The Very Naughty List

2. Hailey

2

HAILEY

“I’m sorry, what?” Dylan asks as he stares at Reid in visible surprise. “You’re dating Hailey?”

I’m grateful that he spoke before I could blurt out the same question, since it was on the tip of my tongue too. I’m also glad that he’s looking at Reid for an answer, because I’m pretty sure my mouth couldn’t form words right now even if I tried. I’m much too busy trying to think straight under the weight of Reid’s muscular arm wrapped around me.

In all the years that Reid has been one of my brother’s best friends, I don’t recall ever having been in such a close proximity to him.

Sure, he and his brothers were always hanging around our house while I was secretly crushing on all three of them from afar, but he never touched me. None of them did—not like this.

“Yes, I am.” Reid’s answer is filled with unwavering confidence as he holds on to me protectively, dropping his arm down from my shoulder to hook it around my waist.

I blink up at him in shock.

“Isn’t that right, babe?” he adds, looking down at me with a smile that makes heat rise in places I really hope no one can notice.

“Yeah. I mean, uh, yes.” I stumble over my words. “We’re dating.”

I’m a completely shitty liar, but thankfully Reid has already taken the lead and all I need to do is go along with it.

“I’m so happy you’re home.” Reid sweeps a strand of my blonde hair away from my cheek. “God, I’ve missed your face.”

I feel like my legs are going to give out from under me. It’s a good thing he has an arm wrapped around my waist, or they just might.

“But I thought you just got back into town.” Dylan eyes me skeptically, making my stomach tighten. I swear this man can smell weakness.

“She did, and not a moment too soon.” Once again, Reid saves me from having to say anything. “Long distance is tough, especially when our chemistry is off the charts. I’m sure you can understand that, Dylan. Or maybe not.”

The dig is an obvious one, meant to knock my ex into place.

I watch as Dylan seems to squirm in his own skin. He’s not used to being shown up by another man. He still wants to think that I’m pining away for the relationship that he destroyed. And as much as I can tell he’s trying to hide it, the tightened muscles in his jaw and the way he keeps glancing down at Reid’s hand on my waist give away that his ego is bruised.

Good .

“Well, congratulations to the both of you, then,” Dylan says through a thin-lipped smile. “Hope to see you around town some more, Hailey.”

I don’t say anything as I watch him walk away. Reid doesn’t remove his hand right away either.

But when he finally does take a step back and releases his arm from my waist, the Montana winter air suddenly feels colder than it ever has before.

“Thanks.” I feel the warmth in my cheeks against the kiss of chilly air. “You didn’t have to do that. It wasn’t your problem.”

“You’re always my problem.” Reid shoots me a dimpled smile that could melt snow. “I’ve got your back. And you don’t have to thank me. I’m more than happy to take that fucker down a peg or two. Dylan is an ass.”

His smile melts into a scowl as he speaks, and he crosses his arms over his chest, making all the muscles in his shoulders and chest shift in defined lines under his long-sleeved shirt.

How is it that he’s not freezing out here without a thicker jacket on?

For a moment, my mind plummets down a rabbit hole of all the ways we could stay warm together. But then I quickly shake the thoughts away and remind myself that he was obviously just doing this as some sort of obligatory favor to look out for his best friend’s geeky little sister.

I like to think that I don’t fit that description anymore, though. Despite the bumps in the road that I’ve faced, I’ve grown up a lot since I was the dorky little kid he and his brothers used to look out for.

“So, are you really back?” Reid continues, tilting his head as he gazes down at me. “Are you staying in Chestnut Hill?”

“No,” I answer too quickly. “No, I’m only here temporarily. Just clearing my head for a bit before going back to LA.”

“Clearing your head? Aren’t things going well for you out there in the big city life?”

He runs one hand through his chocolate brown hair and takes my bag from me to carry to the car with the other. The light from the setting sun makes the lighter copper strands in his hair pop as his messy locks frame the sides of his face. Reid has a sort of rugged gorgeousness about him that I swear makes my heart actually beat faster against my ribs.

