CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Julian hated every minute of the fundraiser. He’d never been thrilled to attend events like the one that evening, but alcohol and seeking out the company of a beautiful woman had usually been enough to make them tolerable, if not enjoyable.
When he’d agreed to come, he hadn’t thought about how being in that environment again would shake him. Quite literally. He’d been offered alcohol several times throughout the evening, and it had taken everything within him to turn it down.
He’d had to clench his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to take a flute of the champagne. And the temptation to go to the bar where he could order something stronger was nearly overwhelming.
From the moment he’d put the tuxedo on, Julian had been fighting an internal battle. If he’d realized how bad it was going to be for him, he would never have asked Kiara to come.
He’d never brought a date to any previous fundraisers, especially the ones that the Burke Foundation was involved with.
Duncan expected him to mingle and connect with the people who were present, and he hadn’t ever wanted to do that with a date on his arm.
He’d usually waited to connect with a woman until after he’d satisfied Duncan with his circulating.
That evening, he could have taken Kiara around with him, but he didn’t want to force her to spend even more time on her feet. She’d mentioned her shoes not being comfortable, and it seemed best to let her stay at the table with Cole and Annie.
He’d glanced over periodically to keep an eye on her, and she seemed to be doing okay.
“Julian, my boy!”
Turning away from his view of the table, he greeted the older man approaching him. Clarence Livingston had been in his life for as long as he could remember. The family story was that he had once been Julian’s grandma’s boyfriend.
His grandma had always been coy about it, and his grandpa had only scowled when asked. With both of them now gone, Marcus was the only one who knew the truth.
Regardless, Julian liked the old man and considered him an uncle. He gave him a hug, then stood chatting with him for several minutes.
Even though he was well into his eighties, Clarence lived a full and adventurous life. Most recently, he’d taken his yacht for an extended cruise around the Caribbean and had apparently found a girlfriend.
“You live the most interesting life of anyone I know,” Julian told him.
“That’s really sad,” Clarence replied with a shake of his head. “You’re too young to be living a boring life. Though I hear that congratulations are in order.”
Julian still wasn’t sure how to respond to that because he didn’t know if they were referring to the wedding or the baby on the way. “Thanks.”
“Is your wife here with you tonight?” Clarence asked.
“Yes.” He turned in the direction of the table again and noticed that it was empty. “I left her at the table since she’s pregnant and wearing uncomfortable shoes. She must have gone to the bathroom.”
“I’ll wander by there in a bit,” Clarence said. “I need to go chat up Mrs. Dante.”
Julian lifted his brows. “I thought you had a girlfriend.”
“Oh, I do, but it’s my duty to make Mrs. Dante smile.”
“Well, then you must take care of that.”
Clarence gave him a jaunty tip of the hat he wore, then sauntered away, twirling the fancy cane he carried everywhere.
Julian watched him go, then glanced around. He spotted Cole and Annie on the dance floor, but the table was still empty.
“Hello, Julian.”
He recognized the voice, even before he turned to see Emilia Levine.
They’d known each other for years, and her husband was one of the friends he’d had since college.
She was one of the few women who hadn’t tried to capture his attention because her sights had always been firmly set on Jarrod Levine.
Bending, he brushed a kiss to one cheek and then the other. “Where’s your husband?”
“He’s circulating. His dad made him promise to make contact with certain people.”
That wasn’t too unusual. “You aren’t helping him?”
“Oh, I’m going to, but I wanted to say hi,” she told him. “And to let you know, I had a quick chat with your wife. She seems… lovely.”
Julian frowned. “I hope you were nice to her.”
“Of course.” Emilia gave him a smile that didn’t put him at ease. “I just wanted her to know that she didn’t have to fake anything around us.”
Julian put his hands on his hips. “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, just that we all know that you only married her because she was pregnant. And I congratulated her on being able to accomplish what so many women had failed to do.”
“Emilia, why would you do something like that?” he demanded. “Kiara’s done nothing to you. She doesn’t deserve to be the target of your pettiness.”
“Maybe you should have just kept her out of sight,” Emilia said with a shrug. “You brought her into our world. She has a right to know that people are aware of the circumstances.”
