"Mommy? Are you desperately in need of me after dinner tonight? Only Matthew wants me to go to a new club with him."

"Which club?" Louisa asked before Elisabeth could reply to her eldest daughter.

"Vesuvio. It's just opened. Anyone who is anyone is going." Henrietta said, and there was excitement in her eyes. I'd never heard of it, but that says more about my social life than anything else.

We were having breakfast around the same large table that we had dined at last night. This time Derek was sitting next to me, because when he had finally surfaced this morning, it was the only seat left.

"Ooo! That's the state of the art one, with all that cool sound system and graphics. The VIP suite is supposed to be out of this world. Did Matthew get you on the VIP list?"

Henrietta nodded. "Do you want to come?" she asked her younger sibling.

"Der?" she asked, looking across at Derek. He shrugged.

"Sure, why not. Provided my hosts don't object."

Roswell sensing (from god knows where) young love waved his hand in agreement.

"Go. Have fun!"

The girls squealed. Derek smiled.

"Casey?" he asked. "You want to come?"

I swallowed my coffee quickly before I could choke on it. Did Derek seriously just ask me to go with them?

"I'm a bit old for that."

"You can say that again." Louisa said, not even bothering to lower her voice. Lise hissed at her.

"I'm six months older than you." Derek pointed out, ignoring the glares from the bunny opposite.

I shrugged.

"They won't let her in anyway. It will be a limited guest list. Matthew will only be allowed to bring a total of four people." Louisa said, continuing her anti-Casey stance.

"Fine," Derek said. "I'll just make a few calls. Shall we leave straight after dinner tonight? I'll deal with the transport."

Henrietta and her sister looked ecstatic, but I suspected it was for different reasons.


Derek and I worked on the book all morning, broke for lunch and then continued into the afternoon. It was shaping up into a good autobiography, one of the best ones I had dealt with in a while. And somehow we managed it without fighting. He teased me about being a keener, and a stickler for grammar and I nagged him about his punctuation. A couple of times we laughed together and the whole process became less awkward.

Yeah right…and de Nile is a river in…fuck!

We had stopped for a coffee at about three. Derek was making it in the little kitchen and I was leaning back on the sofa rubbing tired eyes, when I had that thought process. The memory of our conversation the previous afternoon sprung suddenly to mind.

Egypt.

But before I could examine the thought, Derek came back through. As he set the mugs on the coffee table, he glanced at me and did a double take.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Maybe you need to get out in the sun more." I retorted, but it lacked my usual edge.

"Once a spacecase, always a spacecase." He said as his cell rang and he pulled it from his jeans to answer it.

"Yo! Benny, Dude! Did you manage it? Sweet. Yeah? That would be great. Nah, we'll all crash at mine afterwards. Sure. Okay. See you then."

He hung up and grinned.

"Okay if we finish about six? We'll need to get ready for the club before dinner."

I made an affirmative motion with my hand.

Derek sipped his coffee. "What are you going to wear?" he asked casually.

"Sweats and a t-shirt." I answered.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I shrugged.

"I'm going to be working here."

He chuckled. "Oh no you aren't. You're coming with us. Ducking out of parties when you were a kid was sort of acceptable. You're a big girl now, and you need to get out. There's someone I want you to meet, and he can't meet you properly unless you come out with us."
"Der-ek!"

But that only made him laugh.

We worked for another ninety minutes and then I suggested we stopped. My eyes were tired and if I was going to get dragged to a club tonight I needed a rest.

I made the mistake of telling Derek that I needed a rest, which made him laugh like a drain and call me Great Aunt Cassandra. I stuck my tongue out at him and told him to go play with his plastic doll.

There was a flash of anger across his face before the smirk returned and he disappeared out the door. I cursed my stupid mushy brain for the crap that it fed my mouth and made a mental note to put another twenty in my swear box.


Marti's clothing selection didn't really have anything designed for clubbing. I had heard Louisa and Henrietta discussing the club and it wasn't the sort of place to wear jeans to. But there was a blue jersey dress made of a very fine weave which clung to me in a slightly indecent manner (to my mind), I teamed it with a wide pewter-coloured belt and bag and matching blue heels. And because I had had so many compliments the last time, I left my hair down and let it curl.

I was just about to leave when my cell phone rang.

Marti Home

"Hey Marti!" I said cheerfully. "I was just thinking about you."

"Liar."

"No. Seriously. I was just admiring another one of your clothing choices."

"Oh. Which one?"

"The blue jersey dress and the pewter belt."

I heard her chuckle. "Wow! Casey. Who are you trying to impress? I chose that one more in hope than expectation."

I made a dismissive noise. "I wore the red dress last night."

"How did that go down?"

"Really well, except Derek made some comment about red shoes."

She laughed. "Red shoes, no panties. I'm impressed Casey, you've got his mind in the right area already." She became serious. "Seriously, how's it going, hun?"
I sighed and sat on my bed.

