Fractured Trust by L. M. Dalgleish
Chapter 6
Summer looked around the tiny bedroom—at all the boxes now waiting to be unpacked—and let out a slightly hysterical laugh. How the hell had she wound up in this moderately crappy apartment in L.A., about to start a job with her ex-boyfriend’s sister, who she hadn’t seen in over a decade.
The last few weeks had been hectic. Finishing her packing, emailing Eden to sort out start dates and salary, then trying to work out where she could afford to stay. This wasn’t the best apartment—it was a bit run down, and the sound of the neighbor’s television through the walls told her privacy might be an issue—but it would do the job. And honestly, being out of the house she’d lived in with Deacon for so long, she felt like she could finally take a deep breath. This was a new start for her. A chance to get her life in order, to reconnect with who she really was, and figure out what she wanted out of life.
Crappy apartment notwithstanding, she was ready for this challenge. Eden had explained over email more of what her aim was with Sharing the Spotlight, and the idea had impressed Summer. Eden’s goal was to connect smaller, often overlooked music-based charities, such as those that provided music therapy to underprivileged kids and adults, with recording artists willing to endorse them. Those endorsements—either long-term or for one-off fundraising events—would hopefully drive increased public awareness and bolster support for the various causes.
Eden also wanted to provide a list of vetted charities that musicians who were so inclined could personally donate to, secure in the knowledge that their money would reach the people who needed it the most.
Summer loved the idea of being a part of something that could make a big difference to those in need. She wanted to grab the opportunity and run with it. While she may have missed out on going to college because of what had happened with Deacon, that didn’t mean she couldn’t still have a meaningful career. And this job meant something. She just had to be smart about it, to work hard and not let the potentially awkward situation with Noah affect her or her relationship with his sister.
She hadn’t heard anything from Noah since she got the text message saying his sister wanted her for the position. Eden had sent all the job details directly to her through email. Summer had gleaned from bits and pieces of reporting she’d seen online that he was on tour with Crossfire right now, and while she was relieved she wouldn’t be seeing him again anytime soon, she couldn’t help wondering whether he was aware she was in L.A. now, not far from where he lived in Malibu. A fact she only knew because Eden had mentioned it in passing.
Somehow, knowing that she was now living close to where Noah lived made her awareness of him a constant annoying buzz in the back of her mind. At random moments, her thoughts would turn to him, and she’d wonder what he was up to. Was he on the tour bus? Playing a gig? With a woman?
The last thought still had the power to send a stab of pain through her, even after all these years. She wondered if it always would, or if one day she’d feel nothing at the thought of him being with someone else. God, she hoped so. Hurting over someone she hadn’t been with for such a long time, someone who had broken her young heart and who couldn’t care less about her now, except for maybe as someone to pity, made her feel pathetic. And she hated that.
Summer stared sightlessly out of her bedroom window, her mind drifting back to the first time she’d ever spoken to Noah. It had been at the end of their sophomore year of high school; only a few months after she and her mom had moved to Ohio for a fresh start. She’d been walking across campus on her way to the library, soaking up the late spring Sunshine and still reveling in having turned sixteen only the week before.
“Hey, wait up!”
Summer turned, not sure if whoever was calling out was talking to her. Her pulse kicked into high gear at the sight of the blond boy jogging toward her. She recognized him of course. Noah Taylor, one of the hottest and most popular boys in school.
He must have seen her uncertainty as he’d gotten closer, because when he came to a halt in front of her, he smiled. “Yes, I’m talking to you.”
Summer blinked at him. “Uh…”
He grinned wider. “So, I just wanted to say hi, and introduce myself. I’m Noah.” As if she didn’t know. “You’re Summer, right?”
Her cheeks warmed under his gaze. “Yes?” Why had that come out as a question?
He laughed at her, but not in a mean way. “You don’t sound so sure.”
