"I appreciate that. Get out of here and go to your TV show before you're late." He kissed me goodbye.

  I left reluctantly. At the TV studio, I took my phone on set with me. It was in front of me on the table as I sat around chatting with Jesse and his producer, Luke, about our failed romance, my love life, and Jesse's exciting new show about dating and using a matchmaker.

  When my phone rang, we all jumped. We exchanged excited looks.

  My heart raced as I saw who was calling. "It's Dex, my fiancé. He's sitting for Bella." I knew what this meant. Dex wouldn't have called unless—

  "What are you waiting for?" Jesse looked as excited as I felt.

  I nodded and scooped it up. "I have to take this."

  Luke nodded. "We've been waiting for this call."

  "Dex?"

  "If you want to learn how to whelp puppies, and watch a pro in action, you'd better get home."

  Jesse's voice got all the play, but Dex had a sexy voice, too.

  I heard Bella whimper in background. My dog mama heart went out to her. I didn't want my baby to suffer.

  Luke and Jesse looked at me expectantly. "Puppy time?"

  "I know it's bad timing. But I have to go. Bella's about to have puppies!" I grabbed Jesse's arm and squeezed it. "We're having puppies!"

  "Go! Go," both men said in unison.

  "I want to be the first to know when the puppies are born," Jesse called after me. "One of them is mine."

  "Second pick of the litter." I gave him a thumbs-up and dashed off the set, still talking to Dex. "How's Bella?"

  "She's been restless since you left. She's had no appetite. Now she's whimpering and breathing fast. The puppies are coming soon. Get here as fast as you can, but don't rush. Stay safe. There's plenty of time. I factored everything in—traffic, street closures…"

  "I just hope your calculations are right."

  "When have I ever been wrong?"

  I promised I wouldn't, but I rushed anyway. And almost ran at least one red light. When I got home, Dex was sitting on the floor beside Bella's nest, cooing softly to her in his calm, melodic voice. He was so reassuring that even I calmed some. "How are things?" I asked.

  "You got here just in time." He stood to greet me.

  "Are there puppies already?" I dropped my purse on the sofa, heart pounding.

  "Not yet. But I need to pee. I didn't want to leave Bella alone. Watch her. I'll be right back."

  "Don't be long." I needed someone to hold my hand.

  He raised an eyebrow and dashed to the bathroom.

  I dropped to a sit beside Bella's nest. "It's all right, girl. Mama's here."

  I wanted to stoke and cuddle Bella, but it was clear that she wanted to be left alone. Instead, I crooned softly to her, whispering words of encouragement. Could dogs understand words? Bella certainly understood tone. I was trying to be as reassuring and comforting as I could. But it was hard to keep the anxious tremble out of my voice.

  A lot was riding on this litter. I owed two of my four former fiancés a puppy each. Mitch, the most recent, was adamant about wanting a purebred Corgi. To replace Bella, he said. Even though I'd come into the relationship with her, he considered her part his. I'd had to fight for custody of her after our breakup. Giving him a puppy had been the solution. And Jesse, the fiancé before Mitch and the only guy I'd actually run away from my wedding with, would have preferred an Auggie—a Corgi/Aussie mix—but would take either.

  Bella's pregnancy was a long, sweet story. Bella and her sexual exploits were responsible for Dex and I getting together. The day before her appointment with a stud I had booked, at my ex-fiancé Mitch's insistence, Dex's devilishly handsome and roguish, ghost-eyed Aussie, Charlie, got to Bella in the park.

  Dex and I still playfully argued who was at fault. Both dogs had been off leash at the time, so it was a gray area. Bella had escaped from the backyard when the gate had mysteriously been left open. Charlie had escaped from his handler when she was taking him home from the groomer. He'd looked extra nice that day, I had to give him that. And smelled of high-end doggie shampoo. Even after catching Charlie in the act, I'd gone ahead with the stud appointment the next day and was hoping now for a mixed-paternity litter.

  Corgi litters are commonly six to eight puppies. I was hoping for at least four. Dex and I wanted a puppy for ourselves, a union of our dogs to celebrate our relationship and engagement. His best friend, billionaire Justin Green, and his wife, Kayla, wanted a puppy as a companion for their daughters and Justin's Pomsky, Data. That was four. Anything over that was gravy.

