"You have to be on a list to see your parents?" I shook my head, mystified.

  "No. Left up to them, I could pop by anytime. I have to be on a list to get into their neighborhood. It's a good sign. If they were mad at me, they would have taken my name off the list." He grinned.

  "Have they ever done that?" I was trying to weigh just how good this supposed sign was.

  "Once or twice."

  "What did you do?"

  "Do you mean what did I do when I couldn't get in? Or what did I do to make them unhappy?"

  "Either, I suppose."

  "I went home. Or spent a night with a buddy. Usually Justin." He laughed.

  "The things you see humor in." I shook my head again as he put the car in gear and pulled through the gate. "Anything else I should know before we arrive?"

  "Leave my parents to me and let me do the talking. I have years of experience dealing with them. And getting out of jams." He actually got an evil grin. "I know how to play them like a violin."

  "Uh-huh."

  "Oh, ye of little faith. Who calmed them after the latest social media and ex-fiancé disaster?"

  I really had no choice, so I sat back to enjoy the view as we wove up the hill past gorgeous house after gorgeous house, each getting more fantastic and mansion-like the higher we climbed.

  The Newport Hills have a fantastic view out over Lake Washington to Seattle and the Olympic Mountains beyond. The day was clear, the sky blue and without haze. Just the view was worth a premium price.

  At last, we reached the top of the hill, the actual ridgeline. King on a hill. I couldn't push the thought away.

  Dex turned into a gated driveway. If there was a house down this driveway, it wasn't visible from the road. Isn't that the very definition of luxury? I was used to Dex living my casual middle-class life, to him slumming it in my adorable little bungalow. I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't even sure I wanted to.

  He punched in a security code. The gate swung open. "Still in their good graces." He flashed me a grin and pulled through.

  We wound through up onto a wide circular driveway. The most stunning house yet came into view.

  I stared at it, suspiciously, my stomach a ball of nerves. "This is where you grew up?"

  He shrugged again. "We moved here when I was in high school. We used to live farther down the hill when I was younger."

  I murmured something about privilege. And here I'd thought he was just a regular guy. Who just happened to become a billionaire because of his genius and drive.

  "You knew Dad and Mom were both early software gurus here, right? Young tech execs? Both were instrumental in several startups in the eighties and nineties."

  I hadn't known. Hadn't even thought about it. I'd known they'd done well enough. But this…

  Dex pressed a button to open my car door. "Time to meet the firing squad." He jumped out of the car.

  I gave him a dark look.

  "Kidding."

  I must have gaped at the house a moment too long. He was on my side of the car offering me a hand out before I realized I was still gawking. I took his warm, reassuring hand, and he pulled me to my feet.

  He dragged me to the house by the hand. I was clutching his for dear life, thinking I was underdressed for this place.

  The front door was enormously oversized and tall. I felt like a child in front of it. Dex paid no attention to any of it. He let us in the house without knocking. "Mom! Dad! Your favorite child is home!"

  "I wonder who that could be." A trim middle-aged woman, pretty in a bookish, nerdy way, appeared from around the corner. She wore a pair of stylish, dark-rimmed glasses that made her eyes look huge and innocent. But they shone with intelligence and humor. Humor was a good sign. I hoped.

  I tried to place her. Had I seen her at the fair? At my booth? In the crowd? I didn't think so. Maybe Dex was right that she hadn't come my way…

  She held out her arms and pulled Dex into an enthusiastically warm hug. When she released him, she turned to me. "And this must be Shelby. It's nice to finally meet you." She opened her arms and hugged me too.

  But she wasn't fooling anyone. There was just a hint of a knowing smile she couldn't hide. I imagined she was judging me against my gigantic close-up on the Jumbotron with Alex's tongue down my throat. I was glad my skin wasn't acting up. On that gigantic screen size, you could see every pore. Even though I hadn't actually seen the video on the screen, it was horrifying just to imagine.

  A man who bore an uncanny resemblance to Dex, and was the perfect match to his mom, came around the corner. Dex had his father's ghost eyes. Though his dad's hair was graying, the eyes were just as striking on him as on Dex with his dark hair.

