Bernadette’s heart skipped a beat when she spotted Derek leaning against his car, waiting for her outside her office building. The instant flash of joy from seeing him again fizzled out just as quickly, like it always did. Much as she couldn’t help but love spending time with Derek, she knew darned well the heart-melting attention he’d been giving her in public was all fake.

So why in the hell was she still agreeing to pretend? It was getting harder and harder for her, because the longer this act went on, the deeper she kept falling for him.

Ah, stupid heart. It didn’t know what was good for it.

Well, she just had to force her brain to take over, and her brain was telling her to end this. She had to be fair to herself, too. Hadn’t she given more than enough to Derek and Holly’s cause? Derek was a good friend, but there were limits to what she would do even for a much-valued friendship.

She took a long, deep breath as she approached him, her heart already twisting. Why did this feel like a real breakup?

“Hey, babe,” Derek said, a grin forming on his face at the sight of her.

Damn him. Why did he have to look really happy to see her when she was about tell him her bad news?

“Hi. Uh…” The words died in her mouth when Derek kissed her on the lips! She looked around. Was someone watching them? Ugh. Hadn’t that pap given up on Derek and Holly being together?

Derek opened the passenger door and she slid inside his car. They’d have to have this talk somewhere else.

“How was your day?” Derek asked when he got behind the wheel.

“Good, thanks. Yours?”

“Great!”

Her brows lifted. Derek sounded extra jovial today. “Looks like something special happened to you.”

Derek flashed her a bright smile before easing into the traffic. “I’m just in a good mood. Hey, I know we haven’t planned this, but do you want to have dinner with me before I take you home?”

“Dinner?”

“Yeah.”

Bernadette suppressed a sigh. Well, she supposed a restaurant was a good venue for talking about a fake breakup. And for all she knew, Derek might already be planning to the end their act and wanted to thank her with food. “Okay.”

“Great. Any preferences?”

She shook her head.

“Well, the traffic doesn’t seem too bad. We should be fine heading towards Harrington Street.”

She remained silent. Derek was probably thinking of one of the establishments around The Rocks area.

“Anything interesting at work today?” Derek asked as they navigated the mid-city roads.

“Actually, yes,” she answered with a sigh, telling him about a problem that had cropped up at work that she’d unexpectedly had to deal with while her boss was away.

Derek listened attentively, then suggested a couple of things.

“Yes! I think that’s a great idea,” she said with a grateful smile.

She was going to miss these little talks they had in Derek’s car. Derek was a good listener and an excellent advisor, especially regarding work matters. But it wasn’t all a one-way street when it came to their careers. Derek also seemed to appreciate her take on various things he’d been grappling with in his business. Plus, they’d always enjoyed talking about their friends and the little kiddies.

Come to think of it, they’d grown much closer as buddies in these last three weeks that they’d been pretending to be a couple. What a shame that they wouldn’t have times like this again in the future—not unless the two of them continued to meet up as friends.

But she didn’t see the likelihood of that happening. Holly might get jealous, and Bernadette wasn’t one to steal someone else’s boyfriend deliberately. Besides, Derek hadn’t shown any real interest in her.

Apart from putting his arm around your shoulders, holding your hands, touching your back. Oh, and kissing your lips today!

Argh, shut up, Bernie. They didn’t mean anything!

“Let’s see if there’s a spot up here,” Derek said, leaving Harrington Street and getting into the alley parallel to it. There was indeed a vacant space for them to park there. “Perfect.”

She looked around. This wasn’t an ideal location if they were dining somewhere in The Rocks. It was a downhill hike towards the restaurants, and she was wearing high heels. “Where exactly are we going?”

“We can enter the Shangri-La from there.” Derek pointed to the back entrance of the five-star hotel as they got out of the car. “I thought we might go to Altitude. I already booked us a table, hoping you’d be free for dinner tonight. Lucky you are.”

