Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
He brushed his nose against hers. “We could if I just hid you here,” he joked. Well, it wasn’t entirely a joke.
Harper rolled her eyes. “Have you thought about where you’ll make the announcement and how you’ll go about it?”
“Yes. This is what I was thinking…”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Beneath the sounds of people talking and laughing was the hum of the ceiling fans and the clinking of flutes. Harper peeked through the black curtain to take a good, long look at the ballroom. “There’s a whole lot of people out there, Tanner.” Not the entire lair, which was unsurprising. Their lair was particularly large, so many families often sent one or two of their own to represent the family and hear whatever announcement was made. It meant that the events weren’t too hectic and crowded, which worked out best for everyone.
“You don’t need to be nervous,” Tanner assured her, like, for the tenth time. “The lair won’t respond badly to the pregnancy.”
Harper turned back to him, hiding once more behind the curtain on the small dais. “Probably not, but I’ll have to, you know… talk to people. Mingle.” Harper was dreading it. She simply didn’t have the people skills required for it. Luckily, her mate did.
She hadn’t seen Knox since breakfast, and she knew he was currently dealing with some issues within the hotel. As hiding her rounded stomach while walking through the Underground wouldn’t have been the easiest thing she’d ever done, she’d had Ciaran teleport her and Tanner from the mansion to the penthouse suite. There, she’d showered and changed into a long, white, chiffon dress that wasn’t loose-fitting yet cleverly made her baby bump a lot less distinctive.
Tanner, Keenan, and Larkin had then walked her to the dais of the ballroom. Keenan and Larkin were circling the ballroom, on guard. Everyone was ready and in place. Now, all they were waiting for was for Knox to show up.
The last time she’d telepathically spoken to him had been twenty minutes ago, when he’d informed her that he was heading to the penthouse to quickly shower and change. Since Knox was wicked fast at getting ready, she could only assume that he’d been waylaid by his staff yet again or he’d be here by now. Where are you?
Within moments, his mind brushed against hers. Dealing with a minor matter before the concierge starts to cry.
She chuckled. At Tanner’s questioning look, she waved a hand and then peeked through the curtain again. People mingled as they sipped wine and nibbled on appetizers being served by waiters that circulated the room. Other guests were gathered around the tall, high tables on which bowls of pretzels and flickering candles were placed. Keenan and Larkin were patrolling the room, their eyes sharp. “I don’t see Carla, Bray or Kellen.”
“Did you expect to?” asked Tanner.
“No.” In fact, she’d been hoping that they wouldn’t attend. Maybe that was mean of her, but she simply didn’t trust them not to cause a scene.
“They’re leaving in three weeks anyway, so nothing you say tonight is anything they need to hear.”
He was right, she thought, as she closed the curtain. Harper smoothed a hand down the side of her dress. “I wish we didn’t have to make a huge, public announcement.”
“The lair needs to know.”
“Yeah, I know that, but I would have preferred it if we didn’t have to make a big thing out of it. It would have been easier to just ask you and the other sentinels to pass on the news.”
“You’re their Prime, and there are certain expectations that come with that position. Making public announcements about key information is one of them. Celebrating important events is another. Your pregnancy is both of those things.”
“Yes, but have you not seen how people respond to a pregnant woman?” By the way his brow furrowed, no, he hadn’t. “Everyone’s suddenly an expert on babies and they’re all full of advice and nosy-ass questions. I’m glad my stomach’s not that big – people are a hell of a lot worse if there’s a bump. They try rubbing it like it’s a damn genie-infested lamp.”
“Genie-infested?” he chuckled.
“You get my point.”
“I do. How about this? If anyone seems like they’re about to say anything inappropriate or touch your belly, I’ll step in and interrupt the conversation.”
“That would be good.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do.” Tanner folded his arms. “On another note, Keenan said you called Lucian earlier.”
Harper nodded. “I thought it best that he found out about the pregnancy from me.”
“How did he take the news?”
She pursed her lips as she thought back to the conversation…
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Lucian burst out.
Harper sighed. “Lucian —”
“It’s not enough that you mated the psychopathic bastard, you’re now going to have his psychopathic spawn?”
“Hey! My child is not psychopathic.”
“Don’t kid yourself. If it takes after you, it’ll be a treasure. If it takes after him, it’ll be a living nightmare.”