Chapter forty-seven

The next morning Richie woke up, remembering Sarah's presents in the living room. He got out of bed, relieved yet again that Sarah didn't wake up. This was definitely something he liked.

In the kitchen he started two cups of coffee and got the presents from the living room to bring back to the bed, then returned to the kitchen to retrieve the cups of coffee.

He sat down on the bed and started waking Sarah up.

When she finally opened her eyes and sat up a bit, Richie held out the cup. "Got you coffee."
"Thanks." Sarah took the cup and tentavily sipped.
"We forgot your presents last night." Richie held out one of the wrapped gifts.
"You got me presents?" Sarah asked exciting, putting the coffee down on the night stand.
"Of course I did. Open this one first." He held out the flattest one of them all.
Sarah carefully opened the gift wrap, so she wouldn't rip it too much.
"A dvd?" She asked when almost all the paper was gone.
"I hope you like it."
Sarah removed the last pieces of paper and looked at the cover. "Pay It Forward." She read the title and remembered. "That's the movie I watched!"
"I thought it was. Do you like it?"
"I do, thanks so much." She opened it and turned it over, getting a look at everything. "Oh my God, that's Jon."
Richie chuckled. "I know."
"And I said I thought he was cute. I didn't think you'd actually know him."
Richie chuckled again. "As long as you still marry me."
"I find you attractive, not Jon."

Richie smiled and kissed her, making sure of it.

Sarah opened the next present, ticker than the first but smaller. She unwrapped it as carefully as thr first one and found Pay It Forward, the book too.

Another present gave her an iPhone, according to Richie she needed a phone, just so it would be easier.
The last and biggest present was a brand new laptop. Another thing Richie thought would make things easier. While thinking Sarah was going back to school, he thought a laptop would be helpful with research and homework.

"Richie, this is so much, I didn't really get you anything last month." Sarah said regretful.
"You did, remember we had phone sex?"
"How is that a present?" Sarah asked confused.
"Because I see it as another step forward and you came over for my birthday and said yes. What more could I have wanted?"
"That's going to make it very hard to get you a Christmas present."

The rest of the day they spend on the beach again. The lake was hot.

Richie had his fun again with covering Sarah in sun screen.

When he finished, he helped Sarah up from the sunbed and walked over to the ocean. He loved seeing her in her bikini but even more in a wet bikini.

Sarah followed him, the water quickly rose as they walked deeper until they were all the way in the water.
Richie held her close to him, his hands cupping her bottom.

"Richie." Sarah said a little hesitant.
"No one can see us this far." He held her a little closer.
"We can't do anything here." She said carefully.
"I can just hold you, can't I?"
"Yeah you can." She hoped it would stay like that, this was a public place, even if nobody could see then.



The next day Richie arranged something for them to enjoy as a family but kept it a surprise until they arrived.

A big balloon with a basket stood in a field, a couple of people around it, walking around and getting things in order.

"We're going on a balloon ride?" Ava asked amazed and excited when they saw the balloon.
"We are." Richie confirmed.
"That's so cool man." Caleb pitched it.
"I know man!" He laughed.

They all got into the basket and before they knew it they were high above in the sky, the whole landscape below them was shrinking the higher they went.

Everyone except Sarah stood by the edges, looking down to the ground, pointing out places.

Finally Richie noticed Sarah standing still in the middle, not making any move to get close to the sides.

"What's wrong?" He asked, walking the short distance to stand in front of her.
Sarah looked up into his eyes. "We're very high."
"Are you scared of heights?" Richie asked, inwardly starting to panic if she was, they couldn't just land right now.
"I don't know, I haven't been this high before. I... I just don't want to look." She said.
"Okay, I'll stay here with you." He said and held her stare as she was still looking into his eyes.



The ride wasn't very long and an hour later they stood back on the ground.

"That was nice." Sarah said as they walked away.
Richie chuckled. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you're scared of heights."
"I didn't know either," said Sarah, "I've never done anything like that. On the plane I don't look out because I don't want to see it either."
"But it was nice."

All the kids agreed to that.



They spent their last few days at Lake Tahoe in the same way, mostly they spent time on the beach. The kids went off to try more water sports.

Closer to the end of their vacation, Richie rented a small boat and took everyone on the water, he had rented fishing equipment too.

A quick boat ride farther off shore and Richie got out the fishing equipment, followed by teenage sighs and "that's no fun"

Eventually he got everyone a rope and today was their lucky day. Almost as soon as Noah had his rope down the water, he already caught a fish. He held it up and looked around confused.

"You have to unhook him." Richie pointed out.
"I'm not touching that." Noah said disgustedly looking at the fish that was trying to get away but couldn't.
"Come here." Richie motioned for him to move his line over so he could grab the fish.

Noah did as asked and Richie unhooked the fish, then threw it back in the water.

