Page 79 of Pucking the Enemy

“Duchess, you look perfect!” Roman said as I fussed with my hair for the tenth time in front of the mirror.

I pushed a curl behind my ear. “It’s not quite right!”

Roman appeared behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders and kissing the top of my head. “My parents are going to love you. They would love you, no matter what. You’re stressing yourself out for no reason, and it’s not good for the baby.”

“I am not stressing myself out for no good reason. I am stressing myself out for a very good reason. I want to make a good impression on your parents!” I cried as I pushed him away.

We’d woken up early, before the sun was even up, thanks to Cormac, who had the patience of a five-year-old when it came to Christmas. He came bounding into our various rooms, screaming at the top of his lungs that it was Christmas morning, and it was time for presents.

We all sat around the tree and exchanged gifts while in a sleepy haze. The guys drank coffee as they woke up, whereas I was stuck with chamomile tea.

Between all the guys, I had been thoroughly spoiled. I was now the owner of a brand-new latest model Kindle, several gift cards to buy books for said Kindle, vouchers to my favorite ice cream store, new nesting materials, and even some really cute T-shirts that were mother themed—my favorite was the little cartoon iced bun that had bun in the oven in bright, colorful lettering.

There wasn’t much time to enjoy the morning or one another before we had to make our way toward the Kingswood estate.

You heard that right. Roman didn’t refer to his home as a house; he referred to it as an estate. I knew his family was well off, but that was a new level of pretentious. Even for me.

Making the effort, I had curled my hair and put on a new red tartan dress I bought just for the occasion. I even put on a little bit of makeup. As I got ready, I doubted every decision I was making. What if I didn’t look good enough? Roman’s mother had sounded so amazing on the phone that I wanted desperately for her to like me.

“Give me five minutes! I’ll quickly redo my hair!” I declared, turning on my heel to dash back into my room.

“Not so fast, sweetness,” Cormac said, grabbing me around the waist, halting me in my tracks. “We’re already running late, and you wouldn’t want to be rude by showing up late to someone else’s house now, would you?”

I turned to him with a horrified look on my face. “You are unusually cruel,” I said, pouting at him.

“Will you get in the car?”

Instead of replying, I simply swiped my small clutch off the counter and stormed toward the front door, passing a smirking Seb in the hallway.

“What are you grinning at, Sebastian Coombs?” I hissed as I passed him.

“Nothing, Hazelnut. I’m just rather impressed by how quickly the guys figured you out,” he said, raising his hand and fist bumping Cormac as he followed me.

Resisting the urge to throw something at them, I stomped out to the SUV, where Phillip was waiting in the driver’s seat.

“You’re looking pissed. Dare I ask which one of my pack mates managed to make you look that angry?”

“All of them,” I grumbled, crossing my arms and glaring straight ahead.

Phillip nodded. “Let’s go get you some company that isn’t these idiots, then.”

We made our way up the drive, and I realized just why Roman referred to his home as an estate. It was gigantic.

“How many buildings do you need on one property?” I asked, gaping as I peered out the passenger window.

“We’ve got the main house, the guest house, the staff house, and several other buildings, like the horse stables and the pool house. Oh, there’s also the house they put next to the tennis court.” Roman shrugged in a matter-of-fact way as he spoke.

This was the life my child was going to be born into. My hand absentmindedly drifted to my stomach. I was a stranger in this world and terrified I wouldn’t fit in.

“He wasn’t raised with a silver spoon, sweetness, he was raised with a diamond spoon. It’s honestly a miracle he turned out as decently as he did.” Cormac laughed. He was crammed into the back with Seb and Roman. We were going to take two cars, but the guys, in their ever-competitive nature, had decided that they wanted to see if they could squish into the SUV clown-car style, so everyone could stay close to me.

Had I been feeling a bit more generous, I would have offered to sit in the back, because I was considerably smaller than those three, but I was feeling a bit petty, so I decided to keep my space in the front seat.

I straightened my dress as I slid out of the front seat. Phillip had parked right in front of the house, which was a mammoth. Part of me wanted to ask how many rooms there were, but I thought better of it.

“Roman!” The front door opened, and a woman came barreling out, heading straight toward Roman and pulling him into a hug. Her hair was a deep auburn color and was pulled back in a sleek bun at the nape of her neck.

She only embraced him for a second before stepping back, turning to look at me. Her smile grew even wider somehow , and she beamed at me.

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