By the time they'd all helped in devouring Bert's barbeque lamb, salad, and mash, Elle discovered how quickly her entire family had all fallen in love with Dean, especially Maya. For a moment, Elle's heart tugged wildly at the fantasy of a happy family.

Ethan helped Bert clean up. Anna, Harold, and Bree disappeared into the house to help clean dishes and get dessert going. Elle laughed, watching Dean surrounded by the children fighting for his attention.

"Shall I rescue you?" She smiled down at him as he sat there teaching the kids how to make a finger shadow of a rabbit.

He looked up with a smile. "Please."

"Who wants to watch a movie?" Elle asked.

"Me, me, me!" Chirps filled the air with the children all jumped to their feet.

"Right." Elle clapped her hands together. "Plates in the sink, hands washed, and get your little tushes onto the couch. One, two, three." And they darted into the house with a flurry of laughter and shouts, their plates in hand devoid of all food as the debris rained to the ground.

Ethan whistled to Elle. "It's time, Elle!" A wide grin appeared on his face as he left Bert to finish up.

"I would love to join you on the grass, but Ethan will kill me for missing his proposal." She held out her hand to Dean and waited.

It was the first time that evening he had almost had Elle's full, undivided attention. He reached for her hand and pulled himself up, feeling a sensation he could only describe as vertigo at the touch of her hand against his. "Is Ethan about to?"

Elle nodded. "That's what the whole evening's been about."

Dean watched Bert struggle with the barbeque cover. "I have the worst sense of timing." He turned to Elle. "It's a family affair. I am sorry, Elle, I shouldn't have turned up today."

"Mummy!" Maya flung open the screen door, interrupting everything. "Movie."

"Coming!" Elle went to walk away till she realised her hand was still in his.

"See you on the inside." Dean let go and headed for Bert. "Can I give you a hand, Mr Grace?"

"Can't see very well in this blooming light!"

"Let me." Dean tugged at the other end of the folded cover and together they fitted it over the machine.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Bert stood a moment, staring Dean down.

"Of course."

"You like her?"

Dean felt lost for words. He nodded rather too vigorously. "Yes." He shuffled. "I respect Ellenor a lot, and wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

Bert glanced through the kitchen window at his wife making tea. "When I first saw Trish, I was exactly where you are, waiting for her to say yes." He turned to Dean with a snort. "Guys in our family do that, I've noticed." He smiled warmly. "I waited a year for Trish, my brother Steve waited God knows how long for his wife to wake up and smell the roses and leave a broken marriage. Then there's Pete, whose story you know well, I guess." Dean nodded. "The poor bugger waited almost a decade." Bert laughed and Dean couldn't help but join him.

"And now we're waiting for Ethan to ask his girl." Bert turned back to the kitchen window.

"Why are you telling me all this, Mr. Grace?"

Bert turned to Dean. "Elle cares about others more than herself." As laughter floated out to them, he dropped his voice. "I just wonder how long you may have to wait, or how long you're willing to wait."

Dean felt a strange jolt in his chest. Was Elle's father asking him to not give up on his daughter? It was a strange feeling, knowing that the only obstacle between him and Elle might just be one person, Elle. "I care about her," he whispered.

Bert nodded. "I'm just saying if it's up to her, you might wait a while."

Dean smiled, though it was a cautious smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

Trish peered through the window. "Tea is ready."

"Act surprised," Bert advised and followed Dean into the house.

A strange longingly crept over Dean. He watched the Grace family huddle around for a chat in the lounge sipping their tea and wondered when was the last time his own family had ever done that. They did lunches, or dinner, and formal affairs, but they never fired up a barbeque and just lounged around.

Ethan passed flutes of chocolate mousse around, the last of which he passed Dean.

"Where's mine?" Bree's curiosity broke through Dean's thoughts.

"Coming up..." prompting Ethan to rush into the kitchen. There was a glint of a small diamond ring on the soft surface of the mousse. Before Bree realised what she was looking at, Ethan knelt before her. "We have known each other for a whole year, and I want more." Bree stared in delighted shock. "Spend the rest of your life with me?"

Silence fell in the room, all eyes on the couple, including Dean, who felt the strangest he'd ever felt. He couldn't help but wonder whether he'd ever ask that of a woman one day.

"Thought you'd never ask." Bree broke through Dean's thoughts again. "Yes!" passionately kissed Ethan. "Yes."

Dean felt a sting of jealousy. Bree was now part of Elle's family. He caught Elle stealing a look his way, a look of concern. He hadn't touched his dessert yet. "Are you okay?" He read her lips. "I'm fine," he mouthed back.

"To Ethan and Bree!" in the ruckus of congratulations being thrown at the couple, Dean couldn't help but continually ask himself, Could you give your life to someone? Just one? To the other side of the room stood Elle, waiting with her emptied flute and a wide grin on her face. Something wild tugged his heart. Something raw. Elle's gaze flitted his way and he couldn't hold her gaze at that moment and slipped out of the room, into the kitchen.

He had only just put down the still untouched dessert on the counter when someone followed him in. "Dean?" she whispered, and the beast rose in him. He gritted his teeth, his breath deepening, reckless, but he couldn't help himself. He turned around, stepping close to Elle in one sweep, and pulled her into his arms. Something he'd imagined, again and again, the past hours; the feel of her dress sliding over her body, the rasp of her breath, the touch of her lips against his own. He pushed her against the pantry and kissed hard, not caring that others were just around the corner. It seemed at that moment, neither did Elle until she pushed him away.

Still enclosed in his arms and out of breath, her heart thudding away, Elle dared not look into his eyes for fear she wouldn't be able to push him off again. The kiss surged again and again through her mind and body, and she wanted nothing more than to pull him back. "I can't do this here," she managed instead.