"We're not keeping them?"
"You can't eat one of those so just put them back."

When Ava caught a fish it went the same way, another disgusted look and not wanting to touch the fish. At least Caleb tried to unhook it but made it worse until Richie helped him.

Sarah decided to skip on fishing, noticing Richie had enough work unhooking fish, she loved seeing him like this, like a father taking his kids out fishing except these were her kids. She loved how Richie treated them, the boys didn't remember much about their dad and had grown up without a father, maybe this would be beneficial for them too.



On their last day Richie took Sarah to a spa, thinking she hadn't been to one before, he was sure she'd love it.

To start they got massages, the spa offered couple's massages so Richie and Sarah could share a room.

A little uneasy about being naked Sarah got on the massage table and faced Richie.

A few minutes into their massage, Richie looked over at Sarah, her eyes closed and completely relaxed, he was right, he knew she'd love it.



As with all good thing, their vacation came to an end too. They got home late and Richie showed Caleb and Noah to the guest rooms before finding Sarah to take to his own bedroom, very different plans on his mind than sleeping.

Chapter forty-six

"So we should get married this summer?" Sarah asked.
"If that's what you want." Richie repeated.
"I think so." Sarah said more certain of herself. "Do you think we can arrange it that fast?"
"I'm sure we can. You just tell me how you want it and if you want I can get someone to arrange it all."

Sarah nodded, that sounded very good according to her. They had to talk to the kids the next day, they should at least have a little bit of an opinion on this too.

Richie's dinner was perfect and they both loved it, even if it was a little simple, the flavour and taste made it perfect.

When they finished he brought the plates back to the kitchen and returned with their desserts. These ones he hadn't prepared himself but gotten out of the fridge.

After dessert Richie walked around the table and gave Sarah a hand to get up from her chair, he looked her over once again.

"I really like your hair like this." He told her.

Hesitant Sarah raised her hand back up to her temple but Richie caught it just in time.

"Beautiful." He insisted.

He held her hand and walked her outside to the back deck where the hot tub stood.

"Everyone can see us." Sarah said while Richie started undressing, noticing he didn't have any swimwear on.
"It's dark, we'll turn off the lights if you want, nobody can see us." He tried to convince her of it.
Sarah slightly nodded and followed his example.

The hot tub's warm water felt nice even though it was warm outside.

Richie asked his next question hesitantly a few minutes later.

"Since we talked about marriage tonight, is there another thing we can talk about?"
"Sure, what is it?" Sarah looked up at him next to her.
"Do you still want kids?" He said even more hesitant.
"Didn't I tell you a month ago? I do, I thought you wanted more kids too?" She now sounded just as unsure as he did.
"I would love to. I'm not sure how it'll work though."

Sarah turned a bit and lowered her hand into the water, wrapping it around his dick.

"I think it goes like this."
Richie chuckled but didn't make her stop. "I meant, with our age and stuff."
"We just try and see what happens."
"I guess that would be a start. Can we try and see what happens now? He asked a little excited with Sarah's hand still around him, making him harder with every stroke.
"I'm still on the pill."
"We can still practice." He suggested.

Sarah smiled and reached in to kiss him, then moved to straddle his lap, her strokes had made Richie hard and ready for some pleasure. She held him still and slid down on top of him, sighing when she could feel him entirely inside her.

Richie wrapped one arm around her back and held the other on her hip, guiding her movements on top of him. His lips caught hers in a kiss he didn't want to let go of while Sarah started moving up and down on him.

Only a few minutes later Sarah threw her head back and Richie reached up to her breasts, cupping them both and he felt Sarah's orgasm around him, making him find his own already too.

Sarah slumped forward and rested her head on Richie's shoulder.

"We'll do it nicer," Richie promised, "when we go it for real."
"Why? I like this too."
"Then we can do it a lot more times, with more orgasms." He said in a low voice and kissed her neck, gently nipping her skin.
Sarah squirmed and giggled against him.

"When are the kids getting back?" She asked when she sat next to Richie again.
"Oh fuck, we better move before they do." Richie quickly got up out of the tub and held a hand out to help Sarah out of it.

Together they dashed off to the bedroom, falling into a heap of sheets when they got there.

Richie pulled her close next to him and started kissing her again, paying attention to her temple, of which she was so uncertain of showing, he loved every little part of her and that included the scar.

His lips covered almost every inch of skin he could kiss while he travelled down to her chest, wrapping his lips around a nipple and gently sucking it.

Sarah gasped in delight as he did and her fingers disappeared into his hair, holding him there.

Richie only moved to get to her other breast, his hand cupping the one he had just left, making sure it would still get attention, he played with her nipple so it stood erect the entire time.

Soon enough he could feel something else starting to stand erect too, lying so close to Sarah he was sure she could feel it too.

Richie was right and Sarah's hand snaked down between them, wrapping around his semi-hard cock, playing him until he stood up straight.

