Elle cursed under her breath. Not only was that a problem but, even if she wanted to leave, her camera was still sitting underneath the chair. "Why did he do that?" she asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I think he did it to make his mother react."

"They're all talking about it in there. Talking about me!" Elle resumed her pacing.

"It's exciting news," Bonnie tried.

"It's not news, Bonnie!" Elle snapped. "It's not news since it's never been discussed before."

"He stayed over last night, didn't he?" Bonnie asked.

Elle shook her head. "What are you on about?"

"He did," Bonnie stated with a grin. "No wonder you were tired this morning."

"Even if that had happened, what does it have to do with this?" Elle bit back. "And I'm a grown-up, thank you. I can do what I want."

Bonnie laughed. "I wasn't criticising you, Elle. You didn't even flinch at the thought of marrying him. You got angry that he said it to everyone before he even said it to you."

"Well," Elle started. "I don't even know what we have."

"He's in love with you. I can tell that much."

"I know," she whispered. The panic inside suddenly morphed into excitement. Really? Could it be true?

"Then what's the problem? I thought you felt the same way?"

Elle looked up. She did not know Dean was so far ahead of her. What if it didn't work out?

"Do you love him?"

"I don't know." Elle met Bonnie's gaze, "I, I do like him a lot."

"Will you miss him after we finish up here?" Bonnie asked simply the question, but it had the effect she wanted. Elle stood, unable to breathe for a moment. "Love's precious, Elle," Bonnie whispered. "I watched my father miss my mother for so long, even if she was the one who ended things and left us."

"You mean Carol's not your mum?"

Bonnie shook her head. "She came along when I was in high school. Dad almost let her go, even when the thought of her could put a smile on his face." She reached for Elle's hand and squeezed it. "You'd be stupid if you walked away from him."

A waitress came toward them. "Mr Stewart wishes to know if you two are okay."

"Yes, we are. Thank you," Bonnie replied. She gave Elle's hand another squeeze. "Let's get our asses in there before the entire Stewart family searches us out." Elle followed reluctantly. "You just sit quietly and blend in. I'll work this evening."

It was a painful couple of hours and every second felt like an hour. Elle remained mute, and the few times she dared talk was mainly with Dean himself. At least sitting next to him felt like some sort of compensation for the earlier drama.

At one point, Dean grabbed Elle's camera. "You stay seated. I'll do a round."

She had nothing to say. Within seconds, Dean was taking photos of her. She wanted to fight it, to turn her head away, but knowing how everyone was still looking at her, she'd draw too much attention.

By the end of the evening, she might have considered the last day and a half left of her stay a blessing if it hadn't been for the constant reminder that she'd be leaving Dean behind.

"Shall we?" he asked as the entire gathering slowly left. Elle nodded, eager to get away. "Where's Bonnie?"

"I don't know," Elle said.

"Wait here," Dean said. "I'll go find her."

Elle wanted to hide in his car but the option wasn't available so she waited for him, watching people walk past with a smile, a nod, or curiosity on the front porch.

"How long has my son known you, Ms Grace?" Christina Stewart's voice startled her.

Elle clutched her camera case harder. "Six months," she answered meekly.

"He is a handsome boy, don't you think?" Mrs Stewart said, low enough so that only Elle could hear it. She kissed a few relatives goodbye whilst waiting for Elle to answer. "He takes after his father," she continued. "The same height, the shoulders; both my boys take after their father, rest his soul, except their eyes. Those are mine."

Christina's elegant body towered over Elle's petite frame. Her eyes looked steel blue and icy, not like the mesmerizing pools that were Dean's. "Do you fancy my boy, Ms. Ellenor Grace? It's a simple question."

"Sometimes a simple question isn't always what it appears to be, Mrs Stewart," Elle replied quietly. She intimidated the hell out of her, but there was no way she would let Christina sense it. The woman would chew her alive and spit her out in an instant. "Why don't you ask what you really want to ask?" she advised, when all she wanted to do was scramble off the porch and run out onto the street to get away.

