My First Glance: An On My Own Prequel

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  She should know, she had a Ph.D. in chemistry and was brilliant. She knew all about school.

  “I did.”

  “When were you going to tell us you were applying?” Aiden asked, his brows low.

  I swallowed hard. “I wanted to see if I could get in. And then, I wrote the essay, and things just worked out. I wasn’t sure when I was supposed to make a decision—or even if I would—and then I kept keeping that secret. One thing led to another, and…here we are.”

  “Here we are,” Violet whispered.

  “You’re going to DSU,” Cameron said, shock in his voice. “I’m damn proud of you. But that’s not too long of a drive, is it?” Cameron asked. “You don’t have to move out for this. Hell, I’m so fucking proud of you.”

  I blushed, ducking my head. “Well, the thing is, I sort of already made other plans...”

  “I think I’m going to need to sit down,” Aiden said, sliding onto a stool. “Jesus, kid. You could have warned us.”

  I lowered my head. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me. I changed my mind, I think.”

  Aiden met my gaze, then shook his head. “I used to work at a Michelin-starred restaurant, kid. I did pretty damn well for myself, and I still work at some of those places. One day, I’ll have a restaurant of my own,” Aiden added, and everyone nodded. “We’re allowed to change our minds as we figure out what we want in life and who we are.”

  He had left his job because of a workplace feud and ended up working at the brewery when their foster father passed. He’d brought the place back, elevated it to a high level where they served more than bar food, but we all knew that Aiden was working with Brendon to open up another Connolly business. One where he could be a true chef and not make wings. We were all working towards a future with the Connolly businesses, and I wanted to be a part of that.

  I was just figuring out how.

  “I cannot wait to see how you do in school,” Violet said. “And wait until the girls hear this! We’ll be there for any help you need, too.”

  “We’re going to have to have a party,” Brendon said. “New babies and new schools.”

  “And, apparently, new homes,” Cameron said, staring me in the eyes.

  I winced. “Yeah, well, I went down to the university to talk with the bursar, and I saw a flyer that seemed perfect for me. One of the houses on college row came up for rent. Five rooms, lots of space. I’m moving in soon with four roommates.”

  Everyone just blinked at me before Aiden threw back his head and laughed. “You sure don’t do things halfway, kid.”

  “I’ll still be working here as much as I can, to help with the family and to pay my rent. But the school loans I already have for the university I’m currently at will work for this one. Everything’s going to be fine,” I said, adding more about the financial situation.

  Brendon shook his head. “I’ve got money, kid. You have a single loan, one you’re going to pay off as soon as you’re out of school. And you’re going to work your ass off to get a full ride if you can. But it doesn’t matter. We’re not making you go into debt for the rest of your life if we can help it.”

  “I’m going to pay my way,” I corrected, my back up.

  Violet reached out and touched my hand. “You are. With your work with the family, and with the fact that you’re going to quit keeping secrets from us,” she said wryly.

  “I didn’t know how to start talking about it, and then I ended up in this big secret cave. And now I’m fucked.”

  “You’re going to have to get un-fucked,” Aiden growled. “Because Brendon is going to need help with the conglomerate that is the Connolly family businesses. Therefore, you need to be up to scratch. No more secrets. And, you know, the girls are going to have a hell of a lot of fun helping you decorate the house that you’re moving into with three strangers.”

  I winced. “Please don’t help me decorate. I mean, I love you guys,” I added, looking at Violet, “but I don’t know these guys. I can’t just have my three sisters showing up, adding things to the house.”

  Violet raised her chin. “But you really can’t stop us. Sorry, but we’re Connollys. And you might think you can just walk away from us for a minute and keep secrets, but you’re wrong. We’ll keep hounding you, and we’re proud of you. Now, I do believe it’s time for a drink,” she said. “A virgin one for us, and a shot or a beer for everyone else. Because we have stuff to celebrate, new beginnings, changes, and the fact that we’re a family. No matter what.”