  Dex would have liked one to adopt out as part of a promotion for his pet services company, Puppy Love. As popular as Corgis and Auggies were, we were both sure we'd have no problem adopting the puppies out to great homes.

  Bella began panting like crazy.

  "Dex!" I yelled in the direction of the bathroom. "Hurry. I think the puppies are coming." I turned back to Bella. "Breathe, baby, breathe." I was no doggy Lamaze coach.

  "In. Out." I demonstrated, human style. "Easy-peasy. In. Out. Pant, pant, pant, pant, pant."

  Now I understood how expectant fathers had felt for millennia. It was hard to stand by, relegated to coaching someone on how to breathe, of all things. Breathing is pretty basic to life. It's hard to feel really proud about coaching someone who was distracted by pain on the correct technique for a basic body function.

  Dex, hurry.

  I heard the toilet flush. Then the sound of the faucet running. Of course, he needed super-clean hands, but—

  Bella let out a yip of pain. Her breathing became rapid.

  "Hurry!" I called to Dex. "Bella?" I leaned in close.

  A tiny puppy appeared between her legs, slimy and hairless.

  "Dex! One's coming!" My heart raced. "That's it, girl! Breathe. Squeeze it out. Steady now."

  The puppy slipped out into the nest. But Bella seemed uninterested in it. She was already distracted with panting and delivering the next puppy.

  I panicked. What did I do now? Bella should have licked and cleaned the new puppy. That was the textbook method, anyway. Something was wrong with the poor little thing. It was still in its sac. It wasn't breathing—

  Dex rushed in from the bathroom. "What have I missed? Is the first one here yet?"

  "One's been born." I looked to Dex with tears in my eyes. "It's not moving."

  Dex fell to his knees next to me. "Bella didn't lick it? Or clean it?"

  I shook my head.

  "Hand me a towel."

  How could he be so calm? I gave him the nearest one.

  "Come here, little one." Dex picked up the limp puppy and rubbed it gently with the towel until the fluid sac around it burst, soaking the small towel and dripping onto his jeans.

  While I watched, holding my breath, he removed the puppy from the sac and dried its fur gently, so gently, against the grain. The little puppy looked like someone had scared it or it had stuck its tiny paw in an electrical socket. Its precious baby fur stood straight up on end. For all that, it was still limp and lifeless.

  "What's wrong with it?" My heart was breaking. It had to breathe. It couldn't be stillborn, not our first darling puppy.

  "Come on, breathe, baby," Dex cooed to it.

  It remained pale and lifeless, tiny in the palm of his hand. He popped his little finger into its mouth and scooped out something. He rubbed the tiny puppy's nose and kept rubbing the puppy with the towel.

  I watched, rapt, holding my breath. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

  Dex kept rubbing gently, talking softly to the puppy.

  I was on the edge of calling the vet, which would have been useless, really. She couldn't have gotten here in time to save this pup, not if everything Dex knew to try didn't work.

  Finally, just as it seemed futile, and almost cruel to continue with the lifesaving measures, the puppy took its first breath. The color of life filled it. Its little lungs worked! Its tiny rib cage moved up and down with each breath.

  "Hand me the twine and the scissors. Bella is clearly too preoccupied to do the rest of the job." He held out his hand for the implements.

  I was happy to be the surgical assistant, not the surgeon.

  Dex tied two strings expertly and confidently cut the umbilical cord between them. "This little guy's going to be all right." Dex grinned.

  "My hero. You saved this little puppy's life." I leaned my head on his shoulder and admired our new puppy with tears in my eyes. As far as puppies go, it was an ugly, hairless little thing with closed eyes that bulged. But I loved it immediately. "It's beautiful."

  Dex gave me a skeptical look. "I hope you mean the miracle of life. Don't worry. The puppy will get cuter fast."

  I'd been so engrossed with saving the first puppy that I hadn't been paying attention to Bella. Puppy #2 had been born when I wasn't looking. She was already licking it.

