Fractured Trust by L. M. Dalgleish

Chapter 4

“What?”

She and Deacon both responded at the same time, although Deacon’s louder, harsher tone drowned out Summer’s breathless one. Noah looked at her, his brows lifting as he crossed his arms in a deceptively casual manner. Summer’s gaze involuntarily dropped to the stretch of his t-shirt sleeves over his biceps before she quickly looked back up at him. His blue eyes flickered with some indecipherable emotion.

But Noah addressed his reply to Deacon. “Yeah, Summer and I discussed it in Chicago.” His tone was so casually dismissive she could almost hear her ex-husband’s teeth grind together.

Summer kept her eyes on Noah, wondering where he was going with this story. Wondering why he was bothering to defend her at all. Half believing he might be playing a cruel joke on her as payback, considering how annoyed he’d been with her before. Except… Noah had never been cruel. Occasionally thoughtless, sometimes too relaxed and laid-back for his own good—not that she’d seen much of that this visit—but never cruel. Not deliberately anyway.

“My sister’s finishing her music therapy internship and starting up a non-profit company. She’s looking for someone to help her, and it turns out Summer has exactly the skills she needs.”

Deacon turned to look at her, his dark brows knitted together. “Is that true?” he asked.

Her ex-husband wasn’t a bad man, but over the years, he’d started treating her like she had no aspirations outside of being his wife. That her sole purpose was to be there to support him in his life and career. And to be honest, she’d started to believe it, too. Until recently, anyway, when she’d realized she wasn’t prepared to spend her whole life just being someone else’s cheerleader. His insulting words before had hurt too. So, it might be immature, but she met Deacon’s eyes unwaveringly. “It’s a great opportunity.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.

Deacon’s frown was severe and his gaze ping-ponged between her and Noah, his face reddening. “So, you’re moving to L.A.?”

Starting to regret the ruse—her inherent honesty making her twitchy—and knowing the truth would have to come out eventually, Summer merely pressed her lips together and nodded. She glanced at Noah, only to see the dimple in his left cheek flashing as he smirked at her for falling in line with his deception. Ripping her eyes away, she tried to keep her gaze steady on Deacon. She must have been convincing because his shoulders slumped, and remorse crept through her.

It didn’t last long though, because he straightened and sneered at Noah, before turning angry eyes on her. “You deserve whatever happens. And if you think you can come running back to me when he breaks your heart again, you’re kidding yourself.”

Annoyed at somehow winding up in a situation where she was being confronted with two exes, using one to lie to the other in an effort to bolster her self-esteem, she squared her shoulders. Pinning Deacon with the hardest gaze she could manage, she said, “He won’t break my heart because I’m not giving it to him, nor does he want it. This is about a job, nothing else. And I won’t come running back to you, Deacon, because what we had is gone. And that’s not just on me, or you, it’s on both of us. Regardless, you’re not my port in a storm anymore. So if anyone were to break my heart in the future, I’ll have to learn to deal with it on my own. Now, I really need to get back to packing, so what was it you came here for?”

Deacon glared at her, although hurt lingered behind the anger in his gaze, which somehow still managed to tug at her heartstrings. He turned the glare on Noah. “I’d rather not discuss it in front of him. Why don’t you see him out, and we can talk about it over a coffee?”

Summer didn’t want to talk to either of them. The thick tension in the room was rapidly sapping her energy, and she couldn’t bear the thought of the interrogation Deacon would put her through if Noah left. She’d have to get him to leave first, and unfortunately, there was only one way to do it. “Sorry, Noah and I have a lot of things to discuss.” She shot a glance at Noah. “Work things. So maybe you can give me a call later to talk about whatever it is you want to talk about.”

Deacon’s jaw clenched, and she could almost see his mind working on how to remove Noah from the house. He’d always harbored animosity toward Noah after what had happened, which was odd considering the two men had been friends beforehand. But it was one of the things that had drawn her to him when she’d thought her heart was broken beyond repair. He’d been her shoulder to cry on then, a refuge from the storm of her grief. And if things between them had gone too far, too fast, it was her that had been to blame. Summer firmly pushed that thought away. It was over a decade too late for those kinds of regrets.

