Page 104 of The Very Naughty List

Reid nods, looking thoughtful. “Honestly, I highly doubt this is something Dylan will want to shoot his mouth off about. He might not want everyone in town knowing that the woman he let go now has three men in her bed. You know what I mean?”

Sebastian snorts. “Agreed. His ego couldn’t take people knowing that.”

“And besides,” Nick adds, pressing a kiss to my temple, “even if he were to tell people, and even if word were to get back to Lucas, we can always tell your brother that we just said all of that to fuck with Dylan.”

Reid takes my hand, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. “Lucas already knows we’re pretending to date you to put Dylan in his place.”

“Right.” Sebastian nods, tilting my chin up so that our gazes meet. “So it’s not a huge stretch for him to believe that we answered the phone and pretended to all be sharing you to get in Dylan’s head even more. We’ll just tell him it was a prank. A lie.”

I think it over for a minute, trying to extinguish the flicker of worry in my chest. It’s true that the groundwork has alreadybeen laid with my brother for him to think the guys are just helping me make Dylan jealous and get him to back off. I guess this is no different. It’s not like Dylan has actual photographic evidence. Anything can be said over the phone, but that doesn’t necessarily make it true.

My stomach sinks a little at the idea of calling what just happened between us a prank or a lie when it felt like so much more than that, but I shove that thought away.

Hopefully, we won’t have to make up an explanation for it at all, if the guys are right and Dylan keeps it to himself.

I nod, blowing out a breath. “Okay. We’ll go with that story if it ever gets back to Lucas.”

“All right.” Sebastian presses a kiss to my hair, sighing softly against the strands. “Fuck, I’m sorry, shortcake. We weren’t trying to make shit more complicated. I just got carried away. I fucking hate that guy, and I wanted him to know you’ve got people who appreciate you. That you don’t spend a single fucking second crying over that sad sack of shit.”

In spite of the worry and the messy, complicated emotions crowding my chest, I can’t help but smile at that.

“Well, I think he got the message.”

“He’d better fucking have,” Nick grumbles, sounding like he’d be perfectly happy to call Dylan back up and fuck me on speakerphone again just to prove a point.

My smile widens a little, the tension finally draining from my shoulders. I turn my head to kiss Sebastian, then pull Nick and Reid close and kiss them too.

“That was amazing. One of the best experiences of my entire life,” I whisper, sliding my fingers through the hair at the nape of Reid’s neck as we break apart. I glance at the other two, making sure they see the truth in my eyes as I add, “And no matter what happens, I’ll never regret it.”

“Good,” Reid growls. “Neither will we.”

It’s dark outside by now, and although Bruno evacuated the area when we were making a racket, he comes padding back into the room as we all clean up and tug on some clothes.

It’s cozy and warm, and when Sebastian and Nick go to raid the fridge for something to eat, I end up curling up against the couch with Reid after he gets a fire going.

He wraps an arm around me, tucking me close against his body as the sound of his brothers talking in the kitchen filters into the living room.

“I love Christmas time so much,” I murmur, feeling sleepy and lazy again now that the panic has subsided. “It’s like every holiday food and drink is a little slice of bliss—cookies, eggnog, pumpkin pie. And it all tastes better when it’s cold outside, for some reason. It was never as good in LA.”

Reid chuckles. “Yeah, some things go better with snow, I guess.”

He hasn’t put a shirt on, and I trace his tattoo with my fingers. I would ask if he’s cold, but I’m sure he isn’t. All I’ve got on is his brother’s shirt, and I feel fine. The fireplace is crackling, and I can see a light snow falling through the darkness outside the living room window. It’s so cozy in here that even Bruno is contentedly snoring away. Of course, my panties are nowhere in sight, which means he probably buried them somewhere before he sprawled out for a nap.

I glance around the room, taking in the familiar space. It’s comfortable and warm, and if I really let myself think about it, this house feels more likehomethan anyplace has in a while.

“Have you ever thought about leaving Chestnut Hill?” I ask Reid idly.

He shakes his head. “Not really. I mean, I’ve thought about how I could maybe expand my business if I moved. But for the most part, I’m pretty satisfied with how it is.”

I nod, feeling almost envious of his simple, straightforward response. “I wish it worked that way for all people and all careers.”

He rests one hand on my leg, staring into the fireplace. “I think it can.”

“How so?”

I glance up at his face, watching the firelight dance across his handsome features. He takes a moment before he answers, his fingers stroking back and forth against my thigh.

“I don’t think it matters whether you’re in a small town or a big city, no matter what your dreams and goals are. If it’s where the people you care about are, then that’s home, and you can make anything work.”

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