"I'm having to share a guest suite with him so that we have somewhere quiet to work. My boss' nubile twenty three year old daughter thinks he's, I quote "edible" – which just brings so many images to mind I'd rather not have. And last night, I heard him turn down her offer of rampant sex because apparently I'm a prude with the hearing of a St Bernard."

There was a snort as Marti stifled her laughter. "Sorry, Case."

"No go ahead. 'What do we live for if not to make sport for our neighbours and laugh at them in our turn?'."

Marti ignored the quote. I guess she was used to me by now.

"So why are you wearing the blue jersey dress?"

"We're all going to a nightclub in New York tonight. Derek has made Louisa livid, because he's insisting on me going along, despite the fact neither I nor anyone else wants me there."

My little sister gasped. "Seriously. Derek is forcing you to go out with him tonight?"

"Put it away, Marti. Me, him, two airheads and a couple of guys I've never met."

"Don't sell yourself short."

"Look hun. If you are looking for a wedding, charity begins at home. Derek and I are staying under the same roof again, and today we even shared a joke. Please. For my sake, just accept Simon's proposal."

"I gotta go," My sister said, "Polly is crying. Casey, I told you, you and Derek first."

"But…" and she was gone.


Derek had disappeared again when I emerged from our house and made my way over to the drawing room. He re-appeared as dinner was announced and we were already seated, and he took the same place beside me that he had occupied at breakfast. We ate quickly because the girls were eager to go. Out of something to break the silence which had descended rather than real curiosity I asked how we were getting to New York.

"We're taking my car, and Benny's Hummer." Derek said, eating with more grace than I had remembered him having.

"Who's Benny?" I asked and at the same time we all became aware of a honking sound outside. Derek grinned.

"That, if I'm not mistaken is Benny."

We had finished dessert, and after a brief glance at Roswell for permission and a smile for Elisabeth, Derek stood up and made for the door. The girls began to follow him, waving to their mom and I trailed along behind. He moved into the entrance foyer just as a guy a year or two older than Derek bounded up the stone steps. It wasn't until he got to the flat floor space that I realised he had a significant limp.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you my close friend, mentor and former team captain, Benwick or "Benny" to the rest of us. Benny, I give you Henrietta, Louisa and Casey."

Benwick nodded politely to the other two girls; me he stepped towards.

"So this is Casey…I'm delighted to finally meet you. You have no idea how much I've heard about you."

"Benwick…" Derek said warningly. I smiled winningly at Derek's friend.

"Do tell…"

Benwick laughed. "I'd love to, Casey but it would take a while and we'd never get out the door. I'm also rather fond of my face the way it is." He turned to the waiting group. "Right! Who wants a ride in my Hummer?"

Louisa, resplendent tonight in a red strapless dress that she might have been sewn into and with red platform style heels did that totter thing again and wound up next to Derek.

"Derek's going to be my ride." She announced.

Oh god! She wasn't talking about the car!

I saw a look pass between Derek and Benwick and the latter grinned at Louisa.

"Sugar, there is no way you'll manage to climb in and out of the Aston in that hot little number. Ride shotgun with me instead. I'll make you purr." He winked at her.

"Benny has a point, Lou." Henrietta said. Derek nodded.

"You really want to try and get out of the car in front of the club plus all those photographers and accidentally flash your fanny?" He said.

She pouted. I had no sympathy. She should have chosen a dress and shoes which were a little more practical. It's all very well being eye candy, but you have to dress for the occasion. Reluctantly, she agreed. The alternative was for her to change her clothes – time-consuming and she would regret it later when she was rubbing herself up against my step-brother.

"I'll take Casey with me." Derek said. "I'm sure we can suspend hostilities for a two-hour car journey."

"Two hours?!" Louisa protested.

"Don't worry. I got alcohol." Benwick announced propelling them towards the sleek black vehicle he had abandoned at the front steps.

I followed Derek to the Aston and smiled as he opened the door for me.

"Is it safe for me to get in or will you slam the door on me?" I asked, hesitating.

"It's safe." He said, but as I got in he pretended to shove the door shut. Not much, just a few inches. I paused, a hand on my hip.

"Derek Venturi, so help me…I'll…"

He leaned on the open car door and looked at me, our faces inches apart. "You'll what?" He asked, smirking.

"I'll think of something." I hissed, but not actually as annoyed as I made out.

Remembering an old documentary on etiquette, and the scene where ladies were taught how to climb in and out of a low slung sports car in a tight dress, I reversed into the bucket seats and swung my legs in with my ankles together.

"Very elegant." Derek muttered with a smile as he got in the driver's seat.

"Thank you. We aim to please." I said, buckling myself in. Derek did the same.

"Really? Please who?" He raised an eyebrow.

Then without warning, he started the engine with a growl and pulled out of the parking space in a squeal of tyres.

"Der-ek!"


AN: He he. I wrote this and posted it, and then I went to the Aston Martin website. You can download the sound of the cars starting! So I changed to the 'roar' of Derek's car to a 'growl'. (The DB9 sounds almost silly!!!! Go listen!)