CHAPTER THIRTY
“Thanks for the lift,” Julian said as he got out of the SUV.
After helping get Julian’s luggage from the back of the vehicle up to the porch, Anthony climbed into the front seat with the security team member who had met them at the helicopter. Julian stood and watched as they pulled away before turning to the door.
He’d been gone for five days, and he was thrilled to be back at the estate. Back home.
If the trip to their Iceland offices hadn’t already been on the calendar as an annual event, he would have gladly ditched it. However, Julian knew he couldn’t abandon his responsibilities at the company, just because he’d rather stay home with his wife and son.
He opened the front door, then picked up his bags and carried them into the house. The warmth was a welcome respite from the chill of the December air. With just under two weeks until Christmas, winter had truly arrived, covering the estate in a blanket of snow.
Closing the door, he spotted Kiara coming toward him from the kitchen, a smile on her face. Abandoning his bags by the door, he moved to take her into his arms.
“I missed you,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I missed you too.”
Kiara had her arms tight around his waist, and Julian made no move to release her, leaving it up to her when she wanted to end the hug. As far as he was concerned, it could last forever.
Moving back a bit, she looked up at him, and Julian couldn’t help but lean forward to place a kiss on her forehead.
Kiara closed her eyes, then drew a breath and pressed her forehead to his shoulder, her curls tickling his chin. Julian smoothed a hand down her back to her waist, letting his palm linger there.
She was soft and warm, and while she once had smelled of vanilla and florals, she now smelled faintly of baby powder and… home.
The two weeks that had passed since Thanksgiving had been wonderful. For the first couple of days, he had seen wariness in Kiara. Uncertainty. As if she didn’t quite know how things were going to go, now that they’d changed the terms of their relationship.
Though he wouldn’t have pursued anything physical right away, Julian was glad that they had restrictions put on them because she was still recovering from the birth. It meant they could just focus on getting to know each other even more deeply and also be affectionate with no further expectations.
When TJ began to fuss, apparently having had enough of being ignored, Kiara stepped back, but before she moved away, she went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you’re home.”
There was nothing that could have wiped the smile from Julian’s face as he followed her to the kitchen where TJ lay in a small, wheeled bassinet. “There’s my boy.”
“Did you want some coffee or something to eat?” Kiara asked. “Angie and I made some gingerbread cookies yesterday.”
“Is it either or?” Julian asked as he scooped TJ up and cradled him in his arms. “Can I have both? Because I’d love both.”
Kiara chuckled. “Of course.”
“So how’s it been while I was away?”
They’d spoken every day while he was gone, and she’d told him everything was fine. However, he thought that perhaps she’d just been saying that so he didn’t feel bad that he wasn’t there to help her.
“We survived,” Kiara said as she poured coffee into two mugs. That was a clue right there, as she usually limited her coffee intake. “But we both really, really missed you. The nights were lonely when he woke up, and it was just the two of us.”
“Well, I’m home for awhile, so we can share those nighttime responsibilities again.”
“I’m very glad.” She put the coffee mugs and a plate of cookies on a tray. “How did the trip go?”
“It went well,” he said as they walked from the kitchen to the living room, where she set the tray on the coffee table. “I saw my mom.”
“Oh, yeah?” Kiara looked up at him. “How did that go?”
“Better than I thought it would. We went out for dinner last night.” Julian settled into the chair Kiara usually used to nurse TJ because it would allow him to rock the baby while they talked. “Her first question was when were we going to get divorced.”
Kiara set a mug on the end table beside him, as well as a napkin with a couple of cookies on it. “Then you had to disappoint her.”
“And I was very happy to do so.”
After picking up her mug and a cookie for herself, Kiara sat down on the couch facing him, tucking a leg underneath her. “So what did she say when you told her there was no divorce happening?”
Julian rolled his eyes. “She said never say never.”
Kiara’s brows lifted at that. “So it doesn’t matter if you’re happy? It’s more important to her that you’re married to someone she approves of?”
“That’s about it.” He looked down at TJ. “And then when I showed her a picture of him, she said that he looked just like me.”
“Is she color-blind?”
“If only,” Julian said. “I think she just sees what she wants to see, because anyone with eyes can see that he is a good mix of the two of us.”