  "That's your dad? Are you sure you aren't cloned?" I whispered to Dex.

  "Dad." Dex pulled me forward. "This is Shelby."

  "Nice to meet you, Shelby." His dad gave me a hug too. I felt his curiosity. And like he was masking his natural nature. Like there was more he might have said. Given me a compliment, for example. But he was restraining himself to simple politeness. As if blandness sold. "Come in. Come in."

  "Something smells good in here," Dex said. "Is my favorite chef doing the cooking?"

  "Good nose. Tom's here doing the cooking today," Mr. R said. "He's in the chef's kitchen if you want to pop in and say hi."

  Chef's kitchen?

  "I will. Are we eating on the patio today?"

  "Is that a rhetorical question?" Mr. R said. "This way, Shelby. Let me show you around. It's such a pleasure meeting you. I'd say 'finally,' but it's fairly quickly, isn't it? You've only been dating a few months, if I understand it right."

  I nodded politely.

  "We've always known Dex would be unconventional," Mr. R said. "And decisive. When our boy wants something, he goes for it."

  "Dad."

  "What? That's not true?"

  Mrs. R stepped in. "You'll have to forgive my husband's, our, inexperience with the situation. Dex is our only child and he hasn't dated much. You're the first girlfriend, let alone fiancée, that we've met."

  Mr. R glanced at Dex and then his wife. "He's never even brought a girl home before, has he, hon?"

  "No, this is a first." She took my arm. "Unless you count the friend we made him take to prom."

  "Just shoot me now, Mom," Dex said. "It would be kinder. I suppose you have some naked baby pictures ready to show next."

  "Don't be ridiculous, Dex," she said warmly. "I'm saving those for dessert." She whispered to me, "He was so cute, a surprisingly chubby baby, given how lean he is now. We all thought he'd be taller and stockier when he was grown."

  Looking at his parents and their builds, I didn't know where they got that idea.

  Dex rolled his eyes and shook his head. "She's just pulling my chain. It's a family trait. We like to tease each other."

  "You'll love the gardens, Shelby," Mrs. R said. "The summer flowers are in full color."

  I walked with them through the house toward the backyard. We passed through an enormous kitchen with no sign of a cook. And not a pot or pan on the stove or anything other than a stylish bowl of decorative fruit on the counter.

  As we walked by, Dex popped his head into a door where the sound of cooking was obvious. Delicious smells wafted out. "Hey, Tom!" Dex stepped inside and hugged a man in a chef's apron. He stopped to say a few words.

  Mrs. R pulled me along. "Dex has always loved it when Tom cooks for us. It's not often that Tom can get away from his three Michelin-star-rated restaurants. But when he heard this was a special occasion—meeting Dex's girlfriend…" She pulled me close and whispered, "We couldn't say 'fiancée,' of course. Dex has sworn us to secrecy until the Gold Digger season's release. Anyway, Tom was thrilled to come cook for us. He's always loved Dex."

  She pulled me through the kitchen to an enormous covered patio situated to take full advantage of their view. It was amply and stylishly furnished and decorated. A fountain burbled in one corner. Oversized standing planters gushed to bursting with artistically planted groupings. Obviously, someone had a green thumb. As promised, the surrounding gardens were in full summer bloom, fragrant and colorful. The lawn was lush and green, unlike most middle-class Puget Sound lawns that went brown in the summer.

  She offered me a seat on one of two plush outdoor sofas opposite each other. They were angled to be conversational and yet each take in the spectacular view that spanned the valley below to the distance mountain peaks. Before I could make an attempt at awkward conversation, Dex joined us and sat next to me, taking my hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

  An ice bucket with a bottle of expensive champagne sat on a table between the sofas. Mr. R pulled the bottle out of the bucket. "It's not every day our son gets engaged. Shall we?"

  Was that a pointed question? Like maybe it was every day that I got engaged?

  Mr. R popped the cork of the champagne and poured us each a glass. "Let's have a toast—to Dex and Shelby. May they be as happy together as we've been all these years!"

  We touched glasses, celebrating the toast. At least Mr. and Mrs. R did look very happy together and well suited.