  I swallowed hard and hugged her close, knowing the others were either glaring at me or giving me confused looks. I didn’t blame them. After all, I’d thrown them for a loop, just like I’d done with myself.

  Things were changing, and it was time I caught up. Hopefully.

  Chapter 2

  Dillon

  * * *

  “Please stop carrying boxes,” I said, taking a large container from Violet’s hands. She sighed.

  “I’m allowed to lift things. I’m not that far along,” she said.

  Cameron shook his head. “Go sit down on that ugly couch and rest. Think about what you need to add to the house to make it livable.”

  I winced, looking around at the two-story colonial that I had fallen in love with the first time I saw it. It had large, open-concept living and dining areas, with a couple of rooms off to the sides that were meant for a library and an office, at least I thought so given the built-ins. The kitchen was visible from the front door, and the huge island was made for a chef’s kitchen. Part of the area was blocked off by a half-wall, which made the space look nice. At least, I thought. I wasn’t an architect, but I liked the place. All five bedrooms were upstairs, each having its own bathroom. Each one was slightly different, and all various sizes. My new roommates—guys I still hadn’t met—and I hadn’t chosen which rooms we were getting yet. An oversight for sure.

  In fact, the only box I had brought in was the one Violet had carried, and it was for the living room—not that I was sure I would put anything in there. I was a little worried about how this was going to end up and look once we were all living there.

  I looked across the living room, seeing four guys around my age that I had never seen before. I figured they were my roommates.

  And it seemed none of them had come with their families. I had only come with Cameron, Violet, and Aiden, but still, it was three more people than they had. They each gave me a look, the blond one raising a brow, the three dark-haired others giving me odd looks.

  I cleared my throat. “Can you guys go back out to the car for a second?” I asked softly.

  Violet squeezed my shoulder and nodded, while Aiden and Cameron gave each other a look, shook their heads, and then left, taking the box with them.

  That wasn’t awkward at all.

  “Hey, sorry. My family is kind of big,” I said dorkily. That phrase wasn’t something I was used to saying. At least it hadn’t been before two years ago. And here I was, moving into a home with people I didn’t know, leaving the only family I ever really loved behind.

  Dear God, I was part of my own made-for-TV movie, and I was already failing.

  The blond cleared his throat and moved forward.

  “Hello there. I’m Pacey,” he said, a posh British accent sliding from his mouth. That made me pause. From the texts we had shared when deciding what day to move in and get the keys, I hadn’t realized that he was British. But it wasn’t like I could really tell. The guy hadn’t talked about biscuits across the pond or anything—or any other stereotypical British things that came to mind.

  “Hi, I’m Dillon. And that was some of my family.”

  “Only some?” one of the guys asked, scoffing.

  I held back another wince. Not off to the greatest of starts.

  “That’s Sanders. Well, his name is Paul, but he goes by his surname,” Pacey explained.

  Sanders just snorted, giving me a once-over that left me feeling judged. Or maybe I was just reading into t
hings since I felt as if I had no idea what I was doing.

  “Tanner,” the brooding one in the corner said as if his name were all that was needed. And maybe it was.

  “And I’m Miles,” the slightly shorter guy said, giving me a slight wave. “We probably should have decided who got which room before this so it wouldn’t be so awkward, but here we are. Oh, and sorry about the couch. My mom wanted to help with the new house since it’s my first time living on my own outside of a dorm and went garage sale diving. It’s a lot comfier than it looks. At least, that’s what she says.”

  I looked at the very large brown monstrosity that I thought was a sectional, not a couch, and grinned. “Looks great to me. I mean, I don’t have a couch.”

  “I’ve got a TV,” Tanner said, shrugging. “Actually, I have two thanks to my dad wanting to get a larger one for his man-cave or whatever. We can put one down here, at least the bigger one. I don’t think the smaller one’s going to work in any of the rooms but the master, and I never have good luck with that.”

  There was something there, but I wasn’t going to ask.

