In the wee hours of the morning, Elle woke with a start. Dean had really spent the night with her. She rose on one elbow and stared at him. How the hell did they end up together? Anybody who'd see them together would think he'd settled for less. As gorgeous as he was, he was also kind, generous, charming, and most of all, he moved in higher circles. She would never fit into his lifestyle.

"You're staring," he said, eyes still closed.

"You're awake?" Elle blushed; glad the room was still somewhat dark.

"Are you staring at me, Elle? Or are you lecturing yourself inside that pretty little head of yours?" He opened his eyes and smiled.

She pulled the covers higher, suddenly aware that she was naked beneath it, and despite everything, she didn't want him to see her in the light, all her scars and stretch marks. "I was thinking, how did we end up here? You and me"

"Want me to tell you all?" He grinned.

She shook her head. "I'm just in awe that you're here."

He rolled onto her, pushing away the covers she'd almost wrapped around herself. "And where would I go?"

"Were you always planning to come back last night?"

He shook his head. "It was killing me, waiting for you." He ran his lips slowly over her neck. "Now, it will be harder to keep away from you."

"We can't let people know," Elle said nervously.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to be a story."

"You're not."

"I don't want to be the one that breaks your heart..."

He ran his lips over her softly. "Then don't break it," and kissed her like it was the first time once more.

"No one can know." She tried to fight against him, to keep the conversation going, but it wasn't fair, the way he was stealing her heart so quick.

"Shhh..."

An hour later, she kissed him at the door. "What if someone asks where you were last night?"

"Off having the best night of my life." He pulled her towards him with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell." He kissed her forehead and let her go. "See you tonight."

Elle fell asleep on the lounge after that, basking in the sunlight when her phone rang. She fumbled for it on the coffee table.

"Open the door," Bonnie asked in exasperation. "I've been knocking."

"Coming."

The young woman stood with her hand on her hip as the door swung open. "Why do you look so tired?"

"Gee, thanks, Bon. Morning to you too." Elle opened the door wider and walked back to the sofa.

"It's midday, Elle. Didn't you get much sleep last night?"

Elle's heart skipped a beat. Did Bonnie know about Dean's visit? "I didn't really sleep well," she lied.

"Then I guess we're both glad we have nothing on until the evening, huh?" Bonnie yawned, kicking off her ballet flats.

"How'd you get here?"

"Tess, Dana, and some girls were going to the spa to recoup from the night, so I got a ride in."

"How was it?"

"Great. You can check the photos." She passed the camera case to Elle. "I'm going to shower and get some sleep before we have to get going again."

Elle took the camera, trying to look interested till Bonnie disappeared into her room. Then she lay back down on the sofa, replaying the night and the morning over and over in her mind till she slipped into slumber again. It was Bonnie who gave her a rude awakening.

"Elle!" Bonnie shook her sternly. "For God's sake. Wake up! We're going to be late again."

Elle was startled awake from a dream she wanted to continue. "What time is it?"

"Almost six!" Bonnie squeaked. "Dean called a minute ago, saying he's on his way to pick us up and will be here in half."

"Shit!" Elle sprang up instantly.

"I thought you'd wake me up, not the other way around."

"Sorry, I fell asleep."

Bonnie flew back into her room. "Just throw something on."

Just throw something on. It was easier said than done. Elle wanted to do nothing but daydream. She frogmarched herself to the room, fumbled in her bag and pulled out a simple black dress, tied her hair up, and walked into the shower. Ten minutes later, her nerves were getting the best of her as she tried zipping up the dress but couldn't even find the tiny slippery zip. She let it be for the moment and moved on to the makeup. She'd ask Bonnie to zip it up later.

The apartment sounded with a faint knock on the front door.

"I got it," Bonnie yelled out.

Elle's ears strained. That had to be Dean. Her stomach flipped a few times, which it seemed to do too often these days, especially around him.

"Are you girls ready?" She heard his voice.

"Two minutes," Bonnie replied, loud.

Seconds later, he knocked on her door. Elle clambered in a hurry towards it. "Hi."

Dean smiled, looked along the corridor, and stole into the room like a thief. He scooped Elle up in his arms and kissed her. "Hey, beautiful."

Elle smiled. "Bonnie's in the other room."

"Well-spotted." He leaned in for another kiss.

"Elle? Dean?" Bonnie's voice came from just beyond the door.

"Zip me up," Elle whispered nervously and turned around, scooping her hair away from her neck.

"Elle, you in there?"

"Yeah, come on in." She took a step away from him. "He was just zipping me up!" Her voice was a tad higher than expected.

Bonnie shrugged, though a smile played on the edge of her lips. "Tess just called. She wants us to stay for the whole evening and join the dinner party."

