Page 97 of The Very Naughty List

A delicious shiver runs down my spine as we join the townspeople drinking hot chocolate and eating holiday goodies at the parade’s end. I’m feeling so good that not even the sight of Dylan gazing dourly at me and the three Cooper brothers can knock the smile off my face. He looks like he just tasted something sour, his face scrunched up and his eyes a bit narrowed. But I just give him a little wave and then turn my back to him, ignoring him completely.

“Hailey! Guys!”

My sister’s voice rises up above the hubbub of the crowd, and I glance around to see her leading my parents and Lucas through the throng of people, waving wildly at me.

They reach us a moment later, and my mother pulls me into a hug.

“You looked lovely up there,” she tells me. “Thank you for representing the diner, it means so much.”

“That was the best Christmas parade in years.” My dad beams. “You all did a great job! And you and Nick made a great Mr. and Mrs. Claus.”

Little does he know what I was actually doing while riding on that float. I feel my cheeks start to flush a little, but thankfully Reid comes to the rescue by immediately turning the conversation toward talking about all the publicity that the float will hopefully bring in for the diner.

My parents excitedly tell him about a few new additions to the menu, and Lucas chats with Nick a bit about the upcoming football season. Sebastian floats in and out of everyone’s conversations while I give my sister a quick report about the new guy at the diner and how he could probably take on a few more shifts to help balance out her schedule.

But beneath all the excited talk, the sexual tension that started building up between me and the three Cooper brothers back on the float keeps simmering. Instead of dissipating now that the parade is over, it only seems to be winding tighter and tighter, making my body hum like a live wire.

It’s a dangerous thing, considering that my brother is standing just a few feet away, and so are my parents. I try my best to ignore the triplets’ close proximity and the ravenous glances they keep shooting me out of the corners of their eyes.

Thankfully, my brother gets drawn into a conversation with a colleague of his from the high school, and my parents head off to greet a couple of friends they spotted in the crowd earlier. But Pippa—well, she’s never been as easy for me to fool.

The moment our brother and parents are out of earshot, she grabs my arm, tugging me to one side.

“Ohhhh shit!” she hisses in a low voice. “You’re with the Cooper brothers forreal!All of them?”

My stomach drops. Oh fuck.

“What?” I shake my head, my eyes widening. “No, don’t be absurd. It’s all just acting, like I said before. Something to keep the town gossips from rehashing me and Dylan and that whole mess.”

I give a strained laugh, trying to brush it off, but fail miserably. My sister can always read me when I’m trying to deny stuff. I’m honestly not a very good liar—at least, not when it comes to her.

Pippa arches one brow at me and rests one hand on her hip. She doesn’t say anything, just stands there staring at me with a knowing look until my resolve crumbles.

“All right,fine,” I whisper, glancing around to make sure no one is eavesdropping on us. We’re standing far enough from the Cooper brothers that they can’t hear us, but I can feel them watching us, heat and curiosity still lingering in their eyes. “It’s true. But you have to swear that you won’t tell anyone!”

Her jaw drops open, her eyes flashing with excitement. “Why would I tell anyone? This is amazing! Holy shit! Lucas doesn’t know, does he?”

“God, of course not.” I shake my head emphatically. “He would absolutely flip. Swear to me that you won’t utter a word of this to anyone, especially not him.”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Pippa makes a crossing motion with her fingers over her chest, and I check to make sure that I can see both of her hands and that she’s not crossing fingers anywhere. It’s a trick she used to use when we were kids.

But this time, she seems to really mean it.

“You can trust me,” she promises, her expression turning a bit more serious as she drops her head, leaning in closer. “I won’t say anything. I promise on our sisterhood. How long has it been going on?”

I shake my head. “I don’t really know exactly. It feels like it’s been going on forever, at least in my head. I’m not sure when it started getting real.”

Wait, what am I saying?None of this is actually “real.”

I clear my throat, quickly correcting myself.

“I mean, it’s not real. Not really. It’s not like we’re all in love or anything. We’re just, um… having some fun. We agreed to mess around a bit while they help me rewrite the story of me being Dylan’s jilted bride.”

“Holy shit.” Her eyes are like saucers. “So you and… all three of them? Like—together?”

My cheeks flame, but I know there’s no point in starting to lie now. She’s already seen through me, so it’s a little late for that.

“Yes,” I admit, and she squeals quietly. “But it’s only temporary!” I quickly add. “I wasn’t anticipating this at all. I had no idea it would ever happen, and definitely not with all of them.”

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