Billionaire Wolf's MateDate - Serena Meadows Page 0,46

go of her, she looked up into his eyes, wanting to tell him, but held back. She wanted the moment she told him to be special, and as special as their wedding was, she wanted to be alone when he found out.

As they walked past all the smiling faces, she found her father in the crowd and flashed him a big smile, hoping it would bother him to see her so happy. Just as she’d expected, he scowled at her, then realized that people were watching and put a pained smile on his face.

When his rejection didn’t hurt, she knew that he no longer had any power over her; the past was the past, she had a wonderful future to look forward to with a man who loved her and would be her mate for life. In only a few days, her father’s world would come crashing down around him, and she wasn’t the least bit sorry for him. In fact, deep down, she was looking forward to watching it happen.

Dinner flew by in a blur of fancy food and laughter. They spun around the dance floor until she was breathless and ended the night shoving cake into each other’s faces. Forced marriage or not, Janice had never been happier, and it showed on her face, and as the day wore on, she began to think of the coming night. Floating around on the dance floor in Reggie’s strong arms, made her mind wander to places it shouldn’t be, and it was a relief when the guests began to pack up to leave.

The sun was just beginning to set when she threw her bouquet over her shoulder, then climbed the stairs with Reggie, the guests hooting and hollering crude comments at them. But it was all in good fun, and their friends were some of the loudest, but she still blushed so deeply that her face felt hot.

When Reggie shut the door behind them, she was suddenly nervous and shy, not sure what would happen next but her heart pounding with anticipation. She knew now was the time to tell him about the baby, but a little part of her was afraid that he wouldn’t be happy. They’d never talked about having kids; she just assumed he wanted them too.

But looking at him from across the room, seeing the love in his eyes when he looked at her, calmed her fears, and she took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, he handed her a stack of folded clothes. “Put these on. I have a surprise for you,” he said. “We’re getting out of here for the night.”

Janice didn’t question him, just took the clothes and turned her back to him. “I need you to unhook me, I can’t do it myself.”

They almost didn’t make it into the secret passageway, but they finally climbed into the wall, Janice relieved to be back in jeans, and followed it out of the house. When they emerged through the thick bushes that ringed the house, there was a horse and carriage waiting for them, Peter perched on the seat, the reins in his hands.

“Congratulations,” he said. “Your carriage awaits.”

Chapter Nineteen

***Reggie***

Reggie helped Janice into the carriage, put the lap rug over her legs, then settled down next to her. “I know this is going to sound silly, but I’ve been planning this night for a long time,” he said. “I’ll think you’ll understand why when we get there.”

Janice relaxed back against the seat. “This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me,” she said, grinning up at him. “You always have a way of surprising me.”

“And the surprises are far from over,” he said, putting his arm around her and pulling her close.

She snuggled down in his arms and sighed contentedly. “Thank you for getting me away from the house tonight,” she said.

They rode in silence as the moon came up over the horizon and the stars began to twinkle in the sky, then Peter brought the carriage to a stop. “This is where I leave you,” he said, jumping down and opening the door of the carriage. “I’ve arranged for everything you’ll need.”

He handed Reggie a flashlight. “Thank you, Uncle Peter,” he said before giving him a big hug. “We’ll be waiting here for you the day after tomorrow.”

Janice looked over at him in surprise. “But I thought we had to be at the council meeting tomorrow,” she said.

“We were supposed to be there, but I need another