Chapter 2

Jon watched for her to come into the restaurant. He had come back the next day hoping to see her again. He wasn’t disappointed. Reese walked in, just as he had hoped, but before she could take a seat at her customary table, Jon got up and invited her to join him and Richie. Caught off guard, Reese didn’t know what to do. “Oh, um, sure, thanks” she mumbled as he pulled out a chair for her. She hadn’t formally met Richie so she turned to him, “Mr. Sambora, I’m Reese, so glad to meet you.” Richie smiled as he took her offered hand, “the pleasure is all mine Reese, and please, call me Richie.” They all shared a pleasant lunch and before she knew it, it was time to head back to work. As she was about to get up and leave, Jon put his hand over hers. She could feel her pulse jump at his touch. “Reese”, she brought her eyes to meet his, “y-yes” she stammered, “the record company is having a cocktail reception Friday night, would you like to come with me?” She couldn’t speak. Surely he hadn’t just asked her on a date. How could that be? Why would he, Jon Bon Jovi, be interested in her? She heard herself tell him she would go and she gave him her number.

Friday night Reese raced home from work to get ready. She was still putting on her make-up when she heard Jon’s voice over the intercom. She buzzed him up and tried to finish as quickly as she could. She just finished her lipstick when he knocked on her door. Jon wasn’t sure what to expect, having only seen Reese dressed in business clothes, but he was totally unprepared when she opened the door. She was a vision in red. She wore her hair down, the riotous curls hung halfway down her back. The sleeveless dress was the color of a fine merlot and it hugged her frame enticingly. The wide v-neck showed just enough to make Jon’s mouth water. Her high heels showed off her shapely legs. “Hi.” He stood in the doorway, his eyes perusing her from head to foot. “Wow, you look… amazing.” Reese’s cheeks reddened, “Thanks. You look pretty good yourself.” He was wearing a coal black suit with a navy blue shirt, the first few buttons undone, showing just a bit of chest hair. She stepped aside and let him in. “I just need to grab my wrap and my bag and we can go.” “No problem.” She walked away from him and he admired the fine rear view. How am I going to behave myself tonight he wondered.

They got in the cab that Jon had waiting and made small talk on the way to the party. It was being held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. “Okay, I have to ask” Jon said as he turned to her, “how do you get all that hair pulled back like you do?” Reese chuckled. This was the reaction she got almost every time she wore her hair down. “I pull it back when it is still damp. I don’t like to have my hair hanging in my face so I wear it back most of the time.” Jon nodded his head, “but it is so sexy like this” he told her as he reached out to touch it. It was just as soft as it looked and the color was more than just dark brown like he first thought. It was the color of dark chocolate with just a hint of caramel highlights. Reese felt as though all the air had gone out of the cab. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She took a deep breath and tried again, “I don’t think sexy would go over well at work, but thank you.” Wanting to change the subject Reese asked about the new album. “Does it have a title yet?” He told her it was called Keep the Faith, “but you need to keep that to yourself. We haven’t released that to the press yet.” Reese promised she wouldn’t tell a soul.

As they got out of the cab the press snapped several pictures of them. Reese looked at Jon, she had no idea what to do. “Just smile and keep walking” Jon told her as he placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her along. “Sorry about that” he apologized when they got to the door “occupational hazard.” Once inside Jon got them each a drink and they mingled with some of the record company big wigs. They found Richie, David and Tico after a while and had a couple more cocktails with them. As the night wore on they picked at the hors d’oeuvres that were at different stations around the room, they drank and Jon even asked her to dance. As Jon moved her around the floor she was surprised at how well he danced. “I didn’t realize you were so light on your feet” she said as she looked up at him. Gazing into the misty green of her eyes, he was totally taken with her. “I am just full of surprises.” When the song ended he didn’t let her go. “Are you ready to get out of here?” It wasn’t that late, 11:00 maybe, but if Jon was ready to leave she wasn’t going to protest. “Sure, if you are.” “Let’s go” and he led her off the floor, grabbed her wrap and they headed out.

It was a clear not too chilly night so they decided to walk for a bit. Jon didn’t want to take Reese home yet, but he didn’t want to be at that party any more either. They walked up Broadway and cut over 59th street to the south end of Central Park. Jon stopped at a vendor and bought a pretzel and a bottle of water and they found a bench and sat down. As they shared the pretzel they chatted. Reese couldn’t remember having a nicer time. “So” Jon asked as he popped the last of the pretzel in his mouth, “are you seeing anyone right now?” “Not right now, no.” “No boyfriend?” “Nope.” “Husband?” “Not anymore.” Jon was surprised. “You’re divorced?” Reese nodded her head. “Six months now. The jerk.” “Do you want to talk about it?” Jon was curious to know more, but he didn’t want to push her. “Not much to tell really. We dated in high school, got married out of college and I came home one day and found him in bed with some other woman. I kicked his ass to the curb.” She really didn’t want to talk about that time of her life and decided to turn the tables on Jon. “How about you, are you seeing anyone?” Considering who he was and what he did, Jon figured she would know the answer to that question but he answered her anyway. “Not right now” he told her. He and Dorothea had split up a while ago, and he had dated on and off, but nothing serious. He just hadn’t felt that spark, that connection with anyone like the one he had had with Dorothea. Until now.