Music of the Heart Read Free Page A

eyes widened. “No shit—Renard, like Renard Parish in True Blood ? See you could
    totally be Sookie!”
    “Quite a charmer, aren’t you AJ?” Abby questioned with a giggle.
    “Anything for you, mi amor. I mean, do you know what a fucking turn-on it is to hear fluent Spanish
    coming off a pair of lips like yours?” His eyes rolled back in his head with delight.
    “No, but I’m sure you’re going to elaborate for me, right?”
    I couldn’t help snickering. The more Abby/Hell’s Angel spoke the more I started to dig her. She
    wasn’t star-struck by us, and she gave as good as she got—my sore balls were testimony of that.
    Rhys stepped forward and offered Abby his hand. “I’m Rhys McGowan—bassist and if you’re
    looking for a real man, a much better choice than that douchebag.” He jerked his thumb at AJ.
    AJ brought Abby’s hand to his lips. “Just remember. Latin men are the best.”
    “I’ll try to remember that,” she murmured. As she took her hand from AJ, she brought it to her
    head. “Ugh, why am I still so dizzy?”
    AJ dove into the fridge for a bottle of water and gave it to Abby while Brayden knelt down beside
    her. “Maybe put your head between your knees?” he suggested, in a calm, soothing voice. At the same
    time, Rhys snatched up a paper towel and ran it under the tap before handing it to Abby. I glanced
    around at my bandmates with a mixture of disbelief. They were falling all over themselves to impress
    Abby with their thoughtfulness. That never, ever happened with a woman on the bus. The chicks were
    there to wow and impress us with their sexual talents. As soon as they were done, they were sent
    unceremoniously off the bus.
    Well, I guess, Brayden’s motives were different. He was the father figure and caretaker of the band
    as well as being the father to four-year-old, Jude, and eight-month-old, Melody. And regardless of the
    tits and ass thrown in his face twenty-four seven, he remained true to his wife. Although I gave him
    shit about it, I really did admire him for being loyal.
    Abby gave a ragged sigh. “I’m okay. Really, you don’t have to fuss over me.” She smoothed her
    hair back and wiped a few dust bunnies off her dress. “I’m hypoglycemic so sometimes I pass out
    when I don’t eat…that coupled with the adrenaline rush of being in a stranger’s bed and seeing you
    all instead of my brothers made me faint.”
    After taking a hesitant sip of water, Abby patted her cheeks down with the paper towel. When she
    glanced up, she found all of us staring at her. “So, um, I guess you’re wondering how I ended up here,
    huh?”
    Brayden motioned to the authorized pass nestled in her ample cleavage. “I’m going to take a wild
    guess and say you got on the wrong bus.”
    Abby nodded. She then launched into a story about why she was even at Rock Nation. When she
    explained about the roadie and Jacob’s ladder, I sucked in a breath. “He thought you were looking for
    me.”
    “Huh?” she asked.
    “I’m Jake Slater. He probably wasn’t paying much attention, right?”
    She nodded.
    “I mean, Jake Slater and Jacob’s Ladder running together kinda sound similar—if the asshat even
    heard anything past J. He just assumed you were coming to see me.”
    Abby’s eyebrows shot up. “And you often have random chicks coming to your bus with luggage
    and a guitar case?” she countered.
    The grin I gave her caused pink splotches on Abby’s cheeks. “Never mind,” she muttered, looking
    away from me.
    The sound of her phone vibrating on the table interrupted us. She grabbed it and frantically brought
    it to her ear. “Gabe, oh my God, it’s so good to hear from you!”
    The voice on the other line spoke frantically. She shook her head. “No, no, I didn’t get cold feet
    about the tour. It’s just…I, um, I got on the wrong bus.”
    At his response, her face clouded over with fury. “Oh really? Well, maybe one of you assholes
    should have come to meet me!”