They stood for another minute, sharing soft kisses and affectionate touches.
“We'd better pick this up later,” Kiara said as she squeezed him tight. “Or the food will be cold.”
Julian gave her one more kiss, then let her go. “I would hate to ruin the delicious meal you’ve made.”
Together, they got their dinner on the table and sat down. Julian said a prayer of thanks for the food, as well as thanking God for bringing him safely home to his family again. As they ate, they shared what had happened during the days they’d been apart.
They’d spoken each day, but because of the time difference while he’d been in New York, it had been challenging to have long conversations. Plus, TJ loved to video chat with him, which inevitably took up most of the time they had available to chat.
After they were done eating, they cleaned up the dishes together. Julian locked up the house and then turned off the lights. Holding hands, they made their way to the bedroom. Most evenings, they preferred to hang out there once the kids had gone to bed, and they’d finished their dinner.
When Kiara had gotten pregnant with Sophia, they’d made some changes to the house. They’d ended up moving Kiara’s library across to one of the rooms in the other suite. Even though Julian had an office close by, they’d left the one he’d originallyset up as an office in the house. The bedroom Julian had initially used was now a guest room, though they’d never used it for anyone. Kiara’s library became TJ’s room, while the nursery was now Sophia’s.
If they decided to have more kids—which seemed likely—they’d have to rearrange again. But for the time being, the house was set up perfectly for them.
Kiara helped him unpack his bags, then they sat down together at the bistro style table they’d bought for their room. It was where they sat for their devotions each night.
They’d tried to do it in the mornings, but the kids were too unpredictable with their wake-up times. So, evenings had ended up working better. And there were days when Julian came home so stressed that it was only the thought of getting to this point in the day that kept him from losing his mind.
“Did you see Ben?” Kiara asked, using the name Benji had taken on once he’d gone to college.
“Yes, Dad and I had dinner with him our first night in New York.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Pretty good, I think.”
“Is there any chance he’ll come back to live here?”
“I don’t think so,” Julian said. “He seems happy living in New York City.”
“Anything we need to pray about for him?” Kiara asked as she opened the prayer journal they kept.
“Since he’s in his last year of college, he and Dad have been trying to figure out where to plug him into the company.”
“Is that what Ben wants?”
“I think so, but only if it’s something he actually feels he’ll be able to truly contribute to and not just because he has the Burke name.”
“Any woman in his life?”
Julian grinned, not surprised that Kiara had asked about that. The women in the family seemed determined to keep track of Ben’s dating life.
“He said he’s been dating someone for a couple of months now,” Julian said. “But I don’t think it’s very serious. He’s dealing with what I dealt with when it came to dating.”
“Too many beautiful women?”
Julian chuckled. “No. Just never knowing the true motives of someone.”
“Well, if Prince William can find someone who wasn’t after his crown, I think Ben can find someone who sees him for the great guy he is.”
“Never mind Prince William,” Julian said. “I found a wonderfully beautiful woman who wasn’t after my money.”
Kiara smiled at him. “You have such a way with words.”
“Only for you, love,” Julian said. “Only for you.”
Over the past three years, she’d become everything to him. Best friend. Partner. Lover. Confidant. He’d never thought he would find all that in a woman, and yet he had.
