11 - Enjoyed Everywhere

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Matt swept open the door of the J.P. Morgan Club and took a step back, holding it for the twins to walk through, and Delaney did so with a little shiver.  The jacket folded over her arm couldn’t have prevented the chill buzzing across her shoulders, because it was provoked by uncertainty as opposed to the temperature. 

She could tell at a glance was that this was nothing like the rock star after-party she’d imagined as a teenager.  Men ranged in age from mid-twenties to mid-sixties and wore mostly sports coats and dress shirts.  Women fell in that same age-range with clothing choices that were age-appropriately diverse.  High heels, flats, ripped jeans, short dresses, diamonds and costume jewelry ran the gamut, but they were all the height of fashion.

As couture as the guests may have been, Delaney didn’t immediately find anyone she recognized other than Jon.  Everyone from the bar to the ice sculpture to the hors d’oeuvres tables was a stranger, and she questioned the wisdom of coming here.   

“At least there’s good wine,” Petra murmured under her breath. 

That much was true.   Bathed in pink, the place felt like Hampton Water as much as any public venue could, with bottles parked everywhere and a commanding ice sculpture of the diving girl.  She just wished they’d chosen flowers other than carnations – something that had panache.    

“Very good wine, but I’m afraid another glass might make me pass out.”

“There’s coffee, and I can probably hook you up with a Red Bull.”

Her heart seized, mortified at having forgotten that Matt was behind them.  “Oh, God.  Please don’t think I’m ungrateful.  It’s just been a very long, exciting day in the wake of last night’s show.”

“No worries,” he casually assured.  When he wasn’t on duty, Jon’s bodyguard brother was actually a decent guy.  “Why do you think we have the Red Bull around?”

The opportunity to accept a life-giving dose of caffeine was swept under by subdued laughter and Petra’s curiosity.  “Is that Jon’s son?  The young entrepreneur with the wine company?”

He and Delaney both followed her line of vision, finding the young man in question.  Outfitted in a manner befitting an aspiring businessman, he sported a navy jacket and white button-down.  One hand was pushed into the pocket of his jeans and the other held wine as he chortled at something his conversation partner said.  It didn’t take a magnifying glass to see glimpses of his father in both the smile and crinkled eyes. 

“Yeah, that’s Jesse.  If you want, I’ll introduce you since Jon’s tied up.”

It took only a fleeting glance for her to confirm Jon’s status.  The gentleman he was chatting with when they arrived was nowhere to be seen, having been replaced by the wife Delaney recognized thanks to countless press photos of the couple. 

She’d known he was married before Petra brought it up today.  The man had recently celebrated an anniversary that was upward of twenty-five years, as she recalled, so the presence of his wife wasn’t a startling revelation.  What came as a revelation was the proof of exactly how married he was. 

Delaney’s stomach twisted into an elaborate pretzel at the comfortable intimacy of husband and wife. 

He was freshly showered and changed, the navy shirttails of his half-buttoned shirt flapping over jeans as the overhead light accentuated chiseled features that were trained upon his counterpart.  She complemented him perfectly in her designer jeans and blouse, and a furrowed forehead suggested that she conveyed a message of some importance up into his handsomely attentive face.

Jon’s passive smile didn’t falter as he nodded at whatever she said, but he was obviously aware of something beyond the woman whose hand rested between the open plackets of his shirt.  A single finger extended in Delaney’s direction, with his eyes briefly following to confirm her understanding that he’d be over in a minute. 

She tilted her chin in his direction and gave Matt the same acquiescence her sister had. “Sure.  I’d love to meet Jesse.  Is Jake here?”

His Lucifer persona reared its dormant head and manifested in a dark scowl.  “Why?”

The overprotective suspicion was enough to unfurl her knotted insides and make Delaney giggle.  She just knew he was making the same accusation Jon had earlier today, only not as good-naturedly?

“I’m not a cougar, if that’s what you’re worried about.  We met him when he came in to order flowers for his mom.”

“Oh."  The Luciferian scowl relaxed into a more neutral expression.  "No.  Jess is the only one of the kids here.”

