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“You’re not,” Aled insisted, even though she was a little. “We’re stronger than that.” And then, because it was still so new and wonderful to him, and because Dawn needed something that would make her happy, he said, “You know, he told me he loved me just now, upstairs.”
Dawn gasped and burst into a genuine smile. “He did?” she asked. “How did he say it? Was it sweet and romantic? Did you kiss?” She gasped again. “Are the two of you going to get married? He can come live at our house, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
Aled laughed, and God, did it feel good to laugh just then. “It was just a spur of the moment thing,” he said. “I was about to say it back when Ebony came to get me. And any talk of marriage is a long way off.”
Dawn had started to droop at his second statement. “I really am cock-blocking you, aren’t I?”
Aled shook his head and stroked the side of her face. “No, not at all,” he said. “Life happens. It’s a fraught time of the year for us. And Jamie absolutely understands.”
“He does,” Dawn said, sagging a little, not with defeat, but as a sign that she was letting the trauma of the moment roll off her shoulders. She grinned coyly at Aled and said, “It’ll be nice to have a psychologist in the family, since we’re all a little mad.”
Aled grinned. “He’s not in the family yet.”
“Yes he is,” Dawn interrupted in a sly mutter.
“And he’s a psychology professor, not a psychologist,” he finished.
“But he knows all the stuff,” she said. “And he really has helped me.”
“Yeah, he has,” Aled said. “He’s helped me, too.”
He’d helped in more ways than Aled had realized until that evening. Yes, he’d helped him to become a better dom and to take a rest from his cares and responsibilities before they overwhelmed him. He’d also helped Aled to become someone other than his family’s savior. Jamie had helped him to see so many things about himself, and Aled was certain there was much more to come.
“We need to help him too, you know,” Dawn said, extracting herself from Aled’s hold at last and struggling to her feet. Aled pushed up from the wall and steadied Dawn once she was on her feet again. “We can’t let Jamie deal with that complete tosser on his own. Who is he, by the way?” she asked as they headed for the base of the stairs.
Aled was half certain Dawn was thinking about Ronny now as a way to deflect her thoughts away from being ashamed of her outburst, but if that was what she needed, then he would definitely help her to do that.
“He’s Jamie’s ex,” he said with a slight roll of his eyes. “He’s a possessive nob with a lot of money who can’t handle not getting what he wants all the time.”
Dawn snorted as they headed up the stairs. “And people say that I’m childish.”
Aled grinned at her and looped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “You’re not childish, love,” he said, kissing her head once they’d reached the top of the stairs. “You’re a hero. You’re fighting against something that most people never have to go through, and you’re doing an ace job, if I do say so myself.”
“Not always,” Dawn sighed, stopping right before the door that would take them back to the banquet hall. “Not tonight.”
“Yes, tonight,” Aled said, resting a hand on the side of her hopelessly smeared face and stroking his thumb over her cheek. “I love you, Dawn.”
She smiled bashfully and pressed her cheek into Aled’s hand. For a moment, she closed her eyes and just breathed, then she glanced up at Aled seriously.
“Don’t let me and my problems stop you from having what you deserve, Aled,” she said. “Yes, I need your help, but I don’t want you to miss out on something like love because of me. I’m getting better all the time, and even though I don’t always think to say it, sometimes I think that I need to just handle things on my own.”
Those words hit Aled harder than he’d thought they would. He was happy for Dawn and so proud of her progress, but there was a lot of sadness in someone who had once depended on you growing up. It was one more thing that he would work on, hopefully with Jamie’s help.
“Okay,” he said, leaning in and kissing Dawn’s forehead. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“Good,” Dawn said, throwing her arms around him to hug him tight. “Now, let’s go rescue Jamie from his ridiculous ex.”
Aled drew in a steadying breath and turned to the door. “Yes, let’s,” he said. Because if anyone needed his help just then, it was definitely Jamie.
NINETEEN
It had to end.Ronny’s behavior had long-since crossed the line. Embarrassing Jamie in front of his colleagues and trying to get him sacked was one thing, but interfering in Aled’s business, in Dawn’s business, was way past anyone’s idea of reasonable behavior. As Jamie had stood by and watched Ronny’s callous disregard for someone who was suffering from something true and real and harder than he would ever have to deal with, it had hit him that Ronny would never see reason. That and the fact that it was partially his own fault that Ronny had persisted in thinking he had half a chance of getting him back.
It had to end, and it ended now.
“Hey,” he called to Ronny as loudly as he could without drawing too much attention, as he stepped into the banquet hall.
Fortunately, Ronny hadn’t gotten much farther than a few feet on the other side of the door. Jamie was able to step right up to him and face him without chasing him down. Unfortunately, Dr. Epstein and one of the older donors stood right there with him, along with Dr. Franklin. Epstein, Jamie could deal with. Franklin was an entirely different can of worms.