Dean leaned his head against her, his eyes closed, his arms leaning on the pantry door, no longer touching her. "Okay."

"Hey Elle, how's next month looking on your calendar?" Uncle Steve called out. Luckily, no one was in a rush to walk into the kitchen and see what she was up to.

"She's busy," Dean called out. He planted a quick kiss on her head before pushing off and walking back into the lounge as if nothing had happened. "She's doing Jared's wedding, I'm afraid." When all eyes stared at him, he simply smiled. "That's what we were just discussing. Isn't that right, Elle?" He turned around as she walked in with a tumbler of water, her alibi. He winked at her, that sly smile creeping up on his handsome face.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's why he came over today."

"To get it in writing," he added. "In fact, before she changes her mind, how about it now?" He may have come all the way out there to spend time with her, but that didn't actually mean he hadn't a job to finish. He fished out an envelope that in fact had Elle's name written on it and passed it over to her with all her family as a witness. "No backing out now," he whispered.

"Don't set the wedding too far off though, Ethan." Anna laughed her way out the door with her brood close behind. "Elle needs her business."

Once the Taits were gone, Dean was the only outsider left. He stood promptly, "I should get going too."

"You're not driving back to Sydney?" Ethan suddenly surfaced from the highs of the evening.

"Good Lord, you can't do that." Trish cried.

"I'll find a motel." Dean smiled gratuitously. "I've intruded enough on you tonight." He turned to Bert. "It was a beautiful dinner, Mr. Grace," he continued, his gaze drifting to Maya curled up on the sofa, fast asleep beside Elle. He could almost picture that they were his family. "I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced."

"...the spare room." Trish's voice broke into his thought.

"Pardon me?"

Trish smiled knowingly. "I was just saying there's enough space to accommodate one more." She smiled at him, the way his mother once used, when she was still vibrant and caring; when his father was still alive. "Hope you don't mind the sofa, is all."

"No need to fuss, Mrs Grace. I can sleep in my car," he offered.

"Nonsense!" Trish instantly turned to Ethan. "Get him a pillow and blanket, will you please?"

Elle watched in a daze. Part of her danced at the thought of Dean under her roof, yet another part of her skidded to a halt, terrified and excited, but mostly terrified.

"Lock the door after us, Elle," Trish called out. "See you all for brekkie," and with that, she grabbed Bert by his arm and they were gone.

"I'm off too." Bree grinned, still over the moon with her evening. "Goodnight." He disappeared down the corridor, leaving Dean and Elle virtually alone in the room.

Elle continued stroking Maya's hair. "Won't you sit down?" she asked, unsure whether she was even speaking at a decibel that was audible. "Ethan won't be long."

Dean obliged, sitting on the edge of the sofa opposite the duo.

Ethan slipped in, setting the blanket and pillow on the arm of the sofa. "Anything you need before I go to sleep, Ellie?"

"Tuck Maya in, please?"

Ethan gently picked up his niece. "Goodnight, you two," and disappeared.

Elle rose. "Can I get you anything else?"

Dean sprang to his feet immediately. "Thank you," he spoke softly, compelling Elle to meet his eyes, "for letting me join your family tonight. Hope I didn't make the evening awkward for you."

"They all liked you." She felt her blood rush to her ears, her heart thundering in her chest. Ever since he'd turned up at the door, she'd wondered if he would kiss her again as he had done at Chloe's. The kiss in the kitchen had been a surprise and much more heated. Elle had been thinking about it relentlessly since.

"You have a lovely family."

She nodded, her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth as he stepped closer. "And your daughter, she is beautiful."

She could feel his breath falling lightly on her face and wondered if all he could think about was that kiss. His gaze moved to her lips and hovered there for a moment. "Just like her mother." He moved closer still.

"She looks like her father," Elle managed, unable to feel her legs touching solid ground. The room was pulsing, just like the blood in her veins.

"She has your smile." His lips moved, his head tilting closer to her own, and she knew. She knew this was the moment she'd been craving. He gently caressed her cheek. "Ellenor," he whispered, and Elle held her breath.

"Are you going to push me off again if I kiss you?" he said and her stomach drop in anticipation. She gave him a slight shake of her head.

"Good." He picked her up in his arms and Elle returned his kiss every bit as fervently.

"Mummy?!"

Elle jumped away as quickly as she could. Her hair flicked into his eyes as she turned to her daughter. Maya stood there yawning and rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing?" she asked, looking with rather too much determination at the two.

"Mummy was helping me, darling," Dean said with ease. He hadn't meant to get so personal, but having spent an entire evening with the child, the word 'darling' simply slipped out.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Dean knelt down beside her, rubbing his eye. "Mummy was trying to make my eye better," he lied; glad the pain was genuine, though.

Maya caressed his face with her small hand. "Mummy knows how to make it better. When Maya gets hurt, Mummy kisses it better."

"Does she now?"

"Show him, Mummy."

Elle almost lost her balance as she crouched down to the two, eyeing Dean uncertainly. Maya looked from one to the other and stroked Dean's arm. Elle leaned forward and kissed Dean's right eye with trembling lips and drew away almost instantly.

Maya smiled, hugging Elle around her neck. "Does it feel better?" She was staring at him and he nodded, utterly thrown.

"You should be in bed, young lady!" Elle rose to her feet. "Now say goodnight to Dean, please. He must be tired."

Maya nodded and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight Dean."

With his heart in his throat, he smiled back. "Goodnight Maya."

All Elle could do was smile, a giggle almost escaping her. "Goodnight, Dean."

"Goodnight, Elle." He watched the two disappear.

He heard Elle's soft laughter. "Why are you laughing, mummy?"

"It's nothing, honey."