“No, they are,” I lie as I walk alongside him back to my car. “It’s just good to take some time for a fresh perspective sometimes. How about you? How have things been going with the carpentry business? How are your brothers and sister doing?”

He chuckles. “Business is good. Nick got a dog that doesn’t like anyone but him, Sebastian is still at the garage, and the three of us are living together. Addison is great, and Iris is as adorable as ever. She’s got all of us wrapped around her little finger, I swear. She’s our only niece, so we’ve got to spoil her.”

My attempt to divert attention off of myself and onto him seemed to work, but when we reach my car, I find myself wishing that I had parked much farther away.

“Thanks again.” I smile, trying not to seem awkward as I force myself not to linger. “Maybe I’ll see you around while I’m in town.”

“Of course you will,” Reid teases. He reaches out to pull the zipper on the front of my coat all the way up as if he’s worried I’ll catch a cold. “We are dating, after all, aren’t we?”

He gives me a wink before turning to leave, and I fumble with my keys to unlock my car door. Just as I finally slip the key into the lock, Reid’s voice sounds from a little way away.

“Oh, and, trouble?” The nickname he used to call me makes my stomach flutter, and I turn to look at him over my shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re back.”

I nod, clearing my throat, then quickly toss my bag into the car and slide into the driver’s seat before he can see how flustered I am. He heads inside Gus’s General Store, and for a moment, I sit in my car, gripping the steering wheel before even starting the engine. It might be cold outside, but I feel like I’m suddenly generating enough heat for a furnace as the wings of a thousand butterflies erupt in my stomach.

Finally, I shake myself out of my daze and crank the key in the ignition. The drive to The Griddle House feels unusually long, even though it’s pretty much right around the corner. That’s because I’m impossibly lost in my thoughts about Reid Cooper the entire ride.

Reid and his brothers, Nick and Sebastian, have always been protective of me. I’ve always chalked it up to the fact that they’re Lucas’s best friends. The three guys were always spending time at our house hanging out with my brother, especially after their parents died in a car accident when they were eighteen.

And since I looked up to Lucas and always wanted to be around him, the triplets didn’t have much choice but to put up with me—although they never made me feel like I was bothering them at all. In fact, they sometimes even carved out space for me, which I attributed to them just being nice guys and feeling an obligatory need to be kind to me, since they were sort of unofficially adopted into our family.

Truth be told, I’ve always had a crush on all three of them. How could I not? The Cooper brothers are all ruggedly handsome and built like Titans.

Obviously, I never let them know how I felt, since there was no way any of them would be interested in Lucas’s little sister. But they did all still look out for me. Sometimes they even acted more insanely protective than Lucas did. I can even remember times when I let myself lie in bed and fantasize that their watchfulness over me might’ve meant something.

But I always circled back around to telling myself that it was just the way the triplets were—bonded closely together after the death of their parents and protective of the people they cared about.

So I’m not completely surprised that Reid stood up for me with Dylan, although how he did it sure knocked me on my ass.

By the time I get to the diner, park, and head inside, I’ve managed to talk myself down a bit from the encounter at the general store and I’m feeling truly excited to see my family. This place, my parents’ restaurant, feels like home. And for the first time since I arrived back in town, I’m thrilled to be back in Chestnut Hill.

My sister Pippa squeals with glee as she runs toward me and squeezes the life out of me until I can’t breathe. I hug her tight and bury my face against her artificially crimson-colored hair. It smells like a mix of strawberry shampoo and the coffee they serve at The Griddle House.

I’ve missed this, my sister’s outgoing personality and the aroma of things that smell like home.

“Ahhh, Hailey! I’m so glad you’re here!” Her face lights up when she lets me go so that my parents can get their hugs in too.

