and Sara walked over to push it open, finding a dining room with more full-length windows.

Jon followed her into the dining room. “What d’you think, babe?”

Sara spun from the window. “It’s not what I think. It’s meant to be your apartment, Jon. Do you like it?”

“Seems okay so far. Haven’t found the bedroom yet, though.” He grabbed her hand.