I knew what he wanted to say but couldn’t. “I like him.”
Mom inhaled a sharp breath. “Like a boyfriend?”
With a grin, I replied, “Maybe.” I took in the looks of horror that flashed on their faces. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Uh, no, Abigail, there’s not. It’s just…” Dad fumbled around.
Mom stepped in for him. “It’s just a relationship with a musician is hard. I mean, look at Micah and Valerie.”
“Yes, I know. But sometimes you can’t help who you have feelings for.”
Dad’s eyebrows practically shot off his head. “So you might be really serious about this guy?”
“Yes, Daddy. I really like Jake Slater from Runaway Train. Yes, I’ve only known him a week. Yes, he’s a bad boy with tattoos and piercings, and yes, he’s your worst nightmare when it comes to the guy dating your little girl.” I leaned closer to him. “No, he’s not taken advantage of me, and no, he’s not going to turn me into a pierced bad girl with tattoos.” With a tentative smile, I added, “We’re both going to bring out the best of each other as we see where this takes us. Okay?”
Dad’s mouth gaped open for a few seconds before he quickly shut it. I think it was one of the first times I’d ever seen him speechless. I turned to Mom who was equally as dumbfounded.
“Abby, we’re ready for you,” my hair stylist, Renee, said.
“I have to go.” I glanced between them. “So we’re okay—everything’s okay?”
“Sure honey,” Mom replied. She sounded a little more convinced than she looked. My dad, on the other hand, still continued to stare at me in shock. I guess I couldn’t blame them for being shell-shocked at my declaration. They were going to need more time to absorb it all.
Leaving my parents behind, I headed into the hair and makeup room. The moment I sat down in the chair, my stomach clenched into tight knots. Nervous energy hummed through me. Tapping my boot relentlessly on the floor, I stared into the lighted mirror in front of me as the band’s stylist, Renee, made my loose curls bigger and bigger. From the way she was cementing my hair in place with hair spray, I was pretty sure half of the ozone layer was being depleted. Trying to calm down, I took a few deep, cleansing breaths as I sat outfitted in a silky robe.
When I dared to take in my reflection in the mirror, my nerves went into overdrive. Once Renee finished with my hair, Becca, the makeup artist took over and started going all out. I’d never had on so much foundation or blush in all my life, not to mention the fake eyelashes made me feel like a total hooker.
“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” I asked.
Becca snorted contemptuously. “Unless you want to look like a corpse under the stage lights, you’ll go with the flow.”
So I went with the flow, which also included the biggest hairdo this side of a Dolly Parton wig. A roadie poked his head in the door. “Ten minutes, Abby.”
“Oh God,” I murmured before my whole body started trembling all over.
“Jeez, Abster, enough with the tapping!” Eli growled in the chair next to mine.
Immediately I stilled my foot. “Sorry. It’s an anxious tic thing.”
“You’re going to be just fine,” Micah reassured. When I glanced at him through my poofy hair, he smiled.
“I know. It’s just I’m still scared of forgetting the lyrics or falling flat on my face.”
His gaze honed in on my boots. “You scuffed them up pretty good, didn’t you?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Then you’ll be fine.”
Renee patted my shoulders. “All right. Time to get you to wardrobe.”
I fell out of the chair and followed her through the door. I had yet to see what they had picked for me. I knew the boys never concerned themselves with what they were wearing, and I’d seen the same thing when I was on Runaway Train’s bus.
As I started across the hall, a roadie tapped me on the shoulder before shoving my phone at me. “You have a call.”
My brows furrowed. “Thank you,” I replied before putting the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hey Angel.”
Those two words sent a shudder through me, and I skidded to a stop. “Hi, Jake,” I replied breathlessly.
“I’m calling you for two reasons.”
“Oh?”
“One is to prove that I’m a man of my word when I promised you I would call. And like a fucking love-sick puppy, I couldn’t even wait a couple of hours to hear your voice.”
