"You can't fool me. You're in love with all of them."

  "Yes, but especially that little guy." I covered our clenched hands with my free hand. "Only one purebred, you think?"

  "It's too early to tell for sure," Dex said, obviously hedging. "We'll take a closer look later. I know a couple of breeders who are experts who could help us out. For now, don't worry about it."

  Dex led me to the kitchen. "Now. I want to hear all about your interview. How did it go?" He released me and headed to the coffee machine. "Hot beverage to celebrate the births?"

  "Oh, no you don't. I recognize that move," I said. "Diversionary tactics won't work on me. Not even coffee. Anyway, it's a hot July day out there."

  "Cold brew?" He arched a brow.

  "You'd need witch's brew to divert me right now."

  He laughed.

  "What do you think your mom is up to? You must have a guess."

  He went to the fridge and poured himself a glass. "It's not so much what she's up to as what she will be up to. Soon. We'd better brace ourselves. Mom is going to want a wedding. Insist on it. She and her sister will conspire against us to get it."

  "How do you know?"

  "I've known her all my life. I can tell."

  "From that short conversation?" His cold brew did look good.

  "It's an acquired skill. She's made it pretty clear since I was little that she loves weddings and hoped for a daughter so she could throw a big one. She's been practicing her mother-and-son dance for years."

  "Now you tell me. You didn't think to mention this before?"

  "It didn't come up."

  I shook my head.

  "Between Mom and my aunt, all hopes were originally pinned on my cousin Kayla. Then Lala screwed the whole plan up by eloping in Reno with Justin, effectively cheating Mom and my aunt out of a grand wedding for the only girl between them. That leaves me to take the rap."

  I relaxed. "We'll put them off. Simple as that." I angled in for a sip of his coffee.

  "Your naivety is so cute." He handed me his glass.

  I inhaled deeply. "I've been engaged four times before. I know how to handle parents."

  "Your experience doesn't impress me much. Each of those times, you were actually planning to get married and hold a ceremony." He left the words "and never did" unsaid. "You're in uncharted territory here."

  "I'm not worried. We'll 'long engagement' them until we wear them out. Or they die of old age." I handed Dex's coffee back to him.

  "You really have no idea who you're dealing with, do you? Mom can outlast and outwit the best of them."

  "You seriously didn't consider this before you proposed?" I asked.

  "Didn't cross my mind. The only thing I was concerned with was getting the girl."

  His sweet, honest sentiment made me smile. "I love you."

  Dex grinned. "I love you too." He kissed me.

  "You know, now that your parents know, we'll have to tell mine before the party, too," I said, drumming my fingers. It was a nervous habit. "And you'll have to meet them before as well. This causes all kinds of complications."

  "No problem. I'm eager to meet them. I would have insisted on it earlier if they'd been in town."

  He would say that.

  "You say that now," I said. "But half of my previous fiancés asked for Dad's blessing before they proposed."

  "And half apparently didn't. It didn't seem to make a difference. Your dad is old-fashioned?"

  "He likes to be consulted and included."

  "You could have mentioned that before," Dex teased.

  I rolled my eyes. "Looks like two of us weren't being completely honest with each other."

  Dex appeared unconcerned. "Correct me if I'm wrong—this is the twenty-first century. Talking to the father isn't required. I'll charm him."

  I raised an eyebrow. "You don't know my father. He isn't easily charmed."

  Dex laughed. "Fine. If my magnetic personality doesn't work its magic, I'll resort to medieval chattel laws and offer to buy you off him."

  I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh. "He'll ask a big price. He often complains about how much he invested in my college education and art supplies."

  "No problem. I've got plenty." He took my hand and kissed it.

  "Now you turn chivalrous."

  "It will be fine. Trust me." He gulped down the rest of his cold brew. "I have to run to the office for a bit." He gave me a questioning look, asking if I'd be okay alone with the dogs.

