Page 111 of The Very Naughty List

The place is a bit bigger than the Cooper brothers’ house, even though Dylan lives here alone. Unless Brielle has moved in, which I suppose is a possibility. They’re engaged, after all, so if she hasn’t yet, she probably will soon.

“Unless he decides to build them a brand new mansion for their happily ever after,” I mutter under my breath, snorting derisively.

I don’t feel jealous thinking about that possibility. I know I dodged a bullet by walking away from our wedding, and I also know that there’s no house big enough that it could’ve made me happy in a marriage with Dylan.

Taking a deep breath, I ring the bell.

When the door swings open, Dylan stands in the wide entryway with his designer shirt unbuttoned a few buttons and his expensive shoes shined to perfection.

“Oh, Hailey. Thanks for coming.”

“Sure.”

I nod, keeping my expression schooled into something neutral, even as I privately wonder how I ever found this man all that attractive. Everything about him seems so artificial now. The way that his hair is so perfectly styled without a single strand out of place, and the way his lips always tilt upward just a little, like he’s smirking at the world.

Sure, he’s good looking in a conventional sort of way, but I’d take Sebastian’s messy after-sex hair, or Reid’s crooked dimples, or Nick’s scruffy beard any day of the week. The Cooper brothersare so imperfectly and authentically masculine that it makes Dylan seem like a cardboard cutout.

Maybe that’s why he was always putting me down so much—because he knew that, at the end of the day, he didn’t measure up.

“Come on in,” he tells me, sweeping his arm out and holding the door open wider.

I follow him inside, and he leads me into the living room and gestures for me to have a seat on the couch. He sits down beside me, and I cringe internally, wishing he’d sat down first so that I could’ve taken a chair or something. Sitting on the same piece of furniture with the guy who fucked my ex-best friend makes my skin crawl.

“So how have you been enjoying your time since coming back home?” he asks, cocking his head a little. “Does it feel weird being back again? Or have you settled into a new normal? It seems like you’ve been keeping busy.”

I get the feeling that he isn’t just asking me how I’m liking the Montana winter or enjoying holiday time back home with my family. He’s talking about me and the triplets.

“It’s been nice being back.”

My answer is plain and simple, purposefully keeping things vague as I opt for a non-answer to his implied interrogation.

Dylan studies me for a second, as if he’s trying to figure out some hidden meaning behind my answer. Then he clears his throat, shaking his head.

“Listen, I called you because I wanted to talk about something a bit… sensitive. That’s why I didn’t want to speak on the phone.”

I nod, tensing a little. “Okay. Well, I’m here. So let’s talk.”

“I know that my family has had to raise the rent on The Griddle House by quite a bit. It’s unfortunate.”

He makes a sympathetic face as he says that last word, and I tap my fingers on my thighs to keep from curling my hands into fists. Unfortunate is one word for it. Extortion is another.

“Yeah, I’m well aware of that,” I tell him coolly. “What about it?”

“Well, I know what a staple of the community the diner is. And I know how much it means to you. So I’d like to discuss some possibilities with you. I want to find a solution.”

In spite of myself, I can’t help the little ray of hope that bursts in my chest.

“I would appreciate that,” I say carefully. “What kind of solution are you thinking of?”

He smiles. “Well, I think I could get my parents to drop the rent back down to what it was a few years ago.”

My eyebrows shoot up. A few years ago, business at the diner was great and my parents were bringing in a healthy profit after all of their expenses. Everything was great, and if they could go back to that…

“That would be amazing,” I say, torn between excitement and wariness. “What would you need from them?”

“Nothing.” He waves a hand. “I’m not doing it for them, Hailey. To be honest, I’d be doing it for you. For old time’s sake.”

My stomach tightens a little. “What do you mean?”

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