Music of the Heart (Runaway Train, #1)(13)

“Hell if I know,” he replied.

“I thought as much.”

“Wait a sec…” He snapped his fingers. “Actually, it was Tuesday. I talked to my baby sister on the phone.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You have a sister?”

“Well, she’s my half-sister. My dad and step-mom each had a kid when they got married. Then they had Allison. She’s fifteen and spoiled rotten.”

I smiled at the sincerity in his voice when he talked about his sister. “I bet she idolizes her big brother.”

Flipping on his back, Jake slid his hands under his head and grinned. “Yeah, she does. I mean, she’s always thought I was pretty cool, but even more since I hit it big.” His expression slowly darkened. “Some shitheads give her grief about it—like trying to be her friend just to see what they can get from her. I hate that.”

“Poor thing. It must be hard sometimes having a famous brother.”

Jake frowned at me. “I try making it up to her all the time by giving her shit.”

I laughed. “Thus why she’s the spoiled baby sister?”

“I guess. Hell, the guys and I are even playing her Sweet Sixteen in a few weeks.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you.” I nudged him playfully. “Who knew there was a good guy buried deep, deep down inside.”

AJ closed the closet door. “Okay, done.”

“Finally,” Jake muttered as he got off the bed.

Gesturing to his jeans and polo shirt, AJ said, “Hey, give me some credit. It’s not easy changing behind a closet door to protect Miss Innocent Eyes over there.”

I laughed as I rose up to a sitting position. “One minute you’re trying to get me to see you naked and the next you’re protecting me.”

AJ winked at me. “Just know I would do anything, and I do mean anything for you, mi amor.”

I grabbed my dress and cowboy boots off the dresser. “Thanks so much.”

***





As soon as Abby disappeared into the bathroom, AJ arched his dark brows questioningly at me. “You better be damn glad it was me and not Brayden who came back here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked as I slid on a clean pair of jeans.

“You said you were coming in here to get your shit and wake Abby up, and instead you’re back in bed with her. Hell, she was riding you.”

“That was your fault, not mine, opening the closet door like you did.”

“Mmm, hmm,” he replied, raising his brows suggestively.

I shrugged. “Trust me, she wasn’t happy about me being in bed with her.”

“But were you?”

I froze half-way in pulling a fresher smelling shirt over my head. Peeking through the neck of the shirt, I shot AJ a look. “Get real, dude. I’m so not interested in Abby.”

He grinned. “Keep telling yourself that.” He started for the door, but then turned back to me. “So if you’re not interested, you mind me making a play for her?”

For reasons I couldn’t possibly understand, my jaw clenched at the thought of Abby and AJ. At the same time, my fists tightened at my sides. “She’s not stupid. She knows exactly what dogs the three of us are when it comes to women.”

“I could try to change her mind.”

“Yeah, good luck with that one,” I grumbled as I brushed past him.

Using my fist that was still clenched from AJ’s comment, I pounded on the bathroom door. “You through in there, Angel? Some of the rest of us would like some mirror time.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she mumbled as she undid the lock. When she threw open the door, my breath caught at the sight of her. Somehow in the few short minutes Abby had been in the bathroom she’d managed not only to get dressed, but also freshened up as well. Her long, blonde hair fell in waves down her back while she’d also reapplied some makeup. Her full lips glistening with gloss just begged me to reach over and lay one on her.

“What?” she questioned as she swept her hands to her hips.

Trying to cover up for my lustful thoughts, I smirked at her. “Nothing. You just clean up fast.”

A giggle escaped those succulent lips of hers. “Yeah, it comes from growing up with one bathroom, six people, and most of the time not a lot of hot water. You should see some of the conditions I’ve had to get ready in before.”

She squeezed past me and then started over to AJ who was messing with the entertainment system. While my gaze instantly honed in on the soft sashay of her hips as she walked down the bus aisle, Rhys sidestepped me into the bathroom. “Oh hell no, dude! I was here first!”

He shot me a wicked grin. “You were too busy ogling Abby’s ass to care about the bathroom.”

“I was not ogling her ass,” I hissed under my breath as I pushed him out of the way.

We began elbowing each other for mirror time when music suddenly blared throughout the bus’s speaker system. He and I exchanged a glance before both groaning in unison. “AJ, not that Mexican shit again!” I shouted.

From time to time, AJ insisted on torturing us with the Banda and Cumbia type music he grew up on until we gave him enough hell to turn it off. I poked my head out of the bathroom door. “Dude, seriously, I can’t take—”