Music of the Heart (6 page)

his wicked grin, I knew exactly what he was meant.

“Dream on,” I muttered.

“Fantasizing is healthy, you know. Maybe you should try it more.”

Closing my eyes, I kept playing
Highway to Hell
. I licked my lips. “Hmm, yeah, you’re right.

Fantasizing is nice.”

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Angel?” Jake asked, his breath hovering close to my cheek. “Or should I

say
who
ya thinkin’ about?”

“You,” I whispered. My eyes popped open to take in his surprised expression.

“Seriously?”

“Mmm-hmm,” I replied a little breathlessly for emphasis. He cocked his eyebrows expectantly.

“I’m fantasizing about what it would be like to nail you in the balls again for being such an egotistical

jerkwad!”

Laughter echoed around me from the other guys while Jake only shook his head. With a smirk, he

replied, “Admit it though. You were still thinking about my balls.”

“You’re impossible.”

Before Jake could give me another witty comeback, my stomach rumbled so loud that it practically

echoed throughout the room. Jake’s expression became concerned as his gaze honed in on my

abdomen. “Why didn’t you tell us you were so hungry?”

An embarrassed giggle escaped my lips. “There’s kinda been too much going on to pay much

attention to my stomach.”

“You like omelets?” he asked as he rose to his feet.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then one omelet coming up.”

“Um, thank you.” My jaw gaped open as I watched Jake head to the kitchen and take out the

necessary supplies to make me a late breakfast. I gently put my guitar back in its case.

“You guys want one?” he asked over his shoulder as he began whisking the eggs.

“Nah, I think I’ll eat that leftover pizza,” AJ replied, sidestepping him to the fridge.

Rhys wrinkled his nose. “You’re disgusting.” He nodded at Jake. “I’ll take one.”

“Bray?” Jake asked.

“Nah, I’ll fix a sandwich when I come back out. It’s almost time for my Skype chat with Lily.”

When he started for the bedroom, Jake snorted. “Don’t be doing anything raunchy with Lily now

that Angel is on the bus.”

Brayden whirled around to shoot Jake a death glare. “You know good and well that Jude and

Melody are always there for my calls, you jackass!”

With a chuckle, Jake went back to working on his culinary masterpieces while Brayden slammed

the bedroom door shut. AJ came over to the table with a Dominos box and began shoveling in several

cold slices of pepperoni pizza.

“Are you even chewing that?” I asked.

He winked at me and replied, “I got a
big
appetite, Angel.”

I wagged my finger at him. “Manners, remember?”

Not taking his eyes from mine, he picked a napkin from the table and daintily wiped the corners of

his mouth.

I grinned. “It’s not the dirty outside I’m concerned about, perv.”

AJ threw his head back and roared. “Damn, Abby, I sure am stoked about having you on the bus

with us. You’re going to be fun as hell.”

“I hope so. I wouldn’t want to be a nag.” At the mischievous tinkle in his dark eyes, I shook my

head. “Don’t even go there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t say some cheesy thing like ‘Ooh baby, you can nag me all night long—two or three times!’”

AJ’s dark eyes widened as his slice of pizza dropped onto the table. “Okay, it’s really creepy how

you can read my mind, but then again…fuck! It’s so hot that you can think like a dude!”

I laughed. “Older brothers, remember?”

A wide grin spread on his face. “Remind me to thank them someday for raising you right, Angel.”

Rhys raked his hand through his unkempt hair. “Speaking of your brothers, I caught part of their

show. They’re not bad.”

“Not bad?” I huffed indignantly.

Pink tinged his cheeks. “Well, you know what I meant…for light rockers.”

AJ bobbed his head. “Yeah, when they were introduced, I kinda expected some Jonas Brothers

shit. But they’re actually hardcore for Christian rockers.”

Leaning my elbows on the table, I eyed AJ and Rhys. “My brothers are fantastic musicians! I mean,

can you two play multiple instruments?”

“Well, no—” Rhys began.

I smirked at them before crossing my arms over my chest. “Although he’s probably the least

musically inclined, Gabe is one hell of a drummer, and he can write a song like nobody’s business.

Micah can play the guitar, bass, banjo, dulcimer, and piano, not to mention he has an amazing voice

for harmonizing. And Eli—he plays the bass and the fiddle and sings too. Along with Gabe, they’ve

been writing their own songs and composing their own music since they were ten.”

Rhys held his hands up in defeat. “I stand corrected, Angel. Your brothers are complete and total

badasses!”

Jake flipped an omelet onto a plate and added, “And their sister is pretty hardcore too.”

I laughed. “Thank you—for all your compliments about the general badassery of my family’s

DNA.”

After winking at me, Jake then shuffled over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice.

“I’d really rather have a Coke Zero if you have it.”

He ignored me as he poured two large glasses before handing me one. “OJ is better for you.”

Rhys shook his head. “Says the dude who has beer with his breakfast most days.”

“Shut up, douchebag.” Eyeing me, he then said, “You did pass out about thirty minutes ago from

low blood sugar, remember?”

“You’re right.” I took a long swig of my orange juice, and I had to admit it was good. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Angel.”

I huffed out a frustrated breath. “Why do you all insist on calling me that?”

Jake motioned to my dress. “For one, you’re all decked out in white.”

“But it’s just a sundress.”

Balancing three plates, Jake then came over to the table and set down our omelets. “Second, you

appeared out of nowhere like a fallen angel from the sky.”

“How poetic,” I snipped.

AJ grinned. “Not to mention, you’re a 180 from the girls who are usually on this bus.”

