Page 39 of What the Hex
“Thank you, ma’am. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Oh, no, that’s okay. We’ll manage.” Her smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. “King?”
“Coming, Mother.” He rolled his shoulders back and took a deep breath. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I’ll be right back.”
When Storm turned back to the siblings, he noticed identical looks of concern on each of their faces as they watched their little brother disappear into the house.
“Shit,” Reina cursed. Without preamble, she snatched the cocktail from her sister’s hand and downed the remainder in one swallow.
For a moment, it looked as if Rhia would argue, but after a moment, she simply shrugged.
“What?” Storm asked. “What’s wrong?”
Royal shook his head. “It’s probably nothing. Just, sometimes, our mom has a tendency to be a bit critical.”
“Especially when it comes to King,” Rhia added. “She’s always been harder on him.”
Storm had simply assumed that Daniella wanted to talk to her youngest about…well, him. Now, he was wondering if allowing King to leave his side was the right call. Worried for his mate, he kept one ear on the conversation while tuning into what was happening in the kitchen.
“Oh, honey, you’re a mess. Just look at this shirt. It’s dreadful.”
For the evening, King had chosen a pair of black dress slacks with matching loafers. His black polo fit him beautifully, and the bands of red on the sleeves and collar complemented his creamy complexion.
Storm thought he looked quite dashing, and he failed to see how Daniella could find fault in the outfit.
“You’ve put on more weight, too.” Her disapproving tut was followed by a long sigh. “We talked about this, yes?”
“Yes, Mother. I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”
It broke his fucking heart to hear how beaten down and defeated King sounded. Especially since there was no basis for Daniella’s complaints. King was perfect just the way he was, and Storm loved his soft curves and adorable bubble butt.
“Have you been avoiding carbs like I recommended?”
“Sometimes.”
“That’s good. Remember, if you’re hungry, drink green tea. It’ll help.”
Oh, fuck that. There was no way in heaven or hell he was going to allow his mate to starve himself out of some misguided desire to please his overbearing mother. What the hell was this female’s problem, anyway?
“So, you’ve been all over social media this week,” Royal said, interrupting his eavesdropping. “That was quite the show you put on.”
“I just wanted to swim.” It really wasn’t a big deal.
Reina nodded sagely. “I get that. It must be exhausting having people dogging your every step.”
“Dogs aren’t the problem.” What a strange thing to say. “It’s people that suck.”
Little snorts escaped Rhia’s nose, and her eyes started to water. Eventually, she couldn’t contain it any longer, and she barked out a sharp, shrill laugh.
“I’m putting that on a T-shirt.”
Loud throat-clearing drew their attention to the other side of the patio. Rhia instantly ducked her head and stopped laughing, looking properly abashed.
“Sorry, Dad,” she mumbled.
King had told him he wasn’t close to his siblings, but from what he could tell, they were a pretty good bunch. Yet, how they had managed to turn out so normal with such hypercritical parents remained a mystery.
“Now,” Daniella was saying when he returned to the conversation going on in the kitchen. “Have you started looking for another job?”