Page 61 of Fractured Dreams

Later, when Noah asked her to dance, she swayed to the music as her brother held her loosely in his arms, thinking back on how beautiful and full of love the afternoon and evening had been. A shaky sigh slipped out of her, and Noah’s grip on her tightened.

“You’ve been lying to me, haven’t you?” he said, his voice quiet.

Eden tensed. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been telling me you’re happy, going out, having fun. But that’s not true, is it?”

“I love my job.” She kept her eyes averted, but there was the faintest quiver in her voice and Noah caught it.

“What about the rest of it?”

Eden’s chin wobbled as she finally looked up at him. “Let’s not ruin the night. I’ve had a good time.”

Noah sighed, pulling back from her and running a hand over his face. “You look tired. Like you haven’t been sleeping.”

“I’m not sure that’s what any woman wants to hear when she’s dressed up for a wedding,” she joked, hoping to distract him.

It didn’t work. “You look beautiful. That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

Noah’s brow was furrowed, and Eden put her hand on his arm. “I’ve told you before Noah, you can’t protect me from life. No one can. I’m going to get hurt, I’m going to have my heart broken, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Are you telling me your heart’s been broken again?”

She shook her head. “Not again. Mason didn’t break my heart, Noah. It might have felt like that at the time, but I didn’t love him enough for my heart to be broken.”

Noah didn’t look reassured, but Eden just put her head back down on his chest, aware that he didn’t know who she was talking about. For all he knew, she could be talking about someone she’d met in Portland. “You know, I think I understand what must have hit you hardest about your breakup with Summer. Sometimes it isn’t what the person does that hurts the worst, it’s thinking that you know them, that they’ve shown you who they really are, trusted you with their real selves, then finding out that it was all a lie, and you never really knew them at all. I think that’s what hurts the most. That the connection you thought you shared was just a figment of your imagination.”

Noah stepped back from her abruptly, causing her to stumble. His eyes were stormy, and a muscle pulsed in his jaw.

“Noah, what’s wrong?” she asked.

He shook his head, then rubbed his hand over his mouth, before raking it through his blond hair. “Come with me, I need to talk to you,” he said, then he grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her behind him, so she almost tripped in her heels. Taken by surprise, her gaze landed on Tex. He was watching Noah lead her from the tent, a crease between his eyebrows, his jaw tense, but she turned away, quickening her pace to keep up with her brother’s long strides.

After glancing around the dark garden, where scattered groups of people wandered, cheerful voices and laughter all around, Noah led her toward the house. He opened the back door, pulling her inside and checking that the house was empty before dropping her hand and turning to face her, his expression serious.

Eden watched him warily, not sure what was going on. Maybe he was finally going to explain what had caused his strange behavior after he’d come back from the tour. But Noah hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared at the floor.

Growing concerned, Eden started, “Noah—”

“I need to admit something,” he interrupted her.

“Okay.” Eden’s stomach knotted; she’d rarely seen Noah so agitated.

“Fuck, this is hard. Um, I know what happened between you and Tex. I have known. For a while.”

Eden flushed hot then cold. “For how long?” she whispered, wondering how he could have found out. Was it possible that Tex had told him—after everything that had happened?

“Since New York.”

Eden’s mind went blank. “Since New York? Since before I left?”

He nodded, eyes still on the floor.

“You never said anything. You’ve known this whole time, and you didn’t say anything?” Eden tried to wrap her head around it. Was he angry at her for lying, and for sneaking around behind his back? “I’m so sorry for lying to you Noah. It was a terrible mistake.” She had a thought. “Does Tex know that you know? Not that it matters now, I suppose. I don’t know if you’re aware but he… uh, we’re not together anymore.”

If possible, Noah looked even more uneasy. “Yeah, Tex knows that I know because I spoke to him the night I found out.”

Eden stared at him. “You spoke to Tex about us? In New York?” Her mind was slow to connect the dots, but when it did, nausea swirled in her stomach. “You talked to Tex… and then he broke it off with me?” She spoke carefully, hoping the conclusion she’d come to was wrong.

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