Music of the Heart (20 page)

His expression darkened a little. “And trust me, if any of those assholes lay one finger on you, they

won’t just have your brothers to answer to.”

At Jake’s growl beside me, I quickly added, “Aw, that’s sweet. But they’ve been perfect

gentlemen.”

“They better. See you Sunday.” He gave a short wave to which I waved back. Then he ended the

call.

“Ugh, what a tool!” Jake exclaimed.

“He’s really being nice letting me sing with him. It’s a good introduction to the crowd.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Of course he wants to let you sing, Angel. He wants in your pants.”

“According to you guys and my brothers, doesn’t every guy?”

He scowled at me. “Trust me when I tell you to watch yourself around him.”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what his intentions are with me. I’m certainly not interested in him.”

“You aren’t?”

“No.”

The corners of his lips turned up. “Is that because of his epic douchery or because you might be

interested in someone else?”

I stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Sweeping my hands to my hips, I asked, “Do you always

talk in circles when you’re not man enough to make your intentions known?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You really have the nerve to stand there and ask me that?” When he didn’t respond, I practically

growled as I took a step towards him. “You blow so hot and cold with me that I’m not sure which

way is up. It’s a wonder I don’t need a chiropractor from your emotional whiplash. One minute

you’re telling me you want a girl like me to be interested in you and the next you’re coyly asking how

I feel about Garrett.” Finally toe to toe, I glared up at him. “You’re really good at charming the

panties off girls at ten paces, but you can’t even tell a girl how you really feel when she’s up close

and personal!”

Jake’s eyes bulged while his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Abby…I…wow,”

he finally murmured.

“Excuse me?”

A sheepish grin curved on his lips. “I don’t think a girl has ever talked to me like you just did.” A

shudder rippled through him. “Damn, that was hot.”

I shoved him against the kitchen counter. “You’re impossible!”

“And you’re everything I could ever want.”

My mouth, which had opened to lay into him with more insults, instantly snapped shut. Crossing his

arms over his chest, Jake chuckled. “Don’t tell me I’ve rendered you speechless, Angel?”

“You keep me in a state of confusion, so I don’t know why you would be so surprised,” I

countered.

“Fine. You ready for this?” He pushed himself off the counter to stand in front of me again. “I like

you, Angel. I like you a lot. It’s been a whole thirty-six hours, but I like what I see, and I want more.

But I’m clueless how to do this, so you’re just going to have to be a little patient with me, okay?”

My heart fluttered both at his words and in the way he delivered them. “So we just keep getting to

know each other?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “So I guess normal people go on dates to get

to know each other, right?”

“Yeah. Like dinner and a movie.”

He bobbed his head. “Well, we sorta had dinner. So how about a movie?”

I grinned. “That sounds great.”

“Can I count on you being down for inane comedy rather than a chick flick?”

“If you guys actually have a chick flick movie on this bus, I think we have to watch it.”

Jake grimaced. “Yeah, well, Lily might’ve left a few DVDs behind.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, but there’s Disney shit for Jude too.”

“Hmm, let me see what we’re dealing with here,” I replied before I went over to the entertainment

center. It was stuffed full of DVDs along with video games.

As I perused the contents, Jake made a pained noise in his throat. “After the dick way I treated you,

you’re going to punish me with the video choice, aren’t you?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I threw him an innocent glance. “Me? How could you possibly think

such a thing?”

“Whatever,” he grumbled, collapsing on the couch.

I turned around. “Okay, how does
Dodgeball
sound?” I asked.

His eyes lit up. “Fanfuckingtastic!”

Shooting him a wicked grin, I replied, “Good. We’ll watch that after
Tangled
.”

“Seriously?”

I bobbed my head. “Must I remind you that you puked on me earlier this evening?”

“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Nope. But besides that, you have a lot of work to do to prove to me you’re worthy of my time.”

“So I have to watch fucking Disney to prove it?”

“It’s a small start.”

I eased the DVD into the player and grabbed the remote. Without even hesitating, I plopped down

beside Jake on the couch. “I still can’t believe I’m letting you make me watch a fucking Disney

movie,” he grumbled.

“You don’t have to watch it. You can always do your own thing. But if you really want more from

me, than you’re going to have to work for it.”

He mumbled something under his breath. Although he may have hated the idea, he gave the movie

his full attention when it came on. I think something about it having music in it peaked his interest as

much as he hated to admit it. When I snuggled closer to him, he glanced down at me in surprise. “I’m

cold,” I admitted.

“Here,” he said, digging in a drawer beside the couch. He pulled out a blanket and wrapped us in

it. “How’s that?”

