Page 81 of Chasing Your Ghost

Noah smirked. “Why would I do that when I could get one of your friends on the cheer team to do it for me?”

Riley was expecting another angry retort from Ella, but it never came. Instead, her eyes flashed with hurt. “Good idea,” she finally managed to get out. “I’m sure Madison would take you back in a heartbeat if you called her.” She smiled, but it was clearly fake, one second from dissolving into tears. “While you do that, I’m going to take Archie for a walk.”

Riley silently watched her pat her legs and call the Yorkie’s name in the high-pitched voice she often used with the small dog.

Ella’s mood seemed to lift when Archie jumped up from his bed next to the armchair, bounding toward his owner with so much enthusiasm that he slid across the wooden floor before coming to an ungraceful stop in front of her, but her grin didn’t last long.

“I’ll be back soon,” she told them, keeping her gaze averted. She led Archie into the entrance hall and grabbed his leash from a hook next to the front door, clipping it onto his matching red collar before leaving the house and shutting the door behind her with more force than necessary.

“Who’s Madison?” Riley asked.

“My ex,” Noah replied with a sigh. “We only dated for about a month.”

“I see.” Riley wondered if she was the only one; Noah seemed pretty blind to it, but Ella’s crush seemed obvious to her. “Look, this isn’t going to work if you keep treating her like the enemy. We need to work together, and we can’t do that if you keep chasing her away.”

Noah’s eyes lowered in shame. “You’re right,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. “I know she’s our best shot at finding Asher. I just…”

“Can’t stand her?” she guessed.

Noah didn’t bother denying it. They all knew it was true. “I’ll try to keep the comments to a minimum.”

“I’ve heard that before,” she remarked dryly.

He winced. “Yeah, I guess I’m not very good at keeping my promises when it comes to her.”

“The way you act around her,” Riley said with a disgusted shake of her head. “You’re like a completely different person.”

“I’m not that bad,” he argued.

Chris barked out a laugh. “Oh, please. You’re a complete ass around Ella.”

“Shut up,” Noah grumbled. “As if you’re not a dick to her too.”

Riley sent him a warning glare. “Finding Asher is all that’s important right now, so I don’t care how much you hate, Ella. Just grow up, so we can focus on what actually matters right now!”

She hadn’t realized how furious she was until the words were out, and once she’d said them, it was impossible to ignore how close she was to breaking down and sobbing in front of them.

She hadn’t seen Asher in two days, and his absence hurt. It made her want to cry and scream and break everything in her sight, and Noah’s issues with Ella were not helping the situation. They were only making things harder.

Noah’s eyes had grown wide as she ranted, and she was grateful when he didn’t argue with her assessment. Instead, he gulped and nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Look, I’m going to go join her and Archie, but can I please ask that you behave when we get back? She’s a lot more useful to me than you are, so if you can’t behave like a decent human being around her, then I’d rather you leave.”

Noah reared back. “You’d refuse my help?”

Riley felt terrible for essentially choosing Ella over him, but she knew it was the smart call. “If your help comes with you driving off the person who has the best chance of finding Asher, then yes, I would refuse your help.” She sighed, her shoulders dropping. “Now you’re making me turn into a ginormous ass,” she complained.

His lips curled up into a reluctant grin. “Nah, don’t be silly. The only ass here is me.”

“True that,” Chris piped up.

“Ugh,” Riley groaned. “You two make it impossible to stay mad.”

“It’s my rugged good looks,” Chris explained with a wink.

“You’re right,” she agreed, doing her best not to crack a smile. “I just look into those eyes, and I’m a goner.”

He waggled his eyebrows as Noah pretended to gag. “Darn right.”

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