Derek opened the passenger door of his car and escorted Bernadette out. He smiled at her serious expression. “There’s no need to be nervous, babe.”

“I’m not nervous,” Bernadette said. “I’m just trying to remember the names of your other relatives from the pictures your mum showed me last time, since I’ll be meeting them soon.”

Derek smiled, touched that his Bernie was so thoughtful and considerate. He couldn’t wait to introduce her to everyone who’d be attending his mother’s sixtieth birthday party tonight.

Fortunately, his mother had agreed to hold a celebration. She’d been terribly upset at discovering that her own brother had hidden the truth about the death of her husband. Learning that was like her husband dying again for the first time.

Fortunately, his mother was a resilient woman. Four months after Ross’s arrest, she was back to being her energetic self, focusing on her pet projects, especially those involving the development of young artists. The name Ross Anton, though, was now banned from being uttered in front of Sally McCarthy, and Derek had made sure he’d relayed that message to all of their relatives and friends.

“Just don’t let anyone push you into talking about Ross, okay?” he asked.

Bernadette hugged him to her. “Of course not. Do you think there’ll be some who’ll be too curious?”

“There’s always the odd one or two,” he said dryly, thinking of her mum’s cousins.

“But they don’t know that I had anything to do with Ross, do they?”

“Well, you’re my girlfriend, so they might think they can inveigle information out of you.”

“No way.”

He kissed her temple before ringing his mother’s doorbell.

“Hello, my darlings,” Sally cried, looking beautiful in a blue evening dress. “You both look stunning.”

“You look amazing yourself, Sally. Happy birthday,” Bernadette said, giving Derek’s mother a hug.

“Yes, you look gorgeous, Mum,” Derek added, taking his turn to envelop his mother in a warm embrace.

“Thank you. Come on in. I’m not quite ready to go yet.”

Derek closed the door behind them.

“Bernie, do you mind if I borrow Derek for a couple of minutes?” Sally asked.

“Of course not,” Bernadette said with a smile.

Derek’s brows rose, but he followed his mother upstairs.

She led him to her room, then she opened a small safe in her closet and took out a large necklace box.

Derek’s heart pounded hard. The police had advised him that they’d recovered the Anton pearls, and that they were delivering them to his mother.

“We have it back,” Sally said, opening the box.

Derek nodded, touching the pearls that had meant so much to his grandmother, and now his mother.

“I want you to keep it for me, Derek,” Sally asked.

Derek smiled. His mother was now afraid that it might get stolen from her again. “Okay. But if you want, we can hire a bank safe deposit box.”

Sally shook her head. “This necklace is very important to me, but it’s also a reminder of the lack of love between me and my brother. Your grandfather handpicking each pearl to make up this necklace for your grandmother was an act of love. I don’t want for this extraordinary gift to lose its meaning because of what someone in our family did.”

“What are you saying, Mum?”

“I want you to keep it safe for me. And when you find that one person you want to spend the rest of your life with, I want you to hand it to her.”

Derek’s mouth dropped open.

“I was so heartbroken, Derek, and a part of my heart will never heal. My own brother had known about the murder of my soulmate and had stolen this very necklace. These pearls in my keeping will keep reminding me of that, and I don’t want my experiences to taint its true intention. I can’t give it back its true meaning. But you can.”

Derek ran a hand over his face.

“I’m not pressuring you to get married or anything, darling. I’m not even saying Bernadette is the one for you—although I admit I hope she is. But do you get why I’m handing this to you? It’s not about how valuable it is in terms of dollars. It’s about its true meaning. My brother and I were responsible for it losing its true meaning. So sometime in the future, I’m hoping you would allow these pearls to again stand for what they’re supposed to be: a symbol of someone’s love for another.”

Derek put his arms around his mother. “Okay, Mum. Thank you.”