Grinning like a fool, I fought to catch my breath. “I’m glad you proved me wrong.
Now what’s the second reason?”
“I wanted to call you before you went on stage and wish you good luck. I figured you were pretty nervous.”
I chewed my lip to keep from squealing out loud at his thoughtfulness. “I am…and thank you. It’s awfully sweet of you to call.”
“You have no idea just how sweet I could be for you.”
With a snort, I replied, “Just when I’m thinking what an amazing romantic and heartfelt guy you are, there’s the real Jake coming through loud and clear to remind me that you’re truly a horndog.”
He laughed. “I had to give you a little innuendo, Angel, to loosen you up.”
“Well, I’m still nervous as hell. My knees are knocking, and I think I might puke.”
Jake drew in a deep breath. “Abby, I told you that you’ve got nothing to be worried about. You have a powerhouse voice inside one hell of a beautiful package. You just go out there and sing your ass off like you did when we practiced.”
Just hearing his deep voice say my real name caused my body to shiver. “Thank you, Jake. And I will.” With my heartbeat accelerating, I debated whether to say what was on my heart. Finally, I blurted, “I’ll pretend I’m singing with you again, instead of Garret. That’ll get me through.”
Silence came on the other end of the line, and for a minute, I thought I had lost him.
“Jake?”
“I’m here, Angel. And I’m glad to hear it. I wish I could be there singing it with you.”
“So do I.”
A roadie different from the one who brought my phone said, “Wardrobe is waiting for you in the dressing room.”
“Oh, I have to go. But thanks for calling me. You don’t know how much it means to me.”
“You’re welcome, babe. Now go and kick some ass on that stage, okay?”
I laughed. “I sure will.”
The roadie then ushered me into a room down the hall. “Here she is, Cari,” the roadie said.
A girl with pink hair sized me up. “About time,” Cari muttered. Her hands went to the racks filled with clothes in front of her. She jerked out a coral colored dress and shoved it at me. “Here you go.”
I quickly stepped behind the partition and slid off my boots. My robe then followed. Since the bodice was strapless, I slid off my bra as well. Huffing and puffing, I managed to stuff myself inside the dress.
“Um, any chance you have a different size?”
“Usually all dresses are custom fit, but you haven’t been here to get measured,” Cari snapped. Coming around the partition, she zipped me up harshly. Eyeing me, she nodded her head, “That looks hot.”
“I. Can’t. Breathe,” I panted.
Cocking her head at me, Cari rolled her eyes. “Listen sweetie, you’re just going to have to deal with it. Maybe I could throw something together for your set with your brothers, but you are out on stage with Garrett in five minutes.”
A knock came at the door. “See?”
“Fine,” I huffed. I was barely able to bend over and pull on my boots. I feared at any minute the zipper might explode.
“She’s decent,” the girl called.
Yet another roadie stuck his head in the door. “Five minutes, Miss Renard.”
I smiled at him. “Please call me, Abby. And I’m coming.”
He nodded and held the door open. Glancing back, I took in my appearance. “Holy shit,”
I muttered. I didn’t even want to think about what Dad would say when he saw my outfit. I’m pretty sure he would have a coronary right at the sight of the dress. It ended way above my knees, and while the applique roses and lacy parts were pretty, my boobs looked like they would come popping out the top at any minute.
I followed the roadie out the door and to the stage. Thank God I had on my trusty cowboy boots and not heels, or I’m pretty sure I would have killed myself. When we got to the wings, Garrett was just finishing his signature hit “Just the Girl for Me”. As the stagehands whipped around changing the set, Garrett put down his guitar and took the microphone off the stand.
“So I’d like to introduce y’all to a very special lady. Not only is she the baby sister and potential new lead singer for the amazing Jacob’s Ladder, but she’s my duet partner tonight for my final song. Would you all welcome Miss Abby Renard!”
