Page 2 of Fractured Dreams

“If it were me, I would have probably snuck out of the house and gone to parties on the sly.”

Eden snorted, a smile twitching her lips. “I definitely considered it a time or two. But my parents were always so worried about me. I can’t imagine how upset they would’ve been if they found out I was sneaking around; I couldn’t do that to them. As suffocating as it was, I’ve always known they loved me, even if they didn’t necessarily choose the best way to show it.”

Tabby shook her head, a crease between her brows. “I mean, I get that you weren’t well as a baby, but why did they—”

Tabby was interrupted by Eden’s phone vibrating on the table next to her elbow, Noah’s name flashing on the screen. Eden picked it up to answer, shaking her head and laughing at Tabby’s far too excited expression when she realized who was calling. “Hi Noah,” Eden said.

Luckily, they were sitting at the quieter end of the bar, away from the dance floor, so she could hear him well enough when he replied. “Hey Eden.” From the tension in his voice the timing of the call wasn’t a coincidence; he must have been talking to their parents. His next words confirmed it. “Mom told me you broke up with your boyfriend.”

“Don’t you have anything better to do than gossip about my love life with Mom? Like, I don’t know, beat some drums into submission.”

“No, but it sounds like there might besomeoneI need to beat into submission. What did the asshole do? Do I need to come down there?”

The last thing Eden needed was for her very famous, very overprotective brother to come charging into town to defend her honor. “No, you definitely don’t need to come down here.” She rolled her eyes as Tabby pouted at her.

When Noah started to argue, Eden cut him off. “Honestly, Noah, it’s over now. I just want to forget him and move on.”

He blew out a breath on the other end of the phone. “Fine. But let me know if you need any help getting your stuff back from him.”

“It’s all good. I grabbed everything important at the time, I don’t care about the rest. The only thing I need to sort out now is what to do for the next three months before I head to Portland for my internship. I don’t know whether to stay here like I was originally planning or go home to stay with Mom and Dad.” Eden knew her tone came across as less than enthusiastic. She loved her parents, but she’d spent her whole childhood smothered by their overwhelming love and care. And they still worried too much about her, even now, which would mean three months of constantly being questioned about where she was going and what she was doing.

Noah’s voice brightened. “Hey, why don’t you come and stay here with me? It’s not like I don’t have the room, and it’s been ages since I’ve seen you.”

Eden perked up. Noah lived in California—Malibu, to be exact—and she’d always loved visiting him there. “Really? That would be amazing! Are you sure?” She had a sudden thought and scrunched her face up. “I won’t be running into half-naked groupies every morning, will I? I mean, I don’t want to cramp your style, but it might get awkward after a while.”

Noah laughed. “They’re not groupies, they’re just very,veryenthusiastic fans. And no, you don’t have to worry about it, since I don’t bring women back to the house. There is one thing though, I’ve got the Crossfire tour coming up. Do you think you’ll be okay on your own for three weeks?”

Crossfire was the side project band her brother and Fractured’s bassist Zac were working on while Fractured was on hiatus. They’d recently released their first album to critical acclaim and were going to be heading off on a mini tour soon. But Eden was far too happy about having somewhere to stay that wasn’t near her ex, or with her parents, to worry about being on her own for a few weeks. “That won’t be a problem. Thank you so much Noah, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

Noah’s voice hardened again at the reminder of why she needed somewhere to stay. “I’m telling you Eden; I can be there tomorrow if you need me to.”

Eden groaned. “No, Noah. It’s fine.” She steered him back on track. “Is it okay if I get to your place next weekend?”

“Yeah. Send me your flight details and I’ll organize a car for you.”

After a few more minutes of small talk, they said their goodbyes, and Eden hung up.

Tabby was grinning at her. “Is it wrong I wish youhadasked him to come? I wouldn’t mind your brother turning up here and flexing his muscles.” Her eyes turned dreamy. “Mmm, all those lovely drummer muscles...”

Eden made a gagging sound.

“Maybe he would’ve brought the other three with him. Oh my God!” Tabby put her hand to her forehead and faked a swoon, almost toppling off her stool as she did. “I think I might spontaneously combust if I saw any of those guys in real life, let alone all four of them together. I don’t know how you do it, Eden—I mean, obviously not Noah—but Connor, Zac, and Tex.” She hummed in pleasure at the thought of the other members of Fractured.

Eden pictured the three men: lead singer Connor with his dark good looks, piercing green gaze and lilting Irish accent; Zac the bassist, quiet and brooding, with beautiful hazel eyes and long, sooty lashes most women would die for; and Tex, the lead guitarist, tall, muscular, and covered in tattoos, with shoulder-length sun-bleached brown hair, eyes the same amber-gold as the whiskey he liked to drink, and that far-too-charming southern drawl.

She shrugged. “I guess I don’t see them that way; they’ve always just been my brother’s friends. Probably because they all seemed so much older than me when I was growing up. And you know, if you think Mason couldn’t keep it in his pants, try being around those four. They’re like Mason on steroids with all the women throwing themselves at them. Well… not so much Connor anymore now that he’s engaged,” she clarified. “But I’ve seen and heard far too much of what they get up to, to view them as relationship material.”

“I wouldn’t even care,” Tabby said. “A single night with any of them and I’d be happy for the rest of my life.”

Eden rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright, can we change the subject, you’re creeping me out.”

“Okay, fine, ruin my fun.” The corners of Tabby’s mouth curled up in a sly smile. “So, when am I coming to stay with you then?”

Eden laughed and shook her head. “I can’t promise youthat, but maybe if you play your cards right, I’ll get Noah to take a shirtless selfie and send it to you.”

Tabby looked ridiculously excited. “He’d do that?”

Eden gave a little snort. “My brother enjoys taking his shirt off way too much. He’ll be especially keen if I show him a photo of you first.”

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