Chapter 4
Dillon
Mandy stood in front of me at the coffee counter, going through her long order. Mine was probably just as long, but she was meticulous in making sure she got precisely what she wanted. But that was Mandy. She always got what she wanted. Somehow, that included me. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d even ended up in a relationship for four weeks with a girl I was still getting to know, but I was happy-ish. Mandy made me smile, laugh, and took my mind off the fact that school was fucking hard, in addition to dealing with work and morning sickness. Not that Mandy had morning sickness, thank God. But I was over at my old place often enough that I had even held back Violet’s hair.
That was an experience I never wanted to repeat.
I liked Mandy, but we didn’t have much in common, truthfully, and we were only near each other for certain things. Things that I wasn’t going to talk about with my brothers.
My sisters-in-law wanted to meet her, and I had no idea why. I mean, I understood why, but Mandy and I weren’t like that. She had been very clear about the fact that she did not want serious. She wanted to date around. I was fine with that. It was college. It’s what you did.
And, frankly, I was too exhausted to worry about anything but focusing on what I needed to.
“You ready, babe?” Mandy asked. I nodded and held up my phone. She shook her head. “No, I already paid. Come on. You get it next time.”
“Sounds good,” I said and moved over to the side of the line.
“Pussy,” a guy muttered under his breath as he walked past, and Mandy narrowed her eyes.
I shook my head. “It’s not worth it. And I just want coffee. Just because he’s not enlightened enough to learn that, ‘Hey, your girl wanting to pay for coffee is a good thing,’ doesn’t mean we need to deal with it.”
The guy was already gone, so it wasn’t like he overheard me. Mandy just smiled. “You know what, Dillon Connolly? You’re a decent guy.”
I knew the tips of my ears were bright red, but I did my best to act nonchalant. “Yeah?” I asked.
“Yes. You are. And, one day, you’re going to make a girl very happy.”
I frowned at that, but then the barista said our names, and we went to get our drinks.
“Not that I’m not happy right now,” Mandy said, seeming to think about what she’d said earlier. “But, come on. We both know this isn’t serious. We’re having fun. That’s what you do in college. And I plan to have as much fun as possible.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I said, a little weary.
“Plus, while your brothers seem to have finally settled down and are the marrying kind, I wouldn’t have thought it possible.”
I frowned, feeling as though I should be insulted. “I have no idea what you mean by that or what to say.”
She patted my cheek and smiled at me. “Don’t you worry. You don’t need to think about it at all.”
I knew when someone was patronizing and condescending when I heard it, but since we were still in public, I didn’t want to deal with it. I had a feeling that whatever fun I was having with Mandy would be over by the end of the afternoon. I could handle being the fun-time guy for a minute. I couldn’t handle being the idiot dating the girl with other prospects, who treated me like shit.
A girl with honey-brown hair piled on the top of her head caught my eye, and I blinked for a minute. She looked familiar. Had I seen her before? I wasn’t sure, but the look in those hazel eyes made me think there was recognition on her side, too.
Or perhaps I hadn’t had my coffee yet, and Mandy had thrown me for a loop.
I pulled my gaze away from those doe eyes and elfish features and told myself it didn’t matter that Mandy wasn’t in it for the long haul. There were plenty of girls on campus, and since Mandy was done with me, I might be able to find another for myself. Or, I could focus on work and school.
Either way, it was my decision. Because for once, I wanted to live. I had spent enough time hiding. And I would do what my brothers had told me to do from the start. Finally. I would make sure to enjoy life.
Even if I failed along the way.
Chapter 5
Elise
I looked over where the man with the bright eyes and dark hair had been and blinked. “Earth to Elise, where are you?”
I shook my head and looked over at my best friend and roommate. “Who is that?” I asked and could have rightly smacked myself for voicing my thoughts.
Corinne grinned, her eyes dancing. “That, my darling Elise, is Dillon Connolly. He’s the new guy.”
I stared at her and blinked. “We’re at a university. There are lots of new guys. How do you know his first and last name already?”
“He just moved in with Pacey.”
“Oh, yeah. Your friend. The one you won’t tell me about or let on how you know him.”
Corinne rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing nefarious. At least, I don’t think so.”
That made me snort. I loved Corinne, and she loved her little games. They were never cruel, never mean. And they always made me smile. It was more like word games and mystery and magic. That was Corinne, all mysterious. A little pixie.
“Anyway, Pacey mentioned him. He’s a transfer student, the same year as the rest of us. He just didn’t start here.”
“Plenty of people do that.”
“True. And he’s hot. Too bad Mandy saw him first.”
I cringed. “I saw her with him. I hoped he was just standing next to her while my imagination ran in a thousand different directions. But good for them.” See? I wasn’t
