When he glanced over to check on Kiara a few minutes later, he saw that she’d fallen asleep. If she hadn’t looked so comfortable, he might have woken her so she could go to bed. Instead, he pulled a large blanket from the back of the couch and spread it over her.
Rather than going to his room, he shifted closer to Kiara and pulled the end of the blanket over himself too, then leaned back against the cushion behind him. He didn’t know if he’d be able to fall asleep, but he’d stay there until Kiara woke up.
As Julian stared at the crackling fire, contentment swirled through him. It was a foreign feeling, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.
He turned his head to look at Kiara. She was curled on her side, her head resting on a cushion, with her hands tucked under her chin. Her dark eyelashes fanned out across her cheeks.
When he’d first met her, she’d already had some curves, but the pregnancy had softened her features a bit more, and it looked good on her. He wondered if the baby would have her dark curls and hazel eyes, or if he’d have lighter brown hair and green eyes like him.
He hoped that regardless of who the baby looked like, he inherited Kiara’s easygoing personality and the determinationthat had helped her through the years of growing up in an environment that was anything but easy.
He had never thought about having children, but as he considered the situation he found himself in, he was glad that Kiara was the mother of his child. She was devoted to those she loved, and he knew that she would love their child in a way he’d never been loved by his mom.
Julian just hoped that he’d be a good father. With Kiara’s help, he thought he had a better chance than he would have had without her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Kiara woke with a start, the urge to use the bathroom coming on suddenly, as it often did. She straightened her legs, then froze when she heard someone groan.
Struggling to sit up, she looked over and saw that she’d kicked Julian. He blinked blearily at her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to kick you.”
His hand landed on her foot. “It’s okay. No harm done.”
"I need to use the bathroom," she whispered.
Kiara wasn’t sure why she felt the need to speak so softly, since it was just the two of them in the house. She carefully extracted her foot from his gentle grasp.
The fire had died down to embers, casting just enough light for her to see Julian's rumpled hair and creased face. He looked younger somehow, softer around the edges without his usual guardedness.
Kiara pushed the blanket aside and maneuvered herself off the couch, one hand automatically going to support her lower back. The baby shifted, pressing against her bladder with renewed urgency.
When she returned a few minutes later, Julian was on his feet, running his hands through his hair. He'd folded the blanket and placed it on the arm of the couch.
"What time is it?" Kiara asked, glancing toward the windows where darkness still pressed against the glass.
Julian checked his watch. "Just after three."
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you,” she said, attempting to calm her own wayward curls that had escaped her ponytail while she’d slept.
“Well, as you can see, I also couldn’t resist the lure of sleep.” He stretched his arms above his head, arching his back a bit. “But I think I need to spend the remainder of the night in an actual bed. I’m too old to be sleeping on the couch.”
Kiara rubbed her lower back. “And I’m too pregnant.”
Julian walked over to the fireplace and stirred the embers with the poker. “Want me to turn off the lights?”
“Sure, thanks.” Kiara smoothed her hands over her belly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Without looking back, she walked toward the door that led to her suite of rooms. She closed the door behind her, then continued into her bedroom.
As she swapped her clothes for the oversize T-shirt that she felt most comfortable sleeping in, she tried not to dwell on the evening with Julian. Or to put any importance on what had transpired.
Friendship…
That’s what she had set her mind on after everything that had happened at the gala.
She had accepted that, because they were married, she had to share space with him, and if she wanted peace in her home, they needed to get along. So friendship was the best way to achieve it.