My mom looks me over and asks if I’ve been eating enough while my dad gives me a broad smile and echoes the sentiment that they’re all glad I’m home. Then they both have to finish up some work in the back room of the diner before closing time.

Pippa and I slide into a booth together to catch up a bit.

“So where are you staying?” she demands. My old bedroom in my parents’ house is being occupied by our grandmother now, which is just as well, because I don’t know if I could’ve survived the indignity of being fired and being forced to move back in with my folks, no matter how much I love them.

“I’m renting a room from Ted Bigelow.”

My sister grimaces and wrinkles her nose. “Ted Bigelow? Hailey, that guy is a weirdo. Everyone in town knows it. You shouldn’t stay there with him. I told you that you could crash with me.”

“It’s fine,” I reassure her. “Ted can be a little… different, but your place is so tiny, and I don’t want to impose on you like that. And mom and dad have Grandma Dee living with them now, so there isn’t much room. I’m perfectly fine renting a room from Ted for the time being.”

I’m not sure if I’m reassuring her or myself, since I know that Ted Bigelow does have a reputation for being kind of creepy and odd. Not in a malicious or perverted sort of way—he’s just kind of socially awkward and strange. His place is on the outskirts of town, and when I was poking around for a last-minute place to stay in Chestnut Hill around the holidays, he offered to rent me a room.

“Okay, but if you go missing or some shit like that, I’m sending Lucas after his ass,” Pippa warns, and her amused giggle makes me smile.

She and I both know that our brother would tear apart anyone who tried to touch either of us. Especially now that Lucas is working as a football coach for the local high school, as well as teaching some classes there—the pictures that he’s sent me show that he’s gotten even bulkier than before.

Without realizing it, the thought of muscular men has my mind flitting right back to Reid again, and I have to actually shake my head a little to get myself to focus back on my conversation with Pippa.

“How’s work going at the diner?” I ask.

“Oh, you know, we’re all hanging in there. Mom changed a few things on the menu to keep up with the food that they’re serving at The Old Oak now.”

“Really? That place serves food now?” The last time I was home, my favorite bar was drinks only.

“Yeah. You should go check it out, actually. Fair warning that you’ll probably run into everyone from town there though.”

I laugh, since I feel like I already accomplished that tonight in my first few hours of being back. It doesn’t take much in a place like Chestnut Hill.

After catching up with my sister for a bit and promising to see the rest of my family soon, I head out to Ted’s house so that I can get settled in and get some rest.

Thankfully, Ted isn’t nearly as nosy as the rest of the town. He reminds me of an older, awkwardly lumbering bridge troll that doesn’t mean to lurk about but can’t really help it. At least he doesn’t force me into awkward conversation.

“Need help with your bags?” he grunts as he leads me into the house.

“No, thanks. I don’t have much.” I follow him inside, trying to ignore the faint smell of tobacco that seems to have settled into the old wooden floor panels that creak beneath my feet.

Ted shows me to my room and then disappears into the rest of the house to carry on with his evening. I close the door of my room behind him, making a face when I notice that there’s no lock.

Once I’ve dropped off my bag, I unload the small amount of other stuff I have in the car, then sit down on the edge of the bed to look around for a minute. The space is stark, not entirely clean, and definitely a far cry from the fancy big-city apartment that I envisioned myself living in back in LA by now.

Outside the window, it’s starting to snow. The snowflakes are plump and feathery as they fall gently from the sky in a sort of suspended motion. But inside my head, there’s a full-on blizzard of thoughts.

My first night back in Chestnut Hill, and I’ve already unintentionally stirred up gossip, taken more than one walk down memory lane, and practically had to clamp my thighs together to soothe the ache between my legs when Reid had his arm around me.

And now I’m sitting in a grungy room staring at my bag from the store, which is pretty much the only decoration in this place aside from the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling.

“Perfect,” I murmur to myself, attempting to make my voice sound sincere to my own ears. “This is all just perfect.”