The Very Naughty List

22. Hailey

22

HAILEY

When I head down to the kitchen a while later, freshly showered and with slightly damp hair, I stop short in the doorway as I take in the sight of the enormous amount of food laid out on the table.

“How long was I up there?” I ask, my jaw dropping.

Reid chuckles. “Well, like you said, there are three of us and one of you. So the time it takes you to shower is the time it takes the three of us to do…” He gestures to all the food. “This.”

“Wow.” I grin. “You guys seem really committed to making sure I don’t starve.” Every place we’ve gone, they’ve practically ordered one of everything off the menu, and there’s enough food here to feed a small army. “Is that a fake boyfriend thing?”

Sebastian strides toward me, taking my hand and tugging me into the room. “No. It’s a real friends with benefits thing. We want to make sure you keep your strength up.”

The look he gives me is so filthy that I flush instantly. It would be so easy to fall back into bed with them right now— so easy.

“Besides,” he continues, settling me at the table. “I’m pretty sure we covered most of your faves.”

I sit down and look at the spread, blinking as I realize that it is indeed an assortment of many of my favorite foods. Everything from eggs Benedict to French toast, to bacon and hash browns.

“How did you know I like all this stuff?”

Nick shrugs. “We know you.”

He says it so simply, as if that’s supposed to explain it all away. As if it’s no big deal.

But it feels like a big deal, especially coming from this mountain of a man who so often used to barely even speak to me. I used to think it was because he didn’t like me that much, but I’m pretty sure I was mistaken about that. Because even if he wasn’t talking to me, he was paying attention , and that hits something in my chest that makes me smile softly at him.

He clears his throat and looks away, almost as if he’s embarrassed by the admission that he knows me so well. I glance away too, because Lorelai is right. I do wear my heart on my sleeve, and I need to be careful about not getting too attached, especially now.

“Well, I’m not sure how much strength you think I’m gonna need,” I joke lightly, turning my attention to the plates spread out before me. “But with this much food, I might need to make another list.”

Reid’s cloud gray eyes spark. “Or we could just keep working on the list you already created first.” He inclines his head toward the window that sits right behind the table we’re all at, taking a leisurely bite of bacon. “There’s a window right there. Isn’t that one of the items? Getting fucked against a window? The neighbors might even be around to watch, so you could kill two birds with one stone.”

The piece of bacon I just picked up falls from my limp fingers as my stomach gives a little flip, and Sebastian laughs as Reid smirks at me. Bruno chimes in with a couple of random barks, as if he wants to join in the fun too.

The kitchen gets a little quieter as we all dig into the food, and we end up making a much bigger dent in it than I expected. The guys are so huge and muscular that they can really pack it away, and I like to think I hold my own with them. It turns out I really am ravenous after last night.

“Fuck, if only none of us had to work today.” Sebastian groans in frustration as he gets up from the table a while later.

“All of you have to go in today?” I ask, polishing off the last bite of my French toast.

Part of me is disappointed, even though it’s not a surprise that all of us have things to do today. Last night was a fantasy, and this morning, reality is back in full swing. Although it does still feel a bit like a dream to think about coming back here at the end of the day to all three of the Cooper brothers.

“Yeah.” Sebastian puts his empty plate in the dishwasher, then comes back to the table to grab a few more. “I’ve got a few cars I need to work on today.”

“And I’ve got a big carpentry project to finish,” Reid adds, standing and gathering up the last of the dishes.

“Day shift at the station,” Nick grunts, confirming that he’ll be busy too.

Sebastian tugs me out of my seat, grinning at me as Nick scoots his chair back and rises too.

“Guess you lucked out this time, shortcake,” he says.

“Lucked out? How?”

He smirks. “This buys you a little recovery time. If we didn’t have to leave soon, you can bet your sweet ass you’d already be over my shoulder and halfway up the stairs right now. We’d have you back in that bedroom with your legs spread wide, trying to see which of us could make you scream the loudest.”

Dammit. He cannot say things like that to me right before they’re about to go .

My entire body lights up as if someone poured fire directly into my veins, and I must whimper softly, because his grin widens before he drops his head to give me a filthy kiss.

“To be continued,” he promises, stepping away when we break apart.