“That’s what I’ve always thought.”
Julian took a bite of the cookie. “Oooh. These are delicious. I hope you made lots.”
“Well, we did,” Kiara said. “However, we made up containers of the cookies to give away.”
“I guess that means you’ll need to make more.”
“You’re not the first one to tell us that,” Kiara said with a laugh. “So we have another baking day planned.”
“Perfect.”
They continued to chat, and Julian gave her more details about his trip. But there were a couple of things he didn’t tell her. He didn’t mention his trip to a jeweler, or the many phone calls he’d had with Annie and Elizabeth.
When TJ began to fuss, Julian stood up so Kiara could take the chair. Once she was seated, he handed her the baby. She picked up the blanket she used to cover herself and quickly got the baby feeding.
“While you feed him, I’m going to take my bags to the room and change.”
He had picked up his bags and was heading to his suite when Kiara said, “Julian.”
Stopping, he turned to face her. “Yeah?”
She stared at him for a moment, then looked down at TJ. “There’s… uh… there’s room in the closet in my suite. If you’d… you know.”
Julian grinned. He’d been wondering when, or even if, Kiara would feel comfortable combining their living spaces. It wasn’t something he had planned to force on her.
“Just so I’m clear before I say yes,” Julian began. “You want me to move my things into your room?”
“Yes. If that’s what you want. You’re already sleeping there every night. I mean, unless you plan to stop doing that. Which would be okay too.”
Julian left his bags and walked back to her. Placing his hands on the armrests on either side of Kiara, Julian bent forward. She tipped her head back and stared up at him.
“I want, Kiara,” he said. “When I said I didn’t want a divorce, it didn’t mean that I wanted to keep parts of our lives separate.
I want us to combine our lives in every way.
I’m not rushing it, but just know that that’s where I’m hoping we’ll eventually end up.
So anytime you ask me something that moves us in that direction, I will always say yes. ”
The smile she gave him was a little shy, a little flirty. “Okay. I’m glad to hear that.”
“Good.” Julian leaned closer and gave her a quick kiss, this time, on her lips. “Now, I’m going to take my bags to our room.”
His heart was light as he walked toward the room they’d share from now on. Even when TJ eventually moved to the nursery and was sleeping through the night, this would be their room. And the fact that she’d been the one to initiate this step filled him with so much hope.
He’d come to love her so much. And though he wanted to know that she felt the same way about him, he didn’t want her to feel any pressure whatsoever. Which was why he had yet to tell her that he loved her.
He came from a place of wealth, power and experience, and while she was good at standing up for herself, he wasn’t sure she’d say no to him when the future she wanted for TJ might be impacted.
The moment they’d just shared, however, made him think that she did have feelings for him. Maybe telling her he loved her wouldn’t be the pressure he’d thought it might be.
He hung his garment bag up in the closet, then put his suitcase on the luggage rack and opened it. When he found the clothes he wanted to change into, he swapped outfits.
After checking that one of the chest of drawers in the large walk-in closet was empty, Julian unpacked a few things. Just enough to hide the small velvet box he’d brought back with him. That had to stay hidden for a couple more days.
~*~
Kiara was so happy to have Julian home. With him gone for five days, she’d realized how much she missed him. And not just because of the help he gave her.
The house had been so quiet with just her and TJ, especially in the evenings. During the day, Angie had come over to hang out with her for a couple of hours. But when evening came, it was just the two of them.
Though she understood that travel was a large part of Julian’s job, it didn’t mean that she enjoyed his absences. She wouldn’t do anything to make Julian feel bad for having to be away, but she wanted to make sure he knew she missed him.
The first night he was home again, he fell right back into the routine they’d established prior to him leaving. And in the dark of the night when TJ woke up, she was no longer alone.
Her birthday was looming the next day, and as with most years, she wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. She wasn’t dreading it either, really. Even if her birthday was as forgettable that year as it had been in past years, she didn’t really care because she had so many things to be thankful for.
And Christmas was just around the corner, and she knew that it wasn’t going to be forgettable. Already there was talk of all the presents that would be under the tree for TJ, who would have no memory of any of it.
“Are you ready to go?” Julian asked as he walked out of the bedroom.