Page 62 of Fractured Trust

“Oh, right.” She laughed self-consciously. “Just reading, nothing exciting.”

“What are you reading?”

She hesitated. “Uh…”

Noah laughed. “With a hesitation like that, I’m guessing it’s one of yoursteamybooks.”

Summer didn’t know why her cheeks flushed, even as the corners of her lips tipped up. “It’s called Her Dashing Duke.”

Noah laughed again, and she heard the sound of his hotel door opening and closing. “I’m just putting you on speaker for a second,” he said.

“Okay.”

“So, is he?” Noah asked.

Noises that sounded as if Noah were getting undressed distracted Summer. A shiver ran through her at the thought of him stripping. The memory of golden skin and defined muscles still too fresh in her mind for her body not to react. “Mmm?”

“The Duke,” Noah said. “Is he dashing?”

Oh, right, the book. She bit her lip, even as she was smiling. “Why, yes. He’sverydashing.”

Summer’s heart was battering her ribs in her excitement at talking to him again. Messaging him was one thing, but listening to his deep voice on the other end of the phone, being able to close her eyes and imagine him right there next to her, was almost more than she could bear.

But surely this was confusing things even more? His intention might be to rebuild their friendship, but she wasn’t sure she was capable of that right now. If she’d ever be able to treat him as just a friend and nothing more. She was enjoying the sound of his voice too much to pretend she wasn’t desperately in love with him still. So, maybe the best thing to do would be to speak to him for a couple of minutes, then tell him at the end of the conversation that she didn’t think it was a good idea for them to keep talking like this.

“Can you read some to me?” he asked.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

He chuckled. “Read me a chapter. It might help me get to sleep tonight.”

“You’re having trouble getting to sleep?”

“Just the last few weeks.” Did he mean since she’d ended things or was she reading too much into it? He didn’t sound annoyed or accusatory, so maybe it was just being on tour that was making it difficult for him to sleep.

She looked down at the book in her hands. She wasn’t that far into it, and it was a bit of a slow-burn, so she hadn’t reached any sex scenes yet; it would probably be okay to read him a bit. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle reading anything too sexy out loud to him. “Okay.”

“Great, just let me get settled,” he said, and she heard what sounded like rustling sheets. She closed her eyes and imagined Noah sitting propped up in his bed in a hotel room, his muscular chest on full display. It took her a second to realize he’d spoken.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I said, I’m ready for my bedtime story.”

She laughed. “Okay.” Before starting, she briefly summarized what had happened in the book so far. Then she began from the start of the chapter she was up to. “The Duke strode down the corridor, the heavy sound of his boots emphasizing his annoyance. Penelope almost had to run to keep up with him, her long skirts billowing around her quickly moving feet. ‘As my ward, I expect you to behave in an exemplary manner. And I will not tolerate having a horde of suitors turning up at my door every day.’ Penelope couldn’t understand what had caused the Duke’s sudden bad mood, she’d assumed he’d want her married off as soon as possible.”

She started off awkwardly, but as she continued, she relaxed, stopping now and then to answer Noah’s questions or to respond to his laughter at some of the more ridiculous plot points. That he actually seemed to be enjoying it surprised her. And she was enjoying hearing his voice far more than was probably good for her. Before she knew it, she realized they’d been on the phone for an hour.

“Well, I should probably finish up there,” she said. “Do you think you’ll be able to get to sleep now?”

His voice when it came was a low, husky mumble. “I think so. Thank you, Sunshine, I needed this tonight.”

“You know if you need something to help you get to sleep, you can always download books onto your phone.”

“I’m not talking about the book,” he said, and Summer hesitated, not sure what he meant. Did he mean he’d needed to talk to her tonight?

Noah spoke again before she had a chance to think any more about it. “Okay, I’m about to pass out, so I’d better go. But maybe we can do this again.”

“Of course,” Summer said. “It’s—It’s good to hear your voice, Noah.”

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