Chapter 167


    It gets a little awkward in the close quarters of the limousine, but Jesse does a good job of breaking


    the awkwardness by pouring more champagne – god, mom really made sure we were stocked –


    and pointing out all of thendmarks that we pass on the way to the pce to Ben and Daphne,


    keeping us allughing with hismentary.


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    Rafe, when we got in the car, sat me deliberately on his right with Daphne on my other side, very


    carefully ensuring that I wasn’t sitting next to either of my mates, I think trying to be fair to both of


    them. But as we draw close to the pce, Rafe turns to Jackson on his left and raises an eyebrow.


    “You ready for this?” he murmurs, smirking a little.


    “Absolutely not,” Jackson returns, deadpan. But then he smiles at my brother, and moves his eyes


    to me, and his smile deepens. “But we’ll get through it, right?”


    “That’s the spirit,” Rafe says,ughing and clinking his ss against. Jackson’s before taking a sip.


    Jackson just nces down at his champagne with distaste.


    “What,” I say, leaning further over Rafe with a grin, unable to help it. “You don’t like it?”


    “What is it?” he asks, baffled, holding his ss up to stare at the pale


    bubbly liquid.


    “It’s champagne!” I say,ughing.


    Jackson just shifts his eyes to me like I’m crazy if I think he knows what that means, which makes


    meugh more. Jesse, having caught the conversation,ughs as well in a good–hearted way.


    “What do you like, Jacks?” he asks, flipping open the little travel bar that dad keeps quite well


    stocked back here.


    “I don’t know,” Jackson murmurs, peering over my head with surprise and a little delight at the


    secretpartment. “Something.brown.”


    “Whiskey it is,” Jesse says, pouring him a draft and handing it down the line.


    “If he’s not going to have his champagne,” Luca calls, and I turn my head to him with surprise to see


    him holding out his hand. “I’ll take it.”


    Grinning, pleased to see hime back to himself a little more, I take Jackson’s ss and pass it


    down to Luca, who empties it into his own half- full flute. “No sense in wasting five–hundred–dor


    champagne,” he murmurs, lifting his ss to me in a toast with a wink before taking a sip.


    “That cost five hundred dors?” Jackson gasps, almost dropping his ss of whiskey in his shock.


    “Whoa, whoa,” Rafe says, putting a steadying hand under Jackson’s ss. “Listen, if you’re that


    shocked about the champagne, don’t even ask about the whiskey – just…be careful. And enjoy.”


    Jackson stares at Rafe, and then at me, and then at all of us in appalled shock, which just makes us


    allugh harder. But after a moment he smiles too, shaking his head and taking it in stride. I lift a


    hand to my cheek, which aches a bit from smiling so much, because this is…this is working, isn’t


    it?


    At least right now it is.


    On my other side, Daphne’s leg bounces anxiously.


    “You okay?” I whisper, resting my hand on her knee.


    “Oh, you know,” she says, her voice high and too breezy. “Just…about to meet the king and the


    queen. Just a normal day. No reason to be anxious.”


    “They’re nice,” I whisper, grinning. And then I tap the bottom of her ss. “Bottom’s up. Liquid


    courage.”


    “You want me to be drunk when I meet the royals!?” she says, aghast, but I


    catch the corner of her grin and realize that she’s kidding.


    “Yes, “Jesse says, leaning towards her with delight, “you’ll fit in just fine if you’re utterly stered.”


    “You’re going to give her the impression that our family is all alcoholics,” I say, rolling my eyes at


    him as the limo pulls around the final corner to the pce and my home my home! –es into


    view. My face stretches with


    –


    my smile, my cheeks aching more.


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