THE NIGHT WE MET

CHAPTER ONE

I stood outside the bar, staring at the neon lights flashing in front of me. I wasn’t one for places like this—loud, crowded, and chaotic—but my cousins had insisted. “Come on, Sam, you need to loosen up!” Grey had said, pulling me out of the house like it was no big deal. I sighed, wishing I had stayed home. But it was family. I couldn’t exactly say no.

Inside, the music was deafening, the air thick with alcohol and cologne. The place was packed, buzzing with energy, while my cousins—Grey, River, and Tony—were ecstatic to be reunited after years apart. They were all in their element. Me? I felt completely out of place. I tugged at my simple black dress, trying to feel comfortable, but the discomfort was too strong. I just wanted the night to end already.

We found a spot near the bar, and I tried to relax, but my eyes kept drifting to a nearby table where a group of men were laughing and clinking glasses. Something about them seemed familiar, though I couldn’t place it. That was until I saw him—David Collins. My heart dropped. Of course, it had to be him.

The Collins family. The Lees’ rivals for as long as I could remember. My grandfather had made sure I knew exactly how dangerous they were. He never stopped reminding me that they were deceitful and ruthless. And now, there he was, sitting so casually at the bar, relaxed and laughing like it was just another night. My blood boiled.

“Sam! Drinks are here!” Grey’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to see my cousins raising their glasses. “To family!” they cheered.

I forced a smile, trying to get through the moment, but my eyes kept returning to David’s table. I prayed my cousins wouldn’t notice them. But of course, they did.

“Hey, mind if we join you?” River called over to David and his friends.

I felt my stomach drop. “River, no,” I hissed, tugging at his arm, but he just waved me off.

David’s eyes met mine for a brief moment. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t recognize me, but then he smiled—relaxed, easy, completely at ease. And it made my heart race.

“Sure, the more the merrier,” David said, motioning for my cousins to join them.

Before I could protest, my cousins eagerly shuffled over, pulling me along with them. I sat stiffly at the edge of the group, glancing at River with a look that could kill. This was a nightmare.

As the night wore on, the drinks kept coming, and the conversation grew louder. I tried to stay distant, but my cousins weren’t having it. They dragged me into every joke, every story. And, much to my annoyance, David—of all people—was funny. I found myself laughing, despite myself, despite who he was.

One drink turned into two, then three. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d let myself relax like this.

David leaned in closer. “You’re a lot quieter than the rest,” he said, his voice just loud enough for me to hear.

I straightened up. “Maybe I’m just not having as much fun as they are.”

He smirked, clearly not buying it. “Doesn’t look that way to me. You’ve been laughing more than anyone else at this table.”

I was about to retort when I saw the softness in his expression. It threw me off guard. For a second, the rivalry between our families didn’t seem so important. I wasn’t sure why, but the tension between us faded.

The rest of the night blurred into music, laughter, and the fuzzy warmth of alcohol. By the time I realized how late it was, my cousins were stumbling out of the bar, and I felt a little unsteady myself.

“I’ll make sure she gets home,” David said when someone mentioned that I needed help. I wanted to protest. I didn’t want him anywhere near me. But my head was spinning, and when I tried to speak, the words came out jumbled.

The last thing I remembered was his arm around me as we stepped into the cool night air.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in an unfamiliar bed, sunlight streaming through the window. I groaned, my head pounding like it was going to explode. I blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from my brain. The room around me was modern and clean, but definitely not mine.

I turned my head, and my heart nearly stopped. David Collins was lying beside me—shirtless, fast asleep, and looking way too comfortable.

My breath caught in my throat. “What the hell did I do?” I whispered to myself.

I scrambled to gather my things as quietly as possible, my mind racing. I didn’t know how I ended up here. I didn’t know what had happened last night, but I could already tell—my life had just become a whole lot more complicated.

I quickly grabbed my purse and slipped out of the bed, trying not to make any noise. My heart was pounding, my thoughts swirling in a haze. I didn’t remember much from the night before, just flashes—laughing, talking, drinking—but the rest was a blur. All I knew for sure was that I had to get out of there before David woke up.

I took one last glance at him. He was still asleep, his chest rising and falling with each breath, a peaceful look on his face. For a brief moment, I felt a pang of guilt. I didn’t know how things had gotten so out of control, but this—whatever this was—was not the kind of complication I needed.

I tiptoed to the door, my hands trembling as I turned the handle. The moment the door clicked shut behind me, I exhaled a shaky breath. I couldn’t believe this was happening. How had I ended up here, in his apartment, with no clear memory of how it all went down?

I needed answers. But the last thing I wanted to do was face David and deal with the consequences of whatever had happened between us.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart, and started down the hallway toward the elevator. As I waited for it to arrive, I felt a sense of dread settling in. What if someone saw me leaving? What if David woke up and came after me? I didn’t know what to say, what to do. I couldn’t face him, not like this. Not after everything that had happened between our families.

The elevator doors opened with a soft ding, and I stepped inside, my mind racing with a thousand questions.