Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Jon finally lifted his face out of her hair after what seemed like hours. It would be so easy to never leave this house again, he though. She really did intoxicate him. Unlike anyone he had ever met. He and Dot had a good life, while it lasted. She was the familiar in the crazy world of fame. She anchored him for years. But as he matured, and she matured, the fame was too much for their familiar. It was almost like he had made this world his own, finally. And now what he needed was this connection with Katie, this soul binding connection that he could not explain, but knew beyond a doubt, he could not live without.

He looked down into her eyes, his baby blues filled with emotion and thought. She smiled up at him, feeling totally satisfied.

"Penny for your thoughts, now baby..." She sang lightly. He laughed.

Kissing her lightly on the lips, he then rolled over, his arms behind his head as he searched the ceiling for the words. She did that to him at times, made him speechless. "Ah, Kat."

She propped her head in her hand and looked down at him. "Yes....." she inquired, a big grin on her face.

He turned toward her, "Your just everything, baby. Everything. Nothing more for me to say." His eyes locked into hers. She still wasn't used to how those blue eyes held hers when looking at her. She was powerless to look away. But she understood. He was her everything, too. She smiled.

Jon finally sat up and said, "Not to be unromantic, Kat, but I am starving. What do you say we grab a shower and find some lunch? "

Katie couldn't help but laugh. "Sure thing, cowboy. Lets go out. My cupboards are bare."

He nodded and stood beside the bed in all his naked splendor, holding out his hand to her. She took a moment to admire the view, knowing full well he was watching. Her eyes traveled back to his and she took his hand, giving a slight nod of approval. He chuckled and shook his head. "Am I just a piece of meat to you?"

Her face went serious as she looked at him, "No, Jon. Your just my everything." She did it again, rendered him speechless.

After a rather lengthy shower, they dressed and ended up at a local burger joint. While waiting for their lunch, Katie was bursting to tell Jon about her next work venture. Not letting him get a word in edge wise, he listened, taking in how animated she seemed about the whole thing. As she chattered on, his thoughts took a detour for a second as he thought about a certain band he had seen the previous evening. Ah ha, he though.

Waiting for her to take a breath, he jumped in, "Kat, I have a job for you."

She stopped, "A job? For me?" She was intrigued.

Jon held up his hand telling her to hold that thought as their lunch arrived. Once settled, he continued, "There is a band, actually from your area here. They are just breaking out in New York, on a radio station or two. They are very good. Raw, but good. I don't usually do this, but I am going to make sure they get a label. But they are going to need some promo work done now. And I think I have the perfect candidate." He said, his face serious as he stared he down. "What do you say?"

Katie's mouth opened wide, "You mean, not some local club band? Like a real band that is getting their first break? Like, like not some wanna be? " She asked excitedly.

Jon nodded, as he finished chewing his burger, "Yes, a real band, Kat. Not some attitude oozing, wannabe that you might meet by the side of the river next to an abandoned mill building..." he stopped waiting for her reaction.

Kat sputtered, as she tried to drink her soda, she caught his joke really quick. "HA! Your funny, cowboy. Real funny."

Jon couldn't help but laugh, thinking back a year ago to that fateful day. "I try to be." he teased, "But seriously, Kat. What do you say? It would be easier for them to cut out the middle man at first and it would give you a real taste of the world of commercial photography."

Nibbling on a french fry, she slowly nodded, "Yeah. I will do it."

Jon nodded, satisfied, "Excellent. When I get back to New York I will get in touch with them and we can arrange a meeting with the front man."

"Great!" Katie said, excited at the prospect. "I am going to scale back here a bit, with the regular biz. I have a feeling things are about to get crazy over the next couple of months and I am going to need the time and my sanity. Speaking of crazy, do you mind if we plan a few things out this afternoon? "

Jon reached across the table and took her hand, "Sure, babe. What do we need to plan?"

Katie smiled to herself, sure that Jon was used to crazy schedules, but she wasn't. "I just need to map out the next couple of months. Even though I am staying put for the most part, life is going to get a whole lot more complicated very soon. And I need to plan!"

Jon chuckled, knowing her all to well, "You got it. We can take all the time you need to figure it all out. I am easy."

"Well, I know that." Katie teased, "but you know me, I need a plan."

Jon smirked at her little joke. Easy, where your concerned, baby, he thought to himself.

