Page 14 of The Very Naughty List

“Um… okay. I’ll be back in a bit with all of that.”

She slips back into the crowd, still looking slightly incredulous.

“Damn, dude. You trying to show us up?” Sebastian whistles, sharing a look with Reid.

“What? She needs to eat.” Nick frowns at them as if he’s only just now realizing that he ordered way too much food. “And she hasn’t tried anything on the menu yet.”

“Thanks, Nick,” I stammer, touched by the gesture even if there’s no way I’ll be able to eat it all. “That was… really nice of you.”

He gives me a look, his expression hard to decipher. Then he nods, glancing away and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. Fortunately, the waitress brings the food as it’s ready instead of waiting for everything to be done, so it’s not long before she delivers the first few plates to our table.

The guys tuck in, the four of us sharing all of it—although Nick makes sure I get the first taste of everything. They banter easily among themselves and with me as we eat, sometimes raising their voices a little to play up the ruse that they’re still fighting over my affections.

Their deep, familiar laughter, combined with another round of drinks, makes everything feel looser andveryenjoyable. I’m having such a good time that I don’t even notice my phone buzzing until Nick looks down at me.

“You’re vibrating.”

His words make my cheeks heat instantly, my mind going to a million dirty places. “Uh, what?”

“Your pants, probably your pocket—your phone is vibrating. I can feel it on the side of my leg.”

I’d forgotten that our legs are still side-by-side, and I shift away a little, blushing even harder as I tug my phone out of my back pocket. When I swipe across the screen, I see a text from my best friend back in LA.

LORELAI: Hey girl! How are things going so far back there in Chestnut Hill? Have you turned back into a country bumpkin yet?

The guys are all eating and talking, so I take a minute to answer her.

ME: No, not yet, lol. Things aren’t as bad as I had expected here, actually.

LORELAI: Oh yeah? Please tell me you haven’t shacked up with some rugged cowboy in the back of a barn or something. Although if you have, I want ALL the juicy details!

I let out a small laugh. Lorelai cracks me up, and I’m feeling so good right now that everything is making me smile. She’s constantly telling me that I “wear my heart on my sleeve” and warned me not to bat eyes at any “handsome hunks with pickup trucks.” She would just about die if she could see me sitting here with the Cooper brothers right now in all of their brawny glory.

My thumbs fly across the screen as I type out a message, promising her that I haven’t fallen for any cowboys. We text back and forth a bit, and when something she says makes me chuckle again, Reid reaches over and plucks my cell phone from my hands.

My head shoots up. “Hey!”

He arches a brow, giving me a serious look as his full lips twitch with an almost-smile. “No texting at the dinner table, trouble. You know the rules.”

I have to hide a smirk too. That’s a rule my parents always enforced very strongly in my house, and even though Reid is being all bossy, there’s a teasing glint in his eyes as he reminds me of it.

“Besides,” he adds, standing up and holding out my cell phone as if he’s tempting a cat with a piece of fish. “It’s time for more dancing. Can’t let Nick think he’s really gotten ahead of me and Seb with this feast.”

I roll my eyes but push to my feet, shoving my phone back into my pocket when he gives it back to me.

Reid takes my hand and leads me toward the dance floor again just as another song starts blaring from the speakers. Heads turn to watch us as we go, and I do my best to keep a straight face. Normally, I don’t like people staring at me, but all of the curious and jealous looks from the other patrons at the bar are doing wonders for my ego.

When we reach the empty spot in the middle of the bar, Reid pulls me in close, molding my body against his. But before we can start dancing again, a loud voice cuts through the bar.

“What thefuck?”

My head snaps up to see my brother standing near the door, his gaze locked on me and Reid.

Shock contorts his features, followed quickly by anger. Before I can process what’s happening, he barrels across the bar and drags Reid away from me.

Then he winds up and punches his friend in the face.

6

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