Page 53 of Fractured Trust

Summer nodded, and Eden continued.

“Noah is my brother, but I’m not being biased when I say he’s one of the best men out there. He’s loyal to a fault and when he loves, he loves with his whole heart. He would never do anything to hurt someone he loves.”

Summer expelled a breath. Everything Eden said was true, Noah was all those things, and taking photos with fans was part of his job. She was being irrational, as always. If only knowing it and stopping it was the same thing. She’d already wasted so much of the time she could have had with Noah because of her fear, she couldn’t bear the thought of wasting this time too. Particularly when there might not be much of it left.

Summer gave her two new friends a genuine, if small, smile, counting herself lucky to have them in her life. She hoped she’d get to keep them whenever this thing between her and Noah ended.

Noah.

Her eyes turned back to him, only to find the girls gone and his gaze focused on her, his eyes shadowed, jaw tense. She hoped he hadn’t seen her moment of insecurity; it would hurt him, and she didn’t want to hurt him anymore than she already had. She just wanted him. She wanted all she could get of him until she couldn’t have him anymore. So, she let everything she felt for him—let eleven years of wanting him even though she knew she shouldn’t—show in her smile and watched as the tension left his face and his eyes heated.

She was pretty sure Tex was in the middle of talking to him when he stood abruptly and stalked forward. Summer’s heart rate accelerated as he came for her, and for once she let herself revel in it, shoved down the voice in her head telling her she’d never be enough.He’s mine. Tonight, I’m the only one he wants.

When he reached her, he didn’t look at Lexie or his sister. Just her. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and leaned toward her. “Dance with me, Sunshine.” His low voice sent shivers through her, and she nodded, sliding off her chair and giving the two other women a single wide-eyed look before he pulled her after him. When they got to the small VIP section dance floor, he pulled her against him, his large hands on her hips holding her close, her arms wrapping around his waist.

For a while, they just swayed there together. Their hearts beating in time, their breaths synchronizing. Summer lost herself in the warmth of his body against hers, the hardness of his muscles under her hands, the security that filled her right then, and wished they could stay in that moment forever.

One of his hands left her hip and trailed up along her waist, skimmed the side of her breast, skated over her collarbone and up her neck until his palm was cupping her face, his thumb under her chin tipping her head back. She stared up at him, at his eyes bright with an emotion she couldn’t quite read.

His jaw firmed, resolution tightening his features. “Summer…” he murmured, and she was suddenly frightened. Frightened that he was going to say something she couldn’t bear to hear. That he loved her. That he wanted this to be something permanent. Or the opposite. That this was never going to work. That they needed to end it.

So instead of letting him say any more, she rose to her tiptoes and slanted her mouth across his, unlocked her arms from around his waist, and buried her fingers in his hair, tugging as if she could somehow bring him closer than he already was. Noah groaned, his tongue flicking out to skim her lips, and she opened for him. Wanted his invasion, wanted him to claim every part of her, so that one day she could look back without the pain and anger that had clouded her memories for the last eleven years and say that she had been his. Right now, she was his, and he was hers and no one, not even her, could take that away.

When she finally broke the kiss and sank back down on her heels, Noah’s eyes were blazing, the hard length of him pushing against her stomach. She spoke before he could remember what he might have been about to say. “Take me home, Noah. I need you, please take me home.”

A shadow flashed across his eyes, and she wondered if he suspected that she’d tried to distract him. But it wasn’t a lie. She did need him. She hurt with how badly she needed him. And he must have seen it because he said nothing, just pressed his lips hard against hers one more time, then clasped her hand and led her off the dance floor.

Chapter 26

There was only a week left before Noah had to leave for the Fractured tour and Summer was unbearably twitchy. Had she really thought she’d get to this point and just be able to calmly decide whether or not she should let go of Noah? Had she honestly thought that would happen? No, she wasn’t that stupid. She’d just been desperate. Desperate to have him again, even if it wasn’t going to be forever. Her worry was increasing every day, and she was having trouble sleeping as her mind went over and over what she should do.

Was she going to turn up and watch him climb on that tour bus, then just wave goodbye and go back to the way things had been before? Could she consider asking for more? Could she handle it? Was there any way she could ask him to take that risk with her?

It seemed impossible, that she could hold on to this happiness while he was away for two months. She knew how her mind worked; she’d gone through this once already, the constant stress, the worrying. Could she put herself through that again? Could she put him through that?

Summer groaned and rubbed her tired, gritty eyes, realizing she’d been staring unblinkingly at her computer screen for who knows how long as her mind churned over the situation.

“You okay over there?”

Summer looked over at Eden’s desk, meeting her friend’s concerned blue eyes. She really needed to talk to someone, but talking to Noah’s sister about whether she thought it would be better to break it off with him now, or potentially break it off halfway through his tour if it turned out she couldn’t handle it, didn’t seem like the best idea.

“I’m assuming it’s this thing between you and Noah,” Eden said before Summer could think of something else to tell her.

She gave a mirthless laugh. “How did you guess?”

“Before you and Noah got back together, that frown would show up on your face every time I mentioned his name.”

Since Eden pretty much already knew what was going on in her head, Summer decided to take the risk of confiding in her. She turned fully to face Eden. “I’m not sure what to do. We agreed that we’d just keep it casual, and then play it by ear when the tour gets here, but I’ve got so many conflicting feelings right now, I can’t figure out what I should do.”

Eden studied her appraisingly. “Do you want to grab a coffee and talk about it?”

Summer blew out a breath. “Yes, thank you. I’d like that.”

They gathered their purses, and Eden locked the office door behind them. There was a lovely little café two blocks away, so they made their way there. Luckily at that time of day, it was mostly empty. They ordered their coffees and sat down at a corner table, away from the only other customer.

Eden took a sip of her coffee and Summer followed suit. Then, when they’d both put their cups down Eden looked at her. “So, I can’t promise to be completely unbiased, but I’ll do my best, okay?”

That was all Summer could ask for. She exhaled. “Being with Noah over these last few weeks has been… amazing. I thought it would be obvious what I should do by the time it came for him to leave, but… it’s not.”

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