Music of the Heart (26 page)

A growl came on the other end of the line. “Yeah, you tell my man Garrett that the next time he

wants to partially feel up my girl and practically dry hump her on stage that the least I’ll do to him is

break his guitar hand!”

“He wasn’t feeling me up. He—” I froze in the middle of the hallway. “Wait, how did you know he

did that?”

“Because I saw him.”

My heart shuddered to a stop as I glanced wildly around. “Are you here?”

He laughed. “I wish I was, Angel. I would have especially liked to see you up close and personal

in that naughty little red number you wore.”

“But how—?”

“I had one of the technicians send me a live feed.”

“You did that for me?”

“Hell yeah. I didn’t want to miss your first performance for anything in the world, especially after

our rehearsal.”

“Oh Jake…that’s so sweet.”

“I’ve tried telling you before how sweet I can be for you,” he replied with amusement vibrating in

his voice.

“I know.”

“You’ll think I’m even sweeter when you get back to the bus and find the flowers I sent you.”

“Really?” I squealed.

“Well, some of them are from all of us guys, but there’s a special dozen just from me.”

My heart swelled in my chest to where I feared it might burst right out. “Oh wow, that’s so sweet

and thoughtful. Thank the guys for me.”

“I will.”

“You’re amazing too.”

“I know.”

I giggled. “Such an egomaniac.”

A roadie waved at me to get my attention. “Five minutes!” he called.

“Oh Jake, I have to go,” I lamented.

“Wait, I need to ask you something.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I wanted to see if you would come with me to my sister’s Sweet Sixteen party in two weeks.

Since the guys and I are playing, we’re making a big weekend out of it. Brayden’s wife, Lily, is flying

in with the kids. Do you think you can make it?”

Oh wow. Jake was inviting me to something that involved meeting his family. This was huge…and

fast.
Breathe, Abby
. “Um, yeah, sure.”

“If you need to soften the blow with your brothers about running off with me, you can tell them I

plan to take you into the studio to record
I’ll Take You with Me
.”

“Holy shit!” I exclaimed.

Jake chuckled. “Does that mean you want to come?”

“Yes, I definitely want to come. I just can’t believe you still want to record with me.”

“Of course I do, and one of my favorite places to record is in Atlanta.”

“Wow, this is still so unbelievable.”

“Well, believe it. There will be a plane ticket waiting for you back at the hotel. My people have

taken care of everything, including the hotel. It’s all on me.”

“That’s too much. I can’t let you do that, Jake.”

“Yes, you can, and you will. It’s my trip, so it’s my treat.”

“You’re so bossy.”

He laughed. “Yep and you better get used to it.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll accept.”

“Glad to hear it, Angel.”

When the roadie reappeared and beckoned me to the stage, I sighed with frustration. “I gotta go,

Jake.”

“All right. I’ll talk to you later tonight, and then I’ll see you in two weeks.”

***

Standing in front of the lighted hotel mirrors, I adjusted my black, silk tie. Even though I’d barely

had it on five minutes, it was already choking me to death. AJ groaned beside me. “Remind me again

why we have to wear suits?”

I rolled my eyes. “Cause this is my baby sister’s Sweet Sixteen we’re playing, and we’re not going

to look like a bunch of rocker hoods.”

AJ tilted his head at me. “But I thought we
were
rocker hoods?”

With a laugh, I replied, “Not tonight. We’re going to blend in with the normal stiffs aka the elite of

Atlanta.”

Rhys shuddered next to me. “I thought I had escaped all the high-society bullshit when I left home. I

swear, if someone tries to ‘present’ their daughter to me as a suitable marriage candidate, I’m outta

here.”

I thumped his back. “I think you’re fine, man. Sorry for inducing some flashbacks of your horrible

youth spent in the country clubs and finest social circles of Savannah.”

Rhys scowled. “Okay, so I’m a douchebag for whining about growing up rich, but dude, high-

society people are as cutthroat as ghetto people sometimes.”

“Whatever,” I murmured as my phone buzzed at my side. One glance at the ID, and I was grinning

like a fool.

“Dawww, iz Abby messaging her hunny-bunny,” AJ teased.

I flipped him off as I started reading.
Hey baby, I’m ready. Want me to come down and meet you

guys?

Sure. I’ll be in the lobby. Can’t wait to see u.

Be there in 5.

The last two weeks had been a dizzying flurry of different tour stops and cities. But one thing

remained consistent and true, and that was my feelings for Abby. Any downtime I had, I spent with

her via text messaging, calls, Facetiming, or Skype. It was long-distance dating in the 21st century at

its finest.

“You guys ready? I gotta go meet Abby.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be to go play to a room with a bunch of screaming, horny teenage girls, most

of them if I even look at, I could get arrested,” AJ replied with a grin.

