Page 67 of Fractured Trust

Noah watched Summer give Lexie a hug, a warm smile on her face, and his heart missed a beat. Eden was right; giving up drumming wasn’t the answer. He was a drummer, the rhythm and the beat were a part of him, baked into his bones. But Summer was his heart, the blood that flowed through his veins, the air that filled his lungs. If she didn’t want him to give up drumming, he wouldn’t. But he knew exactly what hedidneed to do—what he wanted to do.

When Summer turned to look for him, he met her gaze and smiled, pulling an answering smile from her. She came toward him just as Drew walked in and announced the car was outside, ready to take her and Eden to the airport.

Noah nodded at Drew in acknowledgment before wrapping Summer in his arms. “Two weeks, Sunshine. Two weeks and then I’m going to show you again exactly how happy I am that you’re mine.”

Her lips parted under his, and she dug her nails into the muscles of his back. He groaned and then broke away. “Okay. Let’s get you into the car, so I can come back, crash, and be one night closer to getting home to you.”

She laughed, went up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his, then turned and walked in front of him out of the bus. Eden, Tex, and the others followed behind them. A black limo waited next to the bus, and with one final too-short kiss, Summer and Eden were in the car, and it was pulling away from him.

The taillights disappeared out of the parking lot, and Noah sighed and followed the others back onto the bus. After entering the living area, Noah made a beeline to where Zac had just sat down at the small kitchen table. Noah slid into the seat opposite him, and Zac looked up from his phone.

“Hey, man,” Noah started, and a flash of what might have been resignation tightened Zac’s features. The expression smoothed away so quickly Noah wasn’t even sure it had been there to start with. “We need to talk.”

Zac leaned back in his seat and contemplated him. “You’re out, aren’t you?”

Noah blinked. “Uh, yeah. How did you…”

Zac shrugged. “You want more time with Summer, I get it. Being in two bands works when you’ve got no one waiting at home for you. A bit harder when you’re touring twice as much and missing someone every day.”

Noah blew a breath out, relieved that Zac understood. “You know I’ve loved being in Crossfire, building it from the ground up with you, hanging with Beau and Devon, it’s been awesome. But it’s not my priority like it is for you. Not like Fractured, and definitely not like Summer. I want to make up for the years she and I have missed out on, and I can’t do that if I’m never home.”

A faint smile curved Zac’s lips. “I can’t say I’m not going to miss having you with us. And I don’t have a fucking clue who we’re going to replace you with, but we’ll work it out. I’m just glad you two are finally on the same page.” His smile turned into a full-on smirk. “You were fucking unbearable for a while there.”

Noah pointed at himself with fake affront. “Moi? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m always a delight to be around.”

They both laughed, but Noah’s expression turned serious. “I appreciate you being so calm about this. And I’m not going to leave you in the lurch. I’ll stick around until we find Crossfire another drummer. I mean, whoever it is won’t be as good as me, obviously. But we’ll get you someone as close as possible.”

“We’ll need to break the news to Devon and Beau when we get back. I think Devon actually mentioned having a friend who’s a drummer. We’re going to have to figure out a way to announce it to the fans though.”

Noah nodded, but his mind was already back on Summer. On how he was getting a second chance with her. On how it was funny the way things worked out. How he’d used to think that the two of them were meant to be. Fated somehow. He’d lost faith in that idea over the last eleven years, but maybe he’d been right all along. Maybe his fatehadbeen set in stone from the very moment he’d first spoken to her. He remembered the moment like it was yesterday.

She was walking across the campus, long strawberry blonde hair swirling around her shoulders in the light breeze. It wasn’t the first time he’d noticed her, but it was the first time he could do something about it; he’d broken up with his last girlfriend a month ago.

Leaving the friends he’d been walking with behind, he broke into a jog. “Hey, wait up!” he called out.

She turned, uncertainty flashing across her face. She looked around as if she weren’t sure he was talking to her, and he grinned as he came to a stop in front of her. “Yes, I’m talking to you.”

She blinked, her eyes big. “Uh…” Man, she was even more fucking adorable up close.

He grinned wider. “So, I just wanted to say hi, and introduce myself. I’m Noah.” It was obvious from the way her throat bobbed she knew who he was. “You’re Summer, right?”

The faintest of flushes warmed the skin of her cheeks. “Yes?” she answered.

He laughed at the question in her voice, his eyes dropping to her lips. He wondered what she’d taste like when he finally got to kiss her. Was it too soon to be thinking about that? “You don’t sound so sure,” he said.

She visibly pulled herself together. “Hi. Yes, I’m Summer. Um, do you need something?”

Damn, she was gorgeous. Nervous and flushed, but doing her best not to show it. His eyes went to her hair, and he fought the urge to reach out and slide his fingers through it, to see whether it was as soft and silky as it looked. The color reminded him of a summer sunset when the sky blazed with pinks and golds. He shook his head at himself. He needed to get a grip. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to frighten the other guys in the band by attempting to write a song with all this lyrical shit running through his head. “You know, your name really suits you,” he blurted out instead of answering her question.

She cocked her head at him. “It does?”

Noah just nodded. He’d look like an idiot if he opened his mouth and let his thoughts on the color of her hair spill out now. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll tell you why I think so after we’ve been dating for a while.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “W-what?”

But the certainty had hit him just then. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did; this girl was going to be his. He’d never been in love, had no idea what it might feel like when it happened. But watching her now, seeing the emotions playing over her delicate features, he could sense something. Something big waiting to take him over, to pull him apart and put him back together again in a completely different way. As if, after this one conversation, his life might never be the same. As ifhemight never be the same.

He kept his shrug casual, though; not wanting to scare her off. But he did want to make sure she knew he was serious about dating her. “I mean, okay, we haven’t had our first date yet, but I can already feel it’s going to go well. So yeah, I’ll tell you why after we’ve been dating for a while.”

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