CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kiara was uncertain if Julian expected her to sit next to him at the dinner table that night, but she felt a strong need to reinforce—especially to herself—that they were married in name only. Which meant they didn’t need to sit next to each other.
Instead, she chose a seat between Angie and Elizabeth. Julian was seated across the table from her, with Elijah and Benji on either side of him.
Since they had exchanged letters, Kiara had been prepared for the mental changes in Julian. What she hadn’t been prepared for were the physical ones.
He no longer had the gaunt look that had been present before heading to the treatment center. Even when she’d gone there to see him a few weeks ago, he’d still looked hollow-cheeked with a haunted gaze.
But as she looked at him across the table, she thought he’d never looked more handsome. His eyes had a light in them that had been lacking before, and he just looked healthier. Even happy.
Kiara struggled with the knowledge that he probably didn’t see an improvement when he looked at her. Despite the nausea she battled off and on, she’d still gained weight, and it wasn’t all just in her belly. She was also aware that she looked tired a lot, especially if she didn’t put on makeup.
She knew it shouldn’t make a difference what Julian thought. They weren’t in a relationship, and their marriage was just temporary. Despite that, she didn’t like the idea that he would only see negative changes in her.
Her emotions were a mess most days, and that was even when Julian wasn’t there. Now that he was, and the reality of their situation was in her face every day, she could only imagine where her emotions were going to end up.
There were just so many ups and downs in the days ahead.
Kiara was genuinely happy that Julian’s treatment had been successful, but it was going to be hard to have him around, especially for the wedding. She was also happy for Angie and Jude, but she was going to miss having Angie live under the same roof as her.
“Is everything ready for the wedding?” Duncan asked.
“Yes,” Elizabeth responded. “The floral delivery and decorating will be done Saturday morning, and the caterers will be here early in the afternoon. The ceremony starts at five, and we should be ready to eat by seven.”
“Is a photographer coming?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m bringing one in from New York that I’ve worked with before. Same with the hair and makeup people.”
“NDAs?”
“All signed,” Elizabeth assured him. “I had our lawyer take care of it, and he said they’ve all been signed.”
“So are you experiencing wedding jitters, Jude?” Duncan asked, turning to the man seated to his right.
Everyone laughed at the question. It was hard to imagine Jude having any sort of nerves, let alone jitters.
“No jitters here,” Jude said.
“None here either,” Angie added. “Just excited.”
“The plans for the honeymoon are all in place,” Duncan said.
“Where are you going?” Julian asked. “Or is it a secret?”
“Not a secret,” Jude replied. “Duncan has generously offered the use of his island.”
Just when Kiara thought she understood how rich Duncan was, something else would come up. Like finding out he owned a whole island in the Caribbean. It was unfathomable.
“We’re leaving Sunday morning,” Angie said. “And we’ll be gone for two weeks.”
Two weeks sounded like an eternity. When Kiara had first heard how long Angie planned to be gone with Jude, she’d felt a moment of panic at being left alone on the estate.
Kiara got along with Annie okay, but even though the woman looked like Angie, she wasn’t her. Because of that, Kiara wasn’t sure how she was going to get through the two weeks without contact with Angie.
Under the table, Kiara wrapped her arm around her belly. She had to remember that everything she was doing now was for him. And if she could survive those years with Jim and Sandra at the homestead, she could survive two weeks without Angie, while living in the lap of luxury.
“Stop being such a baby,” she murmured to herself.
Angie leaned over to her. “Are you okay?”
Kiara gave her a quick smile. “I’m fine.”
Her sister didn’t seem to buy her response, but she didn’t press her. Kiara might have been worried that Angie would delve into it later, if not for the fact that there were too many other things she needed to focus on.
Friday was spent doing last-minute prep for the wedding, including settling the photographer, hair, and makeup people into the same short-term rental that the designer and seamstresses had used.
The pastor from Angela and Jude’s church, who would be marrying them, as well as Jude’s best friend and best man, Cooper, and his wife, Melanie, came to the estate for a brief rehearsal on Friday afternoon. The ceremony was pretty simple, so it didn’t require much rehearsal.
Since Angie and Jude only had one person each standing up with them, Annie wasn’t part of the wedding party, but she’d taken over the organization of the event, along with Elizabeth.