“It feels wonderful. Thank you.”

“No problem.” He then slung an arm around my shoulder, drawing me closer to him.

Halfway through the movie, my eyes grew heavy, and it wasn’t long before I nodded off. I don’t

know how long I was asleep before loud voices and laughter, not from the movie, startled me awake.

Rubbing my eyes, I looked up to see Jake begin to come back to life as well.

Back from their evening out, the boys were clambering up the bus steps. At the sight of me and

Jake wrapped up in a blanket together, they froze. “What the…” AJ began.

He and Brayden then barreled forward like they were about to protect me from Jake’s unwanted

advances. I snaked my hand out from under the blanket and held it up at them. “Guys, calm down.

Everything is fine.”

Brayden glanced between Jake and me before cocking his eyebrows. “Seriously?”

I laughed. “Yes, it is. Jake’s apologized for his previous bad behavior, and we’re fine now.”

With a wicked gleam in his eyes directed toward the guys, Jake added, “Oh we’re more than just

fine. We’re sorta dating.”

A collective gasp of shock rang through all the guys. “That’s not entirely true,” I replied.

Brayden threw his hands up in disbelief. “Excuse me if my mind isn’t able to process such a

thought. I mean, just how the hell do you make the quantum leap from banging Bree earlier in the day

to dating our Angel?”

“We’re not really dating—we’re just getting to know each other better. He’s going to have to

prove himself to me before I’ll date him,” I explained.

Jake bobbed his head. “And I plan on working my ass off to do it.”

Rubbing his hands over his face, Brayden replied, “I’ll be damned.”

AJ’s gaze swept from the TV over to us. “He apologized and he’s watching
Tangled
. I think Abby

brainwashed him while we were gone,” he joked trying to lighten the mood.

Jake and I laughed at his assumption. “Nah, there was no brainwashing involved,” Jake replied.

He winked at me. “She just helped me to see the light about what a complete and total jerkwad I

was.”

Rhys stood staring at us with a dumbfounded expression on his face. “Dude, I’m not gonna lie and

say this doesn’t surprise the shit out of me.” He then stared at me. “Are you sure you know what

you’re getting yourself into?”

“No, not really, but then again, does anyone really ever know?” I countered.

“I guess not.” He winked at me. “I guess that’s why I steer clear of any relationships.”

“Sure it is,” Jake snorted.

When Rhys opened his mouth to argue, Brayden cleared his throat. “Okay, okay, I think we oughta

call it a night. It’s been a helluva long day with way too much crazy shit going down, not to mention

we gotta show tomorrow night.”

“Yes, Daddy,” AJ teased.

“Douchebag,” Brayden muttered under his breath as he headed to the bedroom.

I unraveled myself from the blanket before making a quick bathroom break. When I got out, Jake

was waiting outside my roost. He held the curtain back like a gentleman would a door. “There’s that

good side showing through again,” I commented.

He grinned. “Goodnight, Angel.”

“Goodnight, Jake.”

Leaning in closer, he whispered, “Thanks for giving me another chance.”

“You’re welcome. Just make sure you toe the line from now on out, and I’m sure we won’t have

any more problems.”

He chuckled. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

I blew him a kiss before shutting the curtain. “Sweet dreams, Angel,” he murmured. Drawing the

covers around me, I fell asleep with the goofiest grin on my face.

***

The next morning we crossed over into Indiana—the next stop on Runaway Train’s tour. As we sat

around the table eating breakfast, the electricity in the air was palpable. It was amazing seeing the

change come over the guys the sooner they got to their next performance. As we got closer and closer

to Indianapolis, the more restless they became. The bus could barely contain the four of them. AJ

drummed relentlessly on a smaller, plastic version of his real drum set. Rhys’s Ivy League

background showed through as he focused on playing golf on the Wii. Although Brayden was usually

the one who was most level-headed, he paced the floors like a caged animal, occasionally stopping to

text back and forth with Lily.

With ear buds jammed in his ears, Jake was the least restless of the guys. I guess he needed the

music to tune the others out. He sat across from me at the kitchen table coloring in some sketches that

Brayden had made for the band’s next album cover.

As for me, I stayed the hell out their way and studied for my nursing exam. It was a little after two

when we rolled into the parking lot of the Klipsch Music Center. I’d been reading and trying to tune

out the guys’ antics. But then Jake appeared in front of me, bouncing on the balls of his feet and held

out his hand. “Come on,” he instructed.

I cocked an eyebrow at him suspiciously. “Just where are we going?”