“Oh.” Damn. She was going to tell him she didn’t want to be a part of Holly’s plan anymore, and he wanted to take her to an award-winning fine-dining restaurant? “Why there?”

“Why not there?” Derek asked with a laugh, taking her hand as they walked towards the hotel.

“I hope you don’t regret taking me here after you hear what I’m about to tell you.”

Derek glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s talk about it over dinner.”

They got to the lifts and Bernadette was surprised that Derek hadn’t let go of her hand. She looked around her. Since they were at the lower ground level leading to some of the function rooms, there was no one else around. So what was the point of looking like a couple?

She took her hand from his grip, pretending to rummage through her bag for… something. Derek was confusing the hell out of her and it was starting to annoy her. He had no right to toy with her feelings like this!

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

She gulped. It was just like Derek to notice, even if she had her neutral face on. “I don’t want to continue with this, Derek,” she said softly.

“Continue with what?”

The elevator doors opened and she went in, crossing her arms against her chest.

Derek pressed the button for level thirty-six and faced her, expecting an answer.

She kept her gaze on the digital panel flashing the floor number they were passing. “I don’t want to continue pretending to be your girlfriend. I think that pap has already bought our act, so I don’t see the point in continuing.”

Derek took in a sharp breath. “I agree we should stop pretending.”

Her heart lurched. Damn it, why did that hurt?

Because you’d hoped for something to come out of this. And that’s utterly pathetic and sad, so snap out of it!

She smiled, pretending to inspect the floor. She just couldn’t meet his eyes. “We should celebrate a successful act, hey? Good thing we’re already on our way to a nice restaurant.”

Derek placed a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so she would look at him. “Holly and I broke up for good last week.”

Her heart banged hard against her chest. “Why?” she asked in a whisper.

Derek smiled. “Because we know we’re not meant for each other.”

“But…” She couldn’t form the words she wanted to say. In fact, she didn’t know what she wanted to say. Her heart was beating so loud and fast that she couldn’t hear herself think.

“So you don’t want to pretend to be my girlfriend anymore. Would you then want to date me for real?” Derek asked.

The lift doors opened, and they exited. With plenty of people about trying to get into the bar next door to the restaurant, they had no choice but to suspend their conversation—which had suddenly turned extremely interesting for Bernadette. She had to swallow her grin while Derek introduced themselves to the hostess.

They were seated at a table right next to the floor-to-ceiling window with breathtaking views of Sydney Harbour. The world-famous bridge and opera house were lit up. They looked awesome from this particular height and angle. “This is amazing,” she murmured.

Derek beamed at her. “Glad you like it. Have you been here before?”

She shook her head. “Paige told me about it, though. She said the food is just as great.”

“It is.”

A waiter came to offer them water, and Bernie busied herself with the menu. Not that the menu was more interesting than Derek. It was just that he’d shocked her so much that she was still trying to get her equilibrium back. Frankly, after a year and a half of dreaming about him, she simply couldn’t believe he wanted to go out with her. For real.

So she blabbed on about the food, asking for Derek’s recommendations. Soon, they finalised their orders and Bernadette found herself speechless again. Did Derek really mean what he’d said in the elevator? What if she’d misheard him? Or what if he was merely trying to ascertain her feelings for him?

He hadn’t exactly asked her out. Instead, he’d wanted to know if she wanted to date him for real. Just because he’d asked the question didn’t mean he felt the same way as she did.

Her mood dropped. How many times had she thought Derek was finally being interested in her, only to find out she’d made the wrong assumption?

More than she cared to remember, for sure.

“Bern,” Derek said softly.

She met his gaze.

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“I guess I don’t see the relevance of it when we’ve only agreed on a pretence.”

Derek’s forehead creased. “Are you saying you don’t want to date me?”

Wait. Was that disappointment in his voice?

