There were butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing Julian. The letters they’d shared back and forth had forged a deeper connection than what they’d previously had. That wasn’t saying much, perhaps, since prior to her getting pregnant, they hadn’t really been all that close.
Even so, it felt like she knew Julian better than she had before. It was a connection she hadn’t thought they’d be able to develop. But at least on her end, they had.
Leaving the bathroom, she didn’t see Jude and Angie in the bedroom, so she went out into the main part of the suite. Angie was on the couch, while Jude stood near the window, on his phone.
When he ended the call, he turned to them. “Ready to go?”
Was she? Kiara wasn’t sure, but she followed them out of the room without hesitation.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Julian lay flat on his back on his bed, his arm thrown over his eyes. After making an appearance for lunch, to stave off any worried reactions from the staff, he’d retreated to his room once again.
Dr. Carlisle had given him some slack and hadn’t forced him to attend the group sessions since his father’s visit. The tradeoff was that he had had additional one-on-one appointments with the therapist.
He was fighting a huge battle against the desire to drink, and had he had access to some alcohol, it was a battle he would have lost. He’d wondered more than once what the staff would do if he called for a ride and left the center to go to the nearest bar.
Elijah had tried to get him to talk, but Julian had shut him down.
After the confrontation with his dad, he’d had to get a tight hold on the storm of emotions inside him. However, he knew that if he loosened that grip even a little, things would spin out of control, and he would abandon all the progress he’d made so far.
The worst part of what was happening was that he couldn’t blame Duncan for his reaction. It was what he deserved. If he hadn’t thought he'd deserved that sort of reaction, he wouldn’t have been driven to drink, and he would have revealed the truth much sooner.
But where did he go now?
Duncan likely wouldn’t want him back on the estate, especially if he took his job from him. Would Kiara be willing to move? Or would he never get a chance to see his son?
Suddenly, it seemed like he had a lot more to lose than he ever had before.
A knock on the door startled him. Moving his arm, Julian lifted his head to stare at the door. He didn’t want to answer it, but he had a feeling that if he ignored the knock, whoever it was would assume something was wrong and enter, anyway.
Shifting to sit up, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “Come in.”
He ran his hands through his hair as the door swung inward to reveal Dr. Carlisle. The man stepped into the room and shut the door behind him, a worried expression on his face.
“What’s up, doc?” He couldn’t help himself, even though joking or laughing was the last thing he felt like doing right then.
Apparently, it was the last thing the doctor felt like doing too because he didn’t even crack a smile.
“Your father has returned,” Dr. Carlisle said.
Julian lifted his brows. “Duncan’s here?”
“Yes, he’s back, and he’s brought your sister with him.”
“Angela?”
Dr. Carlisle nodded. “She wants to speak with you.”
Julian felt cold wash over him. He was barely handling his father’s rejection. He wasn’t sure how he’d be able to deal with whatever Angela had to say to him.
In some ways, he was surprised that it was Angela who had come. She hadn’t shown herself to be confrontational. Annie was more likely to confront him on his behavior, so it would have made sense if she’d returned with Duncan.
“Can I refuse to see them?” Julian asked, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands.
“You could… but I think you need to talk to your sister to know exactly where you stand with the person who was most impacted by your actions.”
“Oh, I know where I stand with her,” Julian muttered. “We didn’t get very close after she returned, so it’s no skin off her nose if she rejects me in her life.”
