I laughed. “I’m not that fragile, but I’m not one of you guys either.”
Next I looked to Brayden who wore an expression of genuine admiration. “That was absolutely amazing. Not only do you have a powerhouse voice, but the emotion you put into it…” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Just inspiring.”
Unable to keep a beaming smile off my face, I gushed, “Aw, thank you.”
Finally, I dared myself to look at Jake. He was leaned back against the kitchen counter, arms crossed over his chest. “So?” I finally asked.
His signature smirk curved on his lips. “After those glowing reviews, you really give a shit about what I have to say?”
“Of course I do. After all, you’re the lead singer of Runaway Train.”
“Uh, Bray and I sing too,” AJ countered.
I laughed. “Whatever.”
Jake rubbed his hand along his chin. “Ever had voice lessons?”
My brows furrowed. “When my brothers made it on to the scene, my parents let me have some training. Before then, we really couldn’t afford it. Occasionally, some people from the ministry would work with us.”
He bobbed his head. “Just as I expected.”
“What?”
“True God-given talent,” he replied, with a wink.
His response stunned me, and I just sat there, guitar still on my lap, staring at him. He pushed himself away from the counter and came over to me. “There are people who can spend thousands of dollars on voice lessons and never, ever exude one tiny ounce of the talent you just did on a stinky bus rolling down the interstate.”
“Thank you,” I squeaked.
“I think you could give Adele a run for her money any day.”
A nervous laugh escaped my lips. “Uh, well, I don’t know about that.”
Jake squatted down in front of me, and I tried ignoring how my body hummed in response to his closeness. I had never, ever experienced anything like it before in my life. It was like every molecule in my body came alive, and the closer he was to me the more I tingled. Whoa. How could I possibly be having a reaction to him? He was an egomaniac jerk!
His gaze went to my guitar. “So you play some ballads. Can you do anything else?”
Pursing my lips at his challenge, I started strumming the opening to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. Jake instantly busted out laughing. “Damn, Angel, just when I start to underestimate you, you go and prove me wrong.”
Still playing, I teased, “And here I underestimated that you could ever admit when you were wrong about something.”
“I normally don’t. But I have a feeling I’m going to make an exception for you in a lot of areas.” At his wicked grin, I knew exactly what he was meant.
“Dream on,” I muttered.
“Fantasizing is healthy, you know. Maybe you should try it more.”
Closing my eyes, I kept playing Highway to Hell. I licked my lips. “Hmm, yeah, you’re right. Fantasizing is nice.”
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Angel?” Jake asked, his breath hovering close to my cheek. “Or should I say who ya thinkin’ about?”
“You,” I whispered. My eyes popped open to take in his surprised expression.
“Seriously?”
“Mmm-hmm,” I replied a little breathlessly for emphasis. He cocked his eyebrows expectantly. “I’m fantasizing about what it would be like to nail you in the balls again for being such an egotistical jerkwad!”
Laughter echoed around me from the other guys while Jake only shook his head. With a smirk, he replied, “Admit it though. You were still thinking about my balls.”
“You’re impossible.”
Before Jake could give me another witty comeback, my stomach rumbled so loud that it practically echoed throughout the room. Jake’s expression became concerned as his gaze honed in on my abdomen. “Why didn’t you tell us you were so hungry?”
An embarrassed giggle escaped my lips. “There’s kinda been too much going on to pay much attention to my stomach.”
“You like omelets?” he asked as he rose to his feet.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then one omelet coming up.”
“Um, thank you.” My jaw gaped open as I watched Jake head to the kitchen and take out the necessary supplies to make me a late breakfast. I gently put my guitar back in its case.
“You guys want one?” he asked over his shoulder as he began whisking the eggs.
“Nah, I think I’ll eat that leftover pizza,” AJ replied, sidestepping him to the fridge.
Rhys wrinkled his nose. “You’re disgusting.” He nodded at Jake. “I’ll take one.”
“Bray?” Jake asked.
“Nah, I’ll fix a sandwich when I come back out. It’s almost time for my Skype chat with Lily.”
When he started for the bedroom, Jake snorted. “Don’t be doing anything raunchy with Lily now that Angel is on the bus.”
Brayden whirled around to shoot Jake a death glare. “You know good and well that Jude and Melody are always there for my calls, you jackass!”
With a chuckle, Jake went back to working on his culinary masterpieces while Brayden slammed the bedroom door shut. AJ came over to the table with a Dominos box and began shoveling in several cold slices of pepperoni pizza.
“Are you even chewing that?” I asked.
He winked at me and replied, “I got a big appetite, Angel.”
I wagged my finger at him. “Manners, remember?”
Not taking his eyes from mine, he picked a napkin from the table and daintily wiped the corners of his mouth.
I grinned. “It’s not the dirty outside I’m concerned about, perv.”
AJ threw his head back and roared. “Damn, Abby, I sure am stoked about having you on the bus with us. You’re going to be fun as hell.”
“I hope so. I wouldn’t want to be a nag.” At the mischievous tinkle in his dark eyes, I shook my head. “Don’t even go there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t say some cheesy thing like ‘Ooh baby, you can nag me all night long—two or three times!’”
AJ’s dark eyes widened as his slice of pizza dropped onto the table. “Okay, it’s really creepy how you can read my mind, but then again…fuck! It’s so hot that you can think like a dude!”
I laughed. “Older brothers, remember?”
A wide grin spread on his face. “Remind me to thank them someday for raising you right, Angel.”
Rhys raked his hand through his unkempt hair. “Speaking of your brothers, I caught part of their show. They’re not bad.”
“Not bad?” I huffed indignantly.
Pink tinged his cheeks. “Well, you know what I meant…for light rockers.”
AJ bobbed his head. “Yeah, when they were introduced, I kinda expected some Jonas Brothers shit. But they’re actually hardcore for Christian rockers.”
Leaning my elbows on the table, I eyed AJ and Rhys. “My brothers are fantastic musicians! I mean, can you two play multiple instruments?”
“Well, no—” Rhys began.
I smirked at them before crossing my arms over my chest. “Although he’s probably the least musically inclined, Gabe is one hell of a drummer, and he can write a song like nobody’s business. Micah can play the guitar, bass, banjo, dulcimer, and piano, not to mention he has an amazing voice for harmonizing. And Eli—he plays the bass and the fiddle and sings too. Along with Gabe, they’ve been writing their own songs and composing their own music since they were ten.”
Rhys held his hands up in defeat. “I stand corrected, Angel. Your brothers are complete and total badasses!”
Jake flipped an omelet onto a plate and added, “And their sister is pretty hardcore too.”
I laughed. “Thank you—for all your compliments about the general badassery of my family’s DNA.”
After winking at me, Jake then shuffled over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. “I’d really rather have a Coke Zero if you have it.”