I hoped Luke had been sensitive in his production and given enough time to the emotional intricacies of our love triangle. He didn't seem to me to be an emotionally, or romantically, sensitive guy. Luke was more of a man's man who liked the drama of the gold rush. But he assured me that he'd employed several females and emotionally sensitive men to edit the footage. I had told him over and over that he'd get a larger female audience if he played up the romance appropriately.

  As for our guests, our friends and family were eager to see Bella and the puppies. But the puppies were still only two weeks old and mostly confined to their basket. Their ears were still closed, and they crawled around on their little bellies, unable to stand and bear their own weight. Any day now they would open their eyes. I was looking forward to it like a mom looks forward to her baby's first steps. (I was looking forward to their first steps, too.) After Bella, I wanted the first thing the puppies saw to be Dex and me and how much we loved them.

  But even though they were approaching that major milestone, and I was afraid to leave them for a minute for fear of missing it, they were too young to be exposed to such a large gathering of people. Too many opportunities for potential germs. They were still too young to be vaccinated. So we'd hired Tim to spend the night with them at my place. Which meant that Charlie could be home at Dex's, which made Dex very happy.

  Dex and I spent Friday night at my place. We had to leave at noon for his house. We snuggled the still closed-eyed puppies.

  I lectured the puppies. "Don't you dare open your eyes, or take your first steps, until I get home."

  "We get back," Dex corrected me.

  I shook my finger at Bella. "Keep your puppies in line. Remember the hand that feeds you, puppy mama."

  I bent down and kissed her. I missed snuggling her. But right now, I dared not take her away from her pups for even a minute. She licked my face, and all was good.

  Tim arrived and we headed out.

  Dex's house was about an hour south of mine. He lived on a gated property in rural King County. He had plenty of acreage and claimed he loved the space around him and didn't mind the commute. The truth was that he was rarely at his house. He often slept at the office when he was working late. He had a small apartment in the building just for that purpose. Though lately he'd spent more time at my place than either of the others.

  Dex's house was a modern design in Northwest style. It was all modern lines and clean shapes. No clutter. It was decorated in whites, blacks, and grays with minimal accent colors. The furniture was generally custom-designed and oversized to fit the tall ceilings and large spaces. It was beautiful and sleek, and mostly masculine.

  The house was situated on his property to have a gorgeous view out the back of Mt. Rainier. When we arrived, the party planner's car and catering van were already in the driveway.

  The housekeeper let Charlie out. He came bounding up to us and was all over Dex as if Charlie hadn't seen him in years and years. It was cute watching Dex get down at Charlie's level and rub him down, letting Charlie lick his face with big, sloppy dog kisses, romping with Charlie as if Dex was a playful puppy himself. Their blue-violet ghost eyes were such a perfect match, startling in both man and dog.

  It warmed my heart to see them together again. The puppies were a joy, but they had put a strain on Dex and Charlie. I loved that man and dog. Both of them. I never wanted to lose either of them. The excitement of the evening and our announcement washed over me, filling me with emotion. I blinked back happy tears.

  The theme of our party was a summer evening at the movies, a casual date night kind of thing. Of course, only Dex and I knew the ultimate romantic nature of the party and the real purpose to surprise our guests with our engagement reveal. But if people had been paying attention, and could do the basic math of putting two and two together, they would know that something was up.

  The promos for Gold Digger all focused on Jesse's love life and a mysterious woman. Though I guessed people could wonder how Dex and I were involved. But kind of suspicious, wasn't it? Seemed obvious to me that I should be that mysterious woman. Our friends weren't dumb. I was sure many of them suspected something.

  Despite their wealth, Dex and all his friends were extremely casual. It would have been futile, and uncomfortable, to make this a formal affair. Guests were asked to come dressed in smart casual and be prepared to relax, even lounge around on cushions. And play with Charlie.

  I watched as Charlie retrieved a ball for Dex to throw for him. Man was clearly dog's best friend. And Dex had a surprisingly good arm.

