Page 65 of The Very Naughty List

She sighs. “About a year and a half.”

So not that long after I left. Not long after I broke off my relationship with their son.

My hands clench into fists, and I glance around at the familiar walls of the kitchen, feeling a protective surge rise up inside me for this place. My parents love this diner. I love it too. It’s a staple of the town, and now my parents might be forced out of business because a family that already has way too much money is demanding even more. And I can’t believe that it isn’t at least partially because of me.

Because I had the audacity to stand up for myself and leave him after he cheated on me.

“That’s not fair,” I mutter under my breath. “It’s bullshit. They can’t do that to you guys. They shouldn’t take it out on you, just because?—”

“This isn’t your fault,” my dad says firmly, cutting me off. “The Montgomerys have been trying to buy up this town and get rich off of it for years. It was inevitable that our turn for high rent was coming.”

That doesn’t make me feel much better. I’m still not convinced it was a coincidence that they jacked up the rent to unsustainable levels after it became clear that I wouldn’t be becoming their daughter-in-law. But even if it is just random timing, that still doesn’t make it right. My parents are so attached to this place, and the Montgomerys are basically bleeding them dry just because they know that my folks will work their asses off trying to keep it.

Pippa steps into the kitchen, stopping short when she sees us all. She bites her lip, and I turn to her, trying to get a read on her expression.

“Did you know about this?” I ask. “About the?—”

“Yeah.” She winces. “I knew. Sorry I didn’t tell you before, but mom didn’t want to ruin your Christmas.”

A lump grows in my throat as I glance at my mother. She shrugs, looking a little guilty, butI’mthe one who feels bad. She was trying to protect me, trying to keep my holidays happy and joyful, even as my dad struggled behind the scenes. But I don’t want to be kept out of the loop. Not when it’s my ex-boyfriend’s family that’s fucking with my parents.

“I want to help,” I blurt. “At least let me do that. I can pull some shifts behind the counter while I’m in town. And if there’s anything else I can do, count me in. Maybe I can drum up more business for the place or something. Whatever I can do. Anything.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” My mom reaches out to give me a hug while my dad squeezes my shoulder.

“Hey, I know a way that you can help.” Pippa comes closer, her face lighting up.

“How?” I ask as I step back from my parents.

“I signed you up for the Christmas parade.”

My eyebrows shoot up. That was not what I was expecting her to say. “You signedmeup?”

She lifts one shoulder. “Well, the diner. I talked Lex Camden into giving us a float this year. I thought it would be good publicity for the diner. And since you want to help so much, you could pitch in by riding on it.”

Her grin is so broad it stretches across her entire face, and there’s something mischievous in her expression that makes me certain she hasn’t told me every detail yet. There’s some catch I’m missing.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “I can do that. Will it just be me?”

Somehow, her smile gets even wider. “Oh, no. The theme of the float is Santa and Mrs. Claus, so you’ll need a guy up there too. And there are also two elf costumes, so it’d actually be even better if you had three guys…”

“Oh, no.” I shake my head, realizing where she’s going with this. “No way, Pip.”

“What?” She turns to my parents as if looking for backup. “It’s a great idea, isn’t it? Come on, everybody loves the Cooper brothers! They’ll definitely get a lot of attention, and since they’re each apparently trying to date Hailey, I bet they’ll agree to do it.”

My mom’s eyes widen a little at that. I don’t know if she or my dad have heard the rumors around town about the Cooper brothers supposedly fighting over my affections, but if she didn’t know before, she does now.

I flush, feeling a little awkward as I wonder what she thinks about all three of them trying to date me—and then feeling even more awkward as I refuse to think about what she’d say if she knew what they all did to me last night.

“Fine, okay. I’ll do it,” I say, just to move the conversation along from whatever’s going on between me and the triplets. “I’ll ride on the float, and I’ll ask them if they’ll do it too. But I can’tmakethem, so I’m not responsible if they say no. Which they probably will.”

Pippa just shrugs, shooting me a smug, little sisterly look. “We’ll see.”

I roll my eyes, although I have to appreciate the fact that my sister somehow managed to bring a little levity to the situation. Our parents don’t look nearly as dejected as they did when I first entered the kitchen.

Now I just have to convince the guys to get on board with it.

23

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