“Look, Bern, just give me a chance. I know I haven’t wooed you properly, and I’m sorry if I’ve acted asshole-ish. I’ll try very, very hard not to be like that again. But, please, let me—”

Bernadette couldn’t help the relieved, happy laughter that bubbled out of her. She wasn’t imagining it this time! Derek really wanted to go out with her!

“What?” Derek asked, confused.

“Asshole-ish?”

Derek’s lips curved. “Well, looking back, I really was that, wasn’t I? Getting you to pretend with me…” He shook his head remorsefully.

She smiled. “I suppose that was kind of asshole-ish.”

“I’m sorry,” Derek said contritely.

“It wasn’t really your fault. I encouraged you to go ahead with the plan, remember?”

“Yes.”

She nodded and took a sip of her water, gazing out the window again.

“And?” he said after a long moment.

“So you’re saying you want us to date for real.” She still couldn’t believe it.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Derek frowned questioningly. “Because I’m attracted to you?”

Yay! “You don’t sound so sure,” she teased, buoyed by happiness.

Derek let out a chuckle and reached for her hand. “Bernadette Luna, I am most definitely, one hundred percent attracted to you. Will you date me? For real?”

She bit her lip to stop a wide grin from forming, even as her eyes misted a bit. “Yes, Derek. I’ll date you. For real.”

Derek let out a relieved sigh, taking her hand to his lips to kiss it.

Her heart melted at his gesture. Wow. Her dreams were coming true.

* * *

“Sorry I can’t invite you in,” Bernadette murmured against Derek’s mouth.

“We can always go back to my place,” Derek suggested, threading his fingers through her hair to deepen their kiss.

She giggled. “I don’t sleep with guys on real first dates.”

“Sleep? Who said we’ll be sleeping? I plan to make love to you all night.”

“Derek McCarthy,” she said with fake disappointment that sounded real. “Do you really want to date me, or are you just interested in my body?”

Derek’s eyes widened with mortification. “Of course I don’t want just your body. I don’t mean to make it sound that way. I was just… enjoying our kiss too much,” he said lamely.

She laughed, shifting to be more comfortable within the confines of Derek’s car and curving her arms around his neck. “I also don’t tend to sleep with guys on real second dates, but I might make an exception for you.”

Derek grinned happily before sobering. “We can wait if you want. You tell me when you’re ready. I’ll wait patiently.”

She stared at him, touched by his sincerity. Then she pulled her back to him for another searing kiss.

“I better let you go,” she murmured after a long, sweet moment.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Derek said, clearly reluctant to let go of her mouth.

She responded avidly, kissing him some more. “I don’t want to, but at some point, I do have to get out of this car.”

A long minute later, she finally found the will to pull back. “I’m going now. Goodnight, Derek.”

Derek sighed as she got out of the car. “’Night. I’ll see you Saturday,” he said before driving off.

Bernadette waited until Derek had turned the corner before walking into her apartment building. Gosh, she couldn’t believe it. She had a new boyfriend, and it was none other than Derek. She couldn’t wait to tell Paige. Would Derek tell Tristan?

She unlocked her door and went inside. Her mother’s giggles reached her ear, followed by a teasing moan from someone with a deep voice.

She stopped on her tracks, shocked. Her mother had a man in her bedroom!

“I’m home, Mum!” she yelled out loud. When the hell had her mother found a boyfriend?

Bernadette stood quietly in the middle of the living room, waiting for the couple to acknowledge her presence. A minute later, her mum came out, followed by a tall, burly guy with very short light hair and covered in tattoos up to his neck. Fortunately, they were both dressed.

“You’re early,” June commented. “I wasn’t expecting you home until much later. I thought you were going out with that new boyfriend of yours.”

“I did,” she answered, avoiding the scrutinising gaze of the big man next to her mother. “I’ve already had dinner with him.”

“Oh, I thought you’d finally be staying over at his place.”

Bernadette glared at her mother. How dare she make that comment, especially in front of a stranger Bernadette had never met.