Apparently dissatisfied – again – with Delaney’s social skills, Petra smoothly took the reins.  “Well, we’d certainly love to meet him and offer our encouragement of his business.”

The timing was perfect, as Jesse was just stepping away from his latest guest.  All Matt had to do was hold up a hand to have Jon's son smiling, depositing his empty glass on a nearby table and making his way over to join them. 

The first thing uncle and nephew did was engage in some kind of convoluted, ritualistic hand shake that involved fists, elbows and shoulders.  Both of them were laughing as Matt introduced, “Jess, meet Delaney and Petra.”

“Hi.  I’m Jesse.”  Flawless manners had him flashing a broad grin and extending a hand to each woman in turn.  “Not that I don’t appreciate shaking hands, but it’s sad to see yours empty.  Can I offer you a glass of wine?”

This offspring version of Jon was more socially polished than his younger brother, but then again, Delaney was hardly in a position to fault Jake.  Jesse had several years on him, meaning that there was still time to become as skillful as the other Bongiovi males while she would continue to be the bane of her sister’s social existence.

Determined to prove that she could be anything she chose to, Delaney stepped up to the plate and brought her polished game along for the ride.  “There’s nothing else I’d rather have, but I’ve done my share of diving into Hampton Water tonight.  It could easily be habit forming, and then I’d have to crawl into a gutter with the rest of the winos.”

“Hey.  There’s nothing wrong with being a wino,” he contested, spreading both palms wide and painting on a cajoling grin.  “Glad to hear you found us and like the wine, but come on…  I know what they’re charging for it here.  Let me give you another one so I feel like you’ve at least gotten your money’s worth.”

“Well, when you put it that way, how could we possibly refuse?”

“Exactly!”  Satisfied that he’d hooked Petra, he folded one of his palms into a finger gun and pointed it at Delaney.  “You, too, right?”

She didn’t want the wine, but she also couldn’t refuse his youthful enthusiasm a second time.  Tossing her head to send hair tumbling down her back, she adopted her own cajoling grin and compromised by bartering, “You talked me into it – on one condition...”

“What’s that?”

Taking one more visual swipe over the floral accessories, she hooked her gaze into his with an impetuous grin.  “That you let me make some recommendations on what flowers to display with the wine.  Something that doesn’t just match the label but is from the same social strata as your product.”

“Uh…”  Surprise lifted his brow sharply as he scrambled for a smooth response, but when he came up empty, Uncle Matt chuckled and stepped in for the save. 

“She’s a florist, man.”

“Ohhh!” Comprehension dawned and swept away the grooves of confusion.  “Then by all means, yeah!  Recommend away.  Are you the one doing my Mom’s flowers, by any chance?”

It was Delaney whose brow winged up in surprise this time, and if the sharp nudge of her foot was any indication, Petra was equally stunned.  Either Jake or Jon must have told him about their visit today, and Delaney wasn’t quite sure what to make of that revelation. 

Then again, at this time of night and after the day she’d had, it probably wasn’t smart to assign any value to it.  She would let it go and give him the short answer.

Or, rather, she would have if Jon hadn’t chosen that moment to join their little group, slipping up next to his son.  She was too engrossed by wine and flowers to notice his approach, but now that he was here and smiling in her direction, Delaney was hard-pressed to notice anything else.

The other times she’d met him, he’d always been wearing a t-shirt that came all the way up to the base of his throat.  In tonight’s partially-buttoned shirt, her artist’s eye could appreciate the muscle and tendon that bled down from his neck, into the firm plateau of chest.  Everything was toned and etched with masculinity – and frosted with chest hair that caught the light and made her go a little bit stupid.

Hooking an arm around Jesse’s shoulders, he winked a greeting that gave Delaney a hot flash and made her glad she wasn’t wearing her jacket.  Was she drooling?

“Yeah, she is.”

What?!  Oh.  Flowers, not drool.

“Cool,” Jesse declared with an approving nod.  “Jake told me about you.  Thanks for taking the time to make something special for my mom.”