The guys all have to head upstairs to shower and get ready themselves, and I spend a bit of time searching for the panties Bruno stole. I find them under his dog bed in the living room, and although he perks up as if he’s hoping this will start another fun game of keep away, I quickly shove them into my pocket.

“Sorry, buddy,” I tell him. “Not this time.”

But even without the promise of a game, he pads closer, allowing me to give him a few gentle pets on his head before I run upstairs to throw the panties back into my room.

I head out shortly after the brothers all leave for their respective jobs, driving toward the center of town. I promised my parents and my sister that I’d stop by The Griddle House today. Since it’s the weekend, my brother will be there too, and I haven’t spent much time with Lucas since I got back into town.

When I get there, my parents and Pippa are already busy working. The diner is crowded with the end of the breakfast rush, and the three of them are racing around to keep up. Pippa is taking orders and practically dancing from table to table as she makes her way from one to the next in a practiced choreography. Our mom is behind the counter, taking the orders and handing them back through to our dad in the kitchen. A younger looking guy I don’t recognize is behind the counter too, and I grin and wave at him as he looks my way.

“Hey, Hailey, over here!”

I glance over to see Lucas sitting in the booth at the back that’s the unofficial ‘family booth.’ It’s the one we always used to crowd in at when we would hang out at the diner after school, and even now, I’d bet that most of the diner regulars wouldn’t sit in that booth unless the place was absolutely packed. They leave it open for me and my siblings, which I just love.

I greet my brother with a grin and slide onto the seat across from him.

“Want me to go grab you something from the kitchen?” he offers.

I shake my head since I already ate my bodyweight in bacon and French toast at the Cooper brothers’ house. But I do still reach out and pluck a piece of toast off his plate. The guys were right—I’m hungrier than usual today. I can’t even begin to figure out how many calories I must’ve burned last night.

“No, thanks,” I say. “I just wanted to swing by to visit mom and dad and see you and Pippa for a bit. I already ate.”

As I take a bite of the crispy toast, Lucas studies me.

“You look different this morning.”

“Oh?” I freeze mid-chew. “Um, how so?”

“I don’t know.” He frowns. “You’re a little flushed or something. Are you getting sick?”

Shit .

“I don’t think so.” I shrug, trying to ignore the sudden racing of my heart. “I parked a little farther away today. I probably should’ve worn a scarf.”

I press a hand to my cheeks as if trying to warm them up, despite the fact that they’re very warm already. But Lucas nods, leaning back in the booth as he glances over my shoulder.

“Oh yeah, it’s really getting cold out there. It’s supposed to snow again soon too, I think.” He chuckles. “You’ve been in LA too long. You’ve gotta learn to bundle up.”

“Right.” I nod, grateful that he doesn’t seem suspicious at all. “In LA, I barely ever need anything but a light jacket.”

I press my fingers to my cheeks a few more times, trying to cool them down and banish the flush as I ask him about his plans for spring semester.

Once I finish my toast, I escape before Lucas can ask any more overly observant questions. The breakfast rush has died down by now, and the new guy is behind the counter, so I slip into the kitchen, assuming that’s where my parents will be.

They’re standing near the back fridge with their heads together, having a low conversation, and the moment I look at their faces, I can tell something is wrong. My mother’s features are crinkled with worry, and my father is rubbing the side of his head.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I ask, stepping farther into the kitchen.

At the sound of my voice, my mother puts on her best “everything is fine” face. I can see right through it though, so I turn to my dad instead. He’s usually better about being blunt and forthcoming.

“What’s up? Is everything okay?”

He sighs, clearing his throat and glancing at my mom before looking back at me. “It’s just been a hard month. We’re a bit underwater financially, but we’ll figure out how to turn it around.”

“What?” My stomach drops. “How can that be? Every time I come in here, the place is packed to the brim.”

“It’s not that. We’ve got plenty of business.” A look of pride crosses his face for a moment before his expression sinks again. “The problem is that our rent on the building has been raised too high. There’s just no way we can keep afloat with things the way they are.”

My jaw tightens.

I know exactly who they’re talking about, and who raised the rent on them. The Montgomery family . They’ve always owned this building, just like they own a ton of other real estate in town. But as far as I know, they never used to overcharge my parents for rent.

“How long have they been jacking up the rent?” I ask, my voice going hard.