“Definitely,” Jake replied. Tilting his head, he pinned me with his stare. “And then you’ve got the

most beautiful aura of light about you—pure and exquisite.”

I almost choked on my orange juice at the sincerity of his words. “Really?”

“Yeah, you do.” After plopping down across from me, Jake added, “And finally, you felt like

absolute heaven pressed up against me in bed.”

And just like that, the perfect moment was shattered. “Please,” I muttered, grabbing my fork. When

I bit into the omelet, I closed my eyes from the ecstasy my stomach experienced. “Wow, this is really

good.”

“I’m good at a lot of things besides singing and playing the guitar,” Jake replied.

I popped one eye open to peer at him. “There’s some more lovely innuendo in there for me, isn’t

there?”

Jake grinned as he took my glass to get me more orange juice. “Nope, I’m being a good boy.”

“I doubt that seriously.”

The table fell into silence as we all gobbled up our food. Brayden came out of the bedroom with a

smile from ear to ear. “I guess by your expression your call went well?” I asked.

He beamed. “Melody said ‘dada’ today and blew kisses at me. She’s never done that before.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” I replied.

Brayden’s expression darkened. “I just hate that it’s going to be two more weeks until I get to see

them. Jude gets bigger and bigger every time I see him.”

“Maybe you should think about bringing them along on the tour again,” Jake suggested.

I stared at him in amazement. “You like kids?”

He gave me his signature smirk. “Of course I do. I especially like Jude and Melody. I also like

having Lily around because she cooks for us and cleans.”

Brayden threw a napkin at Jake, hitting him in the face. “My wife is not your glorified cook and

maid, douchebag.”

“I know that, twatwaffle. But more than anything, I like how having her around puts you in a good

mood. When you got your kids around you and you’re getting laid often, shit just runs smoother for all

of us.”

Clenching his jaw, Brayden slammed the refrigerator door. “Somewhere in that statement was

something decent and redeeming, but like always you had to trample all over it,” he grumbled,

bringing his food over to the table.

Raising my arms over my head, I yawned. “Tired of us already, Angel?” Jake asked with an

amused grin.

“No, it’s just I didn’t sleep much last night. Nerves and all. Then I had to get up at the asscrack of

dawn to get to the airport for my early flight.”

With his expression waxing concern, Brayden leaned forward in his chair. “Why don’t you go lie

down for a while?”

I glanced around at the guys. “You wouldn’t mind?”

AJ shook his head. “Nah, we’re probably going to crash again ourselves. We had a week straight

of gigs before Rock Nation, so our asses are dragging.”

“Oh, okay.”

Sweeping his hand to his chest, Jake said gallantly, “And I’ll even let you have the bedroom.”

“That’s awfully sweet of you, but I can always take one of the roosts.”

With a twinkle in his eye, Jake replied, “I insist.”

“Thank you then.”

When I rose out of my seat, he followed suit. Taking my suitcase, Jake rolled it down the aisle to

the bedroom. I glanced back at the guys to see their open-mouthed, wide-eyed expressions of

disbelief. Putting one foot in front of the other, I trailed behind him. Once Jake wheeled my suitcase

inside, he turned around. “All yours, Angel. We’ll make sure to wake you for dinner. We’ll probably

stop a little earlier than normal because those omelets won’t sustain us for long, and we’re almost out

of groceries.”

“Oh, okay, thanks.”

Jake didn’t move out of the doorway, so I had to squeeze past him. Our bodies meshed together,

and I fought the familiar tingle that prickled over my skin at being so close to him. It was a feeling I

wasn’t used to experiencing with anyone. Once I was inside, I turned back to him. “It’s very sweet of

you to give me the bedroom. The privacy is nice.”

He inched closer to me. “Well, just to forewarn you the lock is busted. So if you need me to watch

the door while you change into something a little more comfortable, I’d be happy to. You know, so the

guys don’t get a peek at your goods.”

“How sweet of you,” I noted as I moved in front of him. Bringing my hand to his chest, I gave him

a hard shove, sending him flying out into the hallway. “I’ll make sure to put my luggage in front of the

door just in case.” With a sickeningly, sweet smile, I added, “And thanks again for being so thoughtful

when it comes to my goods.”

Behind Jake, the guys hooted with laughter. Instead of anger, amusement twinkled in his sky blue

eyes. He wagged his finger at me. “I’ll get to you sometime, Angel. I’ll break down all those goody

girl walls you have built around you.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see then.” With that, I slammed the door in his face.

The RV shuddering to a halt jolted me awake. My eye-lids fluttered open. As I took in my

darkened surroundings, panic crept over me. Wait, where the hell was I? Gazing around the

blackened room, I tried getting my bearings. “Ugh,” I muttered when all the events of the day raced

through my mind.

When the lamp on the bedside table came on, I jumped out of my skin. Jake perched on the side of

the bed, practically on top of me. “W-What the hell are you doing?” I cried, jerking the sheet against

me.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Angel. I’m not here for a repeat performance

of this morning.” With a wave of a shoe, he added, “I’m sorry to have disrupted your beauty sleep,

but all my shit’s in here.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I murmured.

“Besides that, we’re stopping for dinner, so I figured I’d better wake you up.”

“Thanks.”

He cocked his pierced brow at me. “Did you know that you snore?”

My eyes widened in horror. “I do not!”

“Yeah, you do.”

Covering my mouth, I muttered, “Oh God, I do?”

Jake grinned as he bobbed his head. “It’s kinda cute though. Nothing like the loud-as-fuck snores

me and the guys do.”

“How mortifying.”

“You embarrass too easily, Angel. How are you going to make it a week with us if a little snoring

gets you so riled up?”