Page 47 of The Very Naughty List

“Fuck off.”

Nick flips him off, and that makes me laugh. I feel so much better than I did when Sebastian pulled me out of that confined space, almost back to my usual self.

“You guys really don’t need to stay here with me,” I reiterate, not wanting them to feel like they have to babysit me all day. “I’m fine now. You can go back to work or do whatever you need to do.”

“Nope. Fuck that.” Sebastian claps his hands together, grinning down at me. “We’re all taking the day off, so I say we do something fun to make the most of it.”

“Agreed.” Reid nods, then gestures to an empty space on one side of the living room. “Want to help us decorate our Christmas tree? We were planning on getting one soon anyway, and there’snothing like a little holiday spirit to forget about the damn Divas.”

I don’t even bother trying to give them another out, because the truth is, I much prefer the idea of decorating a tree with them all to hanging out in this big house by myself. So I just nod enthusiastically. I feel like I haven’t properly celebrated Christmas in two years, and it used to be my favorite season. I like the magical feeling of it, the coziness of the lights and decorations, and the fun of staying indoors on cold, blustery days, all warm and snug in thick socks.

I love Christmas, and I’m starting to really love spending time with these three too.

“All right. I’ll go put on my boots and get my ax.” Nick is the last of the brothers to get to his feet, and when he does, Bruno starts to bark in excitement, clearly reading the vibe in the room and realizing that a romp outdoors might be in his future.

“Your ax?” I ask, frowning. “What for?”

“How else am I going to chop down a tree?”

My eyes widen with excitement. “Oh! I didn’t know we’d be getting a real, live tree. Although thisisMontana and not LA. I guess it’s easier to do here than it would be there.”

Sebastian rolls his eyes, huffing a laugh. “I bet all the Christmas trees in LA are plastic or some shit like that.”

“They’re probably pink or silver too,” Reid adds with a smirk.

The funny thing is, they’re not exactly wrong. And as a born and bred Montana girl, I definitely never got over the incongruity of seeing Christmas trees right next to palm trees or hearing Christmas carols in seventy degree weather.

The winter seasons that I spent in LA were lonely and underwhelming. There’s nothing like a Montana winter, especially during the holiday.

“Hell yes, let’s cut down a tree.” I push up from the couch, excitement bubbling through me.

Nick gets his boots and ax, and Sebastian pulls a winter hat over his messy dark hair, tugging it down on his forehead so far that it mostly obscures the scar through his eyebrow. Reid digs out the Christmas tree stand and decorations from the basement while I try to keep Bruno entertained. The big mutt is practically beside himself with anticipation, eager to be let out so he can play in the winter wonderland.

Since I don’t have thick enough outer layers—I got rid of the really heavy stuff when I moved to LA, since I’d never need it out there—all three of the guys bundle me up, handing me scarves and gloves and a hat, and enough jackets for three people to wear.

“Wait, wait! It’s notthatcold out. Did you guys forget that I still have Montana blood in my veins?” I laugh at their overly generous efforts to keep me warm.

“I was just afraid that you were going to try marching out there in the snow in that hot pink bikini again,” Sebastian teases.

He gives me a wink, and when his brothers glance between the two of us burning curiosity, he ends up telling them the whole story as we head out the door and drive about thirty minutes out of town. We tromp through the woods until we find what I declare to be the perfect tree, and then Bruno and I watch as the three of them work together to chop it down.

Nick and Reid strap it to the roof of the car, bitching at Sebastian the entire time as he flirts shamelessly with me instead of helping.

Honestly, I don’t mind one bit.

Once we get back home and have peeled off all of our winter gear and gotten the tree into the stand, it’s time to decorate.

“How about Christmas music?” Reid suggests. “Any favorites?”

I nod and walk over to help Nick pick out some remixes of Christmas carols to play, and in a matter of minutes, the wholehouse is practically bursting with holiday spirit. Even Bruno, who’s now lying contentedly in front of the fireplace after all that gamboling through the snow, starts to howl along a little.

I look over to see Reid standing with an armful of string lights in his hands. He must’ve been testing to make sure they work—which they do—and now it looks like he’s holding an entire galaxy of blinking stars in his arms as he starts to untangle them.

“Hey, come help me with this,” he says when he notices me watching him, lifting his chin to summon me closer. I go, and the two of us manage to untangle all the lights, laying them out carefully so they’ll be ready when we need them.

As Nick opens a box filled with ornaments, Sebastian emerges from the kitchen, where he disappeared a few minutes ago. He’s got two glasses in each hand, a finger or so of whiskey in each.

“No tree decorating party would be complete without this.”

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