Page 6 of The Very Naughty List

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 justperfect.”

3

NICK

“Good boy, Bruno.”

I crouch down to scratch my massive dog under his chin as he wags his tail so hard it thumps against the cabinet. He twists his head a little, trying to lick my hand, then changes his mind and goes for my face instead, making me chuckle. My rescued hound is always faithfully ready to shower me with slobbery kisses as soon as I get home from a shift at the fire station.

“Too bad he only likes you. If he gave me the same kind of warm welcome, maybe he’d lick some of this grease out from beneath my fingernails,” Sebastian jokes, glancing down at where I’m crouched in front of Bruno as he strides into the kitchen.

“Dogs shouldn’t lick grease,” I grunt. “Especially not automotive grease.”

Sebastian is the youngest of the three of us, if you’re measuring our ages by the minute, since he was the last triplet to emerge during birth. Our mother used to always say that was the reason why he’s the wildest out of her sons. I’m not sure if that’s actually the reason, but she wasn’t wrong in pointing out that he was the one who was usually getting Reid and me into trouble.Sebastian can’t seem to help himself when it comes to seizing the opportunity for a laugh or a thrill.

At least now that he’s taken over our father’s garage, he has something to keep his hands busy and to keep him out of trouble. If Seb didn’t have something to occupy his time, he’d be off the rails playing into the “bad boy” aesthetic that he showcases so well. Our dad was smart to get him working on cars at an early age. And honestly, he’s good at it.

“Oh, come on. You’ll never know until he tries it.” Sebastian grins, holding out a hand toward Bruno. “Here, boy. Come here! Lick this.”

Bruno ignores him. Not even his ears twitch as he gives me another lick, stoically pretending my brother isn’t even in the room. It’s been like this pretty much since I brought Bruno home. He doesn’t give two shits about either of my brothers, although at least he doesn’t actively growl at them anymore.

“See?” I arch a brow at Sebastian. “He knows who actually loves him around here.” I give Bruno one more scratch before standing up. “That’s right, boy. I’ll take good care of you. You can just ignore that greasy fucker.”

Seb rolls his eyes, making the scar across the corner of his left eyebrow arch. “He only likes you best because you’re both so fucking grumpy. He probably recognized a kindred spirit the second he saw you.”

“At least I’m responsible enough to take care of a pet.”

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