Chapter 174: Safe Kitchen

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. "Lexie."

"Maybe Naomi does too."

"So you plant a bomb?"

"Jealousy makes us confront our feelings faster."

He loved this woman deeply.

But there were moments when he understood exactly why people found Alexandra Heathcliffe terrifying.

"You know Naomi is very good with knives, right?"

"Oh, don’t be dramatic." Lexie rolled her eyes, shook her head and walked away from him.

Daniel sighed. He just hoped whatever Lexie was planning actually worked before somebody ended up bleeding. "I hope I get a heads-up so I can dive out of the way when the knives come flying." He then groaned and walked back to sit with his kids and their grandmother.

Lunch was finally served, and everyone was called to the table.

Before Naomi could slip into a seat and pretend she had no interest in the woman who had been hanging off her husband five minutes earlier, Dorian caught her gently by the arm.

"Come here." He ignored the warning in her eyes and guided her toward Lisa. "This is my wife, Naomi Heathcliffe," He made the introduction deliberately.

Naomi was still too pissed to fully appreciate it.

Lisa smiled. "Oh... it’s nice to meet you. I didn’t know you were here."

Naomi’s brows lifted. "Were you hoping I wasn’t?"

Dorian looked down at her and smiled. His wife looked ready to strangle someone.

Her shoulders were squared, her eyes had narrowed slightly and her entire posture had changed, like she was seconds away from launching herself across the room if Lisa breathed incorrectly.

Was Naomi jealous?

Dorian had genuinely assumed she was incapable of that too. He was learning all sorts of things about his wife this weekend.

Lisa blinked, clearly caught off guard. "I meant I would have come to say hi earlier. I’ve known Dorian forever."

Naomi gave her a polite smile. "Please, join us for lunch." She turned around without asking questions. She had absolutely no interest in knowing this woman beyond the bare minimum required by civilization.

Dorian caught her wrist before she got too far. "You okay?"

Naomi turned back. "Why wouldn’t I be? I’m peachy."

"You don’t look peachy."

"Then something is wrong with your eyes."

And with that, she pulled free and headed toward the dining table.

He followed her to the table, where everyone else had already taken their seats, including Daniel’s boys.

Lunch was served individually, generous squares of lasagna placed before everyone, the layers thick with beef, tomato sauce and melted cheese.

Conversation picked up almost immediately.

Naomi sat beside Dorian and focused very hard on her plate. She was calm.

Mature women did not get territorial because an attractive British woman was all over their husbands.

Everything was fine.

Across the table, Lisa took her first bite.

"Oh, this is lovely. Really lovely."

"Dorian’s wife made it," Lexie offered casually.

Lisa looked impressed. "Oh, you cook?"

Naomi smiled politely. "I’m a chef."

"That explains it." Lisa took another bite, then glanced at Dorian. "No wonder he is looking so bloody fine."

Silence nearly descended inside Naomi’s head.

Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth.

Someone help me, I am going to stab this woman with a fork. Naomi thought to herself.

Dorian, completely unaware that he had just become the center of an internal homicide, reached for his water.

Naomi slowly looked at Lisa who was smiling sweetly while Naomi’s fingers tightened around her fork.

Across the table, Daniel’s eyes shifted toward Lexie. He had been watching Naomi’s body language all through.

The conversation carried on around the table. Some of it broke into smaller groups. Some of it involved everyone. The children kept interrupting one another, Eleanor tried to keep up with three conversations at once, and Maurice somehow managed to eat peacefully through all of it.

Lisa, however, seemed determined to keep drawing Dorian back into her orbit. Every few minutes, she would ask him something.

A memory.

Or some little story from years ago.

Nothing Naomi could reasonably complain about.

Dorian, meanwhile, kept trying to speak to his wife.

But his wife had transformed into reinforced concrete.

Logically, she knew she had no reason to behave this way.

She had the man.

There was no countdown anymore.

She had won, right?

Not that Dorian was some prize to be won like a bloody raffle basket, but still.

He had chosen her.

So why did Naomi feel like her heart was quietly crying somewhere inside her chest?

She hated the feeling.

It was ugly and completely foreign.

She had never really needed to deal with this before.

"Naomi, are you alright?" Lexie’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, watching Naomi with a knowing smile.

"Yes." Naomi added, "Just a bit tired."

Lexie nodded slowly. She did not believe that for one second.

Unfortunately, the longer she watched Naomi, the worse she began to feel.

This had seemed clever earlier. Create a little jealousy. Except the woman sitting across from her looked hurt.

And suddenly Lexie felt shitty for inviting Lisa at all. Because nothing about Naomi’s expression said I don’t care.

Quite the opposite. This woman looked painfully, obviously attached to her brother.

Maurice, perhaps sensing the strange energy around the table, redirected the conversation. "So, Lisa, what have you been doing with yourself these days?"

That finally pulled some of her attention away from Dorian.

Naomi listened despite herself.

Lisa was a British heiress.

Of course she was. Being beautiful and possessing that ridiculous accent had clearly not been enough.

She had spent the last several years travelling around the world and doing charity work. Lisa had only recently returned to New York for a break, but she would soon be travelling again.

After lunch, Lisa finally decided to leave.

Lexie immediately suggested that Dorian walk her out to the car while she stayed behind to help Naomi clean up.

Naomi watched the two of them leave together, paying far more attention than she wanted to admit.

So far, Dorian had behaved himself.

He had kept as much distance between himself and Lisa as possible throughout lunch. He hadn’t given Naomi any real reason to be upset with him.

The only time Lisa had gotten physically close was when she had practically ambushed him the second she arrived.

She turned away before anyone could catch her staring through the window and headed back into the kitchen.

The kitchen was supposed to be her safe space.

Naomi began gathering plates and wiping down the counter while Lexie followed her inside.

"If you need to be mad," Lexie began, "be mad at me. I invited her."