Page 129 of Julian

“Your birthday is coming up,” Julian observed as he wrote the date in the space provided. “Did they name you Kiara Noelle because you were born in December?”

“I assume so,” she said. “But I don’t know for sure because I last talked to my parents when I was eight, and at that age, I didn’t know that Noelle was associated with Christmas. All I knew was that I didn’t get very much for my birthday because it was so close to Christmas. Plus, I only heard my middle name when I was in trouble, so it wasn’t a positive thing.”

As he continued to fill out the form, Julian wondered what he could do to make her birthday special for her that year.

“When is your birthday?” Kiara asked.

Julian looked up and said, “February.”

“Valentine’s Day?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Unfortunately.”

“Seriously?” she asked with a grin.

“Yes. Seriously.”

“We didn’t celebrate your birthday earlier this year, though.”

“Oh, my family knows that I don’t celebrate, and if I get even a hint that there’s going to be a party, I will definitely be a no-show.”

“So you’re the birthday Grinch.”

Julian chuckled. “I guess you could call me that.”

He was glad that they seemed to have moved past the earlier tension he’d caused by his reaction. Looking back on it, he wasn’t happy with how easily his frustration had risen. He realized that he didn’t like the uncertain position he’d ended up in with Kiara. Coming off two weeks of another stressful situation, he’d just been too close to the edge.

It had brought to light the fact that it was possible that Kiara wasn’t feeling about him and their marriage the way he was. He’d never thought he’d need to prove to someone that he could be trusted. That he was worth loving. But if that was what it took to get Kiara to give their marriage… to give them… a chance, he’d do whatever he had to.

Because he loved her and wanted her by his side forever.

It was a totally foreign concept to him. He’d never felt that way about anyone else, and he didn’t want to mess things up. So for now, he’d show his love for her by taking care of her and TJ as best he could.

“Okay. I’ve got this all filled out.” He got up with the papers and moved to the bed. “Do you want to look them over?”

“Sure. Want to hold TJ while I do that?”

“Uh… yes. Yes, I do. I just hope I don’t break him.”

“You won’t,” Kiara assured him.

Julian carefully took the baby, who was wrapped up like a little burrito. He sat down on the chair beside the bed while Kiara picked up the papers he’d set on her lap.

The baby’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked in Julian’s direction.

“Hey there, buddy,” Julian said softly. “How’re you doing? Are you being good to Mommy?”

Never in a million years had he envisioned a moment like this, holding his son as he sat near the woman who had managed to capture his heart. They might have had a little blip, but they’d moved past it, and Julian hoped that when the results for the paternity test came back, they could put it all behind them.

~*~

Kiara moved the bassinet closer to the side of the bed she slept on. She was feeling emotional and anxious about the first night at home with the baby.

She’d finished feeding him, he had a clean diaper on and was wrapped up like the nurses had shown her. She, on the other hand, hadn’t even had a shower and still needed to brush her teeth and do her skin care.

But she was too tired to do all three, so she’d settled on what she considered the most important. Brushing her teeth.

Leaving her bathroom door open, she quickly brushed her teeth, then took an extra moment to wipe her face with a wet washcloth before putting on some moisturizer. But that was as good as it was going to get.