  I turned to Dex. "Look. She's getting the hang of this already."

  Dex was the first to make the call that there were no more puppies coming. By the time her labor had ended, seven healthy puppies cuddled next to Bella in her nest. Dex had cut the umbilical cords of two of them. Bella had done the rest.

  Dex changed out the towels and bedding. I got Bella water and food and sat down on the floor next to Dex to admire Bella's puppies. I got tears in my eyes again. I loved Dex. I loved Bella.

  Dex pulled me close and stroked my hair.

  "They're beautiful." My voice broke. I couldn't hide my emotion.

  Dex kissed my hair, just a gentle brush of the lips. "Uh-oh. I recognize that tone. We have all the puppies we need. But you're already not sure you'll be able to let any of them go, are you?"

  I sighed. "You know me too well…"

  "Plenty of time to get used to the idea. By the way, word of our engagement has somehow reached my parents," he said, way too casually for comfort. "They want to meet you."

  Chapter Two

  Wedding Bell Blues—Don't Marry Me, Dex.

  Shelby (Happy puppy grandma. Overwhelmed wedding planner. Engaged woman under set-a-date stress.)

  I stared at Dex with horror. At the mention of his parents, whom I'd not yet met, the joy of the birth of our new puppies drained out of me, replaced by fear and a dangerously rapid heartbeat. "What? How did your parents find out? Our engagement is top secret. We signed a nondisclosure agreement with Gold Digger. No one is supposed to know about our engagement until the summer/fall mini season is released on August first. No one."

  I gave him the evil eye, trying to pry out of him whether he'd spilled the news. Which wasn't at all like Dex. He could keep a secret. I knew that from experience. And the evil eye didn't even faze him.

  Dex shrugged, all innocence and happy-go-lucky.

  "For almost two weeks I've been hiding my gorgeous engagement ring." I pointed an accusing finger at him. "Which I've been dying to show off, mister."

  His grin deepened, the brat.

  "I've been holding the news inside, even when I thought I'd explode. I've been happily planning our combined engagement announcement and Gold Digger premiere watching party, and somehow your parents already know? We have less than two more weeks to keep the secret."

  "I swooped into West Seattle in a helicopter and got down on one knee in a park. It's kind of hard to hide that."

  "Luke took care of security," I said, still thinking and panicking. "No leaks. The park was blocked off. No one was allowed in, not even a drone. The most anyone could have seen, even with a telephoto lens, was a helicopter landing in the park. Luke's ready to slap anyone who even looks like they're thinking of breaking the news with a cease and desist.

  "Less than two more weeks, Dex. Twelve more days to keep our secret. How could this happen?" I hung my head, fighting defeat and panic. This was terrible, horrible, awful…

  Luke was exceptionally efficient and ruthless regarding anything having to do with the show. Anal-retentive, you might say. If we blew this…

  "You don't know my parents." Dex sounded unconcerned. "They have eyes in the backs of their heads and secret methods of intrigue and interrogation known only to them. Believe me, I've been trying to crack their code since I first learned to speak. No go. Add to that Mom's intuition and my cousin Kayla and her mom, my mom's sister, as sources, and they're practically omniscient."

  "Kayla doesn't know about our engagement, I hope?"

  "No, of course not. But she picks up on clues in personal relationships like a bloodhound on the scent." Dex took my hands in his and held tight. "Don't worry about my parents. I swore them to secrecy—"

  "You mean you admitted the truth."

  "I had to, Shel. I couldn't lie to them."

  "And they took our news joyously, I assume?" I was being sarcastic. I couldn't help it. I was still trying to process the bad news. Twelve days. We were this close to success.

  "They're not happy I didn't tell them our news myself, of course. But they'll keep quiet. They promised." He pulled me close. "But—"

  "There's always a but, and it never means anything good," I said.

  Dex was unperturbed. "They're insisting on meeting you. Soon. They'll be back from Europe in a few days."

  Of course they were. Wait. A few days!

  "A few days. I thought they weren't due back until the thirtieth. They can't wait until our announcement party?"