I drew in a deep breath and pushed myself forward out of the wings. Throwing on my best megawatt smile, I started across the stage, waving madly at the crowd. Just when I thought my arm might fall off, I reached Garrett.
He whistled into the microphone and then winked at me. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I forgot to tell you how absolutely smokin’ hot she was, didn’t I?”
“Thank you, Garrett.” I paused to let my gaze rove over him. “You’re looking pretty fine tonight as well,” I replied, trying my best to work the situation.
Turning to face the audience, he grinned. “She’s sweet too, isn’t she?” They whistled and applauded in response. “Just wait until you hear her sing. You’re going to be blown away that not only is she a very beautiful gal, but she has an amazing voice as well.”
I waved my hand dismissively at him. “You’re embarrassing me with all the compliments.”
“So are you ready to wow Des Moines?”
I smiled out into the audience. “Why yes, I am.”
Garrett bobbed his head. “All right then. Let’s do this.”
The familiar melody of Don’t You Want to Stay echoed throughout the arena. As soon as it came to my part with the chorus, all nervousness faded away, and I gave it my all. With only one quick rehearsal, I didn’t know exactly what to expect out of Garrett. And just like I had promised Jake, I imagined it was him I was singing to, rather than Garrett. By the time I got to my solo, Garrett was all up close and personal. He winked at me as if to say, “Let’s give them a hell of a show.” But then I got the impression he might be actually enjoying rubbing against me or trailing his hands over my arms and back a little too much.
But like the professional I knew I had to be, I forced a smile to my face and acted like I was enjoying it just as much as he was. When we finished, thunderous applause rang around us. “Thank you,” I murmured breathlessly into the microphone.
All the loud whistling pierced my eardrums. I could see now why the boys wore earplugs. Garrett pulled me to him and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Thanks for giving our girl Abby such a warm welcome. I’m looking forward to working very closely with her over the next few months.” He then winked at me again, and I gritted my teeth to keep from twisting away from his too-close-for-comfort hug.
“Thanks again! I’ll see y’all again in the next set!” I called before hurrying off the stage.
Waiting in the wings, the boys launched themselves at me before I could hand off the microphone to the technician. Gabe pulled me into his arms for a big bear hug. “Way to go!”
“Can’t. Breathe,” I muttered.
“Oops,” he replied letting me go.
I grinned at him. “But thanks.”
Micah embraced me next. “Nice job, Baby Girl!”
With a wide grin, Eli smacked me on the back and cried, “Abster, you nailed it!”
“Aw, you guys were so sweet to come out and watch me.”
“And this time it was all about sincerity. There’s two more songs to go before our set.”
“What sweethearts,” I mused, pinching Eli’s cheek.
“Hey now, don’t mess up my makeup!” he whined.
“Such a pretty boy,” Micah muttered under his breath.
“Speaking of pretty, wowzers that’s some more dress,” Gabe commented.
“Yeah, I’m changing before our set.”
“That’s good to hear,” Dad said behind me. I whirled around and felt warmth flood my cheeks.
“I so did not have anything to do with this.”
He stared at me a moment before a smile spread across his face. “It’s not what I would have picked, but you sure look beautiful in it.”
“Really?”
Mom nodded. “And you sounded wonderful, honey.”
“Yes, you blew us both away,” Dad replied.
“Thank you.”
It was then Cari, the stylist, strode up to me. “Come on, Abby. I have another dress for you to try.”
“Okay.” I turned back to the boys. “Good luck. See you in a bit.” I gave Mom and Dad a quick hug and kiss before trailing behind Cari to the wardrobe room.
After I saw my new outfit, I decided that Cari was more of a miracle worker than a devil. She had found a slightly longer dress—this time with sparkly, spaghetti straps and a beaded bodice. It was deep purple. “That’s beautiful.”
“Glad you like it,” Cari mumbled as she unzipped my torture-device ensemble.