Christina regarded Elle for a moment, her lips pursed. "I can see why Dean likes you, but what about you? A woman in your position."

"My position?" Elle narrowed her eyes, anger slowly surfacing.

Christina folded her arms, leaned on one leg, and almost scoffed. "I've been where you are right now. I lost a husband once. And I know how hard it is to raise a child. Heck, I raised three myself."

Elle knew that throughout the night Dean's mother had been itching to get her alone and shush her out, but Elle didn't care for paranoia and the insinuation that she was simply after Dean for convenience.

"Maybe you should ask Dean these questions, Mrs Stewart. I was perfectly fine till he showed up. I'm not the one chasing if you must know." She turned away and started down the steps before changing her mind and halting. "And for your information, yes, I think your son is handsome. In fact, no matter how much I try, I can't get him out of my mind. To tell you the truth, I'm tired of fighting it. But if you want to blame somebody, blame your son. I was fine with my boring, lonely life, but now, I'm not so sure. Maybe I want more!"

Her eyes welled up. Elle truly had been fine with the way she had been, a lifeless robot doing what was necessary since that was what everyone eventually expected from her. Unable to help herself, she turned back to Dean's mother. "As someone who's been in my shoes, don't pretend you can see things through my eyes."

She walked away, head high, hopefully with dignity still intact. Lucky for her, she only had to make it through the night to find out if she still had a job the next day.

When she reached Dean's car, the street was emptying and a slight drizzle had started. She cursed herself for not asking for his keys. She could have waited in the car. And perhaps she could have avoided the awkward and infuriating conversation with his mother altogether.

The rain soon pelted down, and within minutes, Elle got drenched. Exhausted, she sat down on the footpath, leaning against the car, and slid the camera case beneath it, away from the rain.

It must have been another five minutes before two figures came out of the driveway, safely tucked under a giant umbrella.

"What the hell are you doing in the rain?" Dean yelled, unlocking his car. "Get in the car before the rain sweeps you away."

Elle did as she was told. She grabbed her camera case from under the car, got up, opened the door, and swung her drenched-self into the plush leather interior. After everything he had put her through the night, he deserved a ruined car seat.

Dean immediately turned the engine on and cranked the heater up. "Why didn't you wait where I told you to?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.

Elle twisted in her seat, thankful that at least the heater was warming her cold feet if nothing more. "Excuse me if I don't particularly like being interrogated and accused of being a gold digger by your mother, after a whole evening of feeling like some sort of museum display!" she fired back, just as annoyed. She'd vowed she'd stay quiet and not utter a single word, but she couldn't act anymore.

"My mother did what?" he asked with genuine surprise.

"Once you went searching for Bonnie. Where the hell were you, Bonnie?"

"I was talking to Dean's cousin, Joel. Or rather, he was talking to me," Bonnie answered with a smile, undeterred by Elle's glare.

"Stay away from him!" Dean ordered, pulling the car away from the curb.

"Why? He seemed nice."

"Just stay away from him," he answered. "Joel's not someone you want to involve yourself with."

"We were only talking."

Dean watched Elle, sulking in her seat, and Bonnie, who had a playful glint on her face. "Joel's a player, Bonnie. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Ha!" Elle scoffed in her seat. "If you cared so much about others, then what was that during dinner?"

"I only said the truth, Elle."

He drove in silence for a little while before he realised. The reason she was so cross. "That's what shocked you? That I was brave enough to tell a roomful of relatives how I feel about you?"

Elle sniffed and turned away. "You should have told me first."

"I'm sorry for the dinner and for my mother. I told her to leave you alone."

"Why can't I talk to Joel?" Bonnie blurted.

"Because, Bonnie, he's my cousin and I know what he's like."

"Fine!" She crossed her arms and pouted.

