In Another Life ▻ Fiona Gallagher

07. chapter seven

Over the next week or so, Julian found himself fairly busy and tied up in more business meetings than he would have liked, yet he still made sure that he found time to text Fiona. There was never a day that went by without at least a few messages traded back and forth between their hectic work days.

Julian wanted to ensure that Fiona knew just how serious that he was about being back in her life. They had spent many years apart — too many in his opinion — and he didn't plan to let that happen again. Not if he had any say in the matter.

Finally came a day that he didn't have some sort of work obligation dealing with opening the new club, and he could finally have the time to himself. It would be nice to be able to relax and for even just one day, not think about all that he had going on. Once he had started to make arrangements upon arriving in Chicago, it seemed that everything got kicked into overdrive and he was finally getting the opportunity to breathe again.

Upon waking up that morning, albeit a little later than normal, he got up and got dressed in some comfortable, casual clothing and grabbed his things, heading out to his truck and starting to drive over to Fiona's.

Once he'd parked the SUV relatively close to her place, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed her number, hoping that she'd pick up. Maybe it had been poor planning for him to just come over, as she was likely already working or still asleep in preparation for work later that day. Still, he couldn't help the bit of excitement that he felt at the thought of getting to spend the day with her.

Soon, he heard her voice as she picked up the phone, and his lips almost immediately formed a smile.

"Hello?" Fiona answered, awake but not fully just yet. She was still wearing the clothes that she'd slept in and was working on her second cup of coffee, but she'd been happy to see his name pop up on her phone.

"Hey, stranger. Busy today?" Julian asked her, biting down on his lip as he waited for her response, looking toward the house as his fingers hovered over his keys, waiting for the words to signal that he could turn off his truck and head inside.

Fiona tilted her head as she rubbed her eyes, swallowing the sip of coffee that she had just taken in. "Hmm.. can't say that I am. What about you? How many important business meetings do you have to be in today?" she asked him teasingly.

Julian grinned to himself at her question, letting out a slight chuckle, "Surprisingly none. You up for some company?" His teeth moved to bite at the inside of his cheek as he listened for her reply, hoping that she didn't have some reason that they couldn't hang out.

She considered her answer for a moment, looking around the room. She was still waking up, she didn't know when the kids would be coming or going, and the house was a mess. Still, it was the first chance that the two of them had in a while to spend some time together.

"Sure, when?"

He took her response as a cue, turning off his truck and getting out, closing the door. Walking toward the front door to her house, he hummed, "How about now?"

Fiona's brows arched and she nearly choked on the sip of coffee she'd started to take. "Wait, you're here? Now?" she asked, shocked as she set her cup down and hurried to the front door.

As the door opened, she was just in time to see Julian making his way up the steps to the house. Hanging up her phone, she tilted her head at him curiously, yet there was still a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"Yeah.. hope that's okay," Julian replied with a little shrug. He shoved his hands into his pockets, a soft smirk on his lips as he looked over at her.