She pulled herself together. Just because he was one of the cutest boys she’d ever seen in real life, with his sparkling blue eyes, tousled blond hair, and a deep dimple flashing in his cheek as he smiled at her, didn’t mean she had to lose her common sense.
“Hi. Yes, I’m Summer. Um, do you need something?” She still couldn’t figure out why one of the most popular guys in school was talking to her. It wasn’t as if she was unpopular; she’d made plenty of friends. But she wasn’t in the cool crowd, either.
The gleam in his eyes and the sexy smile that spread across his face made her stomach cartwheel. “You know, your name suits you,” he said instead of answering her question.
“It does?” She’d always thought her name would have suited her better if she had golden blonde hair and blue eyes, rather than the strawberry blonde hair and green eyes she’d ended up with.
Noah only nodded, that gorgeous smile still on his face. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll tell you why I think so after we’ve been dating for a while.” He chuckled when her jaw dropped.
“W-what?”
His shrug was easy, but the look in his eyes seemed to hold more weight than his casual body language was letting on. “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.”
Her heart did a slow tumble in her chest.
She just might be in trouble…
Summer clamped her lower lip between her teeth to control her reaction to the memory. Thinking back on how it had all started was only going to make things worse. She needed to keep all the hurt and disappointment firmly in the past where it belonged.
Summer tipped her head back and closed her eyes, then laughed at herself. God, why was she dwelling on ancient history? She had a new job she was looking forward to; she was going to figure out how to stand on her own two feet and live her life her way, and she was going to make friends and have some fun. Something she hadn’t had in far too long. She was in L.A. after all; opportunities for fun abounded here. A smile spread across her face, and she threw herself flat on her bed, her body bouncing up and down on the springs of the brand-new mattress she’d bought herself.
A sudden urge overtook her, and before she could think too hard about the ridiculousness of it, she scrambled to her feet on top of the bed and jumped. She kept jumping, erupting in giggles—half mortified at doing something so childish at her age and half delighted that she was doing it, and no one cared. There wasn’t anyone to tell her she was being silly or embarrassing herself. No one to roll their eyes at her. And as silly as it might be, right at that moment, jumping up and down on her new springy mattress, Summer felt freer and happier than she had in years. That, more than anything, told her she’d done the right thing.
Out of breath, she flopped down on the bed. Acting on instinct, trying not to overthink everything, she reached for her phone on the nightstand and tapped out a quick message to Noah.
Summer: Thank you. You didn’t have to help me get this job, and I really appreciate it. x
She stared at what she’d written for a second, then deleted the x at the end—debated deleting all of it and just letting it go. She chewed her bottom lip, finger hovering over the delete button, but then suddenly decisive, she hit send. If she was going to make a new life here, she wanted to start out right. And if that meant thanking Noah for doing her a huge favor, then that’s what she was going to do.
After putting her phone back down, she rested her hands on her stomach and looked up at the slightly watermarked ceiling that was lit up by the setting sun. She smiled to herself, a long-lost feeling of contentment washing over her.
The beep of her phone startled her, and she forced herself to wait for a few seconds before she picked it up, all too aware of how her heart rate accelerated. Was she that excited by the thought that it might be Noah messaging her back? She needed to get hold of herself. No matter the fact he’d done her a favor, he wasn’t her friend. He wasn’t anything to her anymore, just someone who had helped her out when she needed it. Being grateful to him and being excited to hear from him were two completely different things.
Picking up the phone and seeing Noah’s name next to the new message icon, she tapped it.
Noah: You’re welcome.
Summer grimaced at the mild burst of disappointment that hit her at his terse reply. Annoyed with herself, she was about to get back into unpacking when her phone beeped again.
Noah: Good luck with the job on Monday, Sunshine.
It was harder than it should have been to suppress the smile that tried to spread across her face. She’d always loved it when he used to call her Sunshine. Deacon had called her Summie, which was fine, but the nickname had never warmed her the way Noah calling her Sunshine used to. Especially when he’d whisper it in her ear while his hands did wicked things to other parts of her.