  I grabbed my clothes bag and suitcase from the car. I myself was still debating between two outfits—a smocked white crop top and silky mid-calf floral skirt, or white jeans, heels, and a deep blue fitted bodice, cropped puffy-sleeve top. Which looked more romantic?

  Dex would be wearing white chino shorts and a dark blue short-sleeved dress shirt that made his blue eyes stand out even more than normal. Yes, Zander had picked it out for me to buy for Dex. Dex looked hot in anything, but he didn't particularly care about clothes. So if I wore the white jeans outfit, we'd look adorably matched.

  I mimed to Dex that I was going inside. I settled my luggage in the master suite and went in search of the caterers. Because we had to be in the theater ready to go by seven forty-five, we had decided not to make this a dinner event. Too early for many of our guests. But I had emphasized that there would be plenty of food available.

  We'd had a Gold Digger cocktail designed for the occasion. I had to make sure the bartender was up to speed on it and that the bar was properly stocked.

  Deliveries were still arriving, but it appeared that we were in good shape. The caterers were confident that everything was under control.

  Dex had a movie theater popcorn machine. We had asked the caterers to fire it up and make sure we had plenty of buttered popcorn ready for showtime. We were also having a popcorn buffet set up on the way into the theater, complete with a wide selection of seasoning available to make your own mix. I'd designed the popcorn tubs and boxes with my own lettering and the Gold Digger theme, as well as the napkins and paper cups. We were going all-out with the theater concession stand theme. You could even grab a box of theater-sized candy.

  The florist arrived. I conferred with the party planner. We sent the florist to the terrace to decorate the outdoor space and tables. There was so much to do and coordinate. I was running to get it all done.

  Contrary to Grandma's wedding advice, I had designed a celebration (in place of a welcome) kit for each guest and a takeaway favor. And this was only the engagement announcement party. The celebration kits were to be handed to each guest on their way into the theater. Each kit contained a champagne flute rimmed with gold and etched with our names and the Gold Digger logo, a tiny bottle of champagne, a chocolate truffle, and a confetti popper. Hint, hint, right? Toast the newly engaged couple.

  It was a thing these days to have someone photograph or video the marriage proposal. But having a professional TV film crew do it was really over the top. Announcing our engagement was really epic, as Dex liked to say.

  The favor was a unisex gold bracelet with a gold bar charm etched with the date and the Gold Digger logo. I had even talked Jesse into selling me the gold for charms. So, yeah, really special and significant. No one would forget our engagement reveal party. I only wish I could have been more overt about it.

  At six, Nora, my makeup artist, arrived along with my hairstylist. Yes, I was getting the diva treatment, almost as if I were a bride already. They were both friends, which made it even more fun and special. And I wanted to look good for the premiere. I mean, I was a star—ha! Joking.

  When it was time to get dressed, they convinced me to go with the white jeans outfit. Finally, it was seven and time for the guests to arrive.

  Dex and I greeted everyone with Charlie by our side.

  My parents arrived first with Grandma, early as always. Grandma took one look at the patio and flowers, at all the fuss, and smiled to herself. What was she thinking? Had she guessed already what was up? Or had Mom violated our agreement and spilled our news to Grandma?

  When I introduced Dex and Charlie, Grandma's gaze bounced between the two of them. "I can see you have a type. I've always been a sucker for blue eyes, too." She gave Charlie a bit of Grandma puppy love.

  When she returned her attention to me, she gave her tacit approval of Dex, whispering to me, "Good looking and has a sense of humor. An unbeatable combination."

  "I hope you mean the man," I whispered back.

  She laughed.

  My parents' arrival was followed by Justin and Kayla, Ellie and Christopher, Courtney and her fiancé, the rest of my girlfriends, the bride, and fellow bridesmaids from that fateful bachelorette party in Vegas where I met Dex and Jesse. My friends brought their now husbands or fiancés. I was the last "single" one of the group.

