Page 27 of The Very Naughty List

I nod, trying not to pay attention to the way his foot keeps touching mine even as he leans back in his seat a little. It’s just a tiny bit of contact, probably accidental, but I’m so aware of it that my heart beats a little faster.

“I think they are. It’s been nice being home and getting to see everyone.”

“It’s been good seeing you too.” He flashes me a crooked smile that disrupts the quickening rhythm of my heart, making it trip over itself for a beat. “I have to admit, I was surprised as hell when I ran into you at Gus’s. I didn’t expect you back in town, at least not for a long while. I figured you’d be too enamored with LA to want to come back to a place like Chestnut Hill.”

A little twinge of nostalgia rises up in my chest as I glance out the window at the town beyond. It’s weird. I didn’t think I would miss this place, especially not after everything that happened with Dylan and the ruined wedding. But being back has made me realize how much of my heart stayed here when I left. In some ways, this will always feel like my home.

“No, not too enamored with LA to come back, at least not for a short visit like this. Honestly, I thought about Chestnut Hill a lot when I was in California. Little things that I missed would pop into my head all the time.”

“Oh? Did you think about me at all while you were gone?”

My heart stutters at his question, and I take another bite and carefully swallow to give myself a moment before answering.

“Sure, of course I did. I missed everyone here. Well, maybe not the Divas or my backstabbing bitch of an ex-best friend. But I did think about all of you guys. And Lucas, of course.”

There. That sounded good, right?

I hope I played it off well enough not to give away how much I actually did think about the Cooper brothers while I was away. I did my best to keep my tone light, but Reid still has a somewhat serious expression on his face. Silence falls across the table for a few heartbeats as he gazes at me, and I clear my throat and ask, “What about you? Did you think about me at all while I was gone?”

“Yes, I did. Every day.”

The simple truth in his voice hits me like a ton of bricks. He’s not joking. He’s serious.

I don’t know what that means, but my stomach flutters wildly anyway. The table gets quiet again, and I don’t know whether I should look at Reid or look away.

Never in a million years would I have ever guessed that Reid Cooper would be thinking about me. My high school self is doing cartwheels in my head while my common sense is running around inside my brain telling her to stop before this gets out of hand.

It can’t get out of hand, can it? It’s all only a game. None of this is real.

But the way Reid is looking at me right now, the way his voice dropped a little when he told me that he’s thought of me—none of it seems like something he’s doing for public display. Besides, the bistro is mostly empty, so no one can even hear us talking or hear the questions being asked.

His answer was the truth, and it was meant only for me.

Before I can figure out what to do with that or what the hell to say in response, the moment is broken by Reid’s two brothers walking up to our table.

“Damn.” Sebastian eyes the array of dishes, which almost completely cover the table top. “How many people are you trying to feed?”

“Nick started it,” Reid replies with a shrug, as if the oldest Cooper triplet threw down some kind of gauntlet at The Old Oak. Then he glances at the two of them. “What are you guys doing here? This is my date with Hailey.”

Sebastian sits down at the table and helps himself to some food off one of the plates. “Sure, but we’re supposed to be fighting over her, remember? And if I were really trying to win Hailey’s affections, I wouldn’t just be letting her date my brothers without showing up to stake my own claim too.”

Nick nods in agreement and nabs some food for himself as well. “True. But you already had your own date with her. I’m the only one that hasn’t yet.”

“Okay, but you’rebothintruding on mine.” Even though Reid’s tone is joking, the look in his eyes has a bit of a jealous edge to it.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think there are some actual competitive feelings between the Cooper brothers.

“It’s okay with me if they stay,” I offer, unsure if the moment needs smoothing over or not. But the last thing I want to do is cause any kind of real strife between the triplets, who’ve been inseparable for as long as I’ve known them. “We really can’t finish all this food on our own.”

Sebastian and Nick end up sticking around for a bit to help us finish off all the food Reid ordered as we all talk and laugh over some of the small-town drama that the guys fill me in on. Things go back to being lighthearted and fun, but there is still asmall undercurrent hinting at a brotherly competition between the three of them, with me at the center of it.

When we all get up to leave together, Reid makes a point of wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in for a kiss just after we walk out the door of the bistro.

The first thought racing through my head is that he’s making a show of it for the townspeople who are walking by. But when the kiss turns from a simple peck to something a little more breath-stealing, with his mouth firm against mine and his tongue moving demandingly against my own, I start to wonder if this isn’t as much a show for his brothers as it is for everyone else.

Is he trying to lay some sort of claim on me in front of them?

But why would he need to do that when they’re only pretending to fight over me? They don’t actually have to vie for my affections, since this is all fake.

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