Page 79 of Julian

“Good morning.” She went around the opposite side of the large island and headed for the fridge to pull out a container of yogurt and then grabbed some granola from the pantry.

“Do you want a cup of coffee?” he asked as he turned to lean back against the counter next to the coffee maker. He lifted his mug to take a sip.

She was tempted but shook her head. “I try not to drink any unless I really need the caffeine. I slept well enough last night that I think I’ll be okay.”

“You won’t fall asleep during the service?” Julian asked.

“I certainly hope not,” she said. “That would be extremely embarrassing. Especially if I started snoring.”

“I’ll poke you in the ribs if you do,” he offered.

Kiara stopped stirring the granola into her yogurt and focused on Julian. “Are you going to church too?”

Julian nodded. “I decided that I’d like to give it a try. Elijah has talked about his faith a lot, so I thought I’d see what someone else has to say about it.”

“Well, I’m going because I didn’t want to disappoint Angie. She seemed so happy, I didn’t want to turn her down.”

“This will be a new experience for me,” Julian said. “I’ve only attended church on special occasions like Christmas, and that was mainly back when I was a teen, and Duncan and Elizabeth could force me to go.”

“I’ve gone a few times with Angie in the past.” Kiara returned to preparing her yogurt. “But church never really clicked with me the way it did with her.”

“Maybe it will be different this time,” Julian said.

“Maybe.” Kiara got herself a glass of water, then went to sit on one of the bar stools at the island counter. “Do Jude and Angie know you’re coming?”

“Yes. I had to let Jude know for security purposes. Two bodyguards will be coming with us, so we’ll be taking one of the estate’s SUVs.”

“I wonder how the bodyguards feel about attending church this morning?”

“Oh, they get used to going to all sorts of places,” Jude said. “Church is probably one of the least stressful locations they’ve had to go.”

“Did you have breakfast?” Kiara asked as Jude sat down on a bar stool.

“I had a piece of toast. I’m not a big breakfast eater, to be honest.”

“I don’t mind breakfast,” Kiara said. “We always had to eat it because Jim didn’t want us to have any excuse not to have energy to do all the work he had for us during the day.”

“So he thought breakfast was the most important meal of the day?”

“Something like that.” Kiara swallowed a spoonful of yogurt. “At least I’m able to eat breakfast most days now. Ever since morning sickness hit, it has been a difficult meal to tolerate.”

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.

“Not too bad,” she said. “I find that eating small amounts every couple of hours helps to keep the nausea at bay.”

“Are you bringing food with you?”

Kiara laughed. “Oh, these days, I always have a stash of food, candy, and a bottle of water in my bag. I had to change my usual purse for a bigger one to accommodate all my necessities.”

“Candy?”

“Ginger candy,” she said. “It helps to control the nausea. I wouldn’t be able to drag out a granola bar and start munching on it in the middle of the service if the nausea kicks in.”

“We can sit near the back, so if you have to slip out, you don’t have to walk past everyone.”

“I think that might be a good idea, though I’m sure Jude and Angie sit near the front.”

“We’ll hang out at the back with Anthony and whoever else comes with us.”