A flush suffused her body at the thought, and she tossed her phone down on the bed and sat up. Okay, that was enough of that. No need to go wandering down memory lane; that road only ever led to a dead end. Time to get herself organized. She had a job to get ready for.
* * *Summer rubbed her damp palms on her thighs as she stood outside the address Eden had emailed to her. It was a small ground-floor office block not far from Manhattan Beach, and she wondered how Eden was affording the rent. Then she rolled her eyes at herself. Eden was Noah’s sister. And it wasn’t as if Summer hadn’t heard the news she was dating Tex now. When you were the sister and girlfriend of two world-famous rock stars, you weren’t likely to be renting a run-down office in a bad part of town. Remembering how protective Noah and Tex had been, even as teenagers, she couldn’t imagine either of them would let Eden rent somewhere that wasn’t safe.
Summer glanced up at the wall above where she was standing and smiled at the sight of the state-of-the-art-looking security camera aimed down in the direction of the front door. But her smile soon faded. She was procrastinating. Probably because now that she was finally here—about to see Noah’s little sister again for the first time in years—her nerves were pinging all over the place.
Eden had been cordial to her over email, but she hadn’t exactly been chatty, and Summer couldn’t stop herself worrying that Eden might be holding a grudge against her for breaking up with her brother. Not that it had affected Noah much. But she’d always gotten on well with his sister when Eden had been a little girl, and Summer wondered if her sudden disappearance from Eden’s life after she and Noah had broken up might have hurt her.
After taking a deep, steadying breath, Summer braced herself and knocked on the frosted glass door. She waited, but there was no answer, and her shoulders drooped. Then, annoyed at herself, she stiffened her spine again. How the hell had she ended up feeling so defeated all the time? When had she lost her backbone? Eden had always been a sweet girl, and Summer had done nothing wrong. How many high school couples lasted the distance anyway, even when one of them didn’t end up becoming a rock star? There was no reason for Eden to be angry at her, and surely she wouldn’t have offered Summer the job if she were? Summer lifted her chin and knocked harder.
This time, footsteps sounded on the other side of the door. “Coming!” a female voice rang out.
The door opened, and Summer’s eyes widened. “Eden?”
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Eden had grown up to be so gorgeous, after all, good genes ran in her family. But still, it was a shock to see that the gangly little girl she remembered had turned into such a knockout. A knockout who was eyeing Summer with thinly veiled curiosity.
“Hi Summer, long time, no see.” Eden’s tone was carefully neutral, and Summer’s recently stiffened spine started to wilt again. Gritting her teeth, she squared her shoulders and looked Eden in the eye. She could understand why Eden might take the side of her brother, but Summer hadn’t been the one in the wrong, and she refused to act as if she had something to feel guilty about.
She pasted a smile on her face. “It’s really good to see you again.” Since she was going to be working for Eden, she wanted to start off on the right foot.
Eden paused for a second before her innate niceness seemed to kick in, and she smiled back. “It’s good to see you, too. Come in, please.” She stepped back from the door to let Summer pass, then closed it behind her.
Summer looked around at the small, neat office. There were two desks facing each other, both with computers and phones set up on them. Beautifully shot photos covered the exposed-brick walls, many of them of Fractured performing live. They included several amazing action shots of Noah playing his drums, a too-sexy-for-his-own-good smile on his face as he looked out at the crowd.
She turned her eyes away, perusing the rest of the bright, welcoming space, then looked over at Eden, who was standing watching her, an unreadable expression on her face. Summer swallowed. “Thank you so much for giving me this job, Eden. I really appreciate it. Did, uh, Noah tell you my situation?” They’d never really delved into the why of Summer needing employment during their email exchange, just the details of the position.
