Chapter 0286

“Children!?” I gasp, “who else is out?” I peer back over my shoulder at my mom as I head down the

stairs.

“None of your business,” mom says, very lofty, giving me a secretive smirk. “I’m not going to rat on

my own children, after all.”

“Is it Rafe!?” I ask, eager and a little scandalized, glancing back at Jackson too, who listens with

interest.

“Not my meatball!” mom says, laughing and continuing to escort us down. “My perfect little meatball,

who’s never done anything wrong in his entire life!?”

“It was Rafe,” Jackson murmurs to me with a wink, pressing a hand to the small of my back as we

get to the bottom of the stairs and mom walks ahead. “Your mom put me in his room, like she put

Daphne in yours, but he snuck out even before I did.”

“Rafe,” I sigh, shaking my head. “God, I wonder where he went…”

I look up at Jackson curiously, wondering if he knows.

But, dead serious, Jackson just shakes his head at me. “Even if I knew,” he says, his voice low with

the gravity of his charge, “I wouldn’t tell. I have been sworn to secrecy, and I take my charge quite

seriously.”

I scowl at him, mumbling discontentedly about how mates aren’t supposed to have secrets from

each other, but he just laughs like that’s quite rich coming from me.

And I laugh too, realizing that he’s right.

But when I get back into my room, and cast my eyes over Daphne, I see that she’s wearing a little

pair of pink slippers that she certainly wasn’t wearing when I left the room.

And that her eyes are pressed shut…a little tighter than I think they need to be for a girl deep in

sleep.

But I don’t say anything, letting my friend keep her secrets. I just climb into bed, pulling my blankets

up with a contented sigh, and let sleep find me.

All of my determination to let Daphne keep her secrets ends, however, the moment she wakes up.

“Sooo,” she says, still groggy, waking up and rubbing her eye as she grins at me. “Someone was a

bad little princess last night, sneaking out!”

My mouth falls open for a second at her gall, but I snap it shut with a grin.

“Oh really, Daph,” I say, flipping around on my bed so that I’m laying flat on my stomach as I grin at

her. I perch my chin on my hand. “Do you really want to have a chat about who was bad, and who

snuck out, with a certain someone’s brother?”

Her jaw drops but then she bursts into laughter and flops back on her pillow, covering her face.

“Wait, how did you know!? I got back before you!”

“I know everything,” I say, exaggerating obviously but enjoying the way that she shakes her head in

complete disbelief. “Sooo, Jackson and I took the roof. Where did Rafe take you?”

“The kitchens,” she sighs, dropping her hands and smiling at me. “We sat on the counter and had

cake. It was…very cute.”

“Did you kiss?” I ask, eager, my eyebrows going up.

She laughs and shakes her head. “No, Ari, it wasn’t like that. It was just…” she sighs and covers her

face with her hands again. “It was very sweet.”

“Is that all the detail I’m going to get?” I ask, twisting my mouth in disappointment.

“It’s your brother, Ari!” she says, laughing and turning her face back to me.

“I know, I need dirt to blackmail him with,” I say, grinning and throwing a pillow at her before jumping

out of bed. I move to my wardrobe, picking some clothes out for the day and letting Daphne keep

her secrets if she wants to. It’s her love life, after all – she doesn’t have to share.

But even as I sort through the dresses and clothes that hang before me – mom has clearly been

updating my wardrobe, even in my absence – I let my mind wander. Rafe and Daphne, wow…I

mean, are they becoming a thing?

Or is it just…flirting?

Are they just friends? Do they want to be more?

“Ohhh, wear this green one,” Daphne says, appearing at my side and reaching into the wardrobe,

pulling out a stunning but simple dress. “You’re going to Luca’s, right? This has very ‘meeting the

mom’ vibes.”

I laugh but nod, taking it from her hands, grateful for my friend’s impeccable taste. “It’s perfect,” I

say, wrapping her in a quick hug before hurrying off to the bathroom to take a shower and get

dressed.

Because Daphne’s right – questions of my brother’s love life aside, I’ve got a lot on my plate today,

and it’s time to get started.