Page 112 of The Very Naughty List

“Don’t you remember?” His eyes warm a little. “We met at The Griddle House. So that right there makes it worth saving.”

Oh fuck.

Something in his eyes is tripping all the alarm bells in my head, and when he reaches up to cup my jaw, I jerk backward.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice sharp.

He reaches for me again, sliding his hand around the back of my neck and through my hair. “I want you back, Hailey. Ever since you came back to Chestnut Hill, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Every time I see you with one of thosedamn Cooper brothers, it gets under my skin. Because you don’t belong with any of them. You belong with me.”

He leans in as if he’s going to kiss me, and I shoot to my feet, backing away several steps.

“What the fuck?” I stare at him in shocked disbelief. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Oh, please.” He stands up too, shaking his head. “Are you going to try to tell me you don’t feel it? That you don’t feel the connection between us? I know you’re only parading around town with the three of them to make me jealous. It’s so fucking obvious.”

“What?” My hands curl into fists. I’m so stunned that I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience, adrenaline flooding my veins. “The connection between us? I left you, you asshole. You cheated on me, and I left this whole fucking town just to get the hell away from you. Why the hell would I ever want to get back together with you?”

He stares at me, unblinking. “Oh, come on. Don’t you think you’re being a bit melodramatic? All couples have their ups and downs.”

“We didn’t have ups and downs, Dylan. You were thedown. I don’t want you. I don’t want to ever be with you again. And there isn’t anything in the whole, entire world that you can dangle over my head that will make me forget what you did. You cheated on me with Brielle and now you’re trying to cheat on Brielle with me. That’s seriously fucked up. What kind of lowlife scumbag are you?”

“Are you… rejecting me?” Dylan’s voice makes it very clear that he’s in shock over the fact that I’m turning him down.

Whether he thinks that he is god’s gift to women, or simply that he can force anyone to do whatever he wants if he throws enough money and power their way, he was definitely not expecting me to stand up to him like this.

“Yes,” I bite out.

He blinks again, the shock in his expression turning to anger. “You’re making a big mistake, Hailey. You really think that you’re too good for me? What, do you think those Cooper brothers are better? Are you really fucking allthreeof them?”

My jaw clenches. “That’s none of your business.”

Dylan’s nostrils flare, and his face twists with jealousy, as if he can’t bear the thought that I’ve moved on to not only one other man butthree. We’ve all played our parts so well that Dylan is practically seething with envy. He can’t stand that he’s lost and the triplets have won.

“I don’t even know why you’re acting like this,” I say quietly. “It’s not like you ever even wanted me when we were together. You treated me like shit.”

I shake my head even as I speak. I shouldn’t even be arguing with him because he’ll never see outside himself. He’s incapable of it.

“And you think that those orphaned brutes are going to treat you any better? None of them are half the man that I am. None of the three of them have the money, status, or power that I do. They can’t give you any of the things that I could have. You’ve really messed up, Hailey.”

His words hit me hard in the chest—not because he’s right, but because of how fucking wrong he is. Maybe none of the Cooper brothers can give me what my shitty, rich ex can—but they can give me the things thatmatter, and they already have.

I stand up and march toward the front door of the huge, sterile mansion with my emotions roiling.

Just as I put my hand on the doorknob, I whip around to say one last thing. Dylan stands in the hallway, looking as if he’s going to double down on his efforts to make things difficult for me and my family now. But as much as I want to do anythingI can to help my parents save the diner, this is one thing that I can’t do.

“I will nevereverget back together with you, Dylan. So you can go fuck yourself—or Brielle, or whoever else you’re going to use next.”

With that, I wrench open the door and stride outside.

My hands shake as I grip the steering wheel on the drive home. I’m so strung out and upset over my interaction with Dylan—and more than that, I’m worried about what he’ll do now that I’ve angered him even further.

When I walk into the Cooper brothers’ house, Bruno comes right up to greet me, and I drop down to my knees to hug him. I pet his head and feel my emotions welling up as I bury my face in his fur. He lets me, and I feel like it’s a sign that our bond has solidified. Animals have a sixth sense when their humans are upset, and Bruno is more sensitive than anyone has given him credit for.

The guys must’ve heard me get back, because they come walking toward the door altogether. It takes them less than a second to realize that I’m upset.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Nick’s voice has a hard, protective edge.

“Nothing.”

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