Chapter 137: Cold Ex Wife

"I’m not leaving without eating." Naomi argued.

Dorian closed his eyes. "Fuck."

She grinned. "Come on!" Naomi grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the adjoining hall, laughing as she went.

All he wanted was to get her home, lock the doors and spend several hours showing her exactly how much those words had meant to him.

Meanwhile, Naomi wanted buffet food.

He’d buy her a damned restaurant if she would just agree to leave now.

But no.

Free food had become the hill she intended to die on.

When they reached the buffet, Naomi actually slowed down.

Her eyes moved across the long display of heated serving trays, salads, plated desserts and carefully arranged sides.

"Oh wow." She picked up a plate. "Do you think I could do something like this at Ginny’s wedding?"

Dorian looked over the setup. "Maybe. Do you have any original ideas on presentation?" he asked. "Or we could research together and see what works."

"Do you have the time? Now that you have no assistant."

Dorian sighed.

The Adrian-shaped hole in his life.

He really needed to solve that problem.

Naomi scooped some food onto the plate and handed it to him before reaching for another.

"I’ll make time," Dorian said. "You did just call me a man of service."

Naomi groaned. "I should have thought that through. You’ll never let me hear the end of that."

Dorian leaned down until his mouth was near her ear. "I intend to make you repeat every word tonight while I fuck you senseless."

Naomi blushed instantly.

A giggle escaped her lips and she quickly turned back to the buffet, suddenly very interested in scooping more food onto her plate.

The man was impossible. Did he expect her to behave normally after saying that?

She was reaching for another dish when the atmosphere beside her seemed to drop several degrees. Naomi glanced to her left.

Lilian had stepped up to the buffet and was reaching for a plate.

"Hi..." Naomi offered.

Then she glanced over her shoulder at Dorian.

The playful expression he had been wearing seconds ago was gone. That familiar stony look had returned.

Naomi almost sighed.

Here we go.

"Hello," Lilian replied and picked up a plate before looking past Naomi toward Dorian. "I hope there are no hard feelings from the talk up there."

"There have always been hard feelings, Mrs. Heathcliffe. And as always, you make me out to be the fool."

Naomi’s eyes moved between them. Lilian remained perfectly composed.

"It’s time you let it go, Dorian."

"Have you?" His answer came instantly. "You seem to want to hide the fact that you were a slut while we were married."

Naomi’s eyes widened. Oh, for God’s sake.

There were people everywhere.

Naomi remembered their conversation from the night before.

If he misbehaved, she would intervene. So she did. She smacked him on the ass.

Dorian didn’t even blink.

Well.

That had been completely useless.

He barely seemed to register that she had touched him.

"It’s been over ten years, Dorian. What still hurts? That I slept with Alistair, or that I found happiness with him? You’re embarrassing yourself in front of your wife with this attitude."

Naomi immediately pointed at herself. "Oh, me?"

Both of them looked at her.

"Don’t mind me." She waved a hand between them. "Pretend I’m not here." She genuinely meant it. She wasn’t offended.

If anything, her curiosity had taken over.

She wanted to know if he was still in love with her. Why it mattered to Naomi she didn’t understand.

Lilian stepped closer. "I understand that I hurt your ego, and I sent you spiralling on this journey of picking and dropping wives. Everyone else has moved on. Why can’t you?"

"I have."

Lilian gave him a look that said she didn’t believe him for a second. "So why are you such a dick every time you’re around me and Alistair?"

"And why do you use every media opportunity you get to express how I was the problem in our marriage?"

"If you would tell your sisters to stop labelling me a whore at every function we meet at, I wouldn’t have to justify myself everywhere now, would I?"

Naomi’s head turned immediately. "Ginny calls you a whore?"

Both of them looked at her.

Naomi blinked. "Wow. I didn’t think she was capable." She paused thoughtfully. "But then Ginny is full of surprises."

Lilian gave her a slow, condescending look.

Naomi held it for exactly two seconds before deciding she had absolutely no desire to be dragged into whatever this is. "You know what? Carry on." She raised one hand. "I’m not even here." She took one step back, twirled some spaghetti around her fork and stuffed it into her mouth.

Lilian turned her attention back to Dorian. "We are family, Dorian. Whether you accept it or not."

She was right. She had married Alistair.

His uncle.

Which meant the woman who had once been his wife had never really disappeared from his life.

She had simply changed seats at the family table.

Lilian turned away. Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she walked off, plate still in hand, posture perfect.

Dorian remained still holding his own plate.

Naomi tilted her head. "Wow. You really were smitten with her."

Maybe he didn’t love Lilian anymore. But he had. Enough that more than a decade later, some part of him still reacted.

Dorian looked down at her. "I’m sorry. If I had known she was going to be at this, I wouldn’t have accepted to do this."

"Looking at the two of you, I think I figured it out," Naomi said.

Dorian glanced down at her. "Oh? Please, regale me."

Naomi lifted her fork like she was about to deliver expert testimony. "It wouldn’t have worked out because you are both the same. You’re both lawyers. You’re both driven, ambitious, and you both have this whole stoic personality thing going on. Plus, she is frosty. Does she smile?"