Page 22 of Fractured Trust

Eden pulled away from Tex’s grasp and stepped in closer to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, we killed it tonight.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

He grinned at her. “Not sure what you’re talking about, short stuff.”

“Noah—”

But he just winked at her and kept on going, following the rest of the guys to shower and change. When he came out again, he dragged himself to the room where the after party was taking place. Now, as he laughed and joked with the others, took photos with excited fans pressed against him, signed merchandise, and sometimes bodies, instead of enjoying the attention, he was still thinking about the moment he’d looked down and seen Summer in front of the stage and his heart had leaped into his throat.

He wasn’t stupid. Regardless of what had happened between them all those years ago, it was obvious he still found her attractive. Still felt that static electricity crackle through his veins when she was near.

When he’d first made the job offer to Summer, he’d thought it was purely altruistic, simply helping someone who used to mean something to him. But now he had to wonder whether he’d actually had an ulterior motive. Was there a part of him that had been looking for an excuse to pull her back into his life?

A statuesque blonde held out a sharpie to him. Giving Noah a sexy smile, she pulled her already low-cut top down so far, her nipple almost popped out. “Can you sign here?” she purred, tracing a manicured fingernail over the dramatic swell of her breast.

He met her blue eyes, which sparkled with invitation, then looked down, uncapped the pen, and scrawled his signature across her smooth skin. Where previously her silent proposition might have enticed him, this time he felt nothing. No urge to take her somewhere and strip her naked. No urge to run his hands over her voluptuous curves. Nothing. Just a lingering feeling of loss. A feeling that had only grown stronger since he’d seen Summer all those months ago.

He capped the pen and handed it back to the blonde with a smile, deliberately ignoring her pout as she flounced off.

Zac wandered over to him, beer in hand and amusement gleaming in his eyes.

“I think you disappointed her,” he said, nodding over to where the woman had retreated. Noah glanced in that direction, meeting her hopeful gaze, but quickly looked away. He wasn’t feeling it.

He turned back to Zac and shrugged. “She’ll survive. Or you could help her out.”

“Nah, she doesn’t want me,” Zac said dismissively.

Noah snorted. “Only because you’re mister unapproachable. All you’d have to do is bat those long lashes of yours in her direction, and she’d come running. But your ‘fuck off’ vibes are strong right now, so I’m guessing that’s not going to happen.”

Zac shook his head, but a corner of his mouth lifted. “Yeah, I’ve got too much on my mind. I wouldn’t be anyone’s good time tonight.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Not really interested in talking about it.” He scrutinized Noah’s face. “But you look like someone who needs to get something off his chest.”

Noah debated whether he should push Zac to tell him what his issue was, but seeing the obstinate glint in his friend’s eyes, he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere. Instead, he surprised himself by accepting Zac’s invitation to talk.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m wondering what the fuck to do about Summer.”

Zac nodded as if he’d known that was what Noah had been going to say. “That’s a tough one.”

Noah distractedly signed a poster that a fan thrust in front of him, paused so the guy could take a photo, then turned back to Zac. “She’s here now and I need to get used to her being around. I need to get past what she did. But it’s proving harder than I thought.”

“And what about Summer? Do you think she’ll be able to get past what you did?”

Noah shot him a glance. “I didn’t do anything to her.”

Zac studied him, his hazel eyes assessing. “Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s fucking so. She ended it with me for apparently no reason other than she didn’t trust me. Then she ran off and married Deacon. So no, I didn’t do anything to her. Not anything that deserved her treating me that way, anyway—like I meant nothing to her.”

Zac took a pull of his beer as he listened. “Yeah, that’s rough. What did you do about it?”

Noah stared at him, perplexed. “What do you mean?”

“The woman you thought you were going to marry one day broke it off without a good explanation, so what did you do about it?”

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