Page 64 of Catching My Dreams

“Love is so fucking weird,” Chris muttered.

“Just wait until you fall for someone,” Noah replied. “It’s going to drive you mad, but you’ll love every minute of it.”

“No thanks. I’m happy to remain sane.”

“I’m afraid you’re not going to have much of a choice,” Noah informed his friend before walking over to Ella and Edith.

He wrapped his arm around Ella, loving the way she immediately melted into his side.

“How’s the interrogation going?” he asked his stepmom.

“Ella was just telling me about Archie.”

“Ah, yes, my new best friend.”

“You should have brought him along,” Edith said. “Olivia would have loved that.”

“He probably would have peed on everything,” Ella replied with a cute wrinkle of her nose.

Edith laughed. “Maybe not then.”

Noah would have made a joke about males being territorial, but his dad announced dinner was ready before he could. He told Ella to go through to the dining room, and he, Chris, and Asher helped carry all the food through. His dad had made tacos again—a family favorite—and the dining room table was soon covered in serving plates and bowls.

“Let’s say grace before we dig in,” Noah’s dad said once everyone was seated.

Noah took Ella’s hand in his and sent her a smile when she shifted her grip so that their fingers were entwined.

He took Asher’s hand with much less enthusiasm.

“You okay?” he asked Ella in a whisper after his dad had finished the prayer.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Your family is great.”

“There’s no need to lie, Montgomery.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. I like them.”

Noah placed his hand on her leg, swallowing when his fingers met the bare skin above her knee. “I’m glad.”

“So, Ella, Noah told me you’re studying English at Georgetown?” Noah’s dad said.

“Yes,” she replied, spooning the vegetarian mince that Noah’s dad had made into her tacos.

“Do you know what you’d like to do once you graduate?”

“The plan was to be a high school English teacher, but lately I’ve thought about getting my honors and then doing a master’s degree if that goes well.”

Noah hadn’t known any of that, and he hated that they’d wasted so much time on being determined to hate one another. What else didn’t he know about her because he’d been too focused on trying not to like her?

“Oh, wow,” Edith said, sounding suitably impressed. “You must be very passionate about your studies.”

“I am,” Ella replied, shifting slightly in her seat.

“Ella’s into the classics like Austen and Bront?,” Riley chimed in with something Noah thankfully already knew. “I wish I could say the same,” she said to Ella, “but I tend to go for contemporary reads.”

“I also like reading more recent stuff. The classics are just my go-to choice,” Ella replied. “What about you, Olivia? Do you have any idea what you want to do after high school?”

And that was where it all fell apart.

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