CHAPTER FIFTEEN
As Julian sat down at the table for lunch the next day, he noticed that Kiara wasn’t there. He hadn’t seen her since the wedding, and he hoped she was doing okay with Angela not being there.
He’d heard the helicopter lift off around eleven that morning and knew it was taking Angela and Jude to Coeur d’Alene, where they’d use the family jet to fly to where they’d be honeymooning.
It was hard for Julian to imagine Jude married, especially to his sister. But there was no doubt that Jude was devoted to Angela, and she to him.
Their love wasn’t shown through over-the-top displays of affection, but in the way Jude made sure that Angela was taken care of before he took care of himself. Whether that was holding her chair at the table, or bringing her coffee when they came to breakfast.
Julian couldn’t say that was how he’d ever treated the women he’d been with. Well, he might have held a chair or opened doors, but other than that, he hadn’t gone out of his way to take care of the women he dated.
He never would have thought he’d consider that he needed to look to Jude’s example for anything in his life. And yet, here he was, appreciating how the man cared for Angela.
“Is Kiara joining us for lunch?” Julian asked when she hadn’t shown up by the time everyone else was there.
“It appears that she won’t be,” Elizabeth said as she passed Duncan the bowl of salad they were beginning their meal with.
“The nausea she deals with can rob her of her appetite. She’ll eat when she feels well enough to.
If she doesn’t show up, it usually means that she doesn’t feel like she can eat anything. ”
“Does she get enough to eat?” Julian asked.
“Mrs. Stevens makes sure that there is food available for her, and she knows she can eat anything she wants in the kitchen. Sometimes different foods appeal to her.”
Julian was glad that she was eating, even if it wasn’t when everyone else did.
As the meal progressed, conversation ranged from the wedding to Annie’s plans to go to LA with Benji for the potential championship-winning basketball game. Duncan had certainly changed his tune on Cole, and Julian thought perhaps another wedding was in the offing.
“Julian, could I see you in my office after lunch?” Duncan asked.
The request for a meeting wasn’t a surprise, so Julian nodded.
“Want to go shoot some hoops, Elijah?” Benji asked.
“Sure thing,” Elijah said with a nod. “It’s been awhile since I’ve played though, so you’ll have to take pity on this old man.”
When the meal ended, Elijah and Benji headed off to the rec center. Annie left to go to her house, while Elizabeth went to her office, which was essentially another small solarium next to their suite.
That left Julian to walk with Duncan to his office. He didn’t know exactly what this conversation might be about, but he was trying not to let their past interactions color his approach to this one.
He knew that he needed to improve his relationship with Duncan, despite the harsh words he’d had for him when Julian had revealed the secret he’d held for so long. If Angela could forgive him for what he’d done as a child, he could try to forgive Duncan for his harsh words.
When they walked into the office, Duncan directed him to the sitting area instead of the chairs at the desk. That was unusual for their meetings, which just added to Julian’s uncertainty about this one.
Duncan sat down in one of the armchairs, so Julian took the loveseat that faced him.
“First of all,” Duncan began, “I want to apologize again. I shouldn’t have gotten as upset as I did. You were a child, and I hadn’t been the father I should have been to you. If I had been, perhaps you would have felt confident in coming to me and sharing what you’d heard. I’m sorry for that.”
Julian was at a loss for words. He’d expected that there might be another apology offered, but Duncan’s acknowledgement that he’d been a rather distant father at that time was surprising.
Would it have made a difference? Julian wasn’t sure. Either way, there was nothing they could do to change what had happened. Duncan had changed as a father after the kidnapping, and in some ways, had swung completely in the opposite direction.
“I understand that it came as a shock to you, and I’m sorry it took so long for me to tell you what had happened.”
“I hope we can move beyond this,” Duncan said. “I’m proud of you for sticking with the treatment, and I hope that now that you’ve been able to deal with what happened in the past, you won’t find the need to drink so overwhelming.”
It was true he didn’t feel overwhelmed by the need to drink all the time like he had before going to the treatment center. Unfortunately, his resolve hadn’t truly been tested as of yet.
His thoughts went to the alcohol that was still in the closet in his room. He needed to get rid of it before something came up that would tempt him to drink.
