Page 41 of Coming Out at Crofton Hall

The words hurt to hear and he couldn’t blame Robin for his pain. Nothing he’d said was untrue and his guilt had him sick to his stomach.

Robin charged forwards and Ben grabbed him around the middle before he could get any further.

“Stop it. You can’t blame Dorian for this,” Ben said.

“Like hell I can’t. He should have managed his coming out better, not dropped us all in the shit because he decided the time was right. He should have never hidden in the first place! He’s a selfish arsehole and that makes him culpable.”

Ben wrestled Robin backwards. He was stronger than Ben and Karl and Alex arrived to help him hold Robin back and force him into a chair.

Dorian slid onto his knees in front of Robin. “I am so sorry. I never meant for this to happen, I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“This isn’t your fault, Dorian,” Ben said.

Robin scoffed. “It’s a bit late for that. The police will be combing through mine and Simon’s social media links and accounts to see if anyone else was involved, my father is talking about around-the-clock security and you can imagine how Simon will take those suggestions.”

Simon would not be happy, even after being stabbed Dorian couldn’t see him capitulating. “I’m sure there’s a way we can deal with Claude’s natural instinct to protect you without it being onerous on Simon.”

“You don’t get it? As far as my father is concerned, Simon is already a Flint. Why do you think he was so angry with me when the photo with Marco came out, and why he redirected the company jet when I needed to get home when the Dorian-and-me bombshell landed? This isn’t just about protecting me, but Simon as well, and Simon is being stubborn.”

“Then that’ll make two of you,” Ben said. “He knows how these things work, and his police training will kick in and he won’t put himself in danger to rail against Claude.”

“There wouldn’t be any danger if Dorian reined in his fans.”

Ben sighed. “You know, deep down, that Dorian can’t do that. He’s not a puppet master. And the woman who stabbed Simon didn’t do so under his direction.”

Robin was close to tears and Dorian wanted to hold him and make it better, but he was no longer allowed to offer that sort of comfort and it would never be accepted. “I nearly lost him. I can’t go through that again.” He turned to Dorian, his eyes wet with tears and imploring. “Please, can’t you do something? Issue a statement? You’ve got a group of fans thinking you want me back—that I left you for Simon because you wouldn’t come out.”

“I could help craft something,” offered Alex. “I don’t know how sincere it would look.”

Dorian was relieved to hear Alex was there to support him, he needed someone solid at the moment.

Karl made a soft humming noise. “I wonder if it might help if Mr Forbes were to allude to having a partner. Then the issue of him wanting to go back to his ex would be moot.”

Alex nodded. “I think you might be right. It would add credence, although we might need to be ready to address why that individual wasn’t with Dorian on the red carpet.”

“Only if asked directly and I’m sure we could work up some talking points,” Karl said.

Dorian was still on his knees and he wasn’t sure if he’d really heard what was being suggested or if he was going mad. “You have got to be joking. The minute I say that there’ll be people hunting for clues for who the lucky guy is. The game will be up as soon as it starts.”

“I’m sure we can find someone who could play along. Would only be for a couple of months,” Ben said, and Dorian thought he’d gone mad too.

Robin seemed to be calming down but Dorian could tell by the way he held himself it wouldn’t take much to set him off again. “I think that will work.”

“All right,” Dorian said. He wasn’t convinced but wasn’t about to argue with Robin in his current state. “I’ll work with Alex to put something out.”

“Now I just need to deal with Simon,” Robin said. Dorian suspected that there was a huge amount of Robin’s own guilt wrapped up in this. “I need him safe. His mother is as worried as I am, and he can be quite obstinate.”

“When do you need to be back in New York? You could always move into his place,” suggested Ben.

“I’ll only be going back for brief stints from now on. I’m not willing to be away from him for an extended period. I don’t think he’d tolerate me being as clingy as I am, especially now, without a means of escape, which he doesn’t have in his cottage.”

Karl coughed. “Perhaps Mr MacLove could move in here for a short time. We could support him during his recovery when Mr Flint returns to New York.”

“If he’s willing, Simon is, of course, welcome,” Ben said. “He will have to contend with both Ashley and Mrs Weather clucking over him like a lost chick.”

“I reckon he’d tolerate that better than his parents and me being his sole company,” Robin said, sounding relieved. “It’ll be a matter of getting him to agree.”

“I’ve plenty of room so he can have his own space, and I think if you get Ashley to make the offer then he might be more open to it.”

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