  I could hardly wait for my friends to find out what had really happened right beneath their noses in Vegas. I just hoped they weren't too mad at me for keeping secrets for over two years. If I knew them like I thought I did, they'd think it was a grand adventure and joke. They all enjoyed a good love story.

  Dex's friends Riggins, the duke, and his wife arrived. Then some Puppy Love friends of Dex's, then Ashley and Lazer, the matchmaker couple. Finally, Dex's parents showed up.

  It was a lovely, friendly, boisterous gathering full of laughter.

  To my happy surprise, even though my parents should have been out of their element, they blended right in, talking to the younger crowd, holding their amazement at Dex's wealth and show of luxury in check.

  There was an awkward moment when we introduced the two sets of parents. They were so different. But Dex's dad told a joke and my dad joined in. Both sets of parents had the inside scoop that we were engaged. I supposed that predisposed all of them to try to get along. They realized the stakes were higher than just meeting the current person their child was dating. There was a good chance that they'd share grandchildren someday.

  I would have liked to stay and referee and actually have fun with my friends and family. I so rarely got to hang out with everybody. But I was only engaged with half an ear to anything. I had thought having a party planner would relieve me of the most strenuous party duties and free me up to enjoy just playing hostess. But that was not the case. I was quickly embroiled in one party emergency after another.

  Just as I thought I had gotten things under control, I got a call from security. "Ma'am, there's a van from the sound-system company. They want approval for me to let them in. They say you called them?"

  Fortunately, Dex found me in the kitchen at that moment. "What are you doing in here? You're supposed to be enjoying the party and our guests. You're the star this evening." He gave me a quick kiss. "In so many ways."

  "I had a few emergencies to handle. Did you call the sound-system people? They're at the gate." I waved the phone in front of him.

  "Yeah. We were having problems with one of the cables during our test of the system earlier. We got it fixed. But they're delivering a new one, a backup in case the other one still fails. I don't want anything to ruin our surprise. Let them in."

  I handed the phone to Dex. He gave them instructions and handed my phone back to me.

  "Problem solved?" I asked.

  He grinned and pulled me into a delightful, lingering kiss. "It's seven thirty-five. Showtime. Time to herd the guests into their seats in the theater."

  7:45 p.m.

  It took some effort, but we finally got all of guests corralled and seated. They were having too much fun drinking, making custom-flavored popcorn concoctions, eating, visiting, and playing lawn games outside in the beautiful evening.

  As they filed in, I had the servers who were handing out celebration premiere kits to give everyone strict instructions: "Do not open your kits until the conclusion of the main feature film."

  When I was putting the kits together, Dex had suggested putting an electronic lock on them so that no one cheated. It was looking now like I should have taken him up on his offer. People were peeking. I had to playfully shake my finger at them.

  Obedient guests were raving about how beautiful my unopened kits were, and buzzing about what could be inside them. Some were hoping for a gold-panning kit, complete with a gold nugget. That would have been nice, too.

  I smiled to myself. Grandma winked at me. She knew. Damn, she knew. Or had guessed.

  The smell of popcorn filled the air. The atmosphere was perfect.

  Dex pulled me to his side at the front of the theater, with Charlie by our side. "Shelby and I would like to thank you all for coming tonight to share our TV premiere with us. We've been cagey about our involvement in the show. What the hell is Dex doing on a show about gold mining? That paper pusher? Crazy!"

  He had his arm around my waist. He gave me a little tug. "This beautiful woman, well, anyone can tell why she'd be cast on a TV show. Gold Digger is a reality show. Participants on the show must sign nondisclosures and agree not to talk about what they've done on the show until the season premieres, which explains our uncharacteristic silence—"

  "Uncharacteristic," one of the Puppy Love guys heckled. "Are you crazy? You're the king of secrecy."

  "Thank you." Dex did a half bow at the waist. "I'll take that as a compliment. Back to the point—tonight all will be revealed. You're also probably wondering why we asked you to be seated fifteen minutes early. It wasn't because I wanted to make a speech."

