Page 25 of Fractured Trust

“Yeah, the sunshine turns such a beautiful soft, warm color. Not the harsh yellow of midday. And see how it casts everything in shades of rose and gold?”

She looked out over the fields. “I see it.”

“That’s why your name suits you. Because your hair reminds me of that. It’s the gorgeous rose gold of a summer sunset. I don’t think I’ll ever see the sun going down at the end of a summer’s day and not think of you.”

Summer turned to stare at him, eyes wide, her heart as warm as the sun he was talking about, and she knew, she just knew, that she loved him. She thought she just might love him forever.

Summer’s eyes opened, the sting behind them reminding her what a mistake it was to think about the past. Especially when she was going to be spending the evening in his company, probably looking far too sexy for his own good—and hers.

A sudden thought occurred to her, and she wondered why she hadn’t considered it before. Would he have a date with him tonight? Considering the sort of event it was, there was no reason he wouldn’t. Most likely a model or actress or some other stunning woman that she could never compare to. Summer put her hand on her stomach and pressed down to try to alleviate the sudden nausea. She took a few deep breaths in and out. If he did, it had absolutely nothing to do with her. They weren’t together—hadn’t been for a very long time. And there’d been plenty of women who had been on his arm—and in his bed—since her.

She couldn’t let it bother her. She’d left him for a reason, after all. He was her past, and that was it. She just needed to keep telling herself that. Over and over, until it finally stuck.

A few minutes later, the car pulled up to a gorgeous, classically beautiful building that was lit up almost as bright as day. A crowd of people surged around the stairs leading to the entrance; the flash of cameras announcing that was where the red carpet was. But her car was in a line of others waiting to drop their passengers off at a smaller set of doors, presumably for those people not interested in making a red-carpet appearance.

Eden had told her to message when she got there, so Summer quickly tapped out a text and sent it, telling Eden she’d arrived.

By the time the car stopped, and the driver rushed around to open her door, Summer could see Eden, looking beautiful in a floor-length champagne-colored gown, standing just inside the entrance, smiling at her as she waited.

Summer quickly made her way over toward her and gave her a hug.

Eden looked her up and down and whistled. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” Summer’s hand brushed self-consciously over the satin of her dress. “You too.”

Eden grabbed her hand, tugged her inside, and led her toward a large, curved staircase with an ornately carved wooden balustrade. After reaching the top, they entered a huge, beautifully decorated ballroom. It was softly lit by chandeliers dripping with crystals, and filled with white linen-covered tables topped by sumptuous floral centerpieces. Summer gazed around with wide eyes, taking in all the stunningly dressed men and women, many of whom she recognized from movies and television, or the pages of magazines. Nerves tumbled through her in a rush. This kind of glitz and glamour was completely removed from anything she’d ever experienced before.

Eden obviously sensed Summer was overwhelmed because she leaned close. “It’s a bit much, isn’t it? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, especially once we’ve got you a drink or two. And it’s all for a good cause.” She nudged Summer and surreptitiously pointed to the side as they walked. When Summer turned to look, her eyes widened as they landed on one of Hollywood’s most coveted A-list actors sitting at a table, his sandy-blond hair flopping over his forehead as he stared down at the wine glass in his hand. As they passed, he glanced up, his dark eyes raking both of them up and down, before turning a far-too-charming roguish grin on them.

Summer blushed but couldn’t stop a huge smile from breaking across her face in return. If that didn’t do something for her self-esteem, nothing would.

Before she’d quite recovered from that, Eden pulled her up to their table and Summer blew out a breath. The actor had been something, but this table right here, well, she was surprised panties weren’t spontaneously combusting all over the room.

The men of Fractured sat around the table, all dressed immaculately in well-fitting tuxedos: Connor, watching her approach with his piercing green eyes as he sat with his arm draped over the back of Lexie’s chair; Tex, with his brown hair tied back, his broad shoulders and trim waist only further emphasized by his suit jacket; and Zac, who had his chair pushed away from the table so he could sit with his long legs extended, his darkly lashed hazel eyes on her, speculation clear in his gaze.

Next to him—Summer let out a quiet, shaky breath—next to him was Noah, his shoulder-length blond hair tied back like Tex’s, his vivid blue eyes fixed on hers. At least until they traced a burning path down the length of her and back up again.

Unbidden, her body reacted to his languid perusal, her nipples tightening. She hoped it wasn’t too noticeable considering she hadn’t been able to wear a bra under the dress. But from the way his eyes lingered on her chest on the way back up she figured she was probably out of luck.

Restraining the urge to turn tail and run, Summer smiled around the table at all of them, giving a shy wave. “Hi, guys.”

For a second, she wondered if they might all give her the cold shoulder, considering how things had ended between her and Noah. But then they were standing, and Tex was kissing her on the cheek. “Nice to see you again, darlin’,” he said, in his smooth as honey southern drawl.

She smiled up at him. “You too, Tex.”

Zac was next, his eyes still quietly assessing as he studied her face. Then he gave her a crooked grin. “It’s been too long,” was all he said. She didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so she just gave him a small nod of acknowledgment, her lips tipping up.

Connor’s greeting was more reserved, though not cold the way she’d feared. And hearing his soft Irish lilt again made her smile.

And then there was Noah, who’d stood to greet her too. With all the gorgeous men in the room, they still faded into the background when faced with the intensity in his eyes.

“Summer,” he said, his voice seeming to linger over her name as he bent his head toward her, his blond stubble grazing her jaw.

Instinct closed her eyes when his lips brushed over her cheek. She took a shaky breath as he pulled back, his eyes bouncing between hers like he was trying to read her expression. She tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear and gave him a tentative smile. “Hi, Noah.”

The slight tension in his face seemed to ease, and that slow, gorgeous grin she used to know so well spread across his face in return. Summer’s pulse tripped, and she cursed her reaction to him. Cursed the fact that even though he’d betrayed her, her heart and her body couldn’t seem to forget how she’d once felt about him.

When Noah turned back to the table, she thought he was going to sit down in his seat. But he surprised her by pulling out the chair in between Lexie and Eden and looking at her, one side of his mouth hooking up.

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