Chapter 198: Wedding Dance

She turned.

A man stood near the serving table with a plate in his hand. "I assure you the food is good," he continued. "This is my fourth plate."

Her smile widened. "Is that so? Well, leave some for the rest of us."

"The rest of you are merely gawking at the food. Go on, try some."

Naomi laughed. "I know the food is good because I cooked it."

"Oh." His eyes moved over her trying to reconcile everything he thought he knew with what she had just said. "Oh," he repeated. "I thought you were the bride’s sister-in-law."

"Yes, I am. I’m also Chef Bennett."

"Of course. I..." He looked mildly embarrassed now. "I didn’t put two and two together. That explains why you were staring at the buffet like you were auditing it."

"I was."

The man looked back at his plate. "Well, now I feel considerably less ridiculous about being on my fourth round."

"You should still feel a little ridiculous."

"Fair." He took another bite before shaking his head. "No, honestly, this is excellent."

"Thank you."

He looked genuinely impressed. "I actually sent my wife a message about the food a few minutes ago. We have an event coming up."

"What kind of event?"

"Not as huge as this of course. It’s a birthday party." He smiled. "Although now I’m thinking we should probably talk business before I eat enough to lose all credibility." He set his fork down. "My wife handles most of the planning, but she’s been looking for someone reliable. We’ve tried a few caterers before and the food was always..." He paused, searching for a diplomatic word.

Naomi helped him. "Forgettable?"

"That’s generous. Oh, wait." He quickly put his plate down on the nearest table and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. "It’s nice to meet you, by the way."

"You too."

He pulled out a business card. "Let me give you my card." He extended it toward her.

But it wasn’t Naomi’s fingers that reached for the card. It was Dorian’s.

Naomi barely had time to register what had happened before the business card disappeared neatly between her husband’s fingers. She looked up at him.

He stood there all stone-faced, broad-shouldered and perfectly dressed looking like Maxwell Hawthorne had just handed Naomi a hotel room key.

Naomi quickly placed a hand on Dorian’s arm. "Well, I’m guessing you know my husband. Dorian Heathcliffe."

"Of course. Who doesn’t?"

Dorian looked at him. "I don’t know you."

Naomi almost groaned.

There was absolutely no reason for that sentence to sound as threatening as it did.

Maxwell seemed to hear it too because his smile became slightly more careful. "Oh. I’m Maxwell Hawthorne. I was just complimenting your wife’s cuisine here."

Naomi rubbed his arm, partly because she knew exactly what was happening now and partly because she was trying very hard not to laugh. "He wants to send some business my way," she explained.

Dorian gave the smallest nod. "You can make an appointment on her website, Mr Hawthorne. It’s ChefBennet.com."

She saw the entire thing for what it was. Her husband was jealous. Naomi had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too widely.

This was delicious.

Maxwell unaware that he had accidentally activated Dorian’s possessive streak, nodded easily. "Sure. I’ll let my wife know."

Naomi smiled at him. "It was nice to meet you. And please, go crazy with the food. I can pack your wife a plate if you want."

"She should have come with me if she wanted food."

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes. "That poor woman." Naomi turned toward one of the servers. "Please pack a plate for him to take home. Make sure there’s a little of everything."

Maxwell looked pleased. "Now that is excellent service."

Dorian’s expression suggested that if Maxwell complimented the service any further, the website would suddenly become unavailable for maintenance.

She thanked Maxwell again, then slipped her hand into Dorian’s before he could decide to interview the man about his actual intentions.

They headed back toward the main floor.

Naomi waited until they were out of earshot before looking up at him. "Do you have any idea how scary you look when you’re jealous?"

Dorian stopped walking. "What? I’m not jealous."

"Oh, really?!"

"I was just making sure the business process remained organised. And why does he want special treatment?" Dorian muttered. "He should check in online like everybody else."

"You’re lucky I love you," Naomi said.

Dorian lifted her hand, brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed the rings he had only just placed there that morning. He looked at her over her knuckles. "Wanna dance?"

"With you?" She smiled. "Always."

He led her onto the dance floor.

The music had slowed, the crowd had thinned a little.

Dorian pulled Naomi close. Her arms went around his neck while his settled at her waist.

They moved easily together.

Naomi rested her cheek against his chest and let herself enjoy it.

The day had been long. Longer than she expected. But very productive, all things considered.

*****

Richard stood in front of the mirror getting ready for work while keeping Diana informed of his plans.

That alone was a recent development. For years, he had treated her like someone who needed to know only enough to stay out of his way.

Now, she had developed a brain.

She was finally doing what he needed.

Helping him find a way out of the mess before Dorian Heathcliffe dug far enough to expose what Richard had spent years covering.

"I have someone I’ll send in to see Marianne today," Richard said, adjusting his shirt.

Diana stood a few feet away, watching him. "He knows what to do?"

Richard turned around. "He’ll do his legalese magic, get her to sign documents that, on the surface, look like she’s hiring him as her lawyer. But she’ll actually be signing Naomi’s money over to me. She’ll think she’s authorising representation and giving him the power to handle whatever needs handling."

"When they’re both gone, no one can dispute it. Once Marianne is out of the way and Naomi is dealt with, the paperwork stands. Everything becomes legal."