Page 64 of Julian

“I can’t believe that I’ve been the one dating the longest, and yet, Julian and Angie have both gotten married before me.”

“Are you hoping Cole proposes soon?”

“Definitely,” Annie said. “If he’d been here for this, I would have made sure Angie and Jude did a bouquet and garter toss. Given we would have been the only single adults present, the odds of us catching them would have been pretty good.”

Kiara wondered how long it would be before she’d have to attend another wedding.

“Anyway, I’m going to head home,” Annie said. “I’m whipped too.”

“Thanks for checking on me.”

“You’re welcome.” Annie gave her a quick wave, then headed down the hallway toward the stairs.

Kiara shut the door behind her and went back to her bed, still uncertain what to make of the fact that Julian had sent Annie to check on her. It would be easy to read more into it than had likely been his intent. However, she could only assume he wanted to make sure the day hadn’t been too physically taxing for her, since she was pregnant with his son.

It hadn’t been, but as she sat back down on her bed, Kiara wondered if she could go to a massage therapist and just have them rub her feet and legs.

She rubbed her feet a bit more, then washed her hands before crawling into bed. The room was lit only by the lamp on her nightstand, giving it a cozy feel, which she loved. It helped to settle her a bit more.

However, as she let her thoughts wander back over the day, she had to deal with the deep sadness that settled into her soul.

A tear slipped down her cheek before she could stop it. She'd managed to hold it together through the entire day, but now, alone in her room, the emotions she'd been tamping down surged forward.

Kiara wiped at her face, annoyed with herself. She should be happy, not crying in her bed like a child.

But the contrast between Angie's beautiful wedding and her own hasty ceremony was just too stark to ignore. And the way Jude looked at Angie… and the way he protected her… took care of her. It was clear that she was the most important person in the world to him. It was how Kiara had always dreamed the man she married would feel about her.

She’d had to be strong for so long. She’d taken care of Angie, protecting her when she could from Jim and Craig’s abuse. It had meant that she’d had to shoulder that abuse on her own. But it had been okay because she loved Angie.

She’d always hoped that one day there would be a man out there who would cherish and protect her. Who would look at her and see her as worth loving.

But she felt like she’d thrown away that chance by giving in when she shouldn’t have. Now she was married to a man who viewed her simply as the mother of his child and possibly a friend.

"Stop it," she whispered to herself. "This isn't helping anything."

She reached for her tablet on the nightstand, hoping to distract herself with a book. But as she touched the screen and it came to life, the picture she’d chosen for her lock screen appeared. It was of her and Angie, both smiling broadly at the camera.

The picture was a good reminder that no matter who came into their lives, they would always be sisters. She hadn’t lost her sister with her marriage to Jude, she had gained a brother-in-law who hardly smiled.

Kiara chuckled at the thought, glad for the break from her heavier emotions.

She had to focus on the positive things in her life. The baby growing within her. The safety and security she now had that she could also offer her son, sparing him the uncertainty and challenges that she’d faced as a child. And soon, she’d have a home of her own. A beautiful home that she would make sure was filled with love for her little one.

Now, if her pregnancy hormones would just chill out and not drag her down into emotional outbursts that she’d rarely, if ever, had before getting pregnant, things would be fine.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

As Julian sat down at the table for lunch the next day, he noticed that Kiara wasn’t there. He hadn’t seen her since the wedding, and he hoped she was doing okay with Angela not being there.

He’d heard the helicopter lift off around eleven that morning and knew it was taking Angela and Jude to Coeur d’Alene, where they’d use the family jet to fly to where they’d be honeymooning.

It was hard for Julian to imagine Jude married, especially to his sister. But there was no doubt that Jude was devoted to Angela, and she to him.

Their love wasn’t shown through over-the-top displays of affection, but in the way Jude made sure that Angela was taken care of before he took care of himself. Whether that was holding her chair at the table, or bringing her coffee when they came to breakfast.

Julian couldn’t say that was how he’d ever treated the women he’d been with. Well, he might have held a chair or opened doors, but other than that, he hadn’t gone out of his way to take care of the women he dated.

He never would have thought he’d consider that he needed to look to Jude’s example for anything in his life. And yet, here he was, appreciating how the man cared for Angela.