My mom shakes her head, clearly reading the direction my thoughts are going. “Hailey, it’s not?—”

“How long, Mom?”

She sighs. “About a year and a half.”

So not that long after I left. Not long after I broke off my relationship with their son.

My hands clench into fists, and I glance around at the familiar walls of the kitchen, feeling a protective surge rise up inside me for this place. My parents love this diner. I love it too. It’s a staple of the town, and now my parents might be forced out of business because a family that already has way too much money is demanding even more. And I can’t believe that it isn’t at least partially because of me.

Because I had the audacity to stand up for myself and leave him after he cheated on me.

“That’s not fair,” I mutter under my breath. “It’s bullshit. They can’t do that to you guys. They shouldn’t take it out on you, just because?—”

“This isn’t your fault,” my dad says firmly, cutting me off. “The Montgomerys have been trying to buy up this town and get rich off of it for years. It was inevitable that our turn for high rent was coming.”

That doesn’t make me feel much better. I’m still not convinced it was a coincidence that they jacked up the rent to unsustainable levels after it became clear that I wouldn’t be becoming their daughter-in-law. But even if it is just random timing, that still doesn’t make it right. My parents are so attached to this place, and the Montgomerys are basically bleeding them dry just because they know that my folks will work their asses off trying to keep it.

Pippa steps into the kitchen, stopping short when she sees us all. She bites her lip, and I turn to her, trying to get a read on her expression.

“Did you know about this?” I ask. “About the?—”

“Yeah.” She winces. “I knew. Sorry I didn’t tell you before, but mom didn’t want to ruin your Christmas.”

A lump grows in my throat as I glance at my mother. She shrugs, looking a little guilty, but I’m the one who feels bad. She was trying to protect me, trying to keep my holidays happy and joyful, even as my dad struggled behind the scenes. But I don’t want to be kept out of the loop. Not when it’s my ex-boyfriend’s family that’s fucking with my parents.

“I want to help,” I blurt. “At least let me do that. I can pull some shifts behind the counter while I’m in town. And if there’s anything else I can do, count me in. Maybe I can drum up more business for the place or something. Whatever I can do. Anything.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” My mom reaches out to give me a hug while my dad squeezes my shoulder.

“Hey, I know a way that you can help.” Pippa comes closer, her face lighting up.

“How?” I ask as I step back from my parents.

“I signed you up for the Christmas parade.”

My eyebrows shoot up. That was not what I was expecting her to say. “You signed me up?”

She lifts one shoulder. “Well, the diner. I talked Lex Camden into giving us a float this year. I thought it would be good publicity for the diner. And since you want to help so much, you could pitch in by riding on it.”

Her grin is so broad it stretches across her entire face, and there’s something mischievous in her expression that makes me certain she hasn’t told me every detail yet. There’s some catch I’m missing.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “I can do that. Will it just be me?”

Somehow, her smile gets even wider. “Oh, no. The theme of the float is Santa and Mrs. Claus, so you’ll need a guy up there too. And there are also two elf costumes, so it’d actually be even better if you had three guys…”

“Oh, no.” I shake my head, realizing where she’s going with this. “No way, Pip.”

“What?” She turns to my parents as if looking for backup. “It’s a great idea, isn’t it? Come on, everybody loves the Cooper brothers! They’ll definitely get a lot of attention, and since they’re each apparently trying to date Hailey, I bet they’ll agree to do it.”

My mom’s eyes widen a little at that. I don’t know if she or my dad have heard the rumors around town about the Cooper brothers supposedly fighting over my affections, but if she didn’t know before, she does now.

I flush, feeling a little awkward as I wonder what she thinks about all three of them trying to date me—and then feeling even more awkward as I refuse to think about what she’d say if she knew what they all did to me last night.

“Fine, okay. I’ll do it,” I say, just to move the conversation along from whatever’s going on between me and the triplets. “I’ll ride on the float, and I’ll ask them if they’ll do it too. But I can’t make them, so I’m not responsible if they say no. Which they probably will.”

Pippa just shrugs, shooting me a smug, little sisterly look. “We’ll see.”

I roll my eyes, although I have to appreciate the fact that my sister somehow managed to bring a little levity to the situation. Our parents don’t look nearly as dejected as they did when I first entered the kitchen.

Now I just have to convince the guys to get on board with it .