  He'd been patient, taking a large part of the day off when he was so busy. "Go. I'll be fine with the puppies."

  "Great. I know you will. You're already a great puppy grandma. Besides, Bella should handle everything. If Bella is doing her job, there should be very little for you to do. I'll check on her on my way out. And I'm only a phone call away if you need me. I'll pick up something for dinner for us on the way home." He put his glass in the sink.

  I walked him to the front door.

  He stopped at Bella's nest and made a quick inspection. "Looks like the new family is doing great."

  I kissed him goodbye and went back to the kitchen. He left me in a contemplative mood.

  Being a serial engager, a lover of love, a less-than-lover of commitment, wouldn't be such a bad thing if it weren't for my chosen line of work. But I was a world-class hand letterer who specialized in weddings, romance, and quotes about love. I had a large social media following. I was known for my wedding subscription boxes, which featured items that I'd designed and other lovely items that I'd hand-curated, all themed toward true, enduring love, weddings, and a lifetime together. I had an eye for love, you might say. And a passionate, romantic nature.

  In the week and a half since Dex proposed, I'd thought through my strategy for dealing with my business and public persona. A long engagement would only help me there. I'd string this out until it faded into the background and no one expected an actual wedding. Until they actually forgot about it.

  I was crafty and cunning as well as romantic. Dex's mom was no match for me. I'd dealt with parents before. Oh, boy, had I!

  The men I'd momentarily thought I could marry and spend the rest of my life with had run the gamut in looks, in talents, in personality. And in parentage.

  Most people would call me extremely lucky. And probably way too picky. Or maybe romantically insane. I'd caught and released some very attractive fish, ones that were well above the legal, and desirable, limit. Men any other woman would be happy to snap up.

  I'd been engaged to a guy that everyone, including my own father, thought was the perfect man (Mitch), a gold-mining reality star in the Yukon (Jesse), a wedding singer with a voice to die for (Alex), and my college sweetheart (no idea where he was now). Being engaged to a dog-loving billionaire genius (Dex) with almost as many commitment issues as I had and a mom who wanted a wedding was just the next challenge.

  Dex himself was no slouch either, as far as being cunning. I couldn't imagine his mom could outwit him. Dex and I had no intention of ever marrying, just living together. Fulltime. Eventually. We were in complete agreement that just the idea of the commitment of marriage was way too stressful.

  Yes, for the first time in my life, I was actually considering moving in with my fiancé. Not just leaving a toothbrush at his house, but actually moving in. Otherwise, what was the point of a forever engagement?

  I had never lived with any of my other fiancés. Though I did buy a house with Mitch. And I came out of my relationship with Jesse with Bella.

  Even though I planned on moving in with Dex eventually, once the puppies were settled in new homes, I refused to sell my house. You might call it a security blanket. I loved it. I had my studio and office here and wanted to continue to use it as a base of operations for my business. My clients loved it. Neither Dex nor I wanted clients coming to Dex's mansion. Too many security risks.

  I didn't have any intention of moving back to my cozy bungalow once I actually moved in with Dex, but I liked knowing it was there. It had belonged to my grandma, whom I loved dearly. So how could I possibly sell it? I had tried once, and that had spelled doom in my relationship with Mitch.

  Dex had asked me to move in very soon in our relationship, but I had been dealing with Jesse at the time. He'd suddenly reappeared in my life after two years. So the timing was off.

  Now, until at least the puppies were adopted out, it was separate residences. In name, anyway. Dex spent more nights with me at my West Seattle bungalow than at his gorgeous rural estate. Giving up all that luxury, now that was true love.

  For a brief moment, things had been perfect. Business had never been better. Mitch, who'd tried to kidnap me from a wedding where I'd been a guest (long story) had calmed down (lots of therapy). Kind of. He still had his moments.

  Jesse had returned to the gold fields, and word was that his terrible, horrible, no-good gold season had turned around dramatically. It looked like he'd hit the mother lