Music of the Heart

“Okay, I think now is as good a time as ever to set up a few ground rules for our bet,” I said.

“You’re not pu**ying out, are you?” Jake asked.

I wrinkled my nose. “Ew, I hate that word.” When he started to repeat it, I jabbed a finger in his direction. “I will stay on this bus a week and win the bet, but there are going to be a few rules, or I guess I should say some courtesies that I expect you guys to follow.”

“I agree with Abby,” Brayden said.

“You would,” Jake grumbled.

“First, you need to respect me and my boundaries. At the moment, I’m not on here to be any of your playthings or hook-ups, so I would appreciate it if you stopped hitting on me.”

AJ’s jovial expression faded. “You mean you don’t think I’m hot?”

Since he appeared almost wounded, I had to rethink my strategy. “AJ, you’re a very good-looking guy. I can already tell you have a big heart and a wonderful sense of humor. Any girl would be blind not to want you.” When he beamed and puffed out his chest at the other guys, I held up my hand. “But I think we both know at the end of the day, you’re not looking for a relationship with me, right? You’re just looking to get into my panties.”

A strangled noise came from the back of his throat at the mention of my underwear. “Yeah, I am,” he finally admitted with a sheepish grin.

I returned his smile as my gaze swept over Jake and Rhys. “So as I was saying, I would appreciate if you would show me some respect by not hitting on me as well as at least trying to tone down some of the language and sexual innuendos. Somewhere deep inside you have the potential to be gentlemen, and you’re just waiting to treat women as more than just desirable play things, right?”

With a smirk, Jake countered, “I don’t know about that.”

“Oh, if your mother was on this bus, you would act the same way you are now?”

He scowled. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Good. Then we all agree that you’ll try to treat me like a gentleman. Anything you’d like to request from me?”

Jake stepped forward to where he was looming over me, and I had to fight the urge not to cower away from him. “If we’re going to act like gentlemen, then you also need to make sure your wardrobe isn’t…tempting.”

I peered down at my sundress. Since it came below my knees and I often wore it to church, I found his request shocking. “There’s something wrong with this?”

When I glanced up at him, Jake’s hungry gaze had honed in on my cle**age. I cleared my throat to which he replied, “You’re showing way too much skin with the thin straps and the legs, so I’d suggest jeans and t-shirts from now on—the baggier the better.”

“Fine. I’ll be happy to oblige,” I replied.

“And that goes for the sleepwear too. No camis with those booty short things.”

I chewed my lip when I thought of what pajamas I had in my suitcase. “Um, okay. I can try. But I might have to make a stop at Wal-Mart or Target before tonight to get some pajamas and shirts.

Jake’s face spread into a grin. “I’m glad to hear you’re willing to work with us. After all, what good can come out of getting a bunch of horny males all riled up?”

He licked his lips lasciviously, and I gritted my teeth before replying, “Absolutely nothing.”

“Good.” Jake then turned and brought my guitar case to me. “Now please regale us all with your vocal stylings.”

“I’d be happy to.” I leaned over and popped open the locks on my case. When I pulled out my guitar, Jake stared at it in surprise. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing. It’s just I expected—”

“I’ll have you know this is a Gibson Hummingbird that cost three grand! I worked my ass off to pay for it!”

He grinned. “Angel, it’s a helluva guitar. And what I was about to say before you interrupted me was I just expected it to be all glittery like Taylor Swift’s.”

Plucking out my pick, I waved it at him and winked. He eyed the shimmering purple before throwing his head back and laughing heartily. “Oh Angel, I’m so glad to see that. You don’t disappoint.”

Once I adjusted the guitar on my lap, I cocked my head at the guys. “Hmm, so what do you want me to play?”

“Give us what you did for the record execs. You obviously wowed them if they were going to let an unknown headline a tour,” Rhys suggested.

I nodded. “Okay, I played a guitar, rather than piano, version of Adele’s Someone Like You.

Jake’s brows shot up in surprise. “Adele?”

From his tone, I could tell he thought there was no way in hell I had a voice that would come anywhere near hers. I pursed my lips. “Yeah, Adele,” I countered.

He crossed his arms over his chest and continued giving me a skeptical look. “All right then. Wow us, Angel.”

I rolled my eyes before clearing my throat and strumming a few warm-up chords. Then I started the opening melody of the song. “I heard that you're settled down…” I wanted to impress the guys, but I really wanted to knock it out of the park to put Jake’s smirking ass in his place. So I did the only thing I knew how to do when it came to performing—I tuned them out. It was about me, the guitar, the music, and the melody. As my voice echoed through the close quarters of the cabin, I closed my eyes, living and breathing the lyrics. I poured my soul into reaching the high and low notes while my fingers picked the familiar chords.

When I finished the chorus, my eyes popped open, and I stopped singing. I continue strumming the chords as I gazed around at the guys. I couldn’t help but laugh at their expressions. “So?” I prompted.

AJ grinned. “Tu cantas como un angel.”

I snorted. “I sing like an angel, huh? I guess that’s a good description since you guys keep calling me that.”

When I glanced at Rhys, he was shaking his head. “Damn, girl, no wonder you blew the execs away. You’re like a mini-Adele.”

Warmth flooded my cheeks. “Really?”

“Hell yeah! Tinier and prettier though.” Rhys thumped my back heartily like he would one of the guys. A little too hard because it caused me to yelp. His eyes widened. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot you’re so dainty.”

I laughed. “I’m not that fragile, but I’m not one of you guys either.”