They finished lunch and went back to the carriage house. Jon made his way to the porch, settling in the swing and waited for Katie. She appeared a moment later, note pad, calendar and pen in hand.

Jon couldn't help himself, "I thought you would have a spreadsheet put together by now." he teased.

She flashed him the hairy eyeball as she sat on the swing next to him. "Not all of us have assistants, Mr. Bon Jovi." she shot back.

He tried to suppress a laugh but was only partially successful, "Ok, sorry. Lets get to work, shall we?"

Katie affectionately swatted him with the calendar, then proceeded to open it. "This is serious. We have what, three months? Yes, three months! That will fly by!"

He understood that Katie saw all there was to do before the wedding. Maybe it was was his lifestyle, but it didn't phase him. He was used to traveling and working on the fly.

Turning serious, he said, "Your right. Lets get to work."

They discussed the wedding plans, which were under control, thanks to Carol. Jon had already put plans in place for the day's security, plans Katie would never know the true extent of. It was necessary to keep the peace on their special day. Moving on, they talked about the house renovation that Katie's property would undergo.

Not knowing where to even begin, Katie asked Jon, "We need to decide exactly what we are going to do here. I have no clue where to start."

Knowing he could ease her worries, Jon suggested, "Why don't you let me set up a meeting with an architect. We can go from there. How about sometime next week? I can come out for the day. We could meet here. I know a couple of good ones."

Relief washed over her face, "Ah. Ok, that sounds good." she said. "Just let me know what day, I am pretty open next week."

"Will do." Jon promised. "Is there anything else we need to figure out?" he inquired.

Checking her list, she said, "No, I think that about covers it for now. I think that was my biggest worry. But you took care of it." she said, smiling at him.

"At your service." Jon said, as he stood up. "Do you want a soda or something? I am dying of thirst."

Nodding, she said, "That sounds good, thanks, cowboy."

Jon gave her a quick wink as he left the porch. "Just leave it to me, darlin'."

Letting out a long deep breath, Katie leaned back, letting the motion of the swing ease her stresses.

The next months flew by with plans for the renovation and Jon traveling back and forth from New York. The architect had met with them and designed an addition on to the existing house that would allow the main house to be used during renovations. While it would be inconvenient, he promised it would be done by the holidays. Jon had spoken to Jack about doing some work with Katie and she was scheduled to spend the last week in August in New York shooting their new album cover and a mess of other stuff. Jon had pulled a few favors and the band was scheduled to release the album in the early spring.

As the summer closed, Katie had slowed down considerably at the studio. She prepared herself for New York by helping Becca on a few jobs. With a new creative vision and attitude about the work she found herself enjoying the world of commercial photography more than she ever thought she would. When she boarded the plane for New York she felt excited and ready for this new adventure. Jon had prepped her for the fact that she would be working with a whole team of people on the project and in no way would it be easy. She was used to being in control of a project from start to finish, but this was a whole other world. Christoph met her at the airport in Jon's car and sped her through New York traffic to the Soho penthouse. She stood in front of the building taking it in. She would be spending a lot more time here, she knew, commuting for projects until she made more of a name for herself. No one was home when she entered the loft. A note was left on the door stating that Jon would be back later and to make herself at home. Christoph brought her luggage up and she unpacked her belongings, settling in for the week.

After pouring a glass of ice tea she went out on the balcony overlooking the quieter side of the street. People were around but not as many as the busier street over. A few trees broke up the endless line of pretty, yet hard buildings. Such a different view than her back porch, she thought. Before she had left, Katie had sat down with Brandon and Sophia to discuss her latest business venture, the plans for the house and the additional travel that would be involved in her life from now on. As they always did, the kids took it all in stride, even expressing excitement over the house renovation. In the end it wouldn't uproot their lives too much since they spent every other week with their dad anyway. She planned to be at home as much as she could when they were scheduled to be with her. After seeing some of her work over the past month Jon had suggested perhaps she may like to join the band on tour and be the official tour photographer at some point. She told him no, she couldn't travel that much with the kids. She knew he was used to that schedule, and his kids had been raised in that environment, but hers had not. The climate was changing for her, but it would not for the kids, she vowed that. Even realizing if she had to work less to make sure she was there when they were, she would do that, as hard as it was to think of pulling back. Never being a huge fan of his previous wife for her own personal jealous reasons way back when, she now understood the challenges they must have faced. Knowing this, she hoped it gave them a better chance than he and Dot had. She knew some things would be a shake up for them, even though they swore they were more excited than anything. There would be speed bumps along the way. Even though Jon had been the poster child for long term rock n roll marriages, even he didn't make it in the long run. As much as she loved him, and knew he loved her, sometimes she worried about the challenges of the situation. He had assured he had learned a lot from the first round and would not let them grow apart like he and Dot had. Having been through a divorce as well, Katie felt more prepared this time around.

