Page 2 of Broken King

Even as I’m secretly worried one of my brothers will do something to make this night a disaster, I shrug off Theo’s mention of it being an important thing to me. “Dad has met Kate dozens of times. It’s not a big deal.”

My brother isn’t buying my nonchalant attitude, though. “Yeah, but now she’s bringing her parents to see us. You worried we’re going to fuck things up?” he asks with a chuckle.

I glance around the game room and can’t help but think one of my brothers is going to do something embarrassing tonight. Will it be Marius drinking too much and saying something stupid? Or Kellen acting like a fool for laughs? Or maybe Theo playing a practical joke?

Likely, it’ll be Matthias who makes the worst impression since he looks downright miserable. Then again, knowing how he’s felt all week since he missed going to the city with Theo, Marius, and Kellen, he’ll probably just sit up here stewing in his bad mood during the whole party.

“Kate knows all of you too. It’s really no big deal, Theo. Her parents already love me. You guys would have to do something really terrible to change that.”

Theo’s eyes light up, and he turns his head to look at Marius and Kellen. “Did you hear that? Ronan thinks we’re going to do something really awful tonight.”

As the three of them laugh and make plans to ruin the party, I try to explain what I mean. “I never said that. Theo, tell them the truth. I don’t think you guys are necessarily going to do anything tonight.”

Nobody is listening to me, so I look over at Matthias for help. “Dude, feel free to jump in here whenever you want.”

He grimaces and shakes his head. “Don’t get me involved in your little night of romance. I’m going to avoid this whole thing as much as possible.”

“What’s wrong with you? And it’s not a night of romance. Has it ever occurred to you that you might be a happier person if you had someone?”

My oldest brother practically seethes at me before he storms out of the room, leaving me baffled at what just happened.Looking at my other three brothers as they shoot a game of pool, I wait for one of them to explain why Matthias is as miserable as cat shit.

When nobody says anything, I ask, “What was that about?”

Marius and Kellen shrug, but Theo laughs and says, “I think Matthias needs to get laid. That would put a smile on his face.”

I don’t have time for this, so I ignore him and walk downstairs to check on preparations for tonight’s party. Kate texts me as I reach the first floor to tell me she can’t wait to see me and her parents are excited to finally meet my father.

Smiling, I respond by telling her how it’s going to be great and I’ll see her soon and head down the hall to the kitchen to find Eleanor busy cooking. I sit down at the table and sneak a vanilla cookie dusted with red and green sugar, my mouth watering when the first taste of her delicious creation hits my tongue.

“Don’t eat them,” she scolds me, even though I could have sworn she never turned around from what she’s cooking on the stove. “I only made enough for the party tonight.”

“I only took one. I swear.”

Eleanor turns around and smiles when she sees me. “Look at you! You look all grown up.”

“I clean up nicely, don’t you think?” I ask as my hand goes to my tie to loosen it just a little. “I had to get Theo to do this Windsor knot because I kept messing it up. It looks okay?”

“You look wonderful, Ronan. You and Kate are going to be the talk of the party. What is she wearing?” Eleanor asks before turning back to focus on the stove.

“She couldn’t decide between a green dress and a red one, so I’m not sure,” I answer just as Marius walks into the kitchen and grabs two cookies from the tray in front of me.

“You know what she’s going to wear?” he asks with utter disgust.

Ever since he and that girlfriend of his broke up, he’s been the most miserable bastard when it comes to women. Even Matthias isn’t as negative about them as this brother.

“You know, it’s normal for people to mention things like that,” I say to him, but it’s no use. He merely rolls his eyes and strolls out without saying another word.

Walking over to where I’m sitting, Eleanor sighs. “I worry he’s going to become jaded if he keeps up like this.”

I laugh at how she puts that. “Going to? I think it’s too late for that. I swear every time he hears I even talked to Kate, he has to bust my chops.”

“Don’t listen to him, Ronan,” she says sweetly. “What you and Kate have is a good thing. I only hope Marius sees that someday soon and finds someone who makes him happy.”

I nod without saying anything else, but all I can think is that brother and Matthias are fighting to be the most jaded men ever when it comes to love. I doubt either of them will ever find anyone who wants to be around such moody bastards.

Kateand her parents walk into the living room and stop in front of the fifteen foot Christmas tree lit up with all white lights for the party. My father smiles at me across the room and begins to walk toward them, so I hurry over to join him. Kate looks beautiful in a dark green velvet dress she showed me last week when she bought it after exchanging a sweater her grandmother gave her. I’ve never seen her in it before tonight, but she’s breathtaking.

Her mother’s eyes light up when she sees me, like always. Mrs. Abbott has always liked me from the first time Kate introduced us right after we started dating earlier this year.

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