He loved doing this with Sarah, it seemed to be even more like love than it had been before, that's how special Sarah was.

"I love you." He said as he rolled her to her back and moved above her, getting in place.
"I love you too."

With that he carefully moved inside her until he was fully within her walls, already she tensed around him. He thrusted slowly, feeling her tremble with every stroke he made.

Sarah tried to keep it off, with him an orgasm felt even better, she wanted to go at the same time as Richie did. She held his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her, kissing him passionately, not wanting it to end again.

Richie's thrusts sped up as he kissed Sarah, he tried to keep it slow but with Sarah trembling underneath him he couldn't hold back either, her kiss made it even harder.

A few more thrusts and they both found their released.

When they caught their breath, Richie rolled off of her and pulled her close next to him.

"We'll do it like that." He said.
"I like that too."
"I hope it works." Honestly, he didn't know if they would be able to, their age definitely wasn't an advantage in conceiving.
"You have to be positive, remember?" She referred back to rehab where they had to be positive of getting a better life too.
Richie nodded.

They stayed quiet a while, hearing the kids get back on the boat, a rummage of noise until it turned back quiet, assuming they had all gone to bed.

Richie thought Sarah had gone to sleep too, she hadn't said anything in a while. He moved a little to get more comfortable next to her.

"I can't go to school then."
"What?" Richie asked confused.
"If we're gonna have a baby, I can't go to school for four years."
"Why not?"
"You'll be making music and touring, if I go to school, neither of us will be there."
"I guess that's true." Richie said, guessing she didn't want a nanny either. "It's up to you, you're the one that would get pregnant, you want to go school. It's your decision."
"To be perfectly honest, I'd rather have a baby. I told you I want a girl, so you better work on that." She teased him.
Richie chuckled. "I'll do my best."
"I can do something else in a hospital, right? Work at a reception desk or something?" Sarah thought.
"You definitely could, still helping people that way." He agreed with her.

Sarah settled against him again and closed her eyes, for now she needed sleep, tomorrow would be another lazy day at the lake's beach.

Chapter forty-five

A couple days later they found themselves at Lake Tahoe.

As Sarah had suggested Richie swapped their vacation in Hawaii for this. He had booked one of the houseboats for their stay. Even though Sarah didn't want the biggest one, Richie completely ignored that and got it anyway for its luxury.

It was big enough for everyone to have their own room to sleep with bathroom. The kitchen and living room were both specious. Out on the deck there was room to eat outside or enjoy the sun, even from in the hot tub at the back of the boat.

At first they explored their boat, unpacking and ooh-ing and aah-ing with everything they saw.

After they had seen everything they went out to the lake and the nearby town to explore the neighbourhood.
In only a few days it would be Sarah's birthday and Richie was already looking for a perfect place to celebrate.

For her birthday he was going for simple things. Things she didn't have but could use.



Their first full day of vacation time they spend on the lake, as a lot of the days that would follow would be like.

The kids enjoyed themselves with a bunch of water sports while Sarah and Richie spend time sunbathing on the beach.

Richie had claimed then a pair of chairs so they could lay down comfortably. After a few minutes though, Richie remembered something.

"We need sunscreen." He said excited.
"In the bag." Sarah waved a hand over to the bag, uninterested. Her eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses Richie had bought her the day before while they explored the town, he couldn't see her eyes now but by the lack of interest he assumed she was dozing off.

Richie got up and searched the bag, finding the tube of sunscreen at the bottom. He opened it and sat down on the sunbed next to Sarah, squeezing it into his hands and putting his hands down on her belly to spread the cream.

"What are you doing?" Sarah sprang open, surprised when she felt the hot cream and his even warmer hands on her already hot skin too. She pulled off her sunglasses to look at him.
"Told you we needed sunscreen." He grinned widely.
"Didn't think you meant on me, I was gonna doze off."
"I know but I like this a lot more." Richie's grin grew even wider and his palms spread over Sarah's body.



On her birthday Richie had changed his mind completely. He had made sure the kids were out to one of the clubs they were allowed in town and had Sarah all to himself on their boat.

Sarah was getting ready in their small room, still thinking they were going out while Richie started preparing dinner in the kitchen. He wasn't the best cook but he was going to try for Sarah.

Sarah took her time dressing and getting ready, she brought the summer dress she had worn on their last date and decided to wear it again, knowing Richie had liked it a lot last time. She only had one nice set of underwear that was white and would go unnoticeable under her dress and easily decided on that.

Her hair was a different matter, she always wore it lose, so it covered up the scar she had on her temple. She looked in the mirror, regarding herself, she didn't look too bad but she wanted to do something special.

"Richie!" She called for him.
A minute later he stood at the door. "What do you need, my dear?" He tried to sound most polite.
Sarah chuckled, she loved the silliness that showed once in a while. "Can you get me something from Ava's room? Some stuff for my hair, I don't have anything."
"Okay, back in a minute."