That was as effective as a bucket of cold water in wiping out Delaney’s hot flash, and if that didn't do the trick, Petra's latest round of foot nudging did.   

Socially sophisticated.  Focus, Delaney.

Was it stranger that Jake had mentioned the flowers or that Jesse made the connection?  She thought connection might be the oddity here.  From the way Jake talked at the shop, his siblings had probably demanded proof that he carried out his gift-finding mission, so of course he’d report in about the flowers.

That meant that Jesse not only made the connection but that he was considerate enough to share it with her.  From a young man his age, that was impressive.

If Jake and Jesse could be counted as benchmarks, Jon Bon Jovi had some pretty amazing kids, and she experienced a painful pang of jealousy.  Knowing how hard it was to raise children, she had to ask whether he was responsible for their easy good manners and kindness or if that accolade fell to his wife. 

Delaney found herself dying to know even as she graciously assured, “Totally my privilege, Jesse.  I hope you’ll all be pleased.” 

“Speaking of Mom, Jess…”  The quiet words were spoken from the side of Jon’s mouth.  “She went home with a headache but said to tell you that you’d better be at the house on Sunday.  Your sister is coming, and both your brothers know it’s a command performance day.” 

“Sure, sure.  I will.  Are you gonna be home?”

“Yeah.  I’m flying back from Toronto after the show Saturday.”

So, the whole Bongiovi clan would be together to celebrate Dorothea for Mother’s Day.  That was nice, even if it did spark a different kind of jealousy.  How wonderful would it be to have a husband who seemed as dedicated and attentive as Jon?  And looked like that? 

The hollow at the base of his throat drew her eyes like a magnet. 

Was he as attentive in bed as he was elsewhere?

Do not fantasize about licking the happily married man’s throat.  Not when he’s freepin’ standing right here.  With his son!

Fatigue was clearly catching up with her. 

“Jess, go grab the ladies some wine, would ya?” The sexy Stepford husband and father added, releasing his boy with a quick squeeze of the shoulder.  “I don’t want to piss off their husbands by keeping them out too late.”

As the son stepped away to fulfill Dad’s request, Petra flailed a nonchalant hand in the hair.  “Oh, my husband is out of town, and Delaney’s not married.  No one is keeping tabs on us tonight, but thank you for the concern.”

“Then you have to let me make sure you get home safely.”  Sapphire irises attached to Delaney’s and lingered just long enough to become uncomfortable before he mused, “I’ll be damned.  Your eyes are gray.”

Snickering at the unexpectedness of his observation – and his offer to get them home – Polished Delaney fell into a narcoleptic coma and left her unfiltered alter-ego on duty.  “So’s your hair.  What of it?”

Petra’s bone-deep sigh of disappointment was meant to shame Delaney, but she didn’t give a flying fig.  She’d hob-nobbed just fine with the man child.  Mission accomplished and back to reality.  She was who she was, and it had been good enough to get them… Well, everywhere tonight.

“Jesus Christ, don’t get started on my hair,” Jon grunted dismissively, more perturbed by the never-ending notoriety of his hair than by her lack of etiquette.  “We’ve been trying to figure out your eyes, but the light’s never been good enough to get a decent look.”

“Who’s we?”  The question popped out without thought.  She couldn’t even blame it on the wine being passed into her hand since she had yet to take a sip.  It was simply following the theme of her life.

“Me.  Dave.”

Delaney was left to ponder that while, with his wares distributed, Jesse pressed both palms together in a prayer-like pose.  “Ladies, it was great meeting you, but I have some required mingling to do and the clock is ticking.  Can I take a raincheck on the flower consult?”

“Sure.  Jake and your dad know where to find me.”  She tipped her glass to him in a show of appreciation.  “The wine is superb, and I wish you well.”

“Absolutey superb!” Petra was quick to echo, also raising her glass.  “It’s been a pleasure, and I’ll be recommending Hampton Water to all my friends.”

He gave a quasi-bow and was off to mingle, leaving the Giannopolous sisters at the mercy of the elder Bongiovi brothers.

Next post: in a couple of days :)