Fractured Trust by L. M. Dalgleish

Chapter 10

The door swung shut behind Summer. Tension pulled at the base of Noah’s neck, sending a dull ache through his head. What the hell had he been thinking chasing after her like that? She was his ex, for fuck’s sake. The woman who’d broken his heart.

But he couldn’t deny, seeing her there in front of the stage had triggered something. Awareness of her presence had sparked against his skin as he played; made every throbbing beat in his chest rival that of his drums. He hadn’t been able to stop his eyes sliding toward her throughout the set, watching her laugh with his sister and Lexie, her rose gold tresses tumbling over her shoulders and those pale seafoam green eyes sending a bolt of electricity through him when she met his gaze.

For a while, his mind had gone back in time, to when that had been his dream. Him up on stage, playing to a packed venue, and Summer waiting for him, ready to wrap herself around him as soon as he came offstage.

His mind had still been in that space when the concert ended. For a second, as he walked toward her, he’d almost expected her to smile that gorgeous smile of hers and hold out her arms to him. Instead, she’d given him one panicked look, a halfhearted wave, and turned to walk away.

And like a fool, he’d gone after her.

Noah opened the door she’d left through and stuck his head out to check she’d gotten in the car safely. Seeing the taillights disappearing down the road, he let the door swing shut, then turned and made his way back to his friends and his sister. He must be going crazy if he was chasing down Summer like that.

He strode back to the group, annoyed with himself, but plastering a smile on his face. All he wanted was to have a shower, a drink, and go home.

Eden pulled away from Tex’s grasp and stepped in closer to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, we killed it tonight.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

He grinned at her. “Not sure what you’re talking about, short stuff.”

“Noah—”

But he just winked at her and kept on going, following the rest of the guys to shower and change. When he came out again, he dragged himself to the room where the after party was taking place. Now, as he laughed and joked with the others, took photos with excited fans pressed against him, signed merchandise, and sometimes bodies, instead of enjoying the attention, he was still thinking about the moment he’d looked down and seen Summer in front of the stage and his heart had leaped into his throat.

He wasn’t stupid. Regardless of what had happened between them all those years ago, it was obvious he still found her attractive. Still felt that static electricity crackle through his veins when she was near.

When he’d first made the job offer to Summer, he’d thought it was purely altruistic, simply helping someone who used to mean something to him. But now he had to wonder whether he’d actually had an ulterior motive. Was there a part of him that had been looking for an excuse to pull her back into his life?

A statuesque blonde held out a sharpie to him. Giving Noah a sexy smile, she pulled her already low-cut top down so far, her nipple almost popped out. “Can you sign here?” she purred, tracing a manicured fingernail over the dramatic swell of her breast.

He met her blue eyes, which sparkled with invitation, then looked down, uncapped the pen, and scrawled his signature across her smooth skin. Where previously her silent proposition might have enticed him, this time he felt nothing. No urge to take her somewhere and strip her naked. No urge to run his hands over her voluptuous curves. Nothing. Just a lingering feeling of loss. A feeling that had only grown stronger since he’d seen Summer all those months ago.

He capped the pen and handed it back to the blonde with a smile, deliberately ignoring her pout as she flounced off.

Zac wandered over to him, beer in hand and amusement gleaming in his eyes.

“I think you disappointed her,” he said, nodding over to where the woman had retreated. Noah glanced in that direction, meeting her hopeful gaze, but quickly looked away. He wasn’t feeling it.

He turned back to Zac and shrugged. “She’ll survive. Or you could help her out.”

“Nah, she doesn’t want me,” Zac said dismissively.

Noah snorted. “Only because you’re mister unapproachable. All you’d have to do is bat those long lashes of yours in her direction, and she’d come running. But your ‘fuck off’ vibes are strong right now, so I’m guessing that’s not going to happen.”

Zac shook his head, but a corner of his mouth lifted. “Yeah, I’ve got too much on my mind. I wouldn’t be anyone’s good time tonight.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Not really interested in talking about it.” He scrutinized Noah’s face. “But you look like someone who needs to get something off his chest.”

Noah debated whether he should push Zac to tell him what his issue was, but seeing the obstinate glint in his friend’s eyes, he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere. Instead, he surprised himself by accepting Zac’s invitation to talk.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m wondering what the fuck to do about Summer.”

Zac nodded as if he’d known that was what Noah had been going to say. “That’s a tough one.”

Noah distractedly signed a poster that a fan thrust in front of him, paused so the guy could take a photo, then turned back to Zac. “She’s here now and I need to get used to her being around. I need to get past what she did. But it’s proving harder than I thought.”

“And what about Summer? Do you think she’ll be able to get past what you did?”

Noah shot him a glance. “I didn’t do anything to her.”

Zac studied him, his hazel eyes assessing. “Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s fucking so. She ended it with me for apparently no reason other than she didn’t trust me. Then she ran off and married Deacon. So no, I didn’t do anything to her. Not anything that deserved her treating me that way, anyway—like I meant nothing to her.”

Zac took a pull of his beer as he listened. “Yeah, that’s rough. What did you do about it?”

Noah stared at him, perplexed. “What do you mean?”

“The woman you thought you were going to marry one day broke it off without a good explanation, so what did you do about it?”

What the hell was Zac getting at? “You know as soon as we had a break in our tour schedule, I flew back home to see her.” Noah’s jaw tightened. “Which was when I saw her and Deacon. Kissing.”

“And?”

“And what?” Noah’s words were clipped now.

“What did you do about it?”

Noah blew out a breath and rolled his shoulders. “What could I do? She’d made her choice. I walked away.”

Zac rasped his palm over the stubble on his chin, his eyes steady on Noah’s. “You know, I have no doubt you and Summer were in love back then. But honestly? I don’t think either of you were ready for it.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Aggravation sharpened Noah’s tone. Once again, thinking about Summer had his emotions all over the place. The fingers of his right hand tapped out a beat against his thigh.

“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you’d fought for Summer? If instead of walking away, you’d pulled her away from Deacon. If you’d done everything that was humanly possible to win her back. To prove to her she could trust you.”

Noah opened his mouth to reply, then hesitated, closing it again.

Zac watched him as he struggled to answer, then he gave a half shrug. “You and Summer were both young, and I don’t think either of you fought for each other. I never doubted the love between you—the two of you together could light up a room. But sometimes…”—he paused, his gaze briefly turning inward before he focused on Noah again—“sometimes a love can be so strong, so intense, that it’s almost frightening. Sometimes, when you realize how much having a love like that torn away from you will hurt, you loosen your grip, even if it’s only for a moment. Because choosing to let something go hurts far less than holding on to it with everything you have and losing it, anyway.”

Noah stared at Zac as his friend’s words tumbled around his head. Had he chosen to let Summer go? Had they both chosen to let each other go? He ran a hand over his face. Fuck, he didn’t know. Maybe he could have fought harder. Could have confronted Deacon. Could have ripped Summer away from that asshole and shown her what she meant to him.

But he hadn’t.

He’d turned and left.

Remembering that night, seeing Summer’s lips pressed to Deacon’s, her arms wrapped around him, sent a gut-punch of pain through Noah. His hands squeezed tight. Zac didn’t know what he was talking about. He hadn’t chosen to let Summer go. She’d dumped him. Why would he fight for someone who obviously didn’t care enough to fight for him?

Zac must have seen his thoughts written on his face because he shook his head and took another pull of his beer. “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” he said, then wandered off.

Noah let out a harsh breath and forced his fists to unclench. Zac was wrong. He hadn’t let Summer go. He’d wanted to hold on to her forever. It had been her decision—all hers. And he had a horrible feeling he might never find out why.