  “Well, I have a bunch of kitchen supplies thanks to my sisters-in-law.” I looked at them and shrugged. “When they moved in with my brothers after the weddings, they ended up with a lot of doubles. We can probably fill that entire kitchen—or we will if my sisters have any say in it.”

  Pacey smiled. “That sounds like a plan. I have a few other things we can make work, too. As long as you guys aren’t the labeling sort,” he said with a sigh. “I mean, I’m sure we can all remember what’s what. Or make a list, I don’t really care. But I refuse to live with another person who has a label maker they use on everything they’ve ever owned, including their pillows.”

  I blinked at him and then laughed. “Well, I think my sister Violet out there may have a label maker, but I can ask her not to bring it in. Though she might want to use it with the fridge or something.”

  “That’s good,” Miles said before leaning back on his heels. “Anyway, we’re all parked in the back near the large garage. We probably need to start unloading things. My family was going to help, but work sort of got in the way.”

  “Yeah, same thing with half of my siblings,” I said.

  “My parents actually hired a moving company, so my belongings should be here within the hour,” Sanders explained.

  “Makes sense,” Pacey said. “Well, I guess we can draw straws or something, but I don’t have straws. I do have Twizzlers,” he said and then reached into his messenger bag for an open bag of candy. He pulled out five red ropes and broke them into various sizes. He popped a spare one into his mouth and gave us a look before tossing the other ends towards everyone else. “I guess I could have cut into two, but I really just wanted a Twizzler for myself,” he said as he swallowed the plastic-y candy.

  I chewed, the strawberry flavor bursting on my tongue. Well, this was a good way to begin living together, I guessed.

  “Okay, there are five sizes of rooms. Mostly because I think this was a custom home down this row, much like the rest of them. No two rooms are exactly the same, so we’ll go by sizes.”

  Sanders stared at me. “Here, you go first, new guy.”

  “You guys got here, what? Five minutes ahead of me? But I guess I can be the new guy,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Well, you’re the only one starting at DSU this semester,” Miles said.

  I looked around at them. “Yeah, I guess you guys have all been here a while.”

  “For a couple of years now, but we can show you the ropes if you want. School’s hard, fun, and can be intriguing,” Pacey said, grinning.

  Tanner didn’t say much, and I had to wonder if the guy liked me or not. Not that I cared. I had enough friends. Right?

  Pacey continued. “Anyway, pick one.”

  I pulled out a Twizzler and didn’t look at it. Sanders went next, and then Tanner reached forward, pulling one out silently as Miles took the next, and Pacey looked down at the last one.

  “Well, then. I guess that makes sense,” Pacey said, and I frowned.

  I looked down at the extra-long Twizzler in my hand and snorted. “I wasn’t expecting that,” I said.

  Sanders glanced at my candy before schooling his face. “No big deal. The third-sized room has the biggest tub. Mackenzie will like that.” He winked.

  I wasn’t about to ask.

  Tanner held up his very short Twizzler. “Looks like I drew the proverbial short straw. None of the rooms are tiny, though, so it’s not a big deal. By the way, there were two desks in the office, and two in the library. We can just claim which ones we want. There’s also a large desk in the alcove for whoever wants the fifth. The other four are the same in size, although I think the view in the library is better.”

  “Then you can take that one,” I said, looking at the others. “Since you kind of got the short end of the stick on the room.”

  Tanner shrugged. “That’s fine with me. Hopefully, we can get some studying done because I actually want to graduate one of these days,” he said dryly.

  “Same here,” I said quickly.

  “I’ll take the alcove since I’m in the middle of room sizes,” Sanders added.

  “Okay, on that logical path, I’ll share the library with you,” Miles said, and Tanner nodded.

  I looked at Pacey. “Looks like we’re study mates,” I said.

  Pacey just smiled, a blond brow rising. “Looks like. Do you want to ask the rest of your family in so they can help you unpack?” he asked.

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure they have their ears to the wood.”

