Beat of the Heart (Runaway Train, #2)(41)

“Excuse me?”

“They work at Sugar Magnolia—a strip club a few blocks from here. Unfortunately, they like to spend their off nights strumming up business for the club. Then I guess you could call them bar groupies for whatever house band is performing.” Lily downed the rest of her Mojito. “They also have a history with Runaway Train when the band first started here three years ago.”

“Yeah, it seems the tallest one has a specific history with AJ.” I twirled my finger over the salted rim of my glass. “Look, I know I just met you two, but I have to ask. How do you guys deal with it—the women?”

Abby let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “It isn’t easy,” she admitted. “I mean, I don’t have a past, so I can’t help but focus too much on Jake’s and if he’s going to repeat any former mistakes. At the end of the day, I just have to believe that he truly loves me enough to be faithful because he sure as hell knows it’s a deal breaker between us.”

When I turned to Lily, she shrugged. “You want to believe your man is committed, and he wouldn’t stray. But then when you’ve been up all night with a teething baby, you’re carrying around ten extra pounds of baby weight, and you have absolutely no desire to screw him senseless like he wants, you can’t help but wonder why he doesn’t just take up some slut’s offer to bang him. But like Abby, Bray knows that cheating is a deal breaker, regardless of Jude and Melody. And no matter what, I know that he loves me and our kids.”

“I’ve been through a cheating fiancé not to mention…” I quickly pinched my lips shut before I went any further. Finally, I added, “I don’t know if I have it in me to deal with all this.”

“That’s totally understandable. But if anyone is worth trying to wade through all the bullshit for, it’s AJ. He’s a total sweetheart. I don’t know what Jake would have done without him after his mother died,” Abby said.

Lily nodded. “After knowing him for five years, I can vouch for that. He’s got a heart of gold.”

Deep down, I knew what they were saying was true. “Somewhere deep down beneath that cocky exterior?”

Abby laughed. “Yep, once you chip that all away, he’s a keeper for sure.”

I tore my gaze from them to look at AJ pounding his heart out on the drums. He glanced over at me and winked. Maybe the girls were right…maybe he really was worth fighting for.




After I did a sizzling finale on the cymbals, Jake eased his guitar down and took up the mic. “Thanks again for coming out. We love y’all. Keep it rockin’ always!” I hauled ass out of the drum kit to join him and the others to take our usual band bow. I was more ready than ever to get off the stage and get over to Mia. More importantly I was ready to get her the hell out of Eastman’s and back to my place.

But Jake busted my balls when he leaned over to yell into my ear over the roar of the crowd. “Let’s make a lap or two around the bar, speak to the fans, and sign some shit.”

“Whatever,” I grumbled.

He laughed. “Easy man, sorry for the cock block, but your dick is just gonna have to wait.”

When I caught Mia’s gaze, I held up a finger and mouthed, “Just a minute.”

She nodded and continued talking with Abby and Lily. Outfitted with two of our jacked up body guards, Jake and Rhys started making their way on one side of the room while Brayden and I took the other. I signed napkins, CD’s, boobs—you name it while posing for pictures with fans. It took a good hour to work both sides of the room, and by the time we were finished, I was sporting some serious blue balls for Mia’s amazing *.

Once I was free, I waved at Mia and then started making my way across the crowd to our table. Just before I reached it, Kylie bounded out and wrapped her arms in a death-like vise around my waist, molding herself against me like a second skin. “Hey stranger!” she exclaimed over the roar of the house music.

Fuuuuuuuck!!! This was so not happening. “Hey,” I replied tersely, as I met Mia’s questioning gaze over Kylie’s shoulder. When I tried extricating myself from her, Kylie held on tight.

“You left me high and dry the other night.” She gave me a seductive grin. “Wanna finish what we started?”

“I don’t—” Before I could finish, Kylie’s lips were on mine. I jerked away. My chest constricted in agony at the sight of Mia’s face. She stared at me with wide-eyes and a quivering lower lip. Her usual tough and in-control exterior appeared crumpled, and I felt like the biggest * in the world.

Kylie’s blonde brows rose in surprise at my reaction. “What’s the matter, baby? I didn’t think you were one for playing hard to get.”

“Listen, now is not a good time.” As I started to pull Kylie’s arms away from me, Mia bolted out of her seat, streaking towards the door as fast as she could with the packed crowd. Abandoning Kylie, I started weaving my way through the crowd. “Mia, wait!” I called.

Ignoring me, she kept fighting her way through the people. “Fuck,” I muttered before I resorted manhandling people out of the way to get to her. Grabbing her by the arm, I whirled her around, forcing her to look at me. “What the hell are you doing?”

Tears sparkled in her dark eyes. “I’m sorry, AJ, but I have to go.”