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“Thank you,” Kiara said as she handed the phone back to Julian.

“I’m going to send a message to Duncan and Annie now so we might get a couple more calls,” Julian said. “Are you up for that?”

“I am.” Kiara smiled. “I know people have been excited about the baby, so I want them to see him.”

“Would you rather wait until after you’re done feeding him?”

“I think he’s done,” Kiara said, looking down at the baby. “He’s fallen asleep.”

Julian shifted to give Kiara some privacy as she situated herself, and he took the opportunity to send the same message to Duncan and Annie that he’d sent to Angela. The responses were immediate, as he had expected.

Duncan:Congratulations to you and Kiara! The name is perfect. I can’t wait to meet Theodore Julian. Love to you all there.

Julian stared at the words.Love.

His gaze shifted to where Kiara cuddled TJ close. Her gown was back in place, and the baby slept contentedly in her arms. Kiara also looked content.

Emotions swept through Julian, and the strongest one was love. He might not have been sure that was what it was before, but now he knew.

These two had become his world. His home. His everything.

Even before meeting his son, he’d already been feeling that way about Kiara, but he hadn’t known how to label it. Now he did.

But how did Kiara feel? She’d never given him any indication that she had any sort of feelings beyond friendship for him.

She hadn’t rejected the little moments of affection when he’d reacted naturally and without putting too much thought into it. She’d hugged him. She’d allowed him close enough to kiss her, even if it had just been on the forehead. So she didn’t seem to be opposed to the affection.

He didn’t know how to prove to her that he loved her or how to prove that he was worthy of her love, but he was going to figure it out.

At one point, he’d accepted that an end date to their marriage was inevitable, but he no longer wanted that.

Julian prayed that God would give him the words that would help him keep his family together because he now believed that He’d brought them together. They might have had a rocky start, but that didn’t mean it had to stay rocky.

Elijah had told him that God could create beauty out of something ugly. That comment had been regarding the ugliness of his life prior to getting sober, but Julian thought that it could apply to the situation with Kiara, too.

Their relationship might have started out mired in alcohol and poor decisions, but that didn’t have to continue to define it.

However, their marriage could only end up somewhere beautiful if Kiara also wanted that.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Julian was excited to get to the room and see Kiara and the baby. The night before, she’d sent him to the hotel Anthony booked for their group. They’d all be staying in Coeur d’Alene until Kiara and TJ were discharged and able to go home.

He’d wanted to stay at the hospital with her, but Kiara had assured him that she’d be fine. In the end, she’d convinced him that he needed a decent place to sleep, which wasn’t the hospital. The hospital room she had was nice, with big windows and comfortable furniture, but it wasn’t really conducive to sleeping on, especially given his height.

Lucy had stayed at the hospital, so once Julian and Anthony got there, he’d send her to the hotel to sleep, and Anthony would take over the security duty. It wasn’t a high-risk place security-wise, so Anthony could handle it on his own. Elijah was also coming back with them and would act as a second set of eyes for Anthony.

“I’ll send Lucy out,” Julian said as the men reached the waiting room.

Anthony gave him a nod, then he and Elijah went to the chairs and sat down. Julian headed for Kiara’s room, eager to hear how the night had gone for them.

“Good morning,” Julian said as he stepped into the room.

Kiara was seated in one of the chairs at the table near the window, with the baby in her arms. Lucy was in the chair across from Kiara and got to her feet when she saw him.

“Good morning,” Kiara said with a smile.

Julian turned to Lucy. “You’re welcome to return to the hotel and get some rest.”