Page 50 of Julian

“I look forward to it.”

As he watched them walk through the door, Julian felt a sense of… calm. The despair that had been filling him had receded, but it wasn’t completely gone. He knew he still had a lot of work to do, but after the visit from Angela and Kiara, he felt like he had the motivation to do the hard work.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Once back at the estate, things kicked into high gear as Kiara pitched in to help Angie plan the wedding. Even though it was going to be a small one, Duncan had insisted that she get the best of everything.

Kiara found she was almost more excited about the planning than Angie was. Her sister just wanted to get married and didn’t care about all the details. Same with Jude.

So Kiara phoned florists, photographers, caterers, bakers, while Elizabeth worked her connections to find someone who could make Angie’s wedding dress in a month. It was amazing the doors an unlimited budget opened.

In amongst the appointments and phone calls, Kiara wrote letters to Julian in response to the ones he sent. He seemed to be doing much better, and it seemed likely that he’d be home for the wedding.

The most interesting thing to her in the letters was Julian’s comments about the conversations he was having with his friend, Elijah. From what he said, Kiara felt like his interest in spiritual things had grown.

Because of what he’d shared, Kiara had started asking questions of her own, sometimes going to Angie with Julian’s letter in hand to get her thoughts. And she’d actually ended up going to church with Angie and Jude.

She still wasn’t sure how Christianity fit into her life, but Angie was a great encouragement, willing to answer any question she might have. And if she didn’t have the answer, they’d gone to Jude.

On that day, they were having a final fitting of their dresses. The designers and their seamstresses had flown in for the event. In addition to Angie’s gown, they had also made dresses for Kiara, Elizabeth, and Annie.

Duncan’s assistant had found a short-term rental near the estate for the team, which was where they’d stayed each time they’d come to Serenity for the initial consultation and then subsequent fittings.

“Are you ready to go?” Angie asked as she came into Kiara’s room.

“Yep.” Kiara got up from her desk, where she’d been working on a letter for Julian.

“You’re not going to have time to mail that letter,” Angie said.

“What do you mean?” Kiara asked as she picked up her phone and purse.

“Didn’t Duncan tell you?”

Kiara froze. “Tell me what?”

“Julian is coming home this week.”

“Really?” Her stomach fluttered with nerves, and she wasn’t even sure why. “That’s great news.”

“I thought you might like that.”

“I’m happy for him because it means they must have decided he was in a good enough place in his sobriety to be able to leave the center.”

“I think all alcohol has been taken out of the house, and we won’t be having any at the wedding, so there won’t be temptation for him here.”

“I’m sure Julian will appreciate that.”

They left the room and walked down the hallway to the staircase. “Also, Julian talked to Jude and Duncan about bringing his friend Elijah here.”

Kiara wondered how the man’s presence would impact things at the estate. She’d kind of hoped that she and Julian would be able to spend time together, but now with Elijah there, it seemed less likely.

It dawned on her then that perhaps she’d read a bit too much into the exchange of letters they’d had since he hadn’t mentioned anything to her about Elijah coming home with him. The thought dampened her excitement about Julian returning to the estate, but it was probably the reminder she needed that what she and Julian had wasn’t real.

When they reached the mudroom, Jude was waiting for them. He gave Angie a kiss.

“Anthony and Lucy will go with you today,” he said. “Since you’re insisting I can’t even be in the vicinity when you’re trying on your wedding dress.”

“It’s bad luck if you see me in it before the wedding.”