Page 65 of Pucking the Enemy

That evening, right as we were all settling down in the den, my parents called.

“Their ears must have been burning today.” Roman chuckled as he read the name on the screen over my shoulder.

Cormac and Seb were on the other sofa, playing a video game while I snuggled with Phillip and Roman.

I sighed. “I don’t have the energy to deal with them.”

“You know what your mother is like,” Seb said, his eyes never leaving the screen, where he was locked in a virtual battle with Cormac. “The party is only a week away. If you don’t talk to her soon, she’s going to start calling every half an hour, and then, eventually, she’ll turn up at your dorm.”

I winced. He was correct. My mother would turn up at my dormitory. “She’d be in for a shock when she doesn’t find me there.”

“So, maybe it’s better to tell her now?”

I looked at Roman, hoping he would disagree with Sebastian.

He shrugged. “It seems like it’s a good idea to get it over with, Duchess.”

“Why is it you guys can’t agree on anything, but as soon as it comes to something that I like that you don’t approve of, or don’t want me to do, you guys agree?”

“Because we want what’s best for you?” Sebastian suggested innocently.

I opened my mouth to give him a snarky reply.

“You better answer.” Roman laughed, looking pointedly at my phone.

Shooting him a glare, I huffed before pressing the answer button, bringing the phone to my ear. “Mother,” I greeted, keeping my glare firmly on Roman.

“Hazel! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days! Really, you should be more considerate of my time.” My mother’s nasal voice screeched through the phone.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been sick and busy with class.” It was shockingly difficult to keep my voice level.

“Sick? Do you need to come see Doctor Thomas?”

“I saw a campus doctor. It was just a nasty virus. It’s taking time to kick it.”

“The campus doctors aren’t anywhere near as qualified as Doctor Thomas!”

I rolled my eyes. The campus doctors weren’t as expensive as Doctor Thomas, that’s what she meant.

“They still have their medical degree, and I am sure that they can handle a simple virus.”

“So, when are you able to come home for our Christmas party? We have several people that are excited to meet you. Did you know that Brad Donohue has a son about your age? Smart boy. He’s about to go to Harvard for business.”

The urge to groan was unbearable. Of course, she was going to spend this Christmas party trying to set me up.

“I still look super sickly.” I forced myself to cough a few times. “I sound horrible. I don’t want to make a terrible impression on your friends.”

Trying to sound sickly, I made my voice extra whiny. My mother wasn’t exactly the maternal type. She wouldn’t be too concerned about me being sick, but she would be concerned with how it would look to her friends. If she was on a mission to set me up with someone she deemed appropriate, then being a sickly mess really wasn’t a good look.

“Oh…” My mother trailed off. “Yes, that wouldn’t be ideal. You know what, you need to take care of yourself, my dear. Stay on campus and rest. You need to be healthy. We are hosting a mixer in early March, and you can’t miss that! I’m sure you can meet everyone then.”

“I look forward to it.” I gave Sebastian a pained smile, and he laughed silently. He knew all too well how my mother was.

“Good! Okay, I must run. I have floral arrangements to see to.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. Throwing the phone down, I turned to Phillip, who was watching me with a funny expression.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

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