Page 17 of Fractured Trust

He stopped when he was close enough that she could have reached up and cupped his jaw, felt the rasp of his stubble on her palm. Something she absolutely didnothave the urge to do, she told herself, even as her fingers twitched at her side. She did inhale, though. The clean, fresh scent of citrus and warm male skin filled her and took her straight back to being eighteen and wrapped in his arms, bodies moving together, her face buried in the crook of his neck—the smell of his skin her own personal aphrodisiac.

She shook her head to clear it, or maybe to try to deny the power of the memory. But the direction of her thoughts must have been obvious because his eyes flicked to her lips briefly before meeting her gaze again. Anger burned in the depths of the blue, warring with something else, something even more heated. But it was anger that won out. He leaned forward, breath washing over her ear, sending goose bumps in a wave down her neck, but his words sent a shock of ice-cold through her. “If it was just sex, Summer, then I’d have been far more relaxed over the last eleven years considering all the women I’ve fucked.”

Hurt and anger of her own knifed through her, and she sucked in a sharp breath. She couldn’t believe he’d said that to her.What an asshole.

He was still leaning close, his eyes still dark on hers, and she blinked once, then again, as she fought back the sudden prickle of tears. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d scored a hit—that thinking of him with other women still had the power to hurt her.

She drew her shoulders back, ignoring the hint of regret she thought she saw glimmering in his eyes, and stared straight at him as she said quietly, “Then I feel sorry for you, Noah. Eleven years is a long time to not have any peace.”

Something that might have been pain flashed across his face, but before she could be certain, it had gone. He held her gaze for a second longer, his expression now unreadable. Then, as Eden’s footsteps sounded from the back room, he ground out, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you still owe me an explanation.” He pulled away and took two steps back, eyes locked on hers. Tension vibrated from him, and his fingers twitched at his side, tapping out a beat against his thigh.

Summer released a ragged breath and unlocked her muscles so that it wouldn’t be obvious that something had happened between them. Noah too had relaxed, turning toward his sister as she walked back in, that warm, teasing smile once again on his face. “Took you long enough.”

If Summer hadn’t spent two years memorizing his expressions when they were younger, she might have even believed he was completely unfazed by what had happened. That as he joked with his sister, he was perfectly relaxed. But the sharp angle of his jaw and the darker blue of his eyes told her he was anything but calm.

Well, screw him. He’d said that just to hurt her, and she wasn’t going to let him do it again. If he wanted to rub all the women he’d been with in her face—particularly considering why they’d broken up in the first place—then she’d rather he stay away from her altogether. She didn’t need his bullshit. All she wanted was to do this job, have fun working with Eden, and make a life for herself here in L.A. A life of her own, doing what she wanted to do. Not beholden to anyone else. Not hampered by guilt over the things she’d done wrong.

And she probably needed to make some friends other than Eden. Because as much as she enjoyed Eden’s company, she couldn’t exactly hang out with her outside of work without risking seeing Noah. And today had just proven how bad an idea it was for them to spend time around each other.

Determined not to let him get to her, Summer smiled at Eden as she and Noah made their way to the door. “Have fun.”

Eden stopped in her tracks, glancing quickly between her and Noah. “I’m so sorry Summer, I wasn’t thinking. Do you want to come with us?”

Summer couldn’t imagine anything worse. She hoped the smile on her lips didn’t look as frozen and insincere as it felt. Not looking at Noah, who appeared to be staring out the window, completely disinterested in her answer, she replied. “Thanks, but I’ve got a few calls to make, so I’ll just grab something later. You two have a nice lunch.”

Eden’s gaze slid between her and Noah again, a small crease forming between her brows. “Okay, well, I’ll see you in a little while.”

Noah didn’t say goodbye as they left, and Summer didn’t offer one to him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t feel the need to drop in to see his sister too often, because Summer didn’t know whether she’d be able to handle another interaction like that without wanting to turn tail and run.

* * *

Noah didn’t come into the office when Eden returned from lunch, and for that, Summer was grateful. But Eden’s happy smile and the way she hummed under her breath as she worked told her she’d had a good time with her brother. As angry as Summer was at Noah for what he’d said, it was nice to see how close he and Eden still were.

The two of them had almost finished for the day. Summer had turned off her computer and begun to pack up when Eden surprised her by plonking her butt on the desk.

Summer’s brows pinched together, concern kicking in at the pensive expression on Eden’s face. Her mind immediately went to Noah. Had he said something to his sister? Did he regret helping her get this job? Would Eden fire her if Noah decided he didn’t want her around anymore?

Summer’s gut twisted anxiously as Eden continued regarding her. “What is it?” she forced herself to ask.

“Noah said something at lunch that got me thinking.”

Oh, God, hehadsaid something. A lead weight settled in Summer’s belly. She should have known. A great job, a new start; she should have realized this was all too good to be true. She should have realized Noah would change his mind about her.

Again.

Summer swallowed against the dryness in her throat. “Oh, what was that?”

“He asked if you’d been out much since you’d got here. And it made me realize that I’ve been terribly remiss in being a friend. So, I’d like to fix that by asking if you want to come out with me and Lexie this Friday?”

Relief surged through Summer, and she sagged slightly as she realized her spine had been rigid while she waited for the metaphorical axe to fall. She exhaled, then smiled up at Eden.

“That sounds fun. What do you have in mind?” She hadn’t met Lexie yet, but the picture Eden had painted of Connor’s wife made her think the photographer was someone she would like to know.

Eden’s eyes darted away for a second before she met Summer’s gaze again and smiled. “Well… the guys are playing a benefit gig on Friday, and I was hoping you’d come with us to watch.”

Summer blinked up at her. “You want me to go to a Fractured concert?”

“Yes, it’ll be fun!”

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