  The front door opened, and Violet walked in, her cheeks red but a smile on her face. “Well, this pregnant woman would really love to know where your bathroom is, if that’s okay,” she said quickly, blushing even harder.

  I laughed and looked up at the guys. “Do you mind?” I asked.

  “I am not going to stand in the way of a pregnant woman for anything,” Pacey said and gestured towards the door next to the library. “There you go, it’s the half-bath, although it has two sinks for some reason. How this house has five and a half bathrooms, I’ll never know. It’s like a Tardis in here.”

  “You know Doctor Who?” Miles asked, a smile on his face.

  Pacey shrugged. “I know a lot of things.”

  “We’ve got a lot in the truck, just tell us where to go,” Cameron said. “By the way, I’m Cameron, this is Aiden. If you guys need anything, just let us know,” Cameron said, and everybody finished introducing themselves as Violet came back out.

  She smiled as she looked around. “This place is gorgeous. The fact that everything is hand-carved wood everywhere, it’s like we’re in the Clue mansion.”

  “Let’s not actually have this be a Clue murder mystery, though,” I said quickly, then Miles and Pacey burst out laughing, along with my family. Tanner didn’t laugh, but his eyes did brighten a bit. Well, at least I could make the guy chuckle a bit. Sanders looked down at his phone, texting quickly, not paying attention.

  We set about unpacking my truck, and by the time Brendon and the other wives arrived, we were helping my new roommates unpack their stuff, too. I seemed to have the most things, but it was probably because I’d had six people helping me pack, constantly giving me things because they were amazing and wanted me to feel loved. I hadn’t been spoiled in my life before this, and they were doing their best to help out.

  Aiden and his wife went to unpack the kitchen, while I helped where I could. I loved cooking, and according to Aiden, I was a decent chef. But I wasn’t the only one helping out. Tanner had come in to watch every place Aiden put something, nodding approvingly at the spices and other things. Tanner had his own array of jars and cookware, and I couldn’t help but be surprised. Seemed the quiet and brooding one also liked to cook. Looked like we would all eat well, or he would have some really good food for himself. Either was fine with me. I just didn’t want to be the one who ended up cooking for everybod
y.

  Violet went about labeling, and even though Pacey mock-grimaced, I could see the other guys appreciated it. There was a huge chef’s stove and refrigerator in the kitchen, way more expensive and fancier than I’d ever had. Violet made sure the two bottom drawers of the fridge were equally separated so each of us could have our stuff, while the condiments and the other drawers and shelves were for staples or other things that we shared. It only made sense, given it was four people who didn’t really know each other. At least she didn’t bring out her fancy label maker.

  “Just in case,” Violet said. “When I was living in a home with three other girls and not family members, everybody got catty about yogurt. It was a whole thing. I don’t really want you guys dealing with that. You can totally take away the labels later.”

  I kind of like them,” Miles said, shrugging. “I mean, my last roommate constantly stole my food and my books. And my shoes. He even tried to steal my bed once.”

  “Really?” Pacey asked.

  “Really,” Miles answered. “And that was the one semester I lived in the dorms. Before my parents pulled me out. But now I’m here, and very ready not to live with that person anymore.”

  “I promise I won’t steal your books,” Sanders said as he pulled out his phone to text quickly. He looked up and shrugged. “Girlfriend. She was going to stop by and help but got stuck with signups with her club.”

  “A sorority?” Violet asked.

  Sanders shook his head. “There are no sororities and fraternities here. No Greek row. However, we are located on college row, which sort of takes that place.”

  I looked at my siblings, who just raised their brows at me.

  “Let me get this straight. You’re in the party house?” Aiden asked, laughing.

  “I could see the parties happening here,” Brendon said, looking around. “Although, if you fuck up this craftsmanship, the owner will probably murder you.”

  “Probably,” I said, and Pacey laughed along with Sanders and Miles. Tanner simply shrugged, leaning against the doorjamb.