“This is Lawrence, by the way,” June said, smiling sweetly at the guy.

“Hello, Bernadette,” Lawrence said with a friendly grin. “I’m glad to meet you.”

Bernadette smiled. “Same here, Lawrence. So where did you two meet?”

“Oh,” June said, “in the shopping mall, when Lawrence accidentally bumped into me. I tell you, it was like hitting a brick wall.” June giggled as she ran an admiring hand on Lawrence’s chest.

“I see. When was that?” Bernadette asked.

“Last week,” Lawrence answered. “I bought your mother coffee after almost toppling her over. We exchanged numbers, and your mum has already invited me here three times. She’s a great cook. I love her cooking.”

“There’s still some leftover,” June said.

“So you cooked all those three times?” Bernadette asked in surprise. She’d never seen her mother cook since moving in with her.

“Yes. Can I talk to you in private?” June walked towards Bernadette’s bedroom, motioning for her to follow.

Bernadette was grateful for the opportunity to talk to her mother alone.

“I really like Lawrence,” June said as soon as Bernadette had closed the door behind her.

“What do you know about him?” she asked in a low tone.

“He’s a plumber, divorced, no kids.”

“Where does he live?”

“Not far from here. He’s going to take me there soon,” June said defensively. “But he lives with four other people.”

Bernadette sighed, knowing it would be a big argument if she so much as tried to say a single bad word about Lawrence. But she had to put her foot down. “I’m glad you found someone you like, Mum. But this is my apartment, and I just want to let you know right now that I won’t want Lawrence to be here constantly.”

“Why not? I’m your mother. If that boyfriend of yours wanted to live here, I wouldn’t mind.”

Bernadette’s ears pricked. “Lawrence will not be living here, ever.”

“Of course not,” June said with a dismissive wave. “You know what I mean. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t be stingy. I’d gladly share my place with you and your boyfriend.”

“You kicked me out when I was seventeen, Mum,” she said quietly. “You didn’t want to share your place with me.”

June looked down on the floor guiltily. “That was a long time ago. And I’ve apologised for it already.”

“And I’m not trying to be petty,” she said softly but firmly. “I just want to make the boundaries clear so we won’t fight about it later. If Lawrence will be having dinner here a lot, wouldn’t that mean I’ll be feeding him too, if you’re using our groceries? I’d appreciate if he adds some money to the pot.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to him. He’s really nice. You just don’t know him yet.”

Bernadette tried not to look so shocked. She hadn’t expected her mother to be this reasonable.

She stayed in her room while June talked to Lawrence. She changed from her work suit into a pair of track pants and sweater, constantly glancing at the door. Unable to contain her curiosity, she went and pressed her ear against it to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Don’t worry, darling,” Lawrence was saying. “My new job pays really well, so I can buy groceries for when you cook for us. Ross is a very good boss and he already told me he’s happy with my work, so I know I’ll be holding on to this job. And you know what? I might introduce you to him. He always needs new people.”

“As long as the work’s not too physically taxing, then I suppose I can consider it,” June said readily. “But I haven’t worked in a while. He might want people who have plenty of experience.”

Bernadette’s eyebrows inched up. Well, well, well. Lawrence might turn out to be a blessing after all. If he could make her mother want to get back into the workforce, or better yet, find June an actual job, Bernadette would kiss the burly man’s cheeks.

“I’ll talk to Ross,” Lawrence said to June. “I don’t think he’d care that you don’t have much experience. I don’t have a lot of plumbing experience, yet he still hired me. He said he just wants trustworthy and loyal employees who work hard and are good at following instructions.”

“Okay,” June said. “Want to eat the leftovers?”

Bernadette stepped away from the door and sat on her bed. She’d hadn’t had a day as good as this in years. First there was Derek wanting the two of them to date for real. Then her mother had found herself a boyfriend who might also be able to get her a job.

If that Ross person did employ her mother, she’d kiss him, too.