Page 26 of Fractured Trust

“Th-thank you,” she stammered, stepping forward and sinking down onto it as he pushed it back in. Summer glanced at Lexie, whose gray eyes had a sparkle in them as she looked between her and Noah. Summer pretended not to notice. Whatever Lexie thought she was seeing, she wasn’t. Noah had obviously just realized the same thing she had—it was time to put the past behind them.

After everyone had sat back down, the conversation resumed around Summer. She listened in, occasionally trading comments with Lexie and Eden, while sipping the deliciously crisp wine a server poured for her and laughing at the exchanges flying around the table.

On one side of her, Tex was pointing over at Connor. “I know you’re planning to bid on that Hendrix six-string. And I’m letting you know right now; you’re not getting it.”

Connor laughed. “We’ll see about that.”

On the other side, Noah was grinning at Zac. “So, there’s quite a crowd over there, bidding on the ‘win a lunch date with Zac Ford prize’. So nice of you to offer your services that way.”

Zac snorted and rolled his eyes. “Sure man. If I remember correctly, it was you that put my name down for it.”

“It’s all for a good cause,” Noah laughed.

“I didn’t see you signing yourself up.”

“I’m planning to contribute in other ways.”

“Yeah, don’t think I missed that there’s a Neil Peart drum kit up for auction. You’ll need to drop some serious cash to snag that one.”

Noah leaned back in his chair and smirked. “Anything for the kids.”

“You’re such a giver,” Zac grumbled.

Summer smiled to herself. Being around all the guys again was bringing back memories of when she used to hang out with them in high school. And watching Noah relaxed and laughing with his friends was… nice. It’d been a long time since she’d seen this side of him. Most of their interactions since she’d stumbled back into his life had been more on the antagonistic side. Or at least tense. And if a part of her was enjoying watching his lips curve up in that sexy smile of his a little too much, well, she was just going to blame the wine and the atmosphere.

Eden leaned over. “Do you want to go and look at some of the pieces up for auction?”

“Oh. I mean, I’d like to, but I don’t think I can afford to bid on anything,” Summer said, feeling self-conscious about her lack of finances in a room swimming with celebrities and the exorbitantly wealthy.

“That’s okay, we can just look, we don’t need to bid.”

“Okay,” Summer said, giving her a smile. As she pushed her chair back and stood, her gaze tangled with Noah’s where he sat across from her. He still had the grin on his face from his exchange with Zac, but his eyes glinted with something other than humor as he watched her, and Summer’s breath caught in her throat.

She tore her eyes from him and turned away, following Eden over to the area where all the items available to bid on had been set up. Since this was an entertainment industry auction, there was an amazing selection of unique experiences, luxury collectibles, and memorabilia, including signed original movie scripts from blockbusters and cult classics alike, costumes worn by famous actors and actresses, iconic props, and autographed musical scores and instruments. Summer’s eyes were wide as she moved around all the incredible items, shocked by the dollar amounts already noted against them.

Summer suddenly stumbled to a halt as her eye caught on an item in a plexiglass container. She read the description in disbelief, her fingers fluttering up to cover her mouth.

Item 154: Original handwritten working lyrics and chord annotations making up the entirety of Fractured’s self-titled debut album.

A sense of unreality hit Summer, and she blinked several times. She’d been there in the room when Connor had been writing down the words and notes that covered those pages. She’d sat there watching Noah on his drums as he played with his friends, a huge grin on his face, oblivious to the fact they were making something incredible. She’d been there, her heart so full of love for him it could’ve burst.

But now she was here. Noah was a world-famous rock star who’d left her in his dust, and she had a failed marriage behind her. Those memories? That history that she could still remember so vividly? It was going for… Her eyes made their way down the list to find the current bid, and she gasped—$290,000.

She didn’t know why it hit her the way it did. Maybe it was the contrast between the future her younger self had been imagining as she sat in that room compared to how things had turned out. Maybe it was a sudden surge of nostalgia, wishing she could go back in time and live forever in that moment when she’d been so happy, ignorant of the pain that was to come. Whatever it was, it hit her like a tidal wave.

Her heart pounded double-time as she glanced over at their table, her eyes immediately catching Noah’s. He must have seen something in her expression because he straightened in his chair, his brows knitting together.

The urge to cry became overwhelming and breaking Noah’s gaze, she turned away, found the nearest server, and asked where the restrooms were. When he pointed toward a door at the side of the room, she hurried over, opened it, and slipped out into a blessedly quiet corridor.

The restrooms were at the far end, and when she walked in, the lavishness of it took her aback. She didn’t even know if you could call it a restroom or if maybe there was a fancier name for it, since it was huge and resplendent with plush velvet couches and miles of marble vanities; even a damn chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Summer sank down on one of the seats, trying to catch her breath. She was glad she was wearing waterproof mascara because she couldn’t hold back the tears that welled up and trickled over. She didn’t even know why she was crying. Why seeing those words and notes had affected her so much. It was so long ago now, it was almost as if that time belonged to someone else. And maybe that was the problem. She’d spent so many years pushing aside her memories of being with Noah, frightened by the depth of her pain, struggling to become someone she wasn’t for Deacon’s sake, that the sudden onslaught of reminders tonight was just too much.

Concentrating on taking deep, calming breaths, Summer slowly brought her emotions under control. She needed to get back out there, or Eden and Lexie would start to worry. Once she’d composed herself, she stood and walked over to the vast expanse of perfectly polished mirrors. Her eyes were slightly swollen and tinged with red, but her mascara had withstood the tears, and she didn’t have streaks of black down her face. She grabbed a tissue to dab away the residual wetness on her cheeks. Hopefully, most people wouldn’t be looking closely enough at her to realize she’d been crying.

Taking one last deep, fortifying breath, she walked back across the room, pulled the door open and stepped out before slamming to a halt, the door almost hitting her on the bottom as it swung shut. “Noah? What are you doing?” she choked out.

“You ran out of the room so fast, I thought something might have been wrong.” His eyes traveled over her face, lingering on her eyes, the line between his brows deepening.

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