MY FIRST GLANCE
See what happens before the night that changes everything in this prequel novella to My One Night by NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan.
After mistakes and false starts, I thought I’d finally worked my life out. It took eighteen years before I found my brothers, the ones pushing me into this direction. Now I’m faced with another decision, a new school, and a set of roommates I didn’t know I needed.
Only after one glance at her, I know everything might change yet again.
Chapter 1
Dillon
“All I’m saying is, if you’re anxious about what she’s thinking, you should just ask her,” I said, leaning against the bar. “She’ll tell you, you know. She’s not the type of person to make you guess what she’s thinking. But you do need to ask her, or she’ll feel like she’s bothering you.”
My brother, Cameron, raised a brow. He was good at it, just like his twin, Aiden. They could always raise that single brow and make it look as if they knew exactly what you were thinking, even if you weren’t sure where your thoughts were headed.
“Really? You believe that if I just simply ask her, she will tell me exactly what she’s thinking? And there’ll be no weirdness.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, why not? It just makes sense to me.”
Cameron snorted. “You know, for someone so young, you sure do think you know all about love and relationships.”
I scowled. “I’m twenty. I’m not young. I’ve been through shit.” That was an understatement, and when Cameron just gave me a look, I shrugged. “What? It’s the truth.”
“You’re right. You have been through shit. But have you been in love?”
I shook my head. “No, but I listen to the girls, and they all say communication is vital. Therefore, I should try explaining it to you once again. Talk to your wife.”
“He’s right, you know,” Violet said as she walked into the bar, her smile cunning yet full of love.
I loved my sister-in-law. She was brilliant, beautiful, and loved me. I had been eighteen when I met her and fell head over heels for her, just like Cameron had. The fact that I had just moved to Denver after nearly stirring up my life meant I hadn’t been in the best headspace to make friends.
But, somehow, I had gotten close with my brothers, the ones I hadn’t grown up with thanks to my mom and the choices she made. I’d also made friends with the women my brothers had fallen for.
They all tended to coddle me, even though I was twenty years old. But they needed something to focus on. That way, they didn’t have to deal with other things in their lives. At least, that’s what I told myself when they got overbearing in comforting ways.
They mothered me, and I usually let them. I loved them. Not that I got too emotional about it when I was in front of them. At least, mostly.
“You are supposed to be at work,” Cameron said as he slid off the stool and prowled towards his wife. There was no other word for it. Cameron prowled. He was like a cat on the hunt, and his prize was right in front of him. His wife leaned her head back and grinned, then practically moaned right there in the middle of the bar as her husband laid one on her.
I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my Sprite. It sucked that I worked in the bar my family owned and I wasn’t even allowed to taste the wares.
“Get a room,” Brendon said as he walked in, sliding on his jacket. He had worked at the bar that morning, but I knew he had meetings with potential clients later. He was smooth, wore a three-piece suit better than anyone I had ever seen on TV, and had a wicked grin for his wife—and another for everyone else.
“I’ll get a room. Maybe the office upstairs,” Cameron said, leering at his wife.
Violet blushed, even as she rolled her eyes. “You need to behave.”
“And when has that ever happened?” Brendon asked, snorting.
My smile widened. “It is true. He is the least behaved out of all of us.”
“Ouch,” Cameron said, his eyes going wide in mock-affront. “I can’t believe you said that when Aiden’s in the kitchen in the back, and we all know he’s the worst of us.”
“I can hear you,” Aiden said as he slid two plates across the open window pass-through.
The Connolly Brewery was family-owned and operated, even though I hadn’t known about it until I was forced to move back to Colorado. It was a long story that I tried not to think about in detail too often. But all in all, it meant that I now lived with my brother, Cameron; his wife, Violet; and occasionally slept in the spare bedrooms of my other two brothers and their wives. I needed to move out, and though I had tried the dorms at my university in downtown Denver, it hadn’t worked out.
I hadn’t been a normal eighteen-year-old—or nineteen-year-old, for that matter. While everyone had wanted to party and have fun and enjoy life, I’d been forced to focus on other things. I had wanted to join in but living at home and saving money while still working had been the best for me.
And all of that brought me back to why I was sitting in a bar. I had a few things to ask my siblings, and I was petrified that they wouldn’t agree. I blinked myself out of my thoughts as someone moved closer to me.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind,” Violet said as she tapped my nose with a finger. She smiled softly, and I lowered my shoulders, tension releasing from my body. My sisters-in-law could do that. They saw right through to your soul. It was a little nerve-wracking sometimes. But at other times? It was perfect.
“Talk to me,” she whispered.
I would…just not right then. I needed time. Or maybe I just needed the spine to do it. Instead, I smiled. “I thought that was Cameron’s line,” I said, not wanting to get into that conversation yet. I needed to do a few things first. I had to formulate my thoughts, and frankly, I wasn’t sure I could.
An email burned a hole in my pocket where my phone rested, and I was terrified that I might continue hiding from what it said.
Violet gave me a look that said she’d talk to me soon about what was bothering me. “You know, the kid is right,” Violet said as she turned on her husband. “You should talk to me.”
Something in her tone made my brows rise, and I looked over at Brendon. He shook his head. He didn’t know what she was talking about either.
“Okay, would you like to tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours? You’re starting to scare me.” Cameron straightened as he spoke, and I was grateful that even though we were in the bar, only our family and Beckham, the bartender that should practically be family, were there. It was right after the lunch rush, and I knew the next rush would be there in a minute, and I’d have to work at waiting tables. For now, though, we had a moment of peace.
Violet just shook her head. “Well, let me see. What exactly are you saying is wrong with me? Am I being weird?”
I winced and slowly moved away from Violet, just in case she took a swing. A gentle one because it was Violet, and she would never hurt us, but Cameron did tend to have that effect on people.
“That’s not what I said,” Cameron grumbled. “Well, just that you’ve looked tired recently, and you’re acting cagey. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”