Kiara was glad that on the day of the wedding, her only responsibility was being a witness for Angie and Jude. She wasn’t sure she had the emotional or physical fortitude to do much more than that.
“You look beautiful,” Kiara said, emotion swelling within her as she stood in front of Angie in her wedding dress on Saturday afternoon.
The dress Angie had chosen was an A-line style with a halter neck. The bodice was covered in lace, but the rest of the dress was white satin.
Angie had decided to wear her hair up, with loose tendrils framing her face. Her diamond drop earrings were a gift from Duncan and Elizabeth.
“So do you,” Angie said. “How are you feeling?”
“Really good.” Kiara was very grateful that it wasn’t a lie. It was her hope that any nausea would stay away until after the ceremony at least.
Once everything was done, it could come on with a vengeance, and she wouldn’t complain.
“I’m so glad,” Angie said with a smile. “I’ve been praying that you’d feel good for the day.”
“Are you ready for the pictures?” Elizabeth asked as she approached where they stood.
“Yep,” Angie said, taking the bouquet of orchids and roses that Elizabeth held out to her.
They went outside to the garden, where Jude and Angie were going to have their first look. Kiara stood back with Annie and Elizabeth, watching as Angie approached Jude, who stood with his back to them.
When Angie reached Jude, she didn’t touch him right away. She appeared to be saying something to him, but the others were too far away to hear. Jude’s head was bent, and when Angie laid her hand on his back, he hesitated for a moment before turning to face her.
His usually stoic expression was nowhere to be found as he gazed down at Angie. Reaching out, he touched her cheek gently before gathering her into his arms.
The photographer unobtrusively captured everything from a short distance away from the couple. She waited for Jude and Angie to end their moment, then waved everyone else in the wedding party over.
Once the wedding party was done with their pictures, it was time for the family ones.
Kiara wasn’t sure she would have originally been included in the family pictures. However, now that she was married to Julian, she was instructed to join them.
When the photographer requested just the immediate family plus Jude, Kiara stepped away. Angie started to protest, but Kiara gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
This would likely be the photograph Duncan had on his desk after Julian divorced her. Though she’d always be Angie’s sister in her heart, her legal connection to the family would be severed at some point in the future.
“Julian and Kiara?” the photographer called out. “Your turn.”
Kiara frowned as she glanced at Angie. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Angie asked. “You’re married, plus it would be nice for the baby to have a picture of his parents together.”
Obviously, Angie wasn’t going to accept Kiara’s protest, so Kiara turned to Julian. But he wasn’t any help. He just shrugged and stepped toward where the photographer waited.
Kiara’s heart was pounding as she joined Julian.
The photographer approached them and showed them how she wanted them to pose.
Kiara tried to relax as Julian stood behind her, his arm around her waist. She didn’t the pictures to reveal how awkward she felt, but she wasn’t sure how to accomplish that.
After the photographer had taken a couple of shots of that pose, she moved them to stand facing each other. Kiara was convinced that these were going to be the worst pictures ever taken.
The photographer was obviously unaware that they weren’t a happily married couple, and she kept wanting them to gaze at one another and hold each other in ways that didn’t come naturally to them.
The woman was a pro, however, and she was able to get them to relax and mostly let go of their awkwardness.
“This feels like we’re taking pictures at prom,” Julian murmured.
“I never went to prom,” Kiara said.
“You didn’t miss much. Just imagine this with pimples and braces.”
Kiara laughed. “I can’t imagine you with either.”
“Pimples weren’t an issue, but I did have braces.”
Imagining Julian as a teen helped take Kiara out of the awkwardness of the moment, and after a couple more poses, the photographer declared them done.
Next up were Duncan and Elizabeth, who posed together with ease. Kiara didn’t know if it was normal to take pictures of everyone separately at a wedding, but she thought perhaps Elizabeth wanted to take advantage of them all being together and nicely dressed.
Once all the pictures were done, she and Angie returned to the solarium, while the others went to the white tent that had been set up for the ceremony and then the reception.
Angie slipped her arm through Kiara’s and leaned her head against her shoulder. “Thank you for everything, Kiki. I know this hasn’t been easy.”
“It’s been fine. I’m just so glad to see you happy.”
“I want you to be happy too,” Angie said.