"I want you to get my car fixed," Elle said as soon as Dean pulled up next to hers. "I'm going to need it the day after tomorrow."

He nodded. "I'll look at it again, then."

During a silent trip up the elevator, Dean felt like a stranger in his own home. He was glad about the interruption when Elle's mobile twittered.

"Hello!" she answered with equal relief.

"Mummy?"

"Oh hey, baby. How are you? Behaving?" Elle's face lit up as soon as Maya's voice came through. She walked in behind Dean and almost leaned into him, as she would have done with Blake. She stopped short, stunned by the perplexed look on Dean's face.

"I'll just get your key," he said and waited.

"Mummy is coming back soon, baby," Elle cooed, walking into the room to fetch her car key. "One more day, okay?"

"Oh, you went fishing, did you? With Uncle James and Mitchell? Did you catch a big one? That's nice, honey."

Bonnie stood yawning. "I'm gonna go change. Make yourself at home. Elle might be a little while."

Dean nodded knowingly and sank into the lounge.

"Who wants to talk, hon?" Elle's voice faded hesitantly as she came through the door. "Okay, give the phone to Aunty Harry then."

"Work going okay, I hope," Harry's voice came quietly.

Elle nodded. "It's going fine..." Dean had turned the TV on. "Hope Maya has been good."

"Maya's brilliant. You don't need to worry about her..." Harry sounded more and more hesitant. "About the other night..."

"Forget about it, Harry. You and I both said some things we shouldn't have," Elle offered, though she still hadn't forgiven her. Elle felt awkward, too. Not just about the conversation with Harry over the phone, but Dean's presence as well. "Can we talk about this when I come over? I'm kind of in the middle of something right now."

"Of course."

"Give Maya the phone, please. I want to say goodnight." Moments later, Maya was back. "All ready for bed, love?"

"Yep."

"Good girl. Now blow Mummy a goodnight kiss."

"Goodnight Mummy. Love you."

"Love you too, darling. Sleep tight." Maya's voice floated in again. "What is it, honey?"

"Will you see Dean soon?" she asked, almost as if she didn't want Aunty Harry to hear.

Elle's heart jumped into her throat. "Why do you want to know, baby?"

"He promised to visit," Maya's voice was lower still.

Elle couldn't help but smile. In some ways, Maya had fallen in love with Dean, too. "Go to bed, baby."

"Promise you'll ask him?"

"I promise. Now go to sleep. Love you."

Elle stared at the back of Dean's head for a moment, dreaming of a happy family. "Maya just wanted to say goodnight," she said, fiddling with her car key. "I got the ..."

"Oh, right..." He rose. "I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Want me to come down with you?"

"Up to you." He waved goodnight to Bonnie and headed down the corridor. "Or I could just slide the key under the door."

Elle followed him to the door. "Maya says hello, by the way."

"Did she?" He could not hide a smile.

"She missed you, I guess."

Dean scoffed. "That's more than you ever admit."

Elle closed the door behind them. "About what you said at dinner. How am I supposed to take that?"

"Take it as a promise," he replied tenderly. "I only said what I feel and nothing less."

"But your Mom..."

"... is worried I'm serious about you?" He moved closer, almost enveloping her. "I'm afraid she has reason to. I can't stop thinking about you... I close my eyes and all I see is you, and when I open my eyes, I'm disappointed you're not there, next to me..."

"Your mother thinks I'm the one after you."

Dean snorted. "I have a confession to make, Elle. And chances are you won't ever want to talk to me again after tomorrow."

Elle stared at him. What could he possibly confess now? He'd already spilled his guts at dinner, hadn't he?

"Your car is absolutely fine."

She misunderstood him for a moment. "Fine?"

"I may or may not have tinkered with it."

"You what?"

"Hear me out." He reached for her shoulders.

"You stuffed up my car?"

"How else was I going to get you to spend time with me?"