Julian was furious, but not just at Emilia. He was angry with himself for not realizing that this would happen.
“Oh, and I don’t know if you’re aware, but I think your… wife… might have fallen in love with you,” Emilia said with a smirk. “She had some lovely things to say about you. I didn’t tell her that she was wasting her time. She’ll figure that out soon enough.”
“Why are you so hateful?” Julian demanded. “It’s not like I rejected you for her.”
“She isn’t a part of our world, Julian,” Emilia said as she crossed her arms, her expression sobering. “You need someone who knows how to support you. Who knows how to protect the Burke name.”
“Are you assuming that my father is opposed to Kiara?” Julian asked. “Because I can assure you that he is not.”
Her eyebrows lifted at that. “I think you’re just saying that.”
“Let’s go find him, and you can ask him yourself.”
“If he truly does feel that way, then you both need help protecting the Burke name from people who might take advantage of you.”
Julian laughed. “You know nothing about my family. Nothing at all. And from this point on, you need to stay away from me and every member of my family.”
Emilia looked like she was going to argue, but then she spun around and walked away.
This wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with stuff like this. And it wasn’t even the first time Emilia or one of her friends had tried to warn him away from a woman.
But this time around, there was more at stake. There was a baby on the way, and Julian needed to make sure that the world he came into was filled with people who loved and cared for him.
Sometimes it felt like some rich people had nothing better to do with their time than to meddle in other people's lives. Or they felt like they had to gatekeep the wealthy world from anyone they deemed as less worthy than them. Just like his mother had done to Elizabeth.
Julian had to be honest that it hadn’t really bothered him in the past. In fact, he really hadn’t cared. His world had revolved around his job and drinking, and the women he’d dated had all been from his social circle.
He stared down at the glass he held, hating that it was ginger ale and not something stronger. The evening had gone horribly, and he was to blame.
He’d been so focused on his own struggles that he’d been oblivious to what was going on around him. That had been a mistake. Yet another one.
With a glance at the bar, Julian felt a strong urge to go swap out the glass he held for something with more substance.
But as he moved in that direction, Anthony appeared at his elbow.
“What is it?” Julian muttered.
“Everything okay?”
Julian gave him a sideways glance. “Why shouldn’t it be?”
Anthony didn’t say anything, just remained in step with him as Julian headed back to the table. The man’s role was to protect him from outward security threats, but apparently, he’d decided he needed to protect Julian from himself as well. And he wasn’t wrong.
“Did you see where Kiara and Lucy went?” Julian asked when they reached the still empty table.
“They went up to their suite.”
Julian turned to frown at the man, more concerned now that he was aware of what had transpired between Emilia and Kiara.
“Did Lucy say why they were leaving?”
“She said that Kiara was tired and that her feet were hurting.”
It made sense, but after his conversation with Emilia, Julian wondered if that was the real reason. “Maybe I should go check in on her.”
“Let me call Lucy to see if Kiara is up for a visit.”
Julian wanted to protest that he should be able to see his wife if he wanted to, but he held his tongue. He was a husband in name only, so he had no right to make a demand on Kiara’s time.
As Anthony stepped away with his phone, Julian sank down on a chair at the table. His gaze settled on Annie and Cole, still out on the dance floor. The two of them gazed at each other as if they were the only two people in the world.
They were still technically in the honeymoon stage, since they’d only been married a month and a half. It was reminiscent of Angela and Jude.
He supposed it was only fair that the twins, who had been so negatively impacted by his actions, had found happiness with the people they’d married. And perhaps the struggles he was facing were his payment for what he’d done.
The unfortunate thing was that Kiara had gotten caught in the middle of his mess. She deserved better than that.
“Lucy said she’s gone to bed,” Anthony told Julian when he reappeared.
Julian gave a nod that he heard, though he didn’t look at the man.
He was still sitting there when Cole and Annie returned.
“Hey, bro,” Annie said as she sat down in the chair Cole held for her. “Where’s Kiara?”
Julian wanted to ask her why she’d left Kiara all by herself at the table, but he knew the blame lay with him, not Annie. “She was tired and her feet hurt, so she went upstairs with Lucy.”
“I’m about ready to call it a night too,” Annie said. “They need to let us wear sneakers to these events.”