Page 108 of The Very Naughty List

Lucas shakes his head, still looking a little queasy, and to be honest, I do too—although not for the same reasons.

A knot of guilt is twisting in my stomach, and I don’t know what the fuck to do about it.

My brothers and I are more than just friends with Lucas. We used to joke that he was our long-lost quadruplet. And I hate the fact that I’m keeping a secret from him.

I see the way you look at them too.

Mrs. Bennett’s words flash through my mind again, making my jaw clench.

This was all just supposed to be something fun, something to help Hailey out against the town bullies and her douchebag ex. But now it’s all spiraling away from what it was originally intended to be. It’s turning into something more, something… deeper.

Something a hell of a lot more complicated.

36

HAILEY

By seven-thirty,the party is in full swing, and I’m slowly nursing my second glass of mulled wine.

The first glass, I drank so fast that I practically scalded my mouth after my mother basically told me she thinks all three of the Cooper brothers are falling for me… and that I’m falling for them too.

Oh god.

My stomach pitches like I’m on a rollercoaster, and I take another quick sip of the spicy, sweet wine.

I make my way through the living room, greeting a few friends of the family who haven’t seen me since I got back. Several of them exclaim at how happy I look, and no one mentions Dylan or his family at all, which I appreciate. I’m sure they know that shit wouldn’t fly in this house. And besides, my parents’ true friends aren’t the types to take pleasure in gossiping about painful moments in my life.

Once I escape a small group of people who want to know if I had any fun celebrity sightings in LA, I make a beeline for the couch, where Grandma Dee and Pippa are sitting with their heads together, laughing quietly.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, sitting down on Grandma Dee’s other side.

“We’re playing ‘never have I ever.’” Pippa grins, her eyes sparking with mischief. “Turns out Grandma Dee has a very sordid past.”

“Oh, hush, you.” Our grandmother swats at her, but she’s laughing, her cheeks flushed.

“All right.” I grin. “I’m in. Who’s turn is it?”

“Grandma’s,” Pippa informs me, and we both turn to our grandmother expectantly.

“Hmm.” Grandma Dee purses her lips. “Never have I ever… jumped out of an airplane.”

Pippa smirks and takes a sip of her drink. She and a friend of hers went skydiving last year. She sent me a video of it while I was in LA, and just watching the recording made me feel a little queasy. Definitely not for me.

We keep playing as the party continues around us, laughing and joking in our little corner of the room. I glance up after a while and see all three of the Cooper brothers talking to Lucas and another teacher from his school. As if he’s somehow sensed my gaze, Nick looks over, meeting my eyes.

I smile, giving him a little wave, even as butterflies burst to life in my stomach.

After that conversation with my mom in the kitchen, my thoughts have been churning over and over. I can’t stop thinking about what Sebastian said earlier, when he offered to come help get ready for the party.

We take care of what’s ours.

What would it be like if I was actually theirs? Not just pretend, and not just shared in their beds, but theirs in all ways?

What if we made this thing between us real?

Is that even possible?

“Earth to Hailey! Are you even listening?”

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