"Ask, like a normal person." She shoved him away. That caused him to laugh.

"Tried that and failed, remember?"

Elle folded her arms. "So that gives you the right to wreck my car?"

"No, but your engine wasn't sounding great, and I did not want you driving that thing around Sydney as it was... Elle." He sighed, gripping her arms and giving them a squeeze. "I wanted to spend some time with you, and I'm not sorry. If I hadn't done what I did, I wouldn't have had a chance with you... You're too stubborn. And it was the best two days I've ever had. I have no regrets. Do you?"

It was excruciating to watch her thinking. His breath caught in his chest.

"Well? Do you?" he asked again, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"Please don't do something like that ever again," she whispered back

"I won't. I promise. No more stunts." He backed her up against the door, slowly caressing the angry lines on her face. "But tell me something. Did you at all wish I hadn't been around you these past couple of days?"

Elle shook her head, unable to weave words.

He nodded and leaned in to kiss her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"And the car?"

"I'll go fix it now." With that, he walked away and Elle went back into the apartment with butterflies bursting free in her stomach.

"You two have a fight?" Bonnie asked from the couch.

Elle shook her head. "He just told me my car is perfectly fine."

"He's fast."

Elle shook her head again. "As in, it was always fine. He tinkered with it..."

Bonnie bounced on the seat. "Oh, my God. He is so cute."

"You approve?" Elle frowned.

"Totally. I wish Lochy was that romantic."

"Romantic? How is meddling with my car and making me worry about it, romantic?" Elle didn't realise she was raising her voice.

"You are joking, right?" Bonnie asked. "The man went to all that trouble just so he could have a few more hours of your company, and you don't find that romantic?"

Elle remained quiet. Now that Bonnie put it that way, yes, yes, it sounded hopelessly romantic. So much so that it made her smile and run down to him and kiss him till he passed out.

"I don't know how else he is supposed to say it before you to take him seriously." Bonnie rose to her feet. "If I was you, and Dean was all over me like that, I wouldn't be here talking. I'd be down there with him, making the most of every moment, if you catch my drift," she headed for the bedroom. "I'm going to bed. And just so you know, I'll be fast asleep and unable to hear anything in like a half-hour. Now, goodnight, and go enjoy your night."

"Goodnight," Elle said, rooted to the spot. Bonnie made sense, and something inside her told her to do it, go enjoy her night.

"I'm sure he hasn't left yet," Bonnie yelled out, almost reading Elle's thoughts.

Elle took a sharp breath, bit her bottom lip, and turned on her heels for the front door.

Elle giddily watched the elevator descend, floor after floor, into the parking lot, her heart working overtime. She squeezed out of the lift before the doors were fully open and made her way toward Dean's parking spot with mixed feelings. What was she going to do? Kiss him goodnight in that dimly lit underground parking, or take him by the hand and lead him back up to his apartment.

"Dean," she called out, her voice barely audible.

"Everything okay?" He was bent over the engine.

She nodded. "How are you going with it?"

He sighed, unhooked the bonnet, and closed it. "I can't figure out why it's not starting. I put the spark plug back the way it was, but obviously, I stuffed something up," he answered apologetically. "Sorry, Elle. I might have to get it towed to my mechanic's tomorrow and have it fixed there after all."

She stared at him, quietly surprised that she didn't really care about the car at that moment.

"It's my fault." He hesitated. "I know you need your car the day after tomorrow. I'll try to get it done by then, but in case it takes a little longer, I'll drop you off at your sister's place."

"Sister-in-law," Elle corrected, looking at his tired, worried face. Guess he wasn't enjoying his own joke so much anymore.

"I mean, I want to drop you off. I kind of thought Maya might enjoy my visit."

She reached for his greasy hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "Don't go." He stared dumbfounded, "I mean don't go tonight."

He nodded, still stunned, as she pulled him towards the elevator, a smile teasing at the corner of his lips.