Chapter 0167

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 the landmarks that we pass on the way to the palace to Ben and Daphne,

keeping us all laughing with his commentary.

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 palace, 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, laughing and clinking his glass against. Jackson’s before taking a sip.

Jackson just glances 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 glass up to stare at the pale

bubbly liquid.

champagne!” I say,

makes me laugh more. Jesse, having caught the conversation,

stocked back here.

know,” Jackson murmurs, peering over my head with surprise and

him a

my head to him with surprise to see him holding out

back to himself a little more, I take Jackson’s glass and pass it down to Luca, who empties it into his own half- full flute. “No sense in wasting five–hundred–dollar champagne,” he murmurs, lifting his glass to me in a toast

almost dropping his glass of

hand under Jackson’s glass. “Listen, if you’re that shocked about

and then at all of us in appalled shock, which just makes us all laugh 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

right now

side, Daphne’s leg

whisper, resting my hand

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

whisper, grinning. And then I tap the bottom of her glass. “Bottom’s up. Liquid

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