He had picked up his bags and was heading to his suite when Kiara said, “Julian.”
Stopping, he turned to face her. “Yeah?”
She stared at him for a moment, then looked down at TJ. “There’s… uh… there’s room in the closet in my suite. If you’d… you know.”
Julian grinned. He’d been wondering when, or even if, Kiara would feel comfortable combining their living spaces. It wasn’t something he had planned to force on her.
“Just so I’m clear before I say yes,” Julian began. “You want me to move my things into your room?”
“Yes. If that’s what you want. You’re already sleeping there every night. I mean, unless you plan to stop doing that. Which would be okay too.”
Julian left his bags and walked back to her. Placing his hands on the armrests on either side of Kiara, Julian bent forward. She tipped her head back and stared up at him.
“I want, Kiara,” he said. “When I said I didn’t want a divorce, it didn’t mean that I wanted to keep parts of our lives separate. I want us to combine our lives in every way. I’m not rushing it, but just know that that’s where I’m hoping we’ll eventually end up. So anytime you ask me something that moves us in that direction, I will always say yes.”
The smile she gave him was a little shy, a little flirty. “Okay. I’m glad to hear that.”
“Good.” Julian leaned closer and gave her a quick kiss, this time, on her lips. “Now, I’m going to take my bags to our room.”
His heart was light as he walked toward the room they’d share from now on. Even when TJ eventually moved to the nursery and was sleeping through the night, this would be their room. And the fact that she’d been the one to initiate this step filled him with so much hope.
He’d come to love her so much. And though he wanted to know that she felt the same way about him, he didn’t want her to feel any pressure whatsoever. Which was why he had yet to tell her that he loved her.
He came from a place of wealth, power and experience, and while she was good at standing up for herself, he wasn’t sure she’d say no to him when the future she wanted for TJ might be impacted.
The moment they’d just shared, however, made him think that she did have feelings for him. Maybe telling her he loved her wouldn’t be the pressure he’d thought it might be.
He hung his garment bag up in the closet, then put his suitcase on the luggage rack and opened it. When he found the clothes he wanted to change into, he swapped outfits.
After checking that one of the chest of drawers in the large walk-in closet was empty, Julian unpacked a few things. Just enough to hide the small velvet box he’d brought back with him. That had to stay hidden for a couple more days.
~*~
Kiara was so happy to have Julian home. With him gone for five days, she’d realized how much she missed him. And not just because of the help he gave her.
The house had been so quiet with just her and TJ, especially in the evenings. During the day, Angie had come over to hang out with her for a couple of hours. But when evening came, it was just the two of them.
Though she understood that travel was a large part of Julian’s job, it didn’t mean that she enjoyed his absences. She wouldn’t do anything to make Julian feel bad for having to be away, but she wanted to make sure he knew she missed him.
The first night he was home again, he fell right back into the routine they’d established prior to him leaving. And in the dark of the night when TJ woke up, she was no longer alone.
Her birthday was looming the next day, and as with most years, she wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. She wasn’t dreading it either, really. Even if her birthday was as forgettable that year as it had been in past years, she didn’t really care because she had so many things to be thankful for.
And Christmas was just around the corner, and she knew that it wasn’t going to be forgettable. Already there was talk of all the presents that would be under the tree for TJ, who would have no memory of any of it.
“Are you ready to go?” Julian asked as he walked out of the bedroom.
He was dressed for dinner at the main house, wearing black slacks and a long-sleeved, dark green button-down shirt. His hair was styled, and he looked very handsome.
She’d gotten ready first, then sat down to nurse TJ while Julian got ready. Hopefully, this feeding would hold the babyover for a while so that she didn’t have to nurse him again as soon as they arrived.
“Yes. I think he’s done for now.”
Julian came over to where she sat and bent to take the baby from her. “Does he need to burp?”
“I burped him already, so he should be okay.”
As she got to her feet, Julian smiled. “You look beautiful. Very festive.”
