Page 28 of Fractured Dreams

It had been clear she needed to face him, to let him off the hook. Tell him she hadn’t been looking for anything other than a release of tension, and that Noah never had to know.

Desperate to get it over and done with, Eden had rushed back to her room for a quick shower, made sure she looked presentable, and been in the middle of taking deep breaths to calm herself before going to look for him when he’d knocked on her door.

Seeing him standing there, looking so unbelievably sexy had dried her mouth and sent a wave of desire flooding through her. She’d been tempted to beg him for another night, but instead she’d gathered her pride around her and lied to his face.

She hadn’t really been able to tell how Tex had taken it. At first, he’d seemed tense, almost angry, but then as he’d realized she wasn’t going to ask for anything more from him, he’d relaxed, becoming all easy, sexy smiles, as if he were relieved. And he probably was, she doubted he wanted the complication of Noah’s little sister becoming clingy after a one-night stand that he’d probably regretted the minute it was over.

A crushing sense of disappointment had hit her, along with the realization that she’d actually been hoping he’d argue with her, tell her it had meant more than just a one-night thing to him. She really was a naïve fool; what did she have to offer a man like Tex other than a meaningless night of sex?

And then he’d reminded her about the show that night and feeling as if she needed to prove to him she’d meant what she said, she’d stupidly agreed to go with him.

So now there she was, getting ready to spend the night watching the man she’d just slept with—the man she definitely still wanted—be the rock star he was and confirm exactly how out of her reach he’d always been.

Great. This wasn’t going to be painful and awkward as hell at all.

After finishing with her makeup, Eden slipped on a short, shimmery blue dress, and pulled on her black ankle boots. She checked herself one last time in the mirror and took a deep breath. She could do this.

Then she turned and left her room, heading downstairs to find Tex. As she descended, she spotted him sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees and head lowered as he looked at his phone. Eden released a shaky breath at the sight of him. He was the epitome of a hot rock star in tight black jeans, a faded vintage T-shirt that showcased his broad shoulders and muscular tattooed arms, leather cuffs wrapping his wrists and chunky silver rings on both hands. His shoulder-length hair was tousled as if he’d recently run his hands through it. Eden’s memory unhelpfully provided the vivid image ofherfingers buried in his hair the night before, and she shivered.

Tex heard her come down the stairs and raised his head, his eyes raking her up and down. “You look beautiful,” he said, but his voice didn’t hold its normal warmth. It was a throwaway compliment he’d give to any woman. Hurt stabbed through Eden, followed by remorse. By choosing to pursue him, she’d ruined everything. And she had no one to blame but herself.

The ride to the venue was quiet. Eden shifted restlessly in her seat as the driver navigated them downtown. Just before they got there, Tex finally spoke. “Eden.”

She turned to him, her pulse spiking. But any hope she had that he might grab her and pull her into his arms was soon dashed when he said, “Drew’s arranged for us to take part in the meet and greet after the show; the label’s organized for some of the big-name music influencers to be there. You should know, there’ll be women—fans—there too; they can be… aggressive. You okay with that?”

She thought she saw a challenge in his eyes, as if he were daring her to make an issue of it, but as much as she might want to, she couldn’t. Not after what she’d told him that morning. So instead, she pasted a smile on her face. “Thanks for the warning, but I’ll be fine.”

He studied her eyes for a second, his own now revealing nothing, before nodding and opening the door. The car had pulled up to the back entrance of the venue and Tex stepped out, then reached back inside to take Eden’s hand and help her out. The warmth of his fingers wrapping around her wrist brought back memories of his hands on her the night before, and regret tugged at her once more. After she was out, he let her go but guided her with a hand on her lower back toward the door where Drew was waiting.

As soon as they were inside, Drew started hustling down the hallway, speaking as he went. “Connor’s already in the green room.” He stopped outside a closed door. “EoD are about halfway through their set, so Tex, get in there with Connor and start warming up. I’ll come back and get you in about twenty minutes.”

Tex nodded and opened the door, disappearing inside without sparing Eden a glance, and a wave of panicked sadness washed through her. Everything was screwed up between them now, and he was going to be living with her for another two weeks. Perhaps she should just give it up and go back to stay with her parents, the way Noah had wanted her to originally. That way Tex would be off the hook for having to look after her, and she could escape the horrible situation she’d made for herself.

Drew had started off down the hallway again, and Eden hurried to catch up.

“Lexie’s doing a final check of her camera kit, so we’ll get her, and I’ll take you out to the floor and get you set up for the show. Are you looking forward to it?” Drew had been speaking at such a rapid-fire rate, it took Eden a second to realize he’d asked her a question.

“Oh yes, it should be great.” She had to speak past the constriction in her throat, and her tone was less than brimming with excitement, but Drew didn’t seem to notice, nodding distractedly.

As they approached the side of the stage, the driving beat got louder, and Eden recognized the familiar sound of an End of Daze song that had been played extensively on the radio over the last few months. Rounding the corner, they found Lexie standing just offstage, camera out and snapping a few photos of the band.

She noticed them approaching and gave Eden a bright smile. “Wow, you look gorgeous!” she said, giving her a hug.

“Thanks, you too.” Eden tried to smile normally, but the anxiety flooding through her made it difficult.

“Right, you ready Lexie?” Drew asked.

She nodded, and Drew led them both down some side steps and out on to the floor. A security guard opened a small gate and let them through to the pit at the front of the stage, from where Lexie could take photos of the band performing without getting pushed around by the surging crowd.

Drew left them then, heading back to make sure the guys were ready for when it was time for them to make their appearance.

Eden took a deep breath and turned her face up toward the stage, trying to lose herself in the music. The heavy rhythm of the drums and bass guitar vibrated through her, forming a counterpoint thump in her chest, like a second heartbeat banging against her ribs. End of Daze was an up-and-coming band for a reason, performing their songs with a huge amount of energy, and the crowd filling the seats behind Eden was exuberant in its response. But with her pulse already fluttering rapidly in her throat, the pounding music only set Eden further on edge.

Several songs later, the band had just started playing the opening chords of one of their bigger hits when the lead singer—Lexie murmured to Eden that his name was Derek—suddenly called for a time-out right before his vocals were meant to kick in. The crowd rumbled with surprise and concern, but Derek had a wide grin on his face when he announced that some friends of theirs were going to be joining them for the next few songs. Cheers and shrill catcalls rang out from the audience as they realized there was going to be a surprise guest appearance, but when Connor and Tex strode onto the stage carrying their instruments, nothing could have prepared Eden for the roar of recognition from the crowd behind her as they realized who it was.

There was no mistaking that the audience were big fans of Fractured, and the thunderous sound carried on for long minutes while the six men up onstage laughed and greeted each other with hugs and back slaps. Finally, Derek had to call for the audience to calm down, although Eden could see the glow of excitement on his face at having the opportunity to perform live with two musicians he’d probably idolized growing up.

Finally, the crowd quietened down, and the staccato beat of the drum started up again. Even the sadness Eden had been filled with all day couldn’t stop the kick of excitement in her chest when Tex struck the first pulsating chords with his pick, joining in with EoD’s lead guitarist.

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