Finally, he accepted that she wasn’t planning on getting rid of Noah, who was still standing with his arms crossed and unashamedly listening in to their conversation.

“Fine, I’ll call you later then,” Deacon said, moving toward the door. She followed him, holding it open as he went out. He stopped in front of her, leaned down, and surprised her by brushing his lips across her cheek; his eyes darting to Noah as he did. Then he turned and strode off, agitation evident in every jarring step.

Frowning, Summer turned, catching the flash of ire in Noah’s expression before it smoothed away to amused indifference. Regardless of the fact Noah hadn’t wanted her, it seemed like Deacon had still broken the bro-code by getting together with her after the breakup. And apparently that was something even rock stars couldn’t easily get past.

“Well, that was fun,” Noah said. “I can see why you chose him. What a charmer.” His last words came out almost as a sneer, and suddenly Summer’s patience snapped.

“You need to go too.”

“But we never talked about—”

“Yeah, well I’m not really in the mood to reminisce about the time you broke my heart, Noah. So how about you leave, and we just go back to forgetting about it and moving on with our lives. I don’t even know why it matters to you. It’s not like there haven’t been plenty of women since then to soothe your wounded pride, if that’s what this is all about.” She bit her tongue to stop herself saying anything more. She didn’t want to sound like a jealous ex-girlfriend.

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—too well. 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.”

“Well, that’s insulting.”

“Come on, Summer. I don’t mean it like that. It’s just, it’s not like you have any amazing skills that would make someone hunt you down to ask you to work for them.”

The base of her skull started to pound. “Yeah, well, there’s a reason I don’t have a ton of skills, Deacon. You never wanted me to go to college, remember.”

“What was the point? You had a job; we were making decent money. Why waste time studying?”

“Except that now I don’t have that job, and according to you, I don’t have any marketable skills. So, I guess I could have benefited from going to college after all.”

That only seemed to incense him. “It’s not like I was planning on us getting divorced. If we were still together, you’d have no need to get a new job. That was your decision, not mine.”

Sadness filled her; he was never going to get it. “I just can’t get into this with you again. It never ends well for either of us.”

“Just because you’re trying to jump back in bed with Noah—”

“Damn it, Deacon. I’m not trying—”

“You never fucking got over him, which is just pathetic, because everyone knows he got over you the first time a groupie shook her tits at him. He just didn’t have the balls to break it off with you before he took what was being offered.”

Pain at the truth of his words rattled around her chest, and she rubbed her sternum, as if that would dull the sharp edges of her hurt. “Okay, I’m done with this conversation. Call me back when you’ve calmed down.”

Summer hung up, then quickly turned her phone to silent and placed it down on the side table, knowing he’d probably call back immediately and not wanting to talk to him anymore about Noah. She didn’t want to even think about Noah anymore. She inhaled shakily and closed her eyes. Seeing him again had been difficult, and she didn’t need more difficult in her life right now. She didn’t need him making her remember; bringing back the pain and the wanting. Not that she wanted him. The emotions that swirled through her when she was around him were just a distant echo of how she used to feel, that was all.

Summer caught the flash of her phone screen lighting up out of the corner of her eye. She gave it a cursory glance, expecting it to be Deacon calling but the message was from an unknown number. She picked it up and swiped to open it, her chest rising and falling sharply.

Unknown: The job’s yours if you want it. Email Eden and work things out.

He’d included Eden’s email address at the bottom of the message.

Summer’s pulse fluttered in her throat. She couldn’t believe he’d actually followed through. And straight away. She didn’t know what to think about that. And frankly, she was sick of thinking, debating with herself, questioning everything in her life. If she ever wanted to get back to the girl she used to be—the one whose life had stretched ahead of her with so much promise—what better way to start than accepting this opportunity that had come out of nowhere. Her fingers hovered over the screen for a second, before she tapped out a quick reply, nerves twisting her stomach.

Summer: Thank you, Noah. I really appreciate your help.

Unknown: Don’t sweat it, Sunshine.

Summer’s heart skipped a beat, tripping and stumbling before finally regaining its steady rhythm. That was the second time he’d used his old nickname for her. She dropped her phone in her lap and let her head fall back against the seat.

What the hell was she doing?