Richie walked across the living room to where Ava's room was, he walked in the room and found a few things on top of Ava's dresser. On the way back he started thinking, he hadn't ever seen Sarah with her hair up or anything special, what did she need it for?

He knocked on the bathroom door to give Sarah the few things he had found but Sarah was quick to keep the door closed, not letting him in.

"I'll be ready in a minute." She said instead.

Richie shrugged and went back to the kitchen, remembering the food he was preparing.



A little while later Sarah did walk out of their room and into the dining room. Richie was just getting the plates to the table, he had completely forgot starters and skipped to the main course, hoping Sarah didn't mind.

He looked up when he noticed Sarah walk in.She looked even more beautiful than she did normally, he wasn't sure if she was wearing a tiny bit of make-up, maybe not. Her hair definitely looked different, it was all put up, showing off the beautiful contours of her face, the reason why he always pushed her hair back.

"You look beautiful." Richie said.
Sarah blushed a little. "Thanks." She walked around the table and went to sit down on the chair opposite of where Richie was standing. "You're staring." She told him when he didn't move at all.
He shook his head, "Sorry," and sat down in his own chair.
"Thought we were going out for dinner?"
"I wanted to make dinner for you instead, might not be as good as at a restaurant though." He already apologized before either of them had a decent taste of it.
"I'm sure it will be just as good." Sarah told him.

They started dinner and Sarah was right, the food was just as good as anywhere else they had been for dinner, it might not have been as fancy but it tasted good. She had no clue Richie could cook like this. In a lot of ways she still had to get to know him but she now had a lifetime to do that. Soon, they would get married.

Once again their conversation led to the subject of marriage.

"Do you still think me and the boys should move in?" Sarah asked back to the conversation they had a few days ago while they were still in New Jersey.
"Of course, it would be easier for them to transfer schools in September than in the middle of the year or something." Richie explained how he thought about it.
Sarah nodded, that made a lot of sense, that way it would be easier for them. "What about my school?"
"Where is it?" He knew Sarah had found a college to learn to be a nurse's aid but she hadn't told him where it was, maybe it wasn't so far.

Sarah tried to explain as best as she could, not remembering the exact address of the college just now.

"I can drive you and pick you up." Richie shrugged.
"I should probably renew my driver's license now." Sarah suggested instead, now that she wasn't scared to go out anymore, she could go places and driving to school would be easier than Richie having to bring her every day.
"That's probably a good thing too." He agreed.
"Yeah then you don't have to drive me around on top of driving Ava around." Sarah joked a little.

"Why don't we just get married then too?" Sarah said out of the blue after a few more bites of dinner.
"When?"
"The end of the summer, it would still be nice weather to get married on the beach but it'll be soon."
"If that's what you want."
"Is it what you want?" Sarah asked him uncertain about how soon it would be.

Richie put his fork down and looked up at her.

"Sarah, if I could, I'd marry you right now, honestly I don't want to wait another year for it either."

Chapter forty-four

They arrived the next day during the afternoon, while, thanks to time difference, it was already evening for them.

It was almost dinner time, local time but they unpacked a bit first.

Joan's house was just big enough for everyone, Richie and Ava both had their own room there but Ava gave hers up and traded it for the den. Her room had two beds and would be easier to share for Caleb and Noah then the den which had a pull-out couch with which she was happy enough for a few days. The den also had a big tv and a bunch of dvd's which Ava minded even less.

Sarah followed Richie to his room after they had shown the boys to Ava's. Inside the room, Richie put down their bags and Sarah went to lay down on the bed and looked around. The room was simple enough, bright colors and dark brown furniture, she liked it a lot, it had a fresh and clean feeling to it.

"We can't sleep now." Richie said, it wasn't late enough yet.
"I'm just laying down." Sarah told him a little tired.
"We'll go to bed early tonight." He promised, understanding she was tired already.

Even though he was determined not to go sleep just yet, Richie got on the bed next to Sarah anyway and took her hand. Looking down at her fingers, thinking about what was to come now, he started fingering her ring, he was sure he had made the right choice with it.

"I really love it." Sarah told him.
"I'm glad you do."
"It's beautiful." She went on.
"Perfect for you then."

Richie reached in to kiss her softly and laid back down next to her again.

A few minutes later they were both sound asleep.



The next day, in the evening Richie took Sarah to the Boardwalk where he had spend lots of time when he still lived in New Jersey.

"Did you spend a lot of time here when you grew up then?" Sarah asked while they walked through all the entertainment stalls that were still opened late.
"Oh yeah, started playing gigs at Asbury Park." Richie explained.
"Where's that?"
"It's a bit of a walk that way." Richie pointed. "It's quite far to walk from here."
"I don't mind, I'd like to see it." Sarah said a little excited to see where Richie's music career had started all those years ago.
"Alright, we can get a car to get home later." He suggested, knowing it was a long walk and the walk back would be even further.

