Chapter 124: Unexpected Hug

Before Dorian could finish speaking, Naomi turned away from the mirror, crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him.

That was not the reaction he had been expecting.

He had not prepared for Naomi clinging to him. His first thought was that someone else had hurt her.

But he stayed quiet.

He had already overstepped badly enough by deciding that Richard Whitmore’s face needed correcting without consulting her. Asking too many questions now felt like a very effective way to send her running in the opposite direction.

So he simply held her.

Naomi was shaking badly against him.

A crying wife was beyond his professional qualifications. Was he supposed to apologize again?

Soothe her?

He had absolutely nothing.

After several seconds of useless internal debate, Dorian did the only thing that made sense to him.

He picked her up, carried her over to the bed and placed her gently on the mattress before pulling the covers over her.

Then he sat beside her and ran his fingers slowly through her hair.

"I’ll make you coffee."

It was not exactly an emotional breakthrough, but it was something.

Naomi nodded.

Dorian stood and headed toward the door.

"Were you hurt?"

He stopped. "What?"

Naomi pushed herself slightly higher against the pillows. "In the fight. Were you hurt?"

"Nothing a kiss wouldn’t fix."

A small smile appeared on his face.

He resisted the very strong urge to explain that it had not technically been a fight.

Richard had mostly participated by getting hit.

Naomi wiped underneath her eyes. "Thank you."

That was also not the reaction he had expected. Today was determined to keep him confused.

"You have any more people for me to beat up for you?"

Naomi actually chuckled. "No, it’s quite alright. I may run out of kisses."

His mouth curved. "That would be unacceptable."

Naomi rolled her eyes weakly.

Dorian pointed at her. "I’ll get you that coffee. You stay put." He stepped out of the room.

The moment the door closed behind him, Naomi shifted beneath the covers and stared up at the ceiling.

She should be angry. She should tell Dorian he had crossed a line.

That was what was expected of her. Be mad at your husband for beating up your aunt’s husband.

Diana had refused to protect her own niece because she didn’t want to.

Not because she lacked the spine to do it.

She simply hadn’t wanted to.

Maybe Diana had always believed Naomi deserved whatever Richard gave her.

She wondered how Diana would react if she ever found out her precious husband had been trying to get Naomi into bed since she turned sixteen.

Would Diana still find some way to explain it away?

Probably.

And now Naomi had somehow gotten lucky enough to drunkenly marry a man who heard someone had hurt her and immediately acted.

Was she really supposed to hurl insults at him for it?

She was struggling to locate the outrage.

A few minutes later, Dorian returned carrying a cup of coffee.

His jacket was gone now, leaving him in his shirt and trousers with his sleeves slightly pushed up.

Naomi pushed herself upright. "I thought you were heading to work."

Dorian handed her the mug. "You need me."

"Always," she said.

Naomi immediately took a sip of coffee and carried on as though she hadn’t just said anything remotely meaningful. "But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go and hustle for the family. Come on, chop chop." She flicked her hand toward the door.

"I’ll stay."

"I’m fine. I’ll be leaving soon too. I’m just going to change and head to the bakery."

"I’ll drop you off and pick you up when you’re done at the restaurant."

Naomi’s face fell. "But I like driving the Range Rover."

The whine in her voice made Dorian’s brows rise. Losing access to the Range Rover seemed to be where true suffering began for her.

"Wait until you drive the Mercedes."

Her eyes widened dramatically.

Dorian laughed before she even spoke.

"You’ll let me drive it? You will?"

"Yes, Naomi."

"You will?"

Dorian laughed harder. He really did love this lunatic. "Yes, you can drive it." He shook his head, clearly entertained by how quickly her mood had changed. "You can drive us to your work, and I will drive myself to my work. And I’ll pick you up tonight."

"You’re spoiling me," Naomi pointed out.

"I like to. So, you wanna talk about what’s going on?"

"Not really." Naomi lowered the mug. "I just had a revelation that hurt, is all."

"Is this about Whitmore?"

"No... no." She tilted her head. "Is it weird that I find you even hotter now?"

"Don’t start saying nonsense like that when you know what it does to me."

"You are so weak."

Dorian stepped closer, lowering his voice and leaning down over her. "For you. Only for you."

*****

"I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand." Adrian stood in front of Dorian’s desk, looking genuinely confused. "I’m fired?"

The day had begun ordinarily enough.

Dorian had arrived late.

Adrian no longer bothered looking at the clock when his boss walked in after his usual time. Before Naomi, Dorian Heathcliffe had been irritatingly predictable. Adrian had fallen into step beside him as usual once he arrived. He listed everything that had piled up during Dorian’s absence the previous day.

Then, completely out of nowhere, he stopped once they were in his office.

"Adrian? You’re fired."

"I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand." Dorian shut the door behind him. "I’m fired?"

"Yes."

This was not exactly new territory. Technically, Dorian had fired him several times over the years. Usually during particularly ugly cases.

None of those firings had survived. But they had worked in sync for years now and had no problems.

"Have I done something wrong?" Adrian asked. "Was there something you needed that I didn’t do right?" Adrian frowned harder. "Surely, you can tell me. Or is this like the beginning of our relationship when you fired me whenever a case went wrong and rehired me in the morning?"