The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy Chapter 175

Daphne grins. “Sorry to break it to you, your Grace, but don’t bother killing your cousin thinking that would fix anything. I’m not even sure you’d be my second choice.”

Jesse gapes at her and then glances over at the group of men. He gasps then, turning back, “McClintock!?”

Daphne grimaces and Jesse groans again. “Cruel woman,” he mutters, dragging a hand down his face.

“You’ll always be a dear friend, Jesse Sinclair,” Daphne sighs, still laughing, enjoying the hell out of herself.

“The words of death,” Jesse sighs, still smiling at her. “Friendzoned. But I accept it. I’m a good friend, if you’ll let me be it.” He offers his hand to her, ready to shake on it. “I’ll even put in a good word for you with my good-looking cousin.”

Daphne smirks, looking at Jesse askance with some suspicion in her eyes. “This isn’t just a ploy to trick me into falling in love with you, is it?” she asks. “Oldest trick in the book, you know – pretending to be a girl’s friend, get her laughing, console her when she cries, and then BOOM! Before she knows it, she wakes up in your bed.”

“Well, as amazing as that sounds,” Jesse says, tilting his head to the side and giving her a significant look that makes Daphne laugh again. “No, I mean it,” he says, still offering his hand. “If you want me to be your friend, I’ll be your friend. No tricks, no strings attached.”

“Hmm,” Daphne says, narrowing her eyes a little as she slips her hand into his, accepting his offer. “Honestly, Jesse Sinclair, I think I was hoping you’d try for me a little harder than that.”

“Daphne,” he says, her name a sigh on his lips as he shakes his head and raises her hand to his mouth, “if you ever really want me to stop being your friend and try Instead? …just say the word.” And then he presses a kiss to her knuckles – a real one this time, not a joke like it was before.

And Daphne? She finds herself smiling at Jesse now, a little intrigued despite herself.

I walk away as Jesse and Daphne talk, letting them have a minute to themselves, trusting Jesse to be the gentleman that I know he can be. I’m not very surprised, though, when Jackson loosens himself from the group at the fire and steps over towards me.

I also don’t miss the fact that Luca watches him go and meets my eyes, clenching his jaw and looking not very pleased. But I smile at him and he nods before turning back to my brother and Ben, continuing whatever it is they were chatting about.

“So, are you surviving?” I ask, smiling up at Jackson and giving him my full attention for the first time since others started arriving. “It’s not so bad, right?”

“It’s…not,” Jackson says, hesitating as he runs a hand through his hair and looks around. “Although, honestly, it’s a little exhausting – you guys do this every night?”

“Yes, Jacks,” I say, grinning at him, unable to take my eyes away. “It’s called having friends.”

He turns back to me and scrunches his face a little bit, like he doesn’t like the idea very much, which makes me burst out laughing.

“And how are you handling the girl,” I say, turning a little to tilt my head towards Daphne, who is talking pretty intently with Jesse on the couch.

Jackson scowls a little. “How’d you know I was nervous about that?”

“Oh, just all the blood rushing from your face, and the look like a deer ready to bolt from the road when it faces down a sixteen-wheeler,” I say, giving a casual shrug. Jackson smirks, glancing at me and shaking his head.