Music of the Soul (Runaway Train, #2.5)(4)

“Oh, don’t apologize, Mia,” Abby said.

When I didn’t respond, Abby elbowed me in the ribs. “Oomph,” escaped my lips before I could stop myself. “Yeah, uh, it’s fine,” I replied. Gently, I set Abby down on her feet. I jerked my chin towards the bathroom. “You go on and get a shower. I’ll use the one off the guest bedroom.”

“You don’t want me to come with you?” Abby asked coyly.

I scratched the back of my neck furiously. Part of me really wanted to shower with her, so we might finish what we started. But the other part was so traumatized that I knew there would be no way I’d be ready. “Um, no. I better take a rain check.”

Abby’s blue eyes widened in surprise. She stared at me for a moment before turning to Mia. “Excuse us,” Abby said, as she grabbed my hand and led me into the bathroom. “What is wrong with you?”

With a shrug, I replied, “We were interrupted.”

“It’s never stopped you before.” She cocked her head at me. “Did seeing Mia bother you that much?”

I couldn’t help shuddering. “Yeah, it did.”

“It’s just a breast, Jake. I mean, you’ve seen your fair share of them.”

“Not like that I haven’t.” At her amused expression, I threw up my hands. “That’s my best friend’s fiancée out there. I don’t need a mental image of her boobs seared into my mind.”

“You are too adorable,” she said, before leaning up to kiss me.

“It’s not funny,” I argued feebly. When Abby’s warm lips covered mine, I decided to shut the f*ck up and not argue with her anymore. Knowing that she was trying to start something up again, I reluctantly pulled away. “You need to get ready.”

“Are you sure?” When I nodded, she sighed. “Okay then. To be continued tomorrow night?”

I smiled. “Oh yes.” I leaned over and pressed my lips to hers. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she murmured.

When I exited the bathroom, I kept my eyes glued to the hardwood floors. “Jake?”

Shit. It was AJ. “Yeah?” I questioned still not glancing up.

“What’s this I hear about you ogling Mia’s boobs?”

I jerked my head up to glare at him. “Excuse me?” I demanded.

Mia smacked AJ’s arm. “You’re such an ass!”

He grinned at her and then back at me. “I’m just screwing with you, man. Mia and I don’t give two shits about what happened.”

As I took a step toward him, he motioned down to where he balanced Bella on his hip. “Easy now.”

“Using a baby as your shield? You’re such a *.” When I glanced at Bella, who was giving me a toothless smile, I grimaced. “Sorry for the p-word.”

“It’s okay. He deserved a lot worse,” Mia replied with a grin.

“I gotta go get ready,” I said, as I motioned to the door.

“I’ll walk you out,” AJ said. He glanced at Mia. “Do you need any help getting Bella ready?”

“We’ll be fine. Of course, if you want to go get changed and come back to get her while I’m getting ready, that would be wonderful.”

AJ smiled. “Anything for you, amorcito mio.”

“Thanks, baby.”

I snickered as I went out the door. “What?” AJ demanded behind me.

“I just never thought I would see the day that you were completely and totally whipped.”

“Oh yeah, well, I could say the same damn thing about you,” he countered.

I skidded to a stop in the hallway, causing AJ to bump into me. “Oh God, we’ve become the dudes we used to make fun of, haven’t we?”

He winced. “Yeah, I think so.”

With a sigh, I added, “We probably owe Brayden an apology for ragging his ass all these years.”

AJ grinned. “Nah, no use in letting him know he was right. It’ll just inflate his head even more.”

Poking his head in the hallway, Brayden said, “I heard that, dickweeds.”

“Dammit,” I groaned, as we came into the living room.

Brayden rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Like I didn’t already know I was right, and you two shitheads were wrong,” he scoffed.

“Daddy, what’s a shithead?” Melody asked.

As Brayden flushed, AJ and I busted out laughing. He glanced up to narrow his eyes at us. “Laugh now. Your time is coming.” He pointed to AJ. “Especially you.”

I laughed at AJ’s grimace. I could only imagine he was thinking of how bad his potty-mouth was, along with Mia’s. If Bella’s first word was a cuss word, I wouldn’t be surprised. “Well, on that note, I’m going to run upstairs and get ready. See you guys in a few?”

Brayden nodded while AJ replied, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”





After Jake left me partially sexed-up with no finish in the bathroom, I slipped into the cold shower that I knew was in order to get me through the night. As I lathered up my hair, I could barely contain the excitement that bubbled within me when I thought about my wedding day. I was probably most excited about the honeymoon, which for me wasn’t just about the sex. It would be the first time that Jake and I were actually alone together. The last few months had been so hectic with our touring schedule. Since my brothers wanted to cut a new album, most of my free time was spent working on material with them. Even though I’d helped Jake write I’ll Take You with Me, I still felt like a total and complete newbie when it came to songwriting. Luckily, Micah was willing to lend his skills to our cause.