Page 54 of Fractured Trust

“Did you ever actually believe it would be that easy?” Eden asked.

Summer rubbed her temples. “I guess I was hopeful. Or maybe I just deluded myself into thinking it would be, so I’d have an excuse to let myself be with him. But Noah, he’s been…” She shook her head, throat tightening. “God, I have so many feelings that I thought had died years ago. But I honestly don’t know if I can do it all again. And I don’t want to hurt Noah either.” She stopped and rasped out a laugh. “And of course, all of this is entirely dependent on whether he even wants anything more than this.”

A smile tugged at Eden’s lips. “I would bet on a lot of very precious things that Noah wants more. I don’t even have to ask him, I’ve seen the look on his face when he’s with you. The last time I saw that look was about eleven years ago when he held you in his arms before climbing on that tour bus for the first time. Like all his dreams had come true. Like there was no luckier man in the world than him right at that moment.”

“He was on his way to fulfilling his dream of being a rock star. He pretty much was one of the luckiest men in the world.”

Eden’s smile faded. “You shouldn’t be willfully ignorant, Summer, not when it comes to my brother. You know that’s not what I’m talking about. Or not just what I’m talking about. Yes, drumming was always part of his dream, but you were the other part. And then you were gone, and drumming was all he had left.” She reached out and grabbed Summer’s hand, her expression pleading. “Don’t do that to him again. Please? You must know him well enough to know he’d never do anything to hurt you.”

Summer’s chest pulled tight. “I know he wouldn’t do anything deliberately. But things happen. When there’s so much temptation, people make mistakes…” She shook her head in frustration that Eden didn’t understand where she was coming from. “Haven’t you ever worried? I mean, women go crazy over Tex just like they do over Noah.” She bit her lip, wondering how to phrase it. “Don’t you ever get frightened that he’ll… I don’t know, slip up?” God, that was a loaded question. She was basically asking Eden if she’d ever considered whether Tex would cheat on her.

To her credit, Eden didn’t look annoyed. She considered Summer’s question carefully before answering. “I know I don’t have the same background as you, Summer. My parents are still together, and still crazy about each other. Neither of them would ever be unfaithful. They were our role models for a healthy relationship growing up, so, I’m not prone to expecting the worst. But I’ve also had someone cheat on me before, so I can’t say I wasn’t nervous about it at the start. I’ve seen what it can be like. I know there are some women who would do almost anything just to have one night in his bed. But I also know Tex. I know his heart. I know his soul. Maybe with someone else I’d worry more, but with Tex, I honestly believe it would be unbearable to him to do something like that—something he knew would break me.”

Summer smiled at Eden, her heart aching. God, she wondered what it would be like to have that depth of faith in someone. Her smile faltered. If anyone deserved that it was Noah.

Eden reached out and squeezed Summer’s hand. “But Summer, I truly believe Noah feels the same way about you.”

“I don’t know how he feels about me, to be honest.”

“Don’t you? It’s obvious to me. To everyone. I wish you could just open your eyes and see what’s in front of you.”

Eden made it sound so simple. She knew Noah cared for her. She knew he was a good man. So why did that final step in trusting him seem to elude her?

Eden sighed. “Look, I’m going to say one last thing and then I’m going to drop it. And this might sound bitchy, but I really don’t mean it that way, okay?”

Summer eyed her warily. “Okay.”

Eden looked her straight in the eye. “Between the two of you, only one has broken the other’s heart. And it wasn’t Noah.”

Summer opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again. Because she couldn’t argue with that. Noah had never done anything to hurt her, she’d done it all herself, and broken his heart in the process. If there was anyone untrustworthy in this relationship, all signs pointed to it being her.

She looked at Eden, at the sympathy clouding her eyes, and mustered a watery smile. “You’re right. I guess I’m the villain in this story.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. No one’s the villain here.” Her lips tilted up slightly. “But maybe the anti-hero?” Summer laughed, then Eden continued. “Just think about what you’ll miss out on if you give him up. All the love, all the fun, maybe one day having me as a sister-in-law.” She gave Summer a cheeky grin. Then her voice softened. “Noah as a father…”

Summer’s breath caught in her throat, a vision of Noah with a little blonde boy or girl riding on his shoulders or sitting on his lap while he showed them how to hit a drum. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. God, shewantedthat.

And maybe, maybe if she could be brave enough, there was a chance she could have it.

Chapter 27

“So, Noah, you’re preparing to head out on tour with Fractured for the first time in two years; how are you feeling about getting back on the road with those guys?” The male radio announcer eyed him over the top of the audio panel, while his female counterpart made no effort to hide her flirtatious smile and the way her eyes roamed over Noah’s chest.

“I’m feeling good. It’s been a long time coming, and there’s nothing like stepping out onto that stage with your friends and hearing the roar of the crowd.” Noah’s knee was jiggling and his right hand, hidden from view by the panel between him and the announcers, tapped restlessly on his thigh. He was here alone today. Usually, he and the other guys did interviews together. But occasionally scheduling conflicts happened and rather than canceling, one of them would make the effort to turn up.

Today it was his turn, and he was trying to be engaged and enthusiastic, but it was proving difficult. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t excited about going on tour. Talking about it just hammered home the fact that in a week’s time, he’d be getting on a tour bus and driving away from the only woman he’d ever loved. And there was a good chance she wouldn’t be waiting for him when he got back.

Time was running out, and he should be spending these last few days convincing Summer beyond a shadow of a doubt that she belonged with him, not stuck in this radio studio answering the same questions he’d answered a hundred times before.

“You’ve recently finished a tour with Crossfire. How do you think this tour is going to compare?” The female announcer leaned forward as she spoke, staring intently into his eyes and playing with her hair.

“Well, they’re two different beasts. Crossfire is still getting established, there’s that energy you get from a crowd when they don’t really know what they’re going to get. It’s kind of an adrenaline rush when you have to prove yourself to new fans. With Fractured, our fans know us, they know what to expect from us on stage, the energy and love directed at us from the crowd is phenomenal. It’s a high like no other. This tour is going to be slightly different though, smaller venues, more intimate crowds. If you can call ten thousand people intimate.” Both announcers laughed. “Going back on the road with the guys, reconnecting with our fans, will be like going home.”

“You’re not performing any stadium concerts this tour. Why is that?”

“Stadium concerts are amazing; looking out at a sea of fifty thousand plus fans will blow your mind, every time. But there’s a downside. There’s less of a connection, and we wanted this tour to have more intimacy.Hurt to Loveis a very emotional album, probably the most emotional album we’ve ever produced, and we wanted to share that emotion with our fans. It’s far harder to project that kind of intensely intimate feeling to people sitting all the way at the back of a stadium. We want to connect with every person who comes along to one of our shows, not just those closest to the front.”

“I’m sure there’ll be more than a few fans who’d be happy to connect intimately with you.” The female announcer’s lips curled up flirtatiously and Noah tensed, not only at the innuendo, but at the fact she hadn’t even bothered to comment on what he’d just said about the album and tour.

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