  As we settled back, Mrs. R smiled. "Now that the formalities are over, I want to get to know you. I want to hear everything. You can't get the juicy stuff out of a son. Shelby, tell us about yourself…"

  Chapter Nine

  Let Your Love Flow

  Shelby

  Leading with the résumé question was typical of parents in these meet-the-parents situations. As a parent-meeting veteran, I was prepared for it. Parents really didn't want to know what year I graduated from high school or any of that nonsense. They wanted a sense of who I was. The moms wanted to know how I met their son. They wanted the love story. If I showed how much I adored their son—

  Before I could answer, Dex interceded, interrupting my generally winning strategy. "What kind of question is that? Don't embarrass her, Mom. You know what Shelby does for a living. You probably spied on her this morning and saw for yourself."

  "Or checked out her website," Mr. R teased.

  "Do you need to know what hospital she was born in?" Dex asked.

  "Dex—"

  "No, Mom. No open-ended, unfair questions. You can't sum up a life in a paragraph. Or answer adequately without boring your audience or looking self-absorbed. I'm sure you already have a dossier on her anyway."

  Dossier? Shoot. I bet they did have one. After all, Dex had given me a dossier on himself when we first started fake dating. So I would know all the mundane and important stuff about him. I had to be able to fake it in that case. But where else would he learn that trick?

  His parents smiled, looking actually pleased that their son had stuck up for me. So maybe I was on unfamiliar ground here.

  "Can I help it if there's a ton of public information available about practically everyone on the planet?" His mom smiled sweetly while Dex scowled. "And that I have the computer skills to find and access it?"

  I paled. Oh, boy. Visions of all those "runaway" bride videos of me danced through my mind. Of course, the smart parent would do a little digging. Those videos weren't exactly hidden.

  "Mom, using your mad hacking skills isn't playing fair."

  "Oh, Dex, my boy." She shook her head, clearly amused. "If you'd wanted to protect Shelby from prying eyes, you should have told me about your engagement yourself. And introduced us when you first started dating."

  "You were in Europe," he said.

  "Are costs an issue now?" His mom raised an eyebrow. She was enjoying this sparring. "You're a billionaire, for goodness' sake, darling. Start acting like one."

  "I have a unicorn startup to manage, in case you haven't noticed. I can't just drop everything to chase my parents all over the world."

  "A video call would have done the trick—"

  "Really, Mom? You know you wouldn't have gone for that—"

  "It's better than nothing—"

  "Kids. Kids." Dex's dad laughed. "Let's not vie for supremacy in front of Shelby. She's not used to Rushford family dynamics yet. Translation—we're just kidding around here. Don't take it seriously."

  "I'm still not used to it, and I was born into it," Dex said.

  That broke the tension. All three of them laughed.

  Dex shot me a reassuring look. "Don't worry. We're not always like this."

  "Just most of the time," Mr. R said.

  Dex squeezed my hand and said to his parents, "I already told you two how we met." Dex glanced lovingly at me. "We have Charlie, my horny dog, to thank for that." He grinned his adorable grin.

  "Actually." I held up a finger. "That's not exactly how we met. Or when." It was time to just face this head-on. "We first met two years ago in Vegas. Dex forgets to mention it because he doesn't remember—"

  His mom rolled her eyes. "Now the truth comes out. Two years ago." She did some quick mental math. "Was that when you led your cousin's husband astray in Vegas and got plastered, blackout drunk?" Her voice held a parental edge of disapproval. But it was laced with a certain amount of tolerant amusement. Like boys will be boys.

  Dex leaned forward to answer. I felt an argument between him and his parents coming on again. Or maybe just more sparring.

  I ignored Dex's warning look, leaned forward past him, and answered before he could. "Actually, he got into a fight with my third ex-fiancé, Jesse, the gold miner. Jesse shoved Dex over backward. Dex banged his head on a slot machine, was it?"

  I turned to Dex for confirmation.

  He nodded.

  "Yeah, a slot machine, and blacked out. But really, it's romantic. I always hoped we'd meet again. When we did, it was like a miracle, a dream come true." I related the story of how Dex had rescued me when I was running from my impromptu wedding with Jesse at a discount wedding chapel.