“You’re a douche,” I muttered as I exited the bathroom.

Leaving the guys behind, I strode through the elaborately decorated ballroom. I wanted to get to the

lobby and Abby. She had flown in earlier in the day. After meeting up with Lily and the kids at the

airport, Brayden had brought Abby back to the hotel. I’d been rehearsing, so I hadn’t gotten to see her

yet. Although I felt like a giant pussy, Brayden had talked me into sending Abby with Lily to the hotel

spa to get her hair and makeup done. Of course any doubts about whether I had balls left or not was

short lived when Abby’s excited squeal came over the phone when she got my gift.

Craning my neck, I peered through the crowd of people. Like out of a movie, it parted, and there

she stood. For a minute, I couldn’t breathe at the sight of her. She looked so fucking beautiful that she

took my breath away. Her long blonde hair cascaded in curly waves over her shoulders, and she was

wearing more makeup than usual.

When she caught sight of me, her face lit up, and she started running as best she could in the sexy-

as-hell heels she was wearing. “Jake!” she cried before throwing herself into my waiting arms. I spun

her around before sitting her back on her feet. Her blue eyes twinkled as she took me in. “Look at

you!” she exclaimed as she ran her hand down the front of my suit. “You look amazing!”

“I look like a real gentleman, don’t I?”

She grinned. “I think even my dad would approve of you tonight.”

Part of her comment stung, but I covered up my feelings by giving her a cocky smirk. “Yeah, well,

what would he have to say about his daughter’s attire tonight?”

She glanced down at her dress. “You like it?”

Considering it had flimsy little straps, showed off her fabulous rack and was almost backless, hell

yes, I liked it. “I love it. You look absolutely breathtaking tonight.”

Abby’s cheeks warmed with my compliments. She leaned up to kiss my lips. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

AJ strolled up to us. At Abby’s attire, his eyes widened. “Oh my God, Angel! That is just like the

dress Sookie wore in the Season Two finale of
True Blood
!”

Abby rolled her eyes. “AJ, you’ve got a
True Blood
fetish.”

He grinned. “Dude, it’s basically vamp porn!”

She laughed. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah, well, you’re beautiful and sexy in that dress.”

With a beaming smile, Abby smacked his arm playfully before giving him a hug. “Thank you. You

guys are all looking so handsome in your suits,” she replied.

I took Abby’s hand in mine. “I want to introduce you to someone.”

“Okay.”

Surrounded by a group of her friends, Allison talked and laughed. When I tapped her on the

shoulder, she whirled around, causing her dark hair to fly around her shoulders. “Jake!” she cried

before launching herself at me. I hugged her tight. Regardless of how I felt about my dad and step-

mother, Allison had always been my baby sister to love and protect.

“You look beautiful,” I murmured into her ear.

“Thanks.”

“I can’t believe you’ve gone and grown up on me.” I pulled away and grinned down at her. “Just

promise me you’ll keep being my sweet, innocent little Allison.”

She giggled. “I’ll try.”

Turning back to Abby, I said, “I wanted you to meet my girlfriend. This is Abby Renard.”

At the word “girlfriend”, Allison’s dark eyes almost bulged out of her head. “Wow, it’s awesome

to meet you,” she gushed, shaking Abby’s hand.

“It’s great finally meeting you too. Jake talks about you all the time.”

Allison beamed with pleasure. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”

Abby grinned. “Oh yes, he is. But we better not say too much. He already has a big enough ego

about him.”

“Hey now,” I argued to which Abby nudged me playfully.

Brayden came up behind me. “Okay, man, it’s time.”

“Excuse me ladies, but my adoring public beckons, so I’ll see you later.”

Abby and Allison waved to me as I headed to the stage with Brayden. The plan was for us to play

the first thirty minutes of the party, and then the DJ would take over. AJ disappeared behind the drum

set while the rest of us suited up with our guitars.

Taking the microphone from the stand, I gazed out into the crowded ballroom. “Good evening,

everyone, and welcome to Allison’s Sweet Sixteen Party.” A symphony of high-pitched, hormonally

fueled teenage girl shrieks filled the room along with some hearty screams from the males. “As her

big brother, I couldn’t be prouder of her at this moment.” Meeting Allison’s gaze, I smiled. “I hope all

your dreams come true, and that you stay forever young.”

The guys and I then launched into a harder rock version of Chrissy Hydne’s
Forever Young
. We

finished to thunderous applause and cheers. I searched through the crowd of faces for Abby who

grinned and gave me two thumbs up. I laughed and shook my head before starting “Unravel Me”,

which got everyone dancing. After playing through two more fast songs and two of our ballads, I

handed the mic off to the DJ and headed through the throng of people to Abby.

I was almost to her when my dad stopped me. He gave me a stiff hug before saying, “That was