While walking Sarah asked questions about places and Richie told her as much as he knew about them. It had been years ago that he really spend time on any of the boardwalks, things had changed a lot but he still wanted Sarah to see it.

Also there were a lot of stands that sold food, during their walk Richie bought Sarah Disco Fries.

Sarah chuckled after the first fry she had. "This is like poutine."
Richie nodded. "It is, but Jersey style."
"And I thought we were the only ones that liked that."
"Guess not. I'm getting you a Ripper too, you have to try that. Have you tried salt water taffy?" He went on excited about everything the boardwalk offered.

They passed a lot of the places Richie used to play when he was younger, before Bon Jovi, it had been a while since he actually visited it and it was nice to see the sights again.

Soon enough they were stuffed with all the food Richie insisted Sarah had to try while being in New Jersey, determined they didn't have it good enough anywhere else in the world. Sarah assumed he was right and tried everything he bought her, most of it she liked a lot too.

After their long walk they finally arrived at Asbury Park and Richie took Sarah to The Stone Pony, a place she needed to see and experience.

It was quite busy but they found themselves a space to watch the band that was playing on the stage. Again Richie asked Sarah to dance, even though the music wasn't slow at all, they slow danced anyway. He liked having Sarah close against him and Sarah liked being there. His strong arms around her always made her feel very safe, nothing could scare her anymore.



The boardwalk had given Richie and Sarah such a lovely time the night before they decided to go again in the afternoon with the whole family. Richie's mom loved spending time with her granddaughter and was eager to get to know her soon to be 'step'grandchildren.

There were loads of games the children could play, keeping them entertained the whole afternoon.

At one moment Sarah and Richie stood on the side, watching the ocean.

"Do you still want a wedding at the beach?" Richie asked while they watched the waves rolling on the beach below them.
"Yeah, I think it would be really nice."
"We should arrange that then." Richie said.
"Now?" Sarah asked a little surprised.
Richie shrugged. "When do you want to get married."
"I'm not sure yet." Sarah answered honestly not knowing yet. "Doesn't really matter to me."
"It's got to be warm so we can actually do it on the beach." He reminded her.
"It's always warm in California."
"Yeah, that's true."

Again they bought a lot of food even though they knew Joan would want to make dinner for them all later but since Sarah had tried everything, her sons had to try them too. Even Ava was delighted to try the New Jersey Cuisine again.



Every evening they had a family dinner that Joan insisted on preparing for everyone. It was nice to spend the time together, talking. Soon they felt like had known each other for ages and it was easy talk randomly about subjects that just popped up and everybody could be themselves.



During their next day, Richie wanted to show Sarah the town he grew up and took her to Woodbridge, showing her around town, all the places he used to go, including the house he grew up in and his old high school.

"Do they know you're a big, famous rock star now?" Sarah asked interested.
"They do," Richie answered, "I've donated money a few times."
"That's nice of you."
"Gotta give back." Richie agreed.

He always tried to give back whenever and wherever he could, donating to his school, they had been able to build a gym for the athletes which he was very pleased with since he had played so many sports during his time there too. Not only that but helping out homeless people, people that really needed a break and some help. If he could, he would help out.



"I think you should move in after we go on vacation." Richie said on their way back to his mother's house while he held Sarah's hand.
"Yeah?"
"Think it would be easier, cause Caleb and Noah would have to transfer schools."
"I didn't think of that, I guess you're right. I have to find them a new school then." Sarah started thinking of how she was going to do that.
"No, no, if press and stuff finds out about us they'd be better off at Ava's school."
"I can't afford a private school for them."
"Don't be crazy, we're getting married, we share all that."
"But that's so expensive." Sarah argued.
"Really doesn't matter and it would be easier."
"I guess you're right." Sarah sighed. "So you want me to move in at the end of the summer?"

Chapter forty-three

The airport was just as busy as every other airport Sarah had been to in the last two months but now it didn't seem to bother her at all.

Richie led the way to where they had to be, he knew his way around airports much better than Sarah did.
Soon enough they were standing with a bunch of other people, waiting at the gate.

"When do Ava and your mom get here?" Sarah asked while they were waiting for her family.
"This afternoon but we don't have to come pick them up." He explained.
"Why not?"
"They'll get here with everyone else and they'll be driven to the hotel."
"So Ava won't be on her own?" Sarah asked relieved.
"No, she went to my mom's a few days ago and they'll be flying with everyone else's wives and kids." Richie continued to explain.
"Good, I was a little worried she'd fly on her own."

Richie smiled to himself in thought, Sarah was worried about his daughter. She was worried so she cared. He knew Sarah was kindhearted and cared for Ava too but this made it definite, he felt a little relieved and glad.

