CHAPTER FIFTEEN #2
Kiara turned to look at him, her hand resting on her stomach. She wore a pair of shorts and a loose-flowing top. Her curls were gathered in a high ponytail with a few tendrils escaping to frame her face.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he reached her.
“Better than this morning,” she said.
“What are you up to now?”
“I’m going for a walk. I try to get out at least once a day for some fresh air and exercise.”
“Mind if I come with you?”
He’d planned to join Elijah and Benji, but perhaps his time was better spent with Kiara. Especially considering the conversation he’d had earlier with Duncan.
“Not at all,” she said. “Just be forewarned that I move at a snail’s pace these days.”
“That’s fine.”
They left the house, stepping into the warmth and sunshine of the afternoon. Kiara gestured in the direction she planned to go.
“Have you eaten today?” he asked.
Kiara nodded. “I have some granola bars that I keep in my room. Some days that’s all my stomach will tolerate until later in the day.”
As they walked, Julian decided to broach the subject of the house. “Are you happy with how the house is coming together?”
“Very happy. It has everything that we asked the architect for, and the interior designer has done a great job taking our ideas for the inside and fleshing them out.”
“Am I right in assuming that Angela is moving into Jude’s place?”
There was a slight pause before Kiara responded. “Yes. It’s the best thing for her and Jude, being newlyweds and all.”
“Will it bother you to be on your own in the house?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I’ve never lived alone before.” She hesitated. “Maybe I’ll love it.”
The tone of her voice led Julian to think that she didn’t believe that. “Would you be open to having a housemate?”
Her steps slowed, and she turned to look at him. “A housemate?”
Julian folded his arms as he faced her, suddenly uncertain how he wanted her to respond.
“I’ll be spending more time here at the estate while we wait for the baby, and thought maybe, if you were agreeable, I could take the other suite in the house.
That way, you wouldn’t always be alone, in case you need help. ”
Kiara stared at him for a long moment. So long, he wondered if she was just not going to respond to him. Her expression was unreadable, so he didn’t get any help there.
Finally, she turned to continue walking, and Julian took two long steps to catch up with her, then shortened his stride again.
“Is your dad forcing you to do this?” Kiara said.
Julian was glad to be able to say that he wasn’t. “He mentioned that it might be an option for me if I plan to spend more time here. However, he’s not forcing me to move in with you. He just offered it as a suggestion. If you say no, that’s fine. No one will make you agree to this.”
“I suppose it makes sense,” Kiara said. “There’s no use in half the house sitting empty.”
“If you need to think about it, you’re welcome to take some time before giving me an answer.”
They were nearing the house, and Kiara headed in the direction of the front door. Julian followed her up the steps, then waited as she punched in a code on the door lock.
“This is the one day of the week there are no workers here,” Kiara said as she pushed the door open.
It was definitely quieter than it had been the last time he’d been there. The smell of paint and other building materials hung in the air.
“Angie designed the kitchen,” Kiara said as she headed in that direction. It was at the back of the house, with large windows that looked out over a currently muddy yard and the forest beyond. “It was her dream kitchen, but she seems happy with the one at Jude’s too.”
There was a solarium at the back, and though there was a separate dining area, it wasn’t a formal room like at the main house. It wasn’t a home set up for a household staff the way the main house was.
“This is my suite,” Kiara said, gesturing to a door that stood open.
Leading him through it, she explained in more detail than the foreman had, what each of the rooms were for.
He found the small library interesting. She’d mentioned in letters that she liked to read, but perhaps liked was too mild of a term, given she’d devoted an entire room to books. She also pointed out the room that had originally been set aside for a guest room, which would now be a nursery.
Once they were done on her side, she led him to the side Angela had designed. It had a sitting room in addition to two bedrooms, as well as a luxurious bathroom.
He noticed that in the bathrooms of both suites, there was a double sink and a large walk-in closet that would be plenty of space for two people.
Had they planned to live there together with their spouses?
“Angela had worked on the decor for this side with the interior designer, so it might not be to your preferences.”
“I’ll give the designer a call and see if it’s too late to make some changes,” Julian said, then turned to look at her. “As long as you don’t mind.”
Kiara shrugged. “I don’t. You might as well make it to your liking.”
Julian was still unsure how Kiara really felt about him moving in, but she didn’t seem strongly opposed to it.
“Would having a trial period make this easier for you?”
She squinted at him. “Trial period?”