Now that my first performance was over, most of my nervousness had dissipated. There was only one person in the world I wanted to talk to. “Um, do you know what happened to my phone?”
Pressing a button, Cari spoke into her headset. “I need Abby’s cellphone brought to wardrobe. Pronto.”
“Oh, it’s really not that big of a hurry.”
Cari rolled her eyes. “Trust me, honey. You have to talk one way to these roadies and technicians. If you’re not a bitch, shit doesn’t get done.”
As if to illustrate her point, a knock came at the door. “See?” she questioned with a grin.
I hurried into the dress while she went over to the door. Barely cracking it, she took it from the roadie and then brought it over to me. “Thanks!” I called.
Once she had fluffed the dress and adjusted the straps, she sent me on my way. I quickly dialed Jake. He answered on the third ring. “Hey Angel.”
“I had to call you and tell you I did it! I sang, and everything went great!”
He chuckled. “I told you that you would. And once again, I’m always right.”
“You’re always such a smartass,” I replied with a grin.
“Deep down, you like that about me.”
“Maybe.”
“So what are you doing now?”
“Stumbling along backstage before I go on with the boys.”
“You aren’t still nervous, are you?”
“No, I actually feel awesome—it’s like a total adrenaline high. I could so get used to this feeling!”
“That’s what performing in front of a crowd will do to you.”
“Speaking of crowds, they seriously loved me, and they loved mine and Garrett’s duet. Well, I did too except for the fact he got a little too into it.”
A growl came on the other end of the line. “Yeah, you tell my man Garrett that the next time he wants to partially feel up my girl and practically dry hump her on stage that the least I’ll do to him is break his guitar hand!”
“He wasn’t feeling me up. He—” I froze in the middle of the hallway. “Wait, how did you know he did that?”
“Because I saw him.”
My heart shuddered to a stop as I glanced wildly around. “Are you here?”
He laughed. “I wish I was, Angel. I would have especially liked to see you up close and personal in that naughty little red number you wore.”
“But how—?”
“I had one of the technicians send me a live feed.”
“You did that for me?”
“Hell yeah. I didn’t want to miss your first performance for anything in the world, especially after our rehe
arsal.”
“Oh Jake…that’s so sweet.”
“I’ve tried telling you before how sweet I can be for you,” he replied with amusement vibrating in his voice.
“I know.”
“You’ll think I’m even sweeter when you get back to the bus and find the flowers I sent you.”
“Really?” I squealed.
“Well, some of them are from all of us guys, but there’s a special dozen just from me.”
My heart swelled in my chest to where I feared it might burst right out. “Oh wow, that’s so sweet and thoughtful. Thank the guys for me.”
“I will.”
“You’re amazing too.”
“I know.”
I giggled. “Such an egomaniac.”
A roadie waved at me to get my attention. “Five minutes!” he called.
“Oh Jake, I have to go,” I lamented.
“Wait, I need to ask you something.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“I wanted to see if you would come with me to my sister’s Sweet Sixteen party in two weeks. Since the guys and I are playing, we’re making a big weekend out of it. Brayden’s wife, Lily, is flying in with the kids. Do you think you can make it?”
Oh wow. Jake was inviting me to something that involved meeting his family. This was huge…and fast. Breathe, Abby. “Um, yeah, sure.”
“If you need to soften the blow with your brothers about running off with me, you can tell them I plan to take you into the studio to record I’ll Take You with Me.”
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed.
Jake chuckled. “Does that mean you want to come?”
“Yes, I definitely want to come. I just can’t believe you still want to record with me.”
“Of course I do, and one of my favorite places to record is in Atlanta.”
“Wow, this is still so unbelievable.”
“Well, believe it. There will be a plane ticket waiting for you back at the hotel. My people have taken care of everything, including the hotel. It’s all on me.”
“That’s too much. I can’t let you do that, Jake.”
“Yes, you can, and you will. It’s my trip, so it’s my treat.”
“You’re so bossy.”