Sarah was first to spot them in the crowd that was walking through the gate. Once the boys were close enough she gave them great big hugs while Richie greeted her mother. Sarah hadn't told them yet and she couldn't wait.

She let go of the boys and turned to her mom, opening her arms but her mom stopped her and grabbed her hand, turning to look at her ring finger.

"What's this?" She asked.
"We're engaged." Sarah's smile couldn't possibly get any brighter with Richie proudly standing next to her.
"Aw honey." Abbey reached in to hug her daughter, then Richie. "I'm so happy for you."

Both boys stood watching surprised and dumbstruck.

Finally Noah was the first to say something. "Mom, really?"

Sarah realized she should have discussed this with them, at least let them know the possibility but now it was sure.

"I'm sorry I should have told you guys more about Richie and me." Sarah quickly said.
Noah looked even more surprised. "No, we're happy for you." He said just as quickly and turned to Caleb for confirmation. "Right?"
"Yeah, we are, just a bit surprised." Caleb answered.
"Aw boys..." She leaned back in to hug them. "I love you guys."



The rest wouldn't arrive until dinner time so they spent the day around the hotel, the boys spend the afternoon by the pool while Abbey went to nap.

In the mean time Ava and Joan arrived, Ava knocking excitedly on Richie's door. When he finally opened the door she gave him a big hug.

"Missed you too." He said before Ava let go.

Richie's mother was the next to hug him, then she stood back and looked at him.

Richie posed for her, making several silly poses, making Sarah chuckle at how cute he was.

"You look fine." She said approvingly, "now introduce me to your girlfriend." She insisted.
"Fiance." Richie corrected.

Both Ava and Joan gave him a questioning look.

"I asked Sarah last week." Richie explained, Sarah started blushing




When Abbey returned to Sarah and Richie's room to find out the planning, she immediately got introduced to Ava and Joan. Richie decided they should leave early so they could have more time with their families before all the rest arrived too.

Tonight was the end of tour party, the reason why families were coming.

All together they walked down to the elevator at the end of their floor that was completely used by Bon Jovi members, family and staff.

"Who's that girl?" Caleb asked, watching a blond girl in a bikini, holding a towel walk past them. She had smiled politely and walked past them.
"That's Stephanie, Jon's daughter." Richie told him.
"Oh." Caleb cocked an eyebrow.
"She's older than you." Sarah said, then glanced at Richie for confirmation, he nodded.
"So? She's still hot."

Richie thought it was quite funny but let it go and got in the elevator with the rest.

He noticed Caleb looking at every girl that walked past them, Sarah was right about Caleb being after girls, he really was.



There was a big hall reserved for the tour party, later the rest would join them for dinner there and after that they'd party.

They sat at a table that was big enough for them all, their mom's instantly got along, just like Ava and the boys had done. Sarah couldn't believe how easily everything fell into place with this. Things had been so different years ago.

Joan asked Sarah a bunch of question about her life, where she had grown up, what she had done after school... The explanation of Sarah's previous marriage was kept quite short. Richie stood by her and together they explained how wrong her marriage had been. Joan understood and went on to ask how they met.

After that everyone started talking about what the children had done the last few weeks during their summer vacation and their plans for the rest.



When everyone else started arriving, Joan took Richie aside for a few minutes. Her only son, she had to know he was making the right decision with this.

"Yes mom, I'm very sure."
"I'm just watching out for you." Joan told him.
"I know mom, but I really want to do this, I don't want to be without her anymore, it just feels so right." Richie explained.
"I want you to be happy."
"I am happy. Happier than I have been in a long while."
To that Joan nodded and hugged him. "I love you son."
"I love you too mom." He hugged her back.



For the rest of the night, Abbey and Joan got along great, they kept mostly to the table during dinner and the party, not wanting to be in a crowd of people.

Their dinner was just with the rest of the band. Halfway through, Caleb nudged Richie's side.

"Who's that girl?" He whispered, looking over at another girl.
"That's Gabby, she's also older than you." Richie pointed out.
"She's pretty too." Caleb smiled a bit.
"You do know these girls are daughters of my best friends?"
Caleb lighted up. "So you can help me?"
Richie laughed. "No."

At the end up dinner, Richie decided to stand up, when he cleared his throat everyone looked up at him.

Sarah already started blushing.

"So... You've all got to meet Sarah during the last few weeks." He started a little nervous but got more courageous. "I guess you've all notice how happy we are together." He took a breath. "So, I decided to make it official and you can all expect wedding invitations sometime soon, at least I hope it will be soon."

Sarah's face turned even redder than it had.

"Why are you blushing?" Richie asked when he sat down again.
"Everyone is staring at us." Sarah answered.
"They're happy for us."


They had dinner all together and afterwards, more people joined the hall and their party really started, a band played and Richie asked Sarah to dance with him.

