“Though he’s not a man of many words, I do believe he thinks you’re pretty awesome as well.”
Her smile grew at that comment. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Did you want to talk about Jude?”
Angela shook her head. “Actually, I want to talk to you about Kiara.”
His expression sobered as he nodded. “Okay. What’s on your mind about her?”
“Can you tell me how restricted she is with her movements?” she asked. “Like, could she go into Serenity with her bodyguard?”
“Does she want to leave the estate?”
“Yes. I think she’s finding it difficult not having anything to do. I don’t think either of us is well-suited to a life of leisure.”
“I understand that.”
“If you’d asked me if I would like to be able to sleep in every day and live my life with no financial worries, I would have definitely said yes. However, the reality is quite different. We both need a purpose in life.”
Duncan had a contemplative look on his face as she spoke. Angela hoped he truly understood and didn’t think that she and Kiara were just being difficult.
“Would she have any interest in traveling?” Duncan asked.
“She might.”
“I have properties around the world, and she could use the jet to travel to any of them.”
Angela wasn’t really keen to go traveling when she was just getting used to living there. And she didn’t know if Jude wouldbe able to go with them. She wasn’t prepared to leave him behind right when they were starting to develop a relationship.
“I’ll ask her about it.”
“I don’t want to make you two prisoners here, and I’m sorry that Kiara feels that perhaps she is. If she has any suggestions of things she’d like to do, we’ll certainly consider them. I just want you both to be safe.”
“I understand that,” Angela said. “This is just new for us. For all of us.”
“Yes, it is,” Duncan agreed. “But I’d endure anything just to have you back, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you make this transition as smooth as possible.”
“I appreciate all you’ve done for us,” Angela said. “We are very thankful.”
“Do you have any other concerns?” Duncan asked. “Might as well address them while you’re here.”
Angela hesitated for a moment, then said, “Is Julian okay? I’m worried about him.”
Duncan’s brows rose at her words. “Julian?”
“Yeah. He just looked exhausted and a bit… gaunt.”
Duncan frowned and seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. “He’s had a pretty busy schedule since he left, so I suspect he hasn’t been sleeping or eating well.”
Angela considered that, and she couldn’t argue that it wasn’t the case because she didn’t know how Julian normally reacted to stress and busyness. Still, combined with his obvious need to drink, it felt like something more was troubling him.
She left it alone, though. Even if Duncan hadn’t considered Julian’s health before, perhaps now that Angela had said something, he’d give it more thought.
“That was all I wanted to talk to you about,” Angela said, getting to her feet. “I should probably go get ready for dinner.”
“Sounds good. Thank you for coming to talk to me.”
Angela gave him a quick smile, then headed for the door. She hurried back upstairs to her room.
