Page 52 of Free to Believe
Someone have mercy on me and just drop a hurricane on the house or something before I spontaneously combust. Leaning closer to Dani, I whisper, “How do you handle going backstage?”
With a low laugh, she glances around for the girls. She needn’t have worried; they’re off in their own bubble of excitement. “Why do you think I visit Brendan on tour so much, Em? By the time we make it back to the hotel…” Her voice trails off, and I grin. Lucky bitch.
“Ladies, we’re going to go back a few decades,” Brendan calls out. Dani perks up.
“How far back, baby?”
“Your favorite decade.” The words are barely out of his mouth before Dani jumps up and starts shaking her million-dollar ass. I fall onto her spot on the couch laughing.
“You are such a goofball.” The funny part is she’s just like this on a set too.
“Em, they’re about to start singing ’80s music.” Dani’s eyes are flashing wildly. “Think ballads. Think Jack Wagner. Think saxophones!” Giving me a once-over, she says, “I have no idea what kind of spell you’ve managed to cast on this family, but keep at it, will you?” before she flops back down next to me.
Gaping at her, I stutter out, “I haven’t done a thing.”
Lifting a hand, she ticks off on her hand. “One, you healed whatever was broken in Jenna. Two, you helped her friend…”
I interrupt. “That was Cori talking to her.”
“Who you put her in contact with,” Dani steamrolls over me. Lowering her voice, she murmurs the last one quietly. “And three, that sax hasn’t been played in years, Em. Years. So, whatever is going on with you and Jake? Let. It. Happen.”
“Not going there, Dani,” I warn her.
“Why not?” she challenges me.
“Didn’t I just get out of an engagement?” I should be offended when she just flaps her hand at me. And what does it say about me when I’m not? That Bryan was a douchebag and I should have dumped his ass earlier? Probably.
“Is your heart broken?”
I snort. “Hardly.”
“Then I was told to remind you that you’re not dead and you weren’t sent with batteries,” Dani says calmly.
I flush horribly. “I’m killing Corinna the minute I get home.”
“No, you’re not. Listen, he’s my cousin and I don’t want him hurt, but you’re both consenting adults…” Her voice trails off.
“Gee, thanks for the advice, Danielle,” I bite out sarcastically. “Remind me to add that bit of wisdom to the price of the next dress I design for you.”
She grips my hand tightly as Jake steps up to the mic. His eyes find mine across the room as his sexy-as-fuck voice belts out another song. Brendan’s wailing away on an electric guitar. Jake lifts his hand from the bass as he sings the last notes of the ballad just as Brendan walks over to the electric keyboard to finger in the last notes. Jake’s singing about true love and being what someone needs. My stomach does a nosedive down to my clit which is now throbbing insanely.
This can’t happen.
Not now. Not ever.
Standing, I tell Dani, “I’ll be right back.” Quickly crossing the room to the doors that lead to the lower porch wrapped around the main house, I shove them open. Desperately needing air, I race as fast as my leg can take me toward the end of the deck away from the music room. Bracing my arms on the ledge, I watch the power of the waves crashing against the beach.
Kicking off my shoes, I step down the few steps until my toes hit the sand. I move quickly away from the house so I can lose myself in the sound of the ocean. “What am I doing?” I whisper.
I can’t, just can’t, be feeling things for Jake Madison.Jenna’s father, I tell myself firmly.Keep it on that level, Em. Yes, he’s a good-looking man…okay, stop lying to yourself.He’s sexy as hell. But he has a personality that borderlines on bi-, no, tripolar. One minute, he’s a pain in the ass. The next, he’s the stern father who’s lecturing his almost grown daughter. Finally, he’s the…the…
He’s the man who pushes every single one of my buttons, I admit.Stop lying to yourself.He’s sexy, dominant, and full of heart. He cares for his family as much as you care for yours. He’s arrogant and protective.
“So, what’s the problem?” I say out loud.
“That’s what I’d like to know. Is everything okay?” Jake’s concerned voice comes from behind me. Closing my eyes at his nearness, I try to pull down my mask before facing him.
I can’t give in to what I’m feeling. It would be an enormous mistake. I feel that deep in my soul. If he touches me, I might as well drown myself in the enormous ocean in front of me, because I won’t be the same when I walk away.