  "I'm not buying that," Justin said. "We all know you like to hear yourself talk."

  Dex laughed and rolled his eyes. "Thanks, good buddy. But you're not far off the truth. Back to my point—Shelby and I have a special introductory video to the season premiere to show you. A coming attractions sort of thing. This is a Dex and Shelby exclusive, which we hope will explain things. Our backstory told in a video Shelby had made for me."

  A lot of whispering behind hands broke out.

  Dex ignored it. "As we said in our invitation, tonight's premiere is a shortened forty-six-minute version of the entire season, spliced together to showcase our involvement. We weren't going to hold you captive here for ten hours. Enjoy!"

  He took me by the hand and led me to our front-row seats. Charlie settled in at our feet.

  Dex dimmed the lights and started the video. He grabbed my hand, squeezing it.

  I held my breath as I gauged the reactions to our first meeting in Vegas. People gasped as they realized that I had been an actual runaway bride, not just accused of being one. And no, I didn't look gorgeous with my runny mascara and bare feet, with a scared puppy in my arms as I ran with Bella from my wedding to Jesse. But there was Dex, in the somewhat grainy security video, rescuing me.

  Charlie barked when he saw the puppy Bella. Our audience clapped. Dex reached down and patted Charlie.

  We'd seen the video many times before, but none of our guests had. Some dabbed their eyes. Dex's dad, who sat next to Dex, shoulder-bumped him.

  Dex let go of my hand and stopped petting Charlie long enough to fiddle with his laptop. There was a nervous moment when I crossed my fingers that the link to the edited show that Luke had promised worked. Luke was as good as his word—the link worked. Dex managed to time the transition to the main attraction perfectly. Before our guests could catch their breath from the revelations of our video, the new season of Gold Digger started.

  I took Dex's hand and squeezed for dear life. Don't let us down, Luke.

  I hoped with all my heart that Luke could do more than produce good footage of big machinery digging out permafrost or conveyor belts breaking. That he could tell an emotionally charged love story.

  Luke was more talented than I had hoped. I was soon as entranced with the show as everyone else. Tears stung my eyes as I watched Jesse and I go from enemies to friends and my love for Dex develop onscreen. Luke did an absolutely beautiful job telling our story.

  When it came to the final marriage proposal scene, the room shook with the sound of the helicopter arriving. It was so realistic that it was as if a helicopter were about to land right in the heart of the theater. The beauty of expensive sound systems. That cable was working wonderfully.

  While our guests were distracted, in the dark of the theater, Dex pulled my engagement ring out of his pocket and slipped it on my finger.

  When Dex stepped out of the helicopter onscreen, you could feel the audience hold their collective breath. When he went down on one knee, the audience erupted in deafening applause. They were on their feet as Dex pulled me into the copter and the walls of the theater vibrated again as we flew off into the sunset.

  Dex's mom got out of her seat to come hug me first. She had tears in her eyes. She whispered something to Dex that made him blush.

  My dad slid over to shake Dex's hand. Dad had tears, too. He kept slapping Dex on the back. "Well done. Well done. That was the most romantic marriage proposal yet."

  The lights went up. As the final credits rolled, Dex pulled me to my feet in front of the screen and pulled me into a deep kiss. Charlie barked at us, his happy bark.

  People realized it was time to celebrate. They opened their kits. There was the sudden popping of dozens of tiny champagne corks from dozens of tiny champagne bottles. Confetti filled the air along with the pop, pop, pop of the confetti bombs.

  Toasts went up one on top of the next: "To the newly engaged couple!" "To true love winning out." "Every girl needs a hero." "To Dex, an unlikely romantic and Shelby for bringing it out in him." Glasses clinked.

  I was so engrossed, so happy and deep in Dex's arms, that I didn't hear the door to the theater open. A chorus of boos erupted. There was a scuffle near the door.

  Charlie let out a loud bark and barreled toward the newcomer.