A slow song was playing and a little reluctant Sarah went to the dance floor with him. Richie placed his arms around her hips and Sarah reached up to put her own arms around his neck, slowly swaying to the music music with him.

A party alone with the crew and staff was a lot easier for Richie, nobody asked him if he wanted any sort of drink, he appreciated that a lot.

He had noticed a few times, trying to talk to Stephanie, he thought it was quite funny.

When Sarah was in the bathroom, Jon walked up to Richie after he had played a song.

"You know that boy talking to my daughter?" He asked a little possessively.
"Caleb, Sarah's oldest."
"He better not have any plans of become a lawyer or something." Jon warned.
"He's actually quite interested in his guitar." Richie told him.
"Interesting, that might not be so bad then." Jon nodded and walked away, seeming to be thinking.
Richie chuckled.

Sarah returned only a few minutes later and conveniently another slow song started playing and Richie asked her to dance again, this time Sarah rested her head on his shoulder while they swayed.

This party was a lot more fun than the one a few weeks ago, even more than his birthday, just because Sarah was there too.



Well into the night the party finally ended when everyone started going back to the hotel, they still had a concert the next day.

By the end everyone seemed to getting along just fine. Abbey and Joan had sat together at their table the entire evening, talking about their children and grandchildren. Joan was excited to have Richie and Sarah and the kids over for a few days before they went back home and left on their vacation.



Pretty tired, Sarah and Richie got in bed together, laying as close as they always did. Richie was glad the tour was finally over and he could now spend his time with Sarah, exactly what he wanted to do.




The next day was a pretty calm day for everyone, they slept most of the day and met up in the afternoon to discuss concert stuff while their families were off to the pool or other activities the hotel offered. Of course Caleb was at the pool, Noah on the other hand found the game room where he found 3 younger boys he had seen last, even though they were a good few years younger than him, they had a great time playing arcade games.



The last concert Sarah enjoyed from the side of the stage with everyone else.

"Richie does look a lot happier than a few month ago."
Sarah had been introduced to Jon's wife, Dorothea the night before and smiled.
"It can only be because of you."
"I hope so." Sarah agreed.
"I'm happy for the both of you and congratulations, seems like Richie doesn't want to wait to get married either?"
Sarah chuckled a little. "Yeah, he's seems a bit impatient, doesn't he?"
"At least he didn't do what Jon did. When we finally made our minds up we ran off to Vegas. Our parents weren't happy with that, insisted we had a decent wedding party a few months later."

Sarah chuckled again, she liked Dorothea, it had been a while she had started to make friends but this was a start.

The concert seemed to go and on but finally it did finish, the crowd didn't seem to agree and kept on cheering.



In the hotel room, Richie celebrated his own end of the tour party in a private way with Sarah. Now that they had pretty much done everything sexually, Sarah was a lot less reserved about it and let Richie do what he really wanted. And what he really wanted was hearing Sarah scream his name she had done before.



The next day they said goodbye to everyone, the tour was over, they wouldn't see each other for a while and needed some time to themselves, they all knew that fact.

Everyone said goodbye at the hotel and they all went to separate ways.

Jon was off to Croatia with his family. Tico was going home to Florida and both Richie and David were going home to New Jersey. Only a week from now Richie would be taking Sarah and the kids on the vacation Sarah had suggested.

A quick sorry

I know I said I'd write a chapter for every day but tomorrow I'm moving back home after 8 crappy months in England, so I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to actually write, if I don't, I promise to catch up.

Chapter forty-two

Monday they woke up in Spain. Richie had been right about the concert on Sunday. They left immediately after the show to a nearby airport.

They'd flown straight to Barcelona and gone to bed when they arrived at the hotel.

He was relieved he didn't have to get up early to pick up Sarah from the airport anymore.

Even though they slept until close to noon, Richie was the first to wake up. Again he had the chance to watch Sarah sleep, it was definitely one of his favorite things to do.

Now that they were engaged he could really start thinking of her moving in. Would she before or after they got married? Maybe that would depend on when they got married. But Sarah wanted a beach wedding so it had to be during the summer so it wasn't too cold but did he really want to wait for next summer?

He kept watching Sarah as he thought all these things over. There were so many things he wanted to arrange and talk over with her.

Sarah's eyes finally opened slowly, as she saw Richie next to her, she lazily stretched out beside him.

"I haven't slept this well in ages." She did sound very relaxed.
"I noticed, you don't wake up every time I move."
"I'm just a light sleeper. I told you nothing used to be able to wake me up until my marriage went so bad." Sarah said. "Maybe you're just quieter."
"I'm not, I always try to not wake you up but you always do." Why would he deliberately wake her up?
Sarah shrugged.
"Maybe you finally feel safe?"