Elle nodded. "All right. Give me a minute." She turned away to the bed where she'd spread out the whole contents of her weekend bag. "I'll meet you both downstairs."

Dean nodded and followed Bonnie out the door.

"So, any news on the car?" Bonnie asked as they headed out.

"Not yet. I'll have it towed to a mechanic tonight."

Elle turned back to the messy bed. What if Dean was staying over tonight? She couldn't very well leave the bed looking like her bag had thrown up everywhere. She quickly stuffed the duffle bag with the debris. What am I doing? She thought. Bonnie! She couldn't think of how she could ever sneak Dean past her, even if they both wanted another night together.

Elle stood up, exhausted by the thought. "Just go with the flow. Just go with the flow."

"Elle? You coming or what?" Bonnie's voice floated through the apartment.

"Coming!" Elle yelled back, grabbed her camera case, and sprang out of the room as quick as her kitty-heeled feet would allow.

"Thought you two had headed down already." She pulled the door shut behind her.

"Then you might have gotten lost in your pile." Dean had obviously noticed the pile.

"My dress was at the bottom," she muttered.

He allowed the women to enter the lift first and, as Elle followed Bonnie, he held the small of her back lightly, causing Elle to stiffen.

"Bonnie," she hissed as a reminder.

"What?" Bonnie turned around, and Dean let Elle go and pressed the button for the carpark.

"Nothing." Elle shook her head. "Did you bring your camera?"

"No, I forgot it." She teased. "Of course, I brought it."

"Have you got a date tonight, Bonnie?" Dean asked, occasionally brushing his hand against Elle's.

"Were we meant to?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Elle's got one. It's only right you have one too," he said.

"You have a date?" Bonnie didn't like being caught out. "Who's your date?" The smirk on Dean's face allowed her to guess. "You're Dean's date?"

Elle shook her head, feeling warmth rise to her neck. "No."

"I asked you yesterday." He played, shocked.

"I didn't say yes," Elle muttered, just as the elevator doors opened into the parking lot.

His hand stroked Elle's back as he leaned in close to her nape, his breath falling on her skin. "You didn't say no either," he whispered, making the small hairs on her neck rise.

"You two behave or I'm going to have to tell Mummy." Bonnie laughed.

Dean's flirtatious streak had all but dried up once they reached his family home. Elle had asked him to keep things low-key, and he'd planned to. Elle saw him watch her now and then, checking up on her whenever he could to see if she was okay. Even when he stood with his mother and poured over the final seating arrangements with Jared and Tess, he watched Elle.

"Is that the woman?" his mother asked at one point, annoyed with his divided attention.

"The woman?" He tried to not sound too surprised that his mother had noticed anything beyond her nose.

"Yes." Christina Stewart rolled her eyes. "The one I've been hearing whispers about?"

Dean laughed. "Seriously Mum. Sometimes you really baffle me. What does 'is that the woman?' mean?"

Christina looked cross. "Jared, tell your brother what you told me about the photographer, Emma... what's her name?"

Jared tensed. He hated being caught between the two. It always ended badly for him. "Well, Mother. Dean fancies her. She's quite nice."

"And her name is Ellenor," Dean added. "And I'm not a child and I will not let you cross-examine her. You will leave her well alone. You hear me? Well, alone." He waited for his mother to nod or something. "Mum."

"Okay, okay. I won't go near the woman. Happy?" Dean nodded. "But I hear she has a child," Christina muttered contemptuously.

"Elle is a widow, Mother," he spoke with tenderness and caught Elle from the corner of his eye snapping away photographs.

"A child," she simply repeated.

"Then you should be utterly delighted," he almost snapped, and turned towards the three of them. "If I end up with her, which I pray I will, I trust you not to meddle in the middle. Besides, you won't have to wait long to become a grandmother."

"I want my grandchildren of my own, Dean Matthew Stewart!" she demanded. "Our own flesh and blood."

"That's what you've got these two for." He gave a curt nod to the bridal couple and walked off. "I'm going to go see when dinner will be served."

Elle saw Dean rushing past huddles of relatives, his face scrunched in anger. The party of thirty was idly standing around talking, and any photos she could take, she already had. She wished dinner would start and finish. But mostly finish. The anticipation of what could happen with Dean later that evening was killing her. She was so wound up in the fantasy that every time she made the rounds towards Jared and Tess, she couldn't help but imagine herself as the bride and Dean as the groom.

Bonnie floated over to her after a while. "I think that's all, isn't it? What else do we need to take snaps of?"

"The dinner," she whispered, catching Christina Stewart's eyes for the umpteenth time that night. "I just wish they'd hurry this up."

Bonnie moved in closer. "They're your future family. Get used to it."