“Yes. Let’s give it a month of us both living here, and if it doesn’t work for you, then you can tell me and I’ll move out.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Julian agreed. “I want you to be comfortable. Having someone you don’t know well in your space might be more than you like. I won’t get mad if you tell me that you don’t think it’s working out.”
“And if it’s not working out for you?”
Julian took a moment to mull over the question. For some reason, he hadn’t really considered that he might not be happy living in the same space as the woman carrying his child.
“I guess then I’ll let you know too.”
They left the suite, and Kiara went to the glass garden doors that led off the dining room. There was a large deck at the back of the house beyond the solarium.
“We’re going to have a greenhouse and a garden back here. Angie wants to be able to plant herbs and vegetables.”
“Are you still going to do that?”
“We might not get a garden in this year, but we’ll probably plant some herbs.”
It was an interesting combination of their previous life on Jim’s homestead and their new one at the estate. Julian tried to imagine his mom or Elizabeth working in a garden, but the picture just wouldn’t gel.
When they left the house, Kiara locked the door, and then they walked down the steps side by side. He glanced back at the house as they walked away, and for a moment, he had an image of the windows glowing warmly. Welcomingly. Like a home.
He’d never had a place that had made him feel like it was truly home. His apartment in New York was expensive and well-furnished, but walking through its door didn’t make him feel a sense of homecoming. And the main house on the estate was definitely not a place he would call home.
“I’m probably going to be flying out to New York with Duncan and Elizabeth on Wednesday,” he told her. “And then possibly on to Singapore to check in with the company there.”
“How long are you going to be gone?” she asked.
“A week and a half to two weeks.” He grimaced. “I also need to check in with my mom and let her know what’s been going on.”
“Are you going to tell her about the baby?”
Julian nodded. “As much as I’d rather she not know, I think I’d better.”
“Is she going to think I got pregnant to trap you?”
Julian gave a huff of laughter. “You’ve only met her once, but you already have her number. It’s highly likely she will, but that’s irrelevant.”
“Will she want to meet the baby?” Kiara asked.
“Probably,” Julian said. “But you don’t have to worry about dealing with her. I’ll make sure she doesn’t try to exert any pressure on you in regards to the baby. It will help that you and the baby will be here, and she lives in New York. She doesn’t like visiting Idaho.”
“Is it because your dad and Elizabeth live here?”
“Yes,” Julian said. “Even though she was the one to initiate their divorce, she hates that Duncan married the nanny. Early on, she tried to blackball Elizabeth in New York elite circles, but Duncan threatened to cut back on the money he gave her if she kept it up.”
“Has your mom always been like this?”
Julian thought back to his childhood, something he rarely did. “Mom wasn’t really a hand’s on parent. Neither was Duncan, for that matter. It wasn’t until after the kidnapping that he became more so. She never changed. I’ve had to accept how she is if I wanted a relationship with her.”
“I guess being rich doesn’t always make a family immune to difficulties.”
Julian shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as they walked.
“No. In some ways, having excessive amounts of money makes close relationships more difficult. It was too easy for my parents to hire people to take care of us. They’d say goodnight to us, but they weren’t the ones reading us stories and tucking us into bed. ”
“I’m not planning to hire a nanny,” Kiara said. “That’s not negotiable.”
“I’ll support whatever you want to do,” Julian said. “I know you’ll have people around to help you out.”
Kiara nodded. “Angie has already said she’s going to help me. She plans to be the best aunt ever. And Annie has said she’s excited to have a baby around again.”
“I’ll help however I can,” Julian said. “But honestly, I have zero experience with babies. I’ve never even held one. Maybe I held the twins when they were little, but I certainly don’t remember it.”
“I don’t remember holding a baby either,” Kiara admitted, then gave a soft laugh. “This poor little guy. He’s getting two inexperienced parents.”
“Hey, if teenagers can figure it out, I’m sure we can.”
They exchanged a smile and a laugh, and Julian was relieved he wasn’t the only one feeling a bit out of his depth with the parenting thing.
He was also glad that Kiara had agreed to share the house with him because he really did want to be a part of their son’s life as much as possible. And he wanted to support Kiara too.
Change was coming in his life, and, surprisingly, he was okay with it. And he thought the main reason for that was Kiara’s approach to everything. She was taking it all in stride and accepting what he could offer without demanding more of him.
She’d been supportive of him, and he wanted a chance to be that for her, even though he wasn’t as confident in his ability to be what she needed as a pregnant woman. Hopefully, she’d tell him if there was something she needed that he could help her with.