Eden’s expression softened. “He said that you had to move out of your house after your divorce and you didn’t have a job. He thought you’d be a good fit for what I need.”
“Well, I hope so. I mean, as I said in my email, I might not have any formal qualifications, but I have been working as an admin assistant for the last eleven years. I quit because my ex worked at the same company, and it was just really awkward. And to be honest, I wanted to try something different. But it does mean I’m good at organizing and liaising. And I’m a hard worker.” God, she was babbling. Summer paused, took a deep breath, then finished more calmly. “If I didn’t say it enough in my emails, I love the idea of what you want to do here, and I’m really excited to be a part of it. So, whatever you need, just let me know.”
Eden had been studying her as she spoke, her expression thawing even more. She blew out her cheeks and gave Summer a warm smile. “That’s exactly what I need. Trying to get everything up and running while finishing up my music therapy internship has been a bit of an administrative nightmare. And although I have an in with the industry because of my relationship with Fractured, it’s still proving to be hard work to get people—agents and managers, even the musicians themselves—to notice us. We need to get some momentum going, to get people talking about what we can do for them. With the charities I have the opposite problem, they’re lining up to receive endorsements. So, I need help there to make sure they’re vetted appropriately, then prioritize them and figure out which artist might click with them.”
“And having them click is important?” Summer asked.
Eden’s blue eyes lit up. “Yes, it’s critical. I don’t want this to be a soulless transaction—just celebrities looking to get themselves some good publicity. I want them to really care about the charities they’re promoting. To want to invest their very valuable time—and often money—into showing the world how important music can be to those in need. To see this as a chance to make a real difference outside of the direct impact of their songs.”
Eden’s enthusiasm was unmistakable, her expression animated as she talked. “I want them to feel passionate about what they’re doing. Because if they don’t feel a connection to the cause they’re supporting, it will show. And obviously it’s important that the charities feel like the artists are a good fit for them too. You don’t really want a Christian-based charity to be represented by a death metal band, for example.” She paused and tapped her bottom lip. “I mean, unless it’s a Christian death metal band, I suppose.”
Summer laughed. “I get your point.”
Eden seemed to realize then that Summer was still standing in the middle of the office clutching her purse. She gestured to the desk closest to Summer.
“That will be yours. We’re going to need to work closely together while we get everything up and running, so being in a small space will be good to start off with. But who knows, if things go well, we might be able to increase our office space at some stage. Maybe get some more people involved.”
“Well, I’m here to help. So, tell me what you need, boss.”
Eden gave Summer her first really bright smile since she’d opened the door. “All right, how about you get your computer and email up and running, and we’ll make sure all the IT stuff is working? Then we’ll go from there.”
Summer returned her smile. “Sounds good.” She put her purse down under her desk and was about to sit down when Eden called her name. Summer met her gaze, nerves flaring back to life at the blonde woman’s serious expression.
“I’m only going to say this once, and then I’m going to let it go, and we’re going to start this relationship fresh. You hurt my brother. Badly.” Summer opened her mouth to protest, but Eden put up her hand to stop her. “I’m sure you had your reasons for what you did. At least, I hope you did. I don’t want to hear what they are, it’s not for me to get involved in what happened between you two. But the fact that he suggested you for this job makes me think that a part of him still cares about you. So, whatever may or may not happen between you two, don’t hurt him again. Please.”
A flush swept over Summer, heat traveling in a prickling wave across her skin as her stomach knotted. She wanted desperately to defend herself. To tell Eden that she hadn’t broken Noah’s heart, it had been the other way around. But what good would it do, without going into all the painful details that Eden didn’t want to hear, and that she really didn’t want to talk about with his sister? If Eden was willing to let it go, did it really matter in the long run? Regardless of what Eden thought about why Noah had made her the job offer, neither of them was interested in starting something up again. So instead of jumping to her own defense, Summer swallowed and nodded.
Eden smiled, then clapped her hands together. “Right, let’s get to work!”