They spent most of their day at the hotel's pool. Richie had two days off and wanted to do some lazing about too. Tomorrow they could visit another museum Sarah wanted to see. He was sure he hadn't been to that many museums during a tour. It was a nice twist to it and he was making Sarah happy, that's all he wanted, a happy fiance.

It was quite busy at the pool because of the heat. Everyone was lounging around with occasional dips in the pool so Sarah and Richie did the same.

Throughout the day each of Richie's friends came along. Tico only stayed for a few minutes, only taking a short dip in the pool, swimming a few laps before leaving again.

David stayed a bit longer, sitting down next to Richie but by the time he left he hadn't noticed Sarah's ring either.

Jon showed up just when David went to leave, he had clearly gone for a run, pulling off his shirt and getting in the pool before taking the chair David had occupied.

"Where's the ring?" He asked Sarah.
Sarah smiled and held her hand out to show him her ring.
"It's beautiful. Richie made a good pick." Jon smiled back.

Just a perfect lazy day to do nothing. In minimal wear, which was even more exciting according to Richie. The only way she could look even more stunning was naked but a bikini was close enough.

After dinner they spent time on their room's balcony, watching the sun set and the stars appear in the sky high above them. The one brighter than the other.

While watching, with the sun gone, the air had considerably cooled down and they decided to go back inside.

After a quick shower to clean off the day's sweat, they ended up in bed, laying close together, face to face.
Richie carefully pushed Sarah's wet hair away from her face and reached in to softly kiss her.

Tuesday was Richie's second day off. They slept in again and in the afternoon they were off to do some sightseeing. He took his sunglasses and off they were.

They explored the inner city of Barcelona, walking into small shops, looking around for local things.

The city was busy but Barcelona was a very touristic city so it wasn't a surprise, at least not to Richie.

At last they found the colored waving benches of Barcelona and this time Richie actually wished Jon was there. The benches were a piece of art and he hadn't brought a camera with him. Where was his stalker when he needed him?

It was hot in Spain as it was in Greece and they decided to go for dinner before going to the museum. After that they could go back to the hotel.

The museum seemed deserted, it was only a tiny place, through he his sunglasses he could only see two other tourists, a couple like him and Sarah and guide or a member of staff.

"I think it's about to close." Sarah said a little concerned.
Richie checked his watch for the time. "Oh it's almost 8. You're probably right." He shrugged. "They'll kick us out if we stay too long."

They walked around, learning about the museum while Richie noticed the other two people on the other end were paying more attention to something else.

It took him a while before he realized it was him they were paying attention too. Nobody had recognized him in ages, he'd forgotten about it for a while.

A few minutes later the young man walked up to him, the woman seemed a little taken back, she quickly explained she was a fan but didn't want to bother him during his time.

Richie waved it off and agreed to a quick photo.

Sarah stood back and watched him interact. That was the second time a fan recognized him, only this one was a lot more civilized about it.

A minute later Richie walked back up to Sarah and went back to what they were looking at.

"That doesn't happen often. She was really nice too."
"Yeah, they're definitely not all bad." Richie agreed but remembered the girl at rehab's turn around too. She hadn't been that bad after all either.

Ten minutes after closing time they were asked to leave. Richie apologized for staying to long and their driver brought them back to the hotel on the other side of the city.



Wednesday Sarah was excited, it was the middle of the week, half way, her boys and mother would be coming over on Saturday. After the show on Sunday they were going to Richie's home state of New Jersey to spend some time at his mom's house. Strangely, Sarah couldn't wait to meet her.

It was the first time that week that they were up early. Richie had to do an early sound check and invited Sarah with him. It was something she hadn't done and he wanted to show her his point of view from the stage.

They played a few songs during which Sarah kept by the fences that would soon be filled with fans.
During the last two concerts Sarah had stood in the same spot and loved the new view she got of Richie that way. Finally she really got to experience a real concert and couldn't wait for tonight.

After half and hour Richie called her on the stage so she could see.

"Wow that's huge." Sarah said amazed as she looked out all the way to the back. "How many people fit there?"
"A lot, forty thousand or something."
"Don't you get stage fright with so many people watching?"
"I've been doing this for almost thirty years." Richie pointed out.
"What if you make a mistake?"
"That doesn't happen." Richie said, sure of himself.
Jon laughed from his spot by the microphone. "Yeah, it does!"
"You go learn your lyrics." Richie told him.

They were back at the hotel for lunch and decided to stay to watch a movie together.

It was still hot outside and they undressed before getting on the bed to watch but with Sarah half naked next to him, Richie couldn't keep his hands off of her and soon had completely forgotten the movie.



An hour later their bodies were sweaty but not only because of the heat.

The movie was now almost near the end but was completely forgotten as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Before returning to the venue they showered together and had dinner.

Once again Sarah got her space with security right in front of Richie and anticipated the moment he would walk out to cheers of the crowd.