  They listened, rapt. And in the end, I think they had new respect for their son.

  "Protecting a woman in distress—I'm proud of you, son." His father looked genuinely admiring.

  "That is very romantic," Mrs. R said. "Even more so than pulling Charlie off Shelby. And you tell it with flair, Shelby."

  "Thank you." I nearly blushed.

  "Jesse is the reality TV star of Gold Digger? We're going to watch the premiere at your party next week? That's at your place, Dex? In your home theater? I hope you got the good caterer."

  "Yes, Mom," Dex said. "On all counts."

  "That's a decent show," Mr. R said. "I enjoy it. I've watched several seasons now. Prior to, you know…" He glanced at me. "Those guys have to have some business sense, and all the big equipment is fun to watch."

  "I know," Dex said. "Jesse invited us up to the Yukon after he picks up his puppy. I'd love a chance at driving a dozer—"

  Mrs. R cleared her throat. "Men and their big equipment." She rolled her eyes. "I've seen the show too."

  At least she was honest about that. Whether she'd watched it before or since she found out about Dex and me really didn't matter.

  "Jesse is a very nice-looking young guy," Mrs. R said, watching for my reaction.

  "Well—"

  "He has quite the fan club. Lots of women find him very attractive. Hot."

  "Well, I suppose—"

  "If you like that kind of blue-collar, works-with-his-hands guy." She looked at me pointedly.

  "Well—"

  "He seems rough around the edges. He and that girlfriend he had went at it one season." She winced. "Not the best behavior for a life partner."

  "You're thinking I have bad taste in men—"

  "Or maybe I'm thinking you were right to end that relationship. You were the reason for his breakup with the young woman in that season? He cheated on her with you?"

  "I wouldn't put it that way exactly." I looked to Dex for help. He was surprisingly mute. "I didn't know Jesse was in a relationship with someone else. He was single."

  "Shelby isn't a cheater, Mom."

  I rushed to Jesse's defense. And mine. "No. It was nothing like that. Don't think too badly of Jesse. He really is a decent guy now. He was drunk and hurt, by me running out of our wedding, when he assaulted Dex. He's cut back on the drinking since. He and Dex get along wonderfully now." I turned to Dex. "Don't you?"

  Dex leaned in and whispered, "You're supposed to let me lead." Louder, he said, "Shelby's right."

  "And fiancé number four? The one after Jesse? Mitch, I think is his name? The one who carted you off from Charles's daughter's wedding?" Mrs. R said.

  "He was a decent guy when I met him. He's been a bit off the rails lately. I take partial blame. I really should have called things off earlier."

  "And your first fiancé?"

  "We were young. We met in college. We grew apart. I called it off. There's not much more to say." Not much I wanted to say, anyway.

  "That brings us to fiancé number two, is it?" Mrs. R was taking the interrogation lead. "The one at the bridal fair today." She gave Dex another one of her pointed, yet somehow amused and teasing, looks. "I'm sure Dex told you that I was innocently at the bridal fair today with a friend. I saw the entire…event."

  I blew out a breath, ruffling my hair. "Yes, he did. You mean Alex. And the fair was really nice, don't you think? I wish you'd been able to stop by my booth. Carly and I did a great job on it—"

  Dex bumped me gently. "Mom, stop grilling Shelby."

  "No, it's okay," I said. "Your parents are naturally concerned about my past and my seeming lack of commitment. Alex is my second fiancé. We met at a wedding we were both working. I was hand-lettering, and he was singing. We were head over heels at first sight. It was one of those things. I thought he was the one and we'd be together forever. He's funny. And that voice…"

  "Yes, that voice." Mrs. R nodded. "Hypnotic and romantic at the same time."

  "I loved him. I really did. With all the passion of what seems like youth to me now. Even though it was only a few years ago." I laughed self-consciously. I felt Dex stiffen beside me. I was saying too much. Making Dex uncomfortable.

  "But we wanted different things out of life," I hastily added. I'm stepping in it. "He was into pursuing a screamo career and wanted to tour. I was a homebody and loved what I was doing here. I was just breaking out in my career. So I broke it off so he could pursue his dreams."