Just then she heard her cell phone ring in the kitchen. She went back inside to answer it, finding it was the band's new manager confirming their shoot for tomorrow morning. She hung up with a sigh, excited and nervous, she knew New York would not be a getaway for her any longer, but a place of work, like it was for Jon. Feeling antsy, she grabbed her sunglasses and handbag, then headed out for a walk around the neighborhood. Maybe some retail therapy would calm her nerves a bit. Stepping out on to the cobblestone sidewalk, she blended in with the other pedestrians.

She returned later to find Jon at home. He greeted her with a big hug and peck on the cheek, "Hey baby, it is so good see you."

She leaned in for the kiss as she dropped her bags to the side. "Same!" she said with a smile and wrapped her arms around his neck. His warm body felt so good against hers, familiar and perfect.

After lingering in his embrace, he inspected her bags, "What did you get?"

She took the bags over to the sofa and showed him her prizes, mostly camera stuff for her shoot tomorrow. "Nothing too exciting, a new camera backpack that holds my computer AND tripod. Very excited about that. And.....I know I was bad, but I bought a new lens." she admitted, blushing. "I shouldn't have, with the wedding and all coming up...."

Jon cut her off with a hearty laugh, "Kat, honey, you do know you don't have to worry about that kind of thing. No guilt, ok?"

She blushed further, "But, it was a very expensive lens, Jon...." she said sheepishly..."one I drooled over for a couple of years and thought I would never buy...."

He shook his head, still laughing, "I understand. But you need to let go of that. I know this is your job, you are very talented and you deserve the best equipment out there to create your art. Besides I am sure it is not going to impact your bottom line, nor mine." he said.

"It would impact my bottom line, let me tell you...but maybe not yours. But it is my bottom line that I watch." She said sternly.

"Kat, ok, I am sorry. I do understand. I just want you to know that what is mine is yours, you don't have to worry about it, you can get any equipment you want or need." He said with a sigh, damn, she was head strong sometimes. "We are getting married. There is no prenup. There is no his and hers. You are my partner. I understand we have separate businesses and yours is just as important as mine is, but I just want you to know that financially speaking, everything I pay myself is paid to our family, not just to me. I will insist on this from day 1 and if you argue, we will have issues." He said, his deep blue eyes challenging the green sparks she was shooting in his direction.

She glared at him, not saying a word for a moment. "Fine. I understand that. But my business will support itself. It always has and it always will." She said, her glare softening a bit.

He smiled, loving her fire, "Ok then, that is fine. We have an understanding." he turned around and went into the bedroom, returning a second later with a package and handed it to her.

"What is this?" She asked, suspiciously.

"Just open it." He ordered.

She narrowed her eyes at him and pulled off the ribbon, undoing the box. Inside was new, top of the line camera. She looked up at him, her expression even darker, "Jon!!!!" she exclaimed. "I just told you!"

"Ok, I am tired of being yelled at already, dang it, Kat. It is a gift! Take it as a gift and be nice to me! I wanted to surprise you for your new venture and thought you would really love it." He said, laughing. Her mood steamed over more as he laughed at her. She started towards him, her eyes darker than a storm cloud. His smile fading a bit and was replaced with that mischievous smirk he did so damn well. He put out his hands as if to protect himself, but grabbed her around the waist instead, crushing her body against his and devoured her mouth before she could yell at him again. As he kissed her deeply she slowly melted against him, forgetting why she was going to yell at him in the first place.

Finally he eased his hold on her and looked down into her green eyes, that now resembled a quiet, serene pool. She looked up at him and whispered, "Damn man."

He threw his head back and laughed, hugging her to him. He then took her hand and led her toward the bedroom, which she let him do, leading her like a puppy dog. Damn man.

Chapter 81