Page 31 of Julian

Take care of yourself, Julian. I’d love to hear more from you if you have the time to write. Let me know what you think about finding out the baby’s gender.

As ever… Kiara

Something settled inside Julian as he folded the letter and slid it back into the envelope. He hadn’t expected to want to have a connection with Kiara, but receiving this letter from her made him feel hopeful for the future.

It would be important for them to have open lines of communication and the ability to deal with each other if they were going to positively parent this child. He appreciated that Kiara was already asking his opinion about the baby, and it made him think things would go better for them as parents than he’d originally thought they might.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Kiara was curled up in bed again, reading another of her books before calling it a night. It was how she always ended her day, and she was glad to no longer have to restrict her reading to “one more chapter” if the story was compelling her to keep reading. She had no job that required her to get up early in the morning. And with the money Duncan had given her, she had an unlimited book budget, which meant she was never short of books to read.

There was a soft knock on her door, then it cracked open. “Kiki? Are you awake?”

“Yep.” She pushed herself up to sit against the headboard, then leaned over to snap on the lamp on the nightstand.

Angie skipped around to the other side of the bed and plopped down next to Kiara, a big smile on her face.

Kiara lifted her eyebrows. “What’s up?”

“He asked me!” Angie held out her left hand, her fingers splayed. On her ring finger was a diamond that sparkled in the lamplight.

Kiara gasped, her heart leaping in her chest. "Jude proposed?"

"Yes!" Angie bounced on the bed, her blue-green eyes shining with excitement. “He took me to the same spot where Jim found us.”

“Really?” Kiara frowned. “That’s not very romantic.”

“It was though,” Angie insisted. “He said he wanted to reclaim that beautiful spot with good memories, not the horribleones from that day. He prayed with me about it, then he got down on one knee and proposed. It was amazing. So amazing.”

When she’d first realized that Angie’s feelings for Jude were more than just a crush, Kiara hadn’t been sure about them as a couple. Jude was so serious and reserved, and he was over a decade older than Angie. But it had quickly become clear that Jude would give his life for Angie, and Kiara knew it wasn’t just because of his job.

There was a yearning in her heart for the kind of love that Angie and Jude shared. Even though they were so different, it seemed that sharing a faith and love for each other had given them a solid foundation for something more serious and, hopefully, long-lasting.

Kiara reached for her sister's hand, examining the ring more closely. It was elegant without being ostentatious—exactly Angie's style.

"It's beautiful," Kiara whispered, emotion tightening her throat. "I'm so happy for you, Angie."

And she was. Love might be something she wanted for herself, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t happy that her sister had found it.

"I still can't believe it," Angie said, her voice softening as she gazed at the ring.

After everything they'd been through, seeing her sister this happy felt like a miracle. Kiara squeezed Angie's hand, blinking back tears that suddenly pricked at her eyes.

"Have you told Duncan and Elizabeth yet?" Kiara asked, trying to keep her voice steady despite the emotion swelling inside her.

“Not yet,” Angie said. “I wanted you to be the first to know, so we’ll tell them tomorrow. It won’t be a surprise to them, though. Jude said he asked for Duncan’s blessing, so he knows it’s happening.”

"That's so old-fashioned, but it sounds exactly like something Jude would do," Kiara said with a laugh. "When are you thinking of having the wedding?"

“Soon,” Angie said. “With Jude having been shot, we’ve realized that life is too short to put off something we both want, just so we can plan a fancy wedding. Plus, we only have a few people we want there, and most live here on the estate.”

“What do you mean by soon?”

“Probably a month or two.”

“Well, I suppose Duncan will be able to fund pulling a wedding together in a short time.”

Angie laughed. “I suppose. He did it for you and Julian.”