Page 22 of Catching My Dreams

Riley covered her face with her hands and slumped down in the passenger seat. “I’m so sorry. I promise it was an accident.”

It turned out that getting elbowed in the face hurt like hell. Not entirely surprising, but it was a lesson that Ella wished she hadn’t had to learn first-hand. Still, she didn’t blame Riley when it had clearly been a mistake.

“Really?” she asked, amusement lightening her tone. “I assumed you very purposefully sent your elbow into my eyeball.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Riley drawled. “I only elbow people when they’ve done something unforgivable like claiming Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift is better than Guns N’ Roses.”

Ella slowed to a stop as the traffic light ahead turned red and sent her passenger a loaded look.

Riley’s eyes widened comically. “Oh, right. I forgot you were a die-hard Swiftie for a second there.”

“So it was intentional,” Ella playfully accused the woman who’d jabbed her during their first self-defense class together.

Riley sighed. “You caught me. I thought a black eye would teach you a lesson about your taste in music.”

Ella grinned and turned the volume of her car speakers up. “I’m afraid it didn’t work,” she yelled over the sound of “Cruel Summer.”

Riley shook her head and laughed, clearly unbothered by the music. And it was a good thing too. Otherwise, Ella might have had to teach her a lesson.

“Why don’t you shower first?” Ella suggested after they’d arrived at her house and had been enthusiastically greeted by Archie. “I need to take him for a short walk before the guys get here.”

“Thanks,” Riley replied, heading for the stairs. “I’ll be quick.”

Feeling tired, Ella chose to throw a ball for Archie in the yard rather than take him for a walk. As he always did, the Yorkie lost interest quickly. Ella smiled as he trotted back into the house with the small tennis ball clutched between his teeth and dropped it into the box of toys that sat next to the living room door.

She followed him and sat on the blue armchair she’d claimed as her reading spot when she was ten and discovering the wonders of books.

Archie jumped onto her lap without needing any encouragement, and Ella sat like that until Riley came downstairs in fresh clothes. Ella traded places with her, leaving Archie to be cuddled and fawned over by the lavender-haired woman.

She took longer in the shower than she should have, lingering under the near-scalding water and letting the heat work at the tight muscles in her shoulders and neck. It was only when she heard the unmistakable sound of male laughter floating from downstairs that she turned off the water and rushed to dry herself and get dressed.

She briefly considered wearing her single pair of skinny jeans and a top she usually reserved for first dates or parties, but she vetoed her own idea quickly. Why the hell would she need to look good for her best friend, his girlfriend, the man who’d used and manipulated her, and, well, Chris?

With her long hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun and dressed in a pair of comfortable shorts and an off-the-shoulder knitted sweater, she made her way downstairs. Her steps should have been light, made giddy by excitement to spend the evening with her friends. Instead, they were heavy, weighed down by the knowledge that Noah was there.

A mixture of anticipation and dread ran like sludge through her veins. Her stomach felt like it was in the kind of knot that came hand-in-hand with events like public speaking and writing exams.

It was all for nothing, though. When she arrived in the living room, only Asher and Chris were there, the former with his arms wrapped around his girlfriend and the latter lying on the couch looking perfectly at home.

If she didn’t know better, she would have thought the sinking feeling in her stomach was disappointment. But she did know better. What she was feeling was definitely relief.

“Hey,” Ella said, feeling oddly uncomfortable in her own home.

Everyone’s attention turned to her, and she attempted her most convincing smile.

“Who gave you the shiner?” Chris asked with raised brows.

“Oh.” Ella lifted her fingers to the tender flesh just under her eye. “That would be the work of Riley. Our first Krav Maga class together didn’t go quite according to plan.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Riley was quick to say when the two men’s gazes flew to her. “It was an accident.”

“You’re a hazard,” Asher told his girlfriend with a sigh, his arms still wrapped around her stomach. “It amazes me that someone who did ballet for most of her life can be so uncoordinated.”

Riley scowled up at him, but her boyfriend’s teasing smile didn’t waver. Ella’s lips twitched up. He was so in love with that woman.

“Can I trust you not to beat up any more of my friends while we’re here?” Asher asked. “I know how competitive you are, but there’s no need to resort to violence over a game of Scrabble.”

“You’re so mean to me,” Riley complained, but her grin said otherwise. “I’m not that bad.”

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