Page 34 of Fractured Dreams

Tex shrugged, a grin still tugging at his lips. “Yeah, you got me. For now anyway. But if you piss me off, I’ll have to have a little chat with your fiancée.”

Shaking his head, Connor took another drink of his beer before asking, “So how’s it going living with Eden?”

Tex studied him, wondering if Lexie might have said something about her suspicions. But his friend’s green eyes were clear of any ulterior motive. And Tex figured that after the way he’d pushed Connor’s buttons during their last tour, when he’d realized just how oblivious the man was to his developing feelings for Lexie, there was no way he wouldn’t take a chance to repay the favor if he knew, or even suspected.

“It’s good. She’s a lot of fun,” he said shortly. Even if Connor didn’t suspect anything now, didn’t mean Tex wouldn’t give himself away with one thoughtless comment.

“Let me guess. You two sit around braiding each other’s hair and talking about boys all day.” Connor reached out and flipped the ends of Tex’s hair and Tex rolled his eyes.

“She’s twenty-one, not twelve.” Even though he knew Connor was joking, part of him couldn’t help but be annoyed on Eden’s behalf, particularly after what she’d said to him about her family not treating her like an adult. His own concerns about her youth had nothing to do with her maturity, and everything to do with where she was at in life.

“So, whatdoyou two get up to all day?”

Seeing how many times we can make each other come.Tex bit his tongue, trying to stop the smile twitching the corners of his lips at the thought of Connor’s expression if he came out with the truth. Instead, he cleared his throat and said, “You know, hanging out, swimming, cooking, watching movies. Eden’s got a thing for horror movies, but she freaks herself out watching them.” He smiled at the memory of Eden curled up next to him, a pillow held to her face, only her big blue eyes peering over the top as they’d watched some movie about a demon nun the other night.

“Is that so?” Connor’s normally subtle Irish lilt had deepened, and looking up, Tex noticed a slight narrowing of his friend’s green eyes as he watched Tex. Smoothing the smile from his face, Tex wondered if his expression when he’d been thinking of Eden might have given him away. “Yeah, sometimes we play music together too,” he carried on, hoping to distract Connor from wherever his thoughts might be leading him.

But at the memory of them playing together, something occurred to him. Being with Eden had so thoroughly consumed his mind that he’d forgotten the idea they’d had of adding a violin track to one of their songs. Suddenly it all snapped into place, and he could hear it in his mind, the instrumental lines weaving together in his head the way it happened sometimes when a song came together exactly right.

He looked over at Connor, grinning as a rush of excitement flowed through his veins. “I know what’ll make that song perfect.”

Chapter 20

“How do you feel about getting out of the house today?” Eden asked him after breakfast.

Tex leaned back in his chair and looked at her, at the smile on her face, the sparkle in her eyes. They’d both been reluctant to leave the house unless they had to for her volunteer work or his album commitments. He was a tactile person, he hated not being able to touch her, hold her hand, take her mouth in a kiss—which so often led to more. They were both greedy of their time together, knowing there was a deadline for when the whole thing might blow up in their faces. But he didn’t want to think about that just then, about how it might all go wrong.

Reaching out, he curled a tendril of her blonde hair around his finger, unable to get enough of touching her. “What did you have in mind?”

She smiled, the dimple in her left cheek making an appearance. “Well, there’s a farmers market down the coast a little way. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to come with me, and we could pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables. There’s not much left in the fridge since someone here eats like a horse.” She eyed him from across the top of her coffee mug.

Tex laughed. “If you weren’t so good at cooking, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

She smiled and shrugged. “Practice makes perfect. I cooked a lot growing up, there wasn’t much else to do.”

He nodded in understanding. While Noah had been out at parties with them, she’d been stuck at home with nothing to do but study, practice her music, and cook apparently. At least now she had him to help. She’d taught him lots of different recipes since he’d been staying with her.

He looked out at the sunny day. “It’d be a good day for a ride on the motorcycle, but that might not work if we end up buying a pile of produce. And if we’re going to be out in public, I should probably get one of the security guys to come along too, just in case. We can take a car today, but maybe another day, I can take you out on the bike.”

Eden’s eyes lit up. “I’d like that. I’ve never been on a motorcycle.”

He tugged her onto his lap and nuzzled into the crook of her neck. “Well, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’ll make sure to show you real soon, sweetheart.”

He breathed in the scent of cherry blossoms and the naturally sweet scent of her skin and had to stop himself stripping her out of her clothes. Time enough for that later. If she wanted to go out, then that’s what they’d do.

Tex released her, pulling out his cell and dialing the band’s security company to arrange for someone to pick them up in a discreet car; they didn’t exactly want to rock up to the farmers market in a limo. Luckily, the security team were paid well to keep their mouths shut about anything they saw while working, so none of them would spill the beans about Tex and Eden beingtogether.

Before the car arrived, he changed into a long-sleeved Henley, so his tattoos weren’t visible. As crazy as it sounded, there were actual fan sites dedicated to his tattoos, documenting each new one he got, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility someone would recognize him from them alone. He grabbed a cap and pulled it down low over his eyes, tucked his hair behind his ears, and slipped on some aviators. He was about as anonymous as someone could get when they looked like him.

Normally Tex wouldn’t be too concerned about getting recognized—he liked his fans—but not when he was with Eden. He wanted her to enjoy herself, not have to deal with him signing autographs, and he wanted to be able to hold her hand without the risk of a photo making it onto social media and alerting Noah before they were ready for him to know.

So, he’d do his best to blend in, and hope there were no Fractured super-fans hanging out at the farmers market today.

???

Tex had no idea that something as simple as walking through a market holding Eden’s hand would feel so good. No wonder Connor always had that stupid smile on his face since meeting Lexie. No one was paying them any mind, although Tex’s favorite security agent, Will, trailed behind them anyway.

Eden was like a butterfly, tugging him along behind her as she fluttered from one stall to another, chatting with the stall owners, picking up different fruits and vegetables and filling several bags with produce. He shook his head and laughed as she pulled him urgently toward a stall that looked exactly the same as all the others they’d stopped at, but not really giving a damn as long as she was enjoying herself.

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