Page 49 of Fractured Trust

And that was dangerous.

Because the more she started to think that maybe this thing between her and Noah could become permanent, the more she was forced to face her worry over what would happen when Noah went away. She cringed at the thought. Maybe she needed to pull back, get some distance—some perspective.

But the idea of having to stop seeing him was painful. Even more so because she knew the possible end date of what they were doing was closing in on them. She didn’t want to waste precious time with Noah just because of her worries.

No, she was going to push through. She didn’t have to decide yet; the start of the tour was still a couple of weeks off. Noah hadn’t broached the topic, so she knew he was fine with the way things were. No need to overreact already.

Decision made; Summer forced herself to relax back into her seat to enjoy the end of the private show.

With one final pulsing guitar riff from Tex, they were finished. The guys were grinning at each other, and they had good reason. The concert was going to be amazing, each song full of so much emotion you couldn’t help but get drawn into every one.

After they’d packed up their instruments, they grabbed some beers and joined her on the couch. Noah took an extra bottle out of the bar fridge and held it up to her, to check if she wanted one. Summer nodded and smiled at him, and he sauntered over, cracking the top off and handing it to her.

“Thank you,” she said, her throat tightening as the familiarity of the gesture somehow took on more meaning than it should.

“My pleasure, Sunshine. I thought you might need to cool down after ogling me for the last hour and a half.” He smirked at her and flexed his muscles.

“So modest.” She rolled her eyes but couldn’t prevent the smile curving her lips as he sat down close beside her on the couch. She tipped the bottle back and took a sip, enjoying the cool, crisp taste of the beer.

Summer relaxed against Noah’s side and listened in as the guys talked over how the session had gone. After a few minutes, Noah put his beer down on the table, then tugged her onto his lap. She didn’t resist, even though she wasn’t sure having him be so openly affectionate in front of his bandmates was a good idea when they might be going their separate ways soon. But when he nuzzled her neck, and she saw the others exchanging looks, she didn’t push herself off him. If this ended up being all she’d have of him before he became public property again, then she was going to take everything he was willing to give and deal with the consequences later.

“So, are you coming out with us tomorrow night, Summer?” Connor asked, and Summer brought her attention back to the conversation.

“What’s happening tomorrow night?” she asked, and Noah tensed beneath her.

“We’re going out to that new club that opened up in the Valley. Beau and Devon’s friend is visiting, and they want us all to go out on the town with them.”

She turned to look at Noah, meeting his blue eyes as apprehension trickled through her. “Uh, I’m not sure. I didn’t know anything about it.” Her chest constricted. Had Noah not wanted her to know? Had he been planning to go and not tell her? Was there a reason he didn’t want her there?

The questions must have been shining brightly in her eyes because Noah put his hand on her hip, leaning close to her ear. “I’m sorry, Summer. I honestly forgot all about it. I’ve been so wrapped up in trying—” He cut himself off. “Just getting prepared for the tour. I forgot it was this weekend their friend was coming.”

Summer’s pulse kicked into high gear. Was he telling the truth? Considering their current arrangement was supposed to be casual, did it matter if he wasn’t? Maybe he just needed a break from her for a night. They’d been together almost every day recently; it made sense he might need some space. And if that was the case, she didn’t want him to feel like he had to invite her along. After all, she was the one who had said she wanted to keep things casual. Noah had absolutely no reason to apologize to her or feel guilty about anything he wanted to do.

She plastered a smile on her face. “Oh no, that’s okay. You probably need a night off. To, uh, blow off some steam. I’ve got some stuff to do at home this weekend, so I’ll just… do that.” She hoped her casual tone didn’t sound as forced to everyone else as it did to her.

Noah lowered his voice, so she was the only one who could hear him. “If you’re insinuating I need a night off from you, that’s as far from the truth as it’s possible to get. And as for blowing off steam, not having you there won’t help with that. Whatever you’re thinking, Summer, this is not it. I forgot, that’s all.” His hand stroked up and down her back. “I want you there. Please come with me.”

Summer hesitated. If she was already reacting this badly to the thought that he might want to go out for the night without her, how could she possibly cope when he was on tour for two months. Even if they broke it off beforehand, Eden had been right when she said Summer wouldn’t be able to turn off her emotions so easily. Having to imagine Noah at every after party, surrounded by women more than happy to spend a night with him if he offered, would slice her heart to pieces.

Noah studied her, the skin around his eyes tightening as he read her expression. Suddenly, he slid her off his lap onto the couch and stood, then grabbed her hand and pulled her upright. Without looking away from her, he addressed the other guys, who were all staring at them with expressions ranging from amusement to concern.

“Summer and I need to have a little chat.”

With that, he led her across the room to a side door, opened it, and stepped out, pulling her with him. The door led to a lane behind the studio that was gated at one end and had a small parking area at the other end. Noah turned her around pushed her up against the wall, the brick pressing into her skin through the thin t-shirt she was wearing.

With one hand on her shoulder, he kept her pinned against the wall while he scrubbed the other over his face. When he met her gaze, his eyes were narrowed, frustration pulling the corners of his mouth down. “What—” she started, but he cut her off.

“You need to stop doing this,” he stated.

Summer shook her head. “Doing what?”

“You made an assumption and your walls slammed into place. I saw it happen, Summer. Do you really think I purposefully didn’t tell you about tomorrow night so that I could go out with the other guys—andEden and Lexie—to what? Have a random hookup? For fuck’s sake, Summer. I know this is just casual”—he spat out the word—“but it fucking hurts that you think I would do that to you. Still. After everything we’ve talked about over the last few weeks. I thought you’d at least started to trust me a little.”

Summer’s mouth hung open. “I…” She knew it was ridiculous. Sheknewshe was being irrational, and she hated that it was her instinctive reaction. Shame crawled its way in a heated wave up her neck until her cheeks were burning. She blinked hard, trying to stop her eyes filling with tears. Why did she immediately jump to the worst-case scenario when it came to Noah? Why wasn’t she able to justtrusthim, the way Lexie and Eden trusted Connor and Tex?

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to steady the anxiety that rattled around inside her. This was a bad idea; she should have known better. She needed to do Noah a favor and let him go. For his own sanity.

Without opening her eyes, she whispered, “This was a mistake, Noah.”

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