Page 115 of Julian

“So early?”

“We need to get going, and with the time difference, we probably won’t get to New York until around noon. I hope that we can leave for Singapore not long after. This time, we’re taking a private jet rather than flying commercial. Duncan’s assistant will arrange for us to take a larger plane since we have further to fly, plus we’ll be having meetings during the flight over to review everything.”

“How long will the flight take?”

“From New York? Around twenty-two hours. We’ll have to make at least one refueling stop.”

“Will you be able to sleep?”

“Yes. The seats are pretty comfortable on those types of jets, plus there might be a bed, depending on which plane we end up with.” He let out a sigh. “I need to head back to the house to talk with Duncan. Do you need anything before I go?”

She shook her head and gave him a soft smile. “I’m good. I might be in bed before you get back.”

Julian took her hand fully in his, turning to face her as he shifted closer on the couch. The reluctance to leave her was strong, and he knew walking out that door was going to be the hardest thing he’d done in awhile.

“Take care of yourself,” Julian said, then reached out to gently lay his other hand on her stomach. “And I hope Baby Boy doesn’t give you too much trouble.”

“We’ll be fine.” She smiled at him, her expression gentle. “You take care of yourself too.”

“Don’t worry about me.” He could see the concern on her face. “I will have good people with me to make sure I’m safe.”

“Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” she said. “Our son needs his daddy.”

“I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Julian leaned forward to press a kiss on her forehead. He didn’t know why he did it, but it felt right.

“I’ll see you when I get back.” He got to his feet. “But don’t hesitate to message me if you need to. Just keep in mind the time difference if I don’t answer right away.”

She gazed up at him with wide eyes and nodded. “See you soon.”

Julian was loath to leave her, because suddenly it felt like there was so much unsaid between them. But he had to go. With a final look, he turned and walked to the door leading into the garage. In deference to the cold, he’d take the UTV to the main house to see Duncan before returning to get his things ready to go.

The timing of this was the worst, but hopefully he’d be home well before the baby arrived.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Rubbing her bump, Kiara slowly walked toward the kitchen. It was tightening again. It had been doing that off and on for the past couple of days, but over the last few hours, it had been happening more regularly.

At her appointment earlier in the week, Doctor Misha had said everything was looking good. She had two and a half weeks until her official due date, but the doctor had cautioned her about pinning all her hopes on that date because she could go beyond it.

But now Kiara was wondering if she could also deliver the baby early. According to what she’d read, it was possible she was just experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions.

Standing in the kitchen, she stared out the window but didn’t really see the scenery as she rubbed her stomach.

She wasn’t sure she was ready to have the baby yet, especially if this was something more than just Braxton Hicks. Angie was in New York with Jude, who had flown there to help deal with the security issues that had come up because of what had happened in Singapore. Annie and Cole had traveled to LA to finish cleaning out his house there, which had just recently sold.

And Julian was still in Singapore. The security issue had taken longer to resolve than he had anticipated because the situation had turned out to be a real mess. She felt for him because in the messages they’d exchanged and the brief calls they’d had, she’d sensed how stressed he was.

Unable to focus on anything, Kiara left the kitchen and walked to the nursery, settling into the rocker. Laying her hands on her stomach, she set the rocker into motion with her foot.

After another brief period of abdominal tightening, she pulled her phone out and opened the app she’d downloaded to prepare for tracking her contractions. She just hadn’t anticipated needing it so soon.

They were coming fairly regularly but weren’t very close together. And thankfully, they weren’t painful. Just a bit uncomfortable.

Her thoughts wandered as she rocked, going as they often had over the past ten days to those moments before Julian had left. The way he’d held her hand, then kissed her forehead…

She couldn’t put it out of her mind, but she also didn’t know how to interpret it.