Page 121 of The Very Naughty List

“He’ll get over it,” Nick tells her, conviction in his voice. “The three of us and Lucas have been best friends for years. I have faith that our friendship can withstand this.”

“And even if he doesn’t forgive us,” Sebastian adds, “we’re still not willing to give you up just because of him. We’ll do everything we can to make things right with him, to apologize for lying to him. But I think I speak for all of us when I say that we won’t apologize for how we feel about you. Because there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“That’s not what the world will say,” Hailey whispers, biting her lip. “There will always be people who will judge us. Even if he can get over the fact that we lied and snuck around without telling him, he might not be able to accept all four of us together.”

“Your brother loves you,” I tell her gently, staring into her gorgeous green eyes. “He wants you to be happy—and if this is what makes you happy, do you really think he’d try to stop you? I think you need to give him a chance to surprise you. He was pissed and surprised when he found out, but he’s not an asshole. He’s one of the best people I know.”

Hailey lets out a breath, her lips quavering at the corners as emotions churn in her eyes. She glances between me and my brothers again, her delicate throat moving as she swallows.

“Are you sure you really want me? That you want this?” She turns toward Nick. “I’m so messy and chaotic, and you like things to be simple and organized. Won’t I drive you crazy?”

He chuckles, arching a brow at her. “Youdodrive me crazy, songbird, but not like that. You drive me crazy in the best way—in a way I never even knew I needed until now. You’re like a breath of fresh air, a whirlwind that swept through our lives, and I need your kind of chaos to keep me from getting too lost in my own head. I needyou.”

Her chest rises as she drags in a breath, and I can feel the way her walls around her heart are starting to come down. I fucking hate that her shitty ex made those walls a necessary defense, and I hate that we didn’t do a good enough job of letting her know the true depth of our feelings until now. I was too afraid to rock the boat, afraid of what would happen if I admitted to myself that this was never a lie… but I should’ve come clean to Hailey a long time ago.

She shifts her gaze to Sebastian, her brows drawing together a bit as she breathes, “What about you? You said yourself that you want people in Chestnut Hill to see you as more than your bad boy reputation. How do you think that will work when everyone knows that you’re sharing me with your brothers?”

Sebastian flashes her a wicked grin, taking her hand in his. “I think I don’t give a fuck. You taught me that, shortcake—to not care so much about what people say about me. You showed me that I’m worth more than my reputation, whatever it may be, and that the only people’s opinions that matter are the ones I love.”

“A-fucking-men to that,” I murmur, and my voice draws Hailey’s attention back to me.

She stares into my eyes, still holding Sebastian’s hand as she gazes at me as if she’s searching for something—one final word to convince her that this really could work between all of us, maybe.

“You of all people must realize how many things could go wrong with this,” she says, her emerald eyes shining. “I’m always gonna be a brat, you know. I’m never gonna make things easy on you. It’s one thing to say you like that side of me when this was supposed to be temporary, but can you honestly see yourself wanting that forever?”

I don’t even need to think about it before giving her my answer.

“Hell, yes. I fucking love it when you sass me, baby. And I guarantee I’ll never get tired of it.”

That draws a small smile out of her, her expression radiant with growing hope, and I can tell she’s starting to believe me. To believe us. I know she’s had her heart guarded for a long time, thanks to that pathetic excuse for a man she once called a fiancé. But now she hasrealmen in her life.

I step closer to her and lower my voice.

“It makes me hard as hell when you act like a brat, trouble. I love it when you argue with me, because I enjoy giving you something else to do with that gorgeous mouth of yours.”

Hailey’s tentative smile grows with that remark, a spark of heat glinting in her eyes.

“Well, what about the times when you’re a bossy dick?” Her lips twitch at the corners. “What about when you pissmeoff?”

I can feel an answering grin spread across my face.

“Then I’ll get on my knees to apologize. Baby, I’ll get on my knees and beg you to stay here with us if I have to. We don’t want you to leave. None of us do. We want this.”

Her breath hitches, her body swaying toward me. “I do too. I just don’t know if?—”

Before she can finish that sentence, I drop down to my knees. I’ll do this right here and now in order to prove to Hailey that I’d do anything for her.

“Reid, what are you doing? Whatever this big, dramatic gesture is, you… you don’t need to do it.”

I can hear the trembling in her voice, and I don’t move from where I’m kneeling in front of her.

“This isn’t just a gesture,” I tell her honestly. “It’s real. And you might not think that you need us, but we sure as hell need you.”

Something is beating at the inside of my chest, keeping time with my racing heart. Every part of me feels like it’s strainingtoward Hailey, desperate to banish any shred of doubt from her mind. I want to break down and crash through all of the walls that she’s built around her heart. I want to show her that real men won’t hurt her, thatwewon’t hurt her—ever.

And if the way to do that is to lay my own soul bare for her to see how desperately the three of us need her? Then that’s what I’ll do.

“The flowers in my tattoo are because of you,” I murmur, tilting my head up to meet her gaze. “It’s not just a coincidence that they’re your favorite flower. I got them because you were always on my mind, and because I felt like I had to have a part of you with me in some way. I guess a part of me always knew that things between us were meant to be more. I just didn’t realize how much more.”

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