Chapter 74: Grocery List

Naomi sighed.

"You have a hard life already," Tessa continued. "Hold on to whatever joy you can get."

That shut her up. Lately, Dorian had become joy. She liked hearing the elevator and knowing it might be him coming downstairs.

Liked the stupid arguments, the dinners, the kisses and, yes, the sex that apparently required its own calendar appointment.

Tessa squeezed her arms. "Honestly, if I were you, I’d fight to stay married to the man."

Naomi’s eyes widened. "Tessa!"

"What? I’m serious. He’s rich, he’s handsome, and from what you tell me, he is not a bad man."

Naomi looked away. He really wasn’t. Not with her anyway. He could be arrogant.

But bad?

No.

He made her feel protected without making her feel weak. But, they never start out that way, do they?

No one knowingly married a bad man. Nobody stood at an altar thinking, Wonderful. This one will destroy my life.

The good changed to bad somewhere along the way. Love became possession. Care became obligation.

Naomi had watched enough of that to know how dangerous the transformation could be. So why would Dorian be different?

Then Naomi remembered Eleanor and Maurice. The easy comfort in their marriage. So why was marriage so hard for their son.

Naomi pushed the cart forward and forced herself to focus on the actual reason she was in the store.

Groceries.

She picked up a few more things, then paused beside the refrigerated section. If he was coming home tonight, she wanted to cook something proper.

Something filling.

Homey.

She wanted him to walk through the door, smell it from the hallway and immediately feel like they were exactly where they were supposed to be. Naomi frowned at that thought.

That sounded suspiciously wife-like.

Again.

She was collecting symptoms now. She pulled out her phone. "I’m calling Adrian."

Tessa glanced at her. "You just called Adrian."

"That was earlier."

"How many times have you called that man today?"

Naomi ignored the question and tapped his contact. Adrian picked up almost immediately.

"Mrs Heathcliffe," he said, sounding deeply resigned, "I am beginning to think I am married to you."

Naomi burst out laughing. "You wish."

"I really don’t. What can I do for you?"

Naomi smiled and leaned against the cart handle. "Would you happen to know if Dorian will be returning home today? I’d like to make something for him."

There was a small pause on Adrian’s end. Her smile faded slightly.

"I do not believe so," Adrian finally said, "but if you promise not to call me again, I can head over there and find out."

Naomi’s face brightened. "You’re an angel, Adrian. Maybe I would consider marrying you."

"God, please no! Goodbye, Mrs Heathcliffe."

Naomi was still laughing when the call ended. She stared at her phone for a moment, smiling despite herself.

Across from her, Tessa watched quietly. She hadn’t seen Naomi like this. There had always been something wound tightly inside Naomi, even when she was joking or smiling. Something constantly reminding her about whatever disaster needed handling next.

But lately, there were moments when all of that disappeared. Usually when Dorian was involved. Tessa was a little bit glad there was finally some sunshine in her life.

Naomi, meanwhile, looked back at her phone. Then called Dorian again. Straight to nothing. "What kind of work comes up that you become completely unreachable?" she muttered. Her imagination immediately became unhelpful.

Was he with the mob or something?

Naomi slipped her phone back into her pocket, then pushed the cart forward. There was nothing else she could do right now. She and Tessa walked with their cart to check out.

A few minutes later, both cars were packed with groceries. Naturally, Tessa still found time to complain about Naomi’s Range Rover.

"This car is ridiculous," she said, shutting the boot. "Actually ridiculous."

Naomi laughed. Everyone seemed to forget that the Range Rover was technically a loan. She did not own it.

It was Dorian’s car, temporarily in her possession. Still, Naomi couldn’t lie. Driving it felt good. There was something about pulling up in that car that changed the way people looked at her before she even opened the door.

The Range Rover earned respect on her behalf. Naomi was almost certain that if she drove to a bank right now and asked for a loan, someone would take one look at the car outside and approve it without bothering to check her credit score.

Tessa leaned against her own car and looked at the Range Rover again. "I hate you a little."

Naomi smiled and hugged her goodbye. Soon, they went their separate ways, and Naomi began the drive to the kitchen. She had been looking into commercial kitchens for Ginny’s wedding and had one restaurant in mind that rented out theirs.

Since she was already out, she might as well stop by and see it properly. For once, things were actually coming together, and she wanted to keep them that way.

When she arrived at the restaurant, she introduced herself and explained why she was there. The manager was expecting questions from potential renters, so arranging a tour wasn’t difficult.

Naomi was led through to the kitchen. The moment she stepped inside, she knew she liked it. Everything looked modern.

The worktops were spacious, the equipment looked well maintained, and there was enough room to move comfortably.

More importantly, it looked expensive without being pretentious. Exactly what suited the Heathcliffes.

Naomi walked slowly through the space while the manager explained what was available. Everything she would need to handle an event of Ginny’s size without having to improvise or bring half a kitchen with her. She could already picture herself working there. She was also thinking seriously about doing a livestream during part of the process.

Enough to build interest around Chef Bennett. Enough to show people how much went into catering a high-end wedding.

If she handled it well, Ginny’s wedding could become more than just one job. It could become advertising.

It would bring the next client and then another. Naomi felt excitement build in her chest. This was becoming real.

Chef Bennett could actually become something.

When the tour ended, Naomi told the manager she was interested. She was handed the rental contract.

She signed and made the deposit in advance. Naomi looked at the confirmation on her phone and smiled.

Everything was coming together nicely. For the first time in a long while, her future didn’t feel completely impossible.

Before leaving, she decided to grab lunch to go from the restaurant. The manager offered to take her through to the dining area.

Since they were already at the back of the building, the manager showed her in through the back.

Naomi ordered a grilled chicken ciabatta, then stepped away from the counter to wait. She was already mentally rearranging the rest of her afternoon.

Then she glanced across the restaurant and caught sight of someone familiar sitting at a table a few feet away.

Naomi’s face immediately brightened.

Jordan.

Tessa’s husband.

What were the chances? She almost laughed and started walking toward him, already imagining Tessa’s reaction when she told her she had randomly run into her husband less than an hour after they separated.

Then Naomi noticed the woman sitting across from him. More specifically, she noticed the woman’s hand.

It was on Jordan. Not in a normal, conversational way either. The woman was leaning toward him, fingertips trailing along his arm with a familiarity that did not belong anywhere near another woman’s husband.

Naomi stopped dead. Her smile disappeared. She turned around so quickly she nearly walked back into a chair. "What the fuck is happening?"