Page 8 of Fractured Trust

He stared at her for a long beat, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what was going on behind his blue eyes. “Don’t you think we should talk about the job?” he eventually said.

“The job? Didn’t you just make that up to get a rise out of Deacon?”

“No. Eden needs someone to help her out, and I think you’d be a good fit. And it doesn’t sound like there’s all that much keeping you here.”

Summer shook her head, stunned that he seemed to be serious about her moving to L.A. to work for his sister. She gathered her thoughts. “First of all, I don’t even know what it involves. Secondly, don’t you have to run it past Eden before you start offering people jobs? And thirdly, do you really think it’s a good idea for us to spend any more time together?”

Noah held up his hand and counted off the answers with his fingers. “She’s starting a non-profit called Sharing the Spotlight, which will connect successful recording artists with smaller, grassroots music-based charities in need of support. She needs someone to help her get it off the ground. If you’re interested, I’ll run it past her, but I don’t think she’ll have a problem with you. And it’s not like we’ll exactly be socializing with each other. I don’t make it a habit of hanging out at my sister’s place of work. And as you mentioned, I’m not interested in your heart, or”—he raked his gaze up and down her body—“other parts of you. After all, I’ve got all those other women to take care of that for me.” There was a faint bite to his last words.

Summer’s cheeks flamed, and she pressed her lips together, embarrassed that he thought she might want anything like that from him. She ignored how her chest tightened at the thought of all the women he must have been with since her. It wasn’t jealousy, she told herself. It was just residual hurt at the knowledge that losing her hadn’t mattered to him at all.

The job he described did sound interesting, though. Before Summer’s plans for college had gone out the window, she’d been thinking about majoring in public relations, and it seemed like there might be aspects of that in what Eden was trying to do.

Her shoulders slumped. She didn’t have any formal qualifications, only the skills she’d picked up working as an admin assistant. She was good with people and being organized, but that was about it. It was hard to imagine Eden wanting her when she could have any number of qualified people far more suited to the position.

Summer swallowed her pride. “I can’t do that, Noah. I don’t have the skills she’ll need.”

He cocked his head, his brows pulling together. “I don’t know what skills you think you’re lacking, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do the job. You just have to be willing to jump in and help Eden out with whatever she needs while she’s getting everything set up and running. Then you can learn on the job, just like she’ll be doing.”

A little curl of excitement unfurled in Summer’s chest. The idea was crazy, but that was almost what appealed the most. She used to be more spontaneous, used to love trying new things. But lately it had been as if she were just existing, each day a carbon copy of the one before. And she loved the concept of what Eden wanted to do; it would be amazing to be a part of building something like that. As much as she hated having to admit that Noah was right, there was nothing keeping her here.

She blew out a breath and didn’t let herself think too much about what she was doing. “All right, maybe you can talk to Eden and ask her to get in touch if she really is okay with it.” She hesitated, then forced herself to hold his gaze as she added, “Do you need my number?” It was the last thing she ever thought she’d be saying to Noah, but she managed to get it out without her voice cracking.

He shook his head. “Already got it.”

Summer scrunched her nose up. “Great, that’s not stalkerish at all.” She pretended not to notice the corners of his lips curling up into the smile she remembered so well—toowell. Instead of acknowledging it—or the way her own lips twitched in automatic response—she gestured to the boxes sitting around the room. “Well, I really need to get this done, so you should probably go.” She hoped he’d leave without a fight.

The smile that had been lingering on his face disappeared, and he nodded. Summer turned away from him and swung the door open, waiting as Noah moved toward her. He paused as he drew alongside, and her pulse jolted as she looked up and met the intensity of his deep blue gaze. It was the closest they’d been to each other without the door between them since he’d gotten there, and a crackle of something that was far too much like the attraction she used to feel for him danced along her skin.

Something flickered in his eyes. “Our conversation isn’t over, this is just a rain check.” The pitch of his voice was so low, she had to suppress a shiver.

Exhausted and in shock over everything that had just happened, Summer let out a breath. “I’ll see you around, Noah.”

Relief washed through her when he just tipped his chin in acknowledgment and walked out. After closing the door behind him, she leaned her forehead against the cool wood. She’d bet good money that after Noah got on his private jet and flew back to L.A., she’d never see or hear from him again. She certainly wasn’t going to hold her breath waiting for a job that would probably never materialize, anyway.

Not for the first time, Summer regretted not lining up a new position before quitting her old one. It might have been uncomfortable seeing Deacon—not to mention her father-in-law—during and in the months after the divorce, but that was no excuse for not planning things better. She sighed and pushed herself away from the door. She’d have to send out some more resumes tomorrow and hope to God she managed to get an interview for something soon.

A few hours later, she was curled up on her couch with a book and a glass of wine, half-filled boxes still surrounding her. She was trying to distract herself by reading, but her mind kept drifting back to that afternoon, seeing Noah at her door—in her house. The house she’d shared with Deacon. She grimaced. Talk about uncomfortable.

She wished he hadn’t looked quite so good. Over the years, whenever her thoughts had turned to him, she’d liked to imagine that more than a decade of rock star debauchery would have taken its toll. But unfortunately, the years since she’d seen him last seemed to have only improved on what had already been an unfairly perfect package.

She remembered how she’d sometimes used to lie next to him as he slept, drinking him in with her eyes—his long lashes, the angle of his jaw, the sensuous curve of his lips—and wonder how she’d gotten so lucky. Wondering what it was about her that had managed to catch and keep his attention. Wondering if she’d be lying next to him still; ten years, twenty, fifty years from then.

The unexpected nostalgia ebbed away, and Summer sighed. Because she also remembered how hard it was dealing with the covetous looks so many of the girls used to give him. How insecure it made her feel. How she’d cling a little tighter to his arm whenever they would flirt with him, right in front of her—as if she didn’t matter. And Noah had never gotten it. Not really. He’d just tell her he loved her, that she was the only girl he needed.

She’d wanted to believe him more than anything, she had. But there’d always been that thread of fear winding through her chest, pulling tighter and tighter; a part of her that had always wondered if his love for her would be strong enough to weather any storm—resist any temptation.

Turned out she’d been right to wonder.

Thankfully, Summer’s phone rang, distracting her before she got too lost thinking about the past. She picked it up and groaned. Deacon’s name was flashing on the screen.

She debated not picking up but knew from experience that he’d keep calling until she eventually did. So she answered it, trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible. She didn’t want to have to try to explain why she sounded too happy—or too sad—or whatever conclusion Deacon would jump to regarding her emotional state after seeing Noah. “Hi, Deacon.”

He launched straight into it. “What the hell, Summer? What are you thinking, seeing Noah again? I can’t believe you’re letting him back into your life after he threw you away like that.”

She sighed and rubbed her temple. “Deacon, please stop. First of all, you don’t have any say in who I do or don’t spend time with anymore. And secondly, I’m not seeing him again. I’ve seen him twice in the last eight months, and he wanted to talk about the job. He has no interest in me and I definitely don’t have any interest in him. Not that it’s any of your business, anyway.”

Deacon scoffed. “I’m not stupid. There’s no way he’d be after you to work for his sister if he didn’t want to get into your pants again.”

---