“I wanted to talk to you about Kiara,” Duncan said.
Julian straightened in his seat. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, continuing bouts of nausea aside, she seems to be doing well. And we were thrilled to hear that she’s having a healthy baby boy. Though of course we would have been thrilled with a girl too.”
“I hope that I’ll be a good father,” Julian said, but then wished he could take the words back as soon as he’d uttered them.
“I think the best thing you can do is know your child,” Duncan said.
“I’ve come to realize how different each of you are.
Even Annalisa and Angelica. As twins, you’d think they would be more alike, but that’s not really the case.
Elizabeth has shown me how important it is to look at each of you as individuals.
Admittedly, I haven’t been the best father, so maybe you should just do the opposite of whatever I’ve done. ”
“The thing I struggled with the most has been your overprotectiveness,” Julian admitted. “But now that I consider my responsibility to my son, I think I understand it a bit more. Especially in light of what happened with the twins.”
Duncan’s head bobbed. “I know I go overboard with some of the security protocols, but I barely survived my failure to protect the girls. I couldn’t imagine going through that again.”
“Let’s hope it never happens again,” Julian said. “We have a good security team now.”
“We do,” Duncan agreed. He glanced out the window for a moment before looking back at Julian. “Are you planning to return to New York full-time?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Julian said. “I know I need to go at some point to see Mom, and I want to go to Singapore again soon.”
“At the risk of interfering in your life again, might I suggest you consider making the estate your home base? At least for a little while.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Julian told him.
“With Kiara being pregnant, I think it might be good for you to be here.”
Julian nodded. “I do want to be close by when the baby is born.”
“The thing is, I worry a bit about Kiara being all alone in her new house. If something should happen, there wouldn’t be anyone there with her.”
Julian stared at his dad. He knew as well as Duncan did that there were ways to monitor Kiara, even if she was alone. And even if he did live in the house with her, he would still be away for stretches of time.
“As you know, the house is designed with two separate suites, each with three rooms, and a shared living space between them. So you’d still have your own space, and she’d have hers.”
Julian hadn’t considered that they wouldn’t continue to live separate lives. He didn’t think it would be fair to Kiara to live as a married couple when they’d agreed that a divorce was in their future.
“Have you talked to Kiara about this?” he asked.
“Just in passing.”
“When will the house be ready?”
“The report I got last Thursday was that they were just working on the finishing touches, so over the next week, the designer will be here to set up the interior. We would still have time to repaint Angela’s side and order furniture for you.”
Julian leaned back in his chair, staring at the empty fireplace. What would it cost him to live in the house with Kiara? Nothing, really.
It might be better than having to stay at the main house when he was at the estate. And it would mean he’d be aware of how Kiara was doing and offer help where he could.
“Okay. If she’s willing, I’ll move into Angela’s wing of the house.”
Duncan smiled. “Wonderful! I really think it would be best for the two of you.”
Julian wasn’t sure if it was the best solution on every level, but when it came to the baby, it likely was.
“I’ll talk to her about it,” Julian said, not wanting Kiara to feel under obligation to Duncan to agree to something she didn’t want.
“Elizabeth and I will be going to New York on Wednesday, then on to Basel and Dublin. If you want to come with us to New York on the plane, then continue on to Singapore from there, you’re more than welcome to join us.”
“I’ll check my schedule and see if it works for me to go now, given I have a lot to get caught up on.”
“Sounds good. I know that Sean will be glad to show you what’s been happening.”
“And I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
“Hopefully, the suite at the house will be ready by the time you get back.” Duncan paused, then said, “That was all I needed to discuss with you. Was there anything you wanted to talk about?”
Julian shook his head. “I think I’m going to go watch Elijah and Benji shoot some hoops.”
Together they left the office, but Duncan turned in the direction of his and Elizabeth’s suite, while Julian headed upstairs to change from the clothes he’d worn for Sunday dinner into something more comfortable.
Wearing jeans and a T-shirt, he left his room to go downstairs. When he reached the top of the stairs, he saw that Kiara was already partway down them.
He waited at the top until she reached the bottom, then called out to her as he jogged down to join her. “Hey, Kiara. Wait up.”