Elle cleared her throat nervously. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, please!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that bullshit again. Dean was so agitated around you last night and all the while, he dropped me off. Today, he just can't seem to look away from you altogether. Everyone here can see it as plain as day."

Bonnie turned her camera to playback and flicked through photos till she got to the one she'd been searching for. It was a snap of Elle in the foreground, busy taking photos, and further back, Dean stood, captured himself. She shoved the screen in front of Elle. "See, and that's not the only one time, either."

"He was probably looking at someone else."

"Did he come to the apartment afterward?" Bonnie interrupted. "He did, didn't he?" Elle remained mute. "I knew he might have. So what did he say?"

Elle watched the guests seating themselves around the long table. "He wanted to know how I felt," she whispered back, aware that some eyes were on them. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Only if you promise." Bonnie floated away, back to work mode.

Elle ignored a growing sensation of embarrassment. She wondered how much Bonnie had already guessed. Turning her attention back to the rehearsal dinner guests, she walked around, catching people talking and laughing. It took a while before she realised Dean had paid little attention to her since he had stormed off. She searched the gathering for his face, but he was nowhere in sight. Before long, wine glasses and champagne flutes were floating in on the hands of waiters, and being refilled. The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen.

She spotted him at the far end of the table. The chairs on either side of him were empty, and he was deep in conversation with his sister, who sat opposite. Elle didn't feel it was appropriate for either Bonnie or her to join the dinner and wondered whose bright idea it was.

"Do we sit down now?" Bonnie asked under her breath. "Is that it?"

Elle shrugged, wishing she knew the answers to both questions. "You go sit. I'll walk around a bit more till dinner is served. Then I guess we both sit. I don't know." The murmur in the large dining room suddenly abated as a figure rose. "The speeches are starting." Elle nudged Bonnie. "Go sit down."

Bonnie walked the length of the table and pulled out the first empty chair she laid her eyes on near Dean.

This was the moment they were getting paid for, Elle guessed, observing the crowd, trying to stay as invisible as she could. They raised a toast. Said a few words. Dean said a vague semblance of his speech to come on the wedding day, and so did the Maid-of-Honour.

Just when Elle thought all was done and they would bring out the food, Dean mentioned her name. She froze where she stood. This was definitely not supposed to be a part of the family evening.

"I just want to bring everyone's attention to what a wonderful job Ellenor and her assistant, Bonnie, have done for Jared and Tess so far."

A round of applause burst and all eyes focused on her. Elle's mouth dried up. She loved weddings, but she'd never felt she'd stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd of family and friends as much as she did then. "It's been a pleasure," she managed hoarsely, partially hidden behind her camera.

Dean nodded to the empty chair beside him. "Come on, Elle, you can stop working and join us for dinner. We're all friends here."

It took Elle a couple more seconds to move. By the time she reached the chair, waiters were carrying out plates of food. Dean pulled out the chair for her. She looked up to see Christina Stewart's eyes on her. For fear of appearing rude, Elle nodded to the woman with a smile.

"Mum." Dean drew his mother's attention. "You haven't met Ellenor yet, have you?"

Christina shook her head. "I'm afraid you were far too busy."

Dean sat down next to Elle, pulling his seat closer to the dining table. Under the table, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled brightly at his mother. "I plan on marrying her one day, just so you know."

Christina wasn't the only one surprised.

"What?" Elle choked.

"You're getting married?" Dean's aunt, sitting beside his mother, looked up from her entrée.

"What's this?" His uncle joined in and Elle just wanted to slide under the table and hide. Better yet, she wished there was a tunnel underneath so she could leave the house altogether.

"Dean's getting married!" the aunt replied. All the while Christina's gaze stayed riveted on Elle.

Elle shook her head as a chain of questions flurried around the table.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"The truth," he whispered. "That is how I feel, Elle. I'm not playing around."

"You can't possibly mean that." Elle heard Mrs Stewart object. The general low hum of the room had risen to exciting pockets of chatter.

"Excuse me," Elle muttered feebly, pushing her chair back and slipping out of the room.

"What the hell is going on, Elle?" Bonnie asked, right on her heels in the corridor.

"I'll be damned if I know!" She bit her lip.

"He's asked you to marry him and you never even mentioned it to me!" Bonnie stated, hurt. "I thought you'd at least tell me."

"Bloody hell, Bonnie, I didn't even know till then!" Elle burst out hysterically. "For heaven's sake, we're not even going out."

"Okay, okay," Bonnie hissed. "We're going to have to go back in there soon, though."

Elle shook her head so forcefully that it hurt her neck.

"We can't leave."

"Why not?"

"'Cause the man who just announced he wants to marry you one day is our ride."

(... Chapter 21 continues...)