  I had planned to meet them in a safe group setting and introduce everybody to everybody else, both sets of parents, our friends, at the same time. The party was going to be beautiful and fun and safe because there was safety in numbers. I hoped. As long as they didn't turn into a united angry mob at our deception. But I thought they'd be happy.

  "They cut their vacation short as soon as they learned our news. They're eager to meet their future daughter-in-law. They're excited. That's a good sign, Shel."

  I wasn't so sure. I snuggled into Dex and pressed my head against his chest. "They're ruining my party plans. My engagement reveal party was going to be epic. I've already started lettering and painting some of the items for it. My hand lettered, etched commemorative champagne flutes with fourteen-karat gold rims are to die for."

  He stroked my hair. "What do you mean, was? Is. It still will be. Just because my parents know doesn't change anything. They'll still love the surprise of seeing me propose to you on TV." He kissed the top of my head.

  I was deflecting my real fear and he knew it. What would his parents think of me, a woman their son had met mere months ago? A woman who had ditched four fiancés? A woman who suddenly appeared just as their son became a billionaire? Would they think I was the real gold digger?

  I should be used to meeting the parents by now. I had plenty of experience, after all. But there were always traps. Each engagement, and family, was so different.

  I'd been engaged four times before. Dex made five. I'd learned something about myself and men each time. Learn from your mistakes, right? So much so that you might call me the engagement expert. Five different guys. Five different rings. Five unique personalities and circumstances. Four memorable, and one not-so-memorable, marriage proposals. One was exceptionally dramatic and romantic. One I still couldn't remember to this day.

  Five engagements of varying lengths. The shortest one was hours. The longest one, this one, I intended to be a lifetime.

  One engagement, no one knew about except the groom-to-be and me. That was to Jesse. Three were public knowledge. My current engagement, as stated, was supposed to be secret. For now.

  I knew how to accept a marriage proposal with grace and enthusiasm, and plenty of hopeful optimism. With love shining in my eyes and filling my heart. With hope for a lifelong happy future together. Accepting a marriage proposal, that was the easy part.

  I could plan weddings with the best of them. Breaking engagements? Not fun. Not easy. Heartbreaking. Devastating any way you went about it. But freeing. I'm not at all a heartless person. I'd tried various methods, including running away from my own wedding. Some of the ways had proven more successful, and kinder, than others.

  This fifth engagement, to Dex, was my last, I swear.

  I lifted my head off Dex's chest. "How few days and how much do they know?"

  "They called. Said, 'We hear congratulations are in order. We want to meet the girl. We're flying home Thursday. Make dinner reservations for the four of us for Saturday night.' That was it."

  "Saturday night. I have the Seattle bridal fair at the convention center all day Saturday. It's one of my biggest bridal events of the year—"

  "I know. I'm watching Bella, now Bella and the puppies, remember?"

  "Bella and the puppies," I repeated. "It sounds like a fifties pop group."

  Dex grinned. "I couldn't talk them into another date. We'll handle it. Everything will be fine. Mom insists on having us out to the house for dinner. She'll have it catered. We just show up and eat. Piece of cake."

  "I'll be frazzled—"

  "You'll be great."

  I wasn't so sure at all. "When did your parents call?"

  "This morning while you were out."

  I blew out a breath.

  "To be honest, Mom was surprisingly calm. Since I'm her only child, all dynastic hopes are pinned on me." He laughed. "I expected more of an ear-burning."

  "That's great." I was trying to look on the bright side.

  He shook his head. "No, it's not. She was too calm. She's holding it in. Mom's great. You'll love her. Eventually. But right now, I don't trust her. She's up to something."

  Bella let out a quick yap and stared at us in protective mama mode.

  Dex laughed. "All right, new mama, I get it. All this tension is disturbing you and your pups. We'll get out of here and give you some peace and quiet." He took my hand.

  I took a last quick look into the basket of puppies. "Do you think we got a purebred out of the mix?"

  "It's hard to tell," Dex said. "But the little guy you delivered, and I saved by rubbing him down, looks like a good candidate. We'll know more when they grow and open their eyes."

  "That little one already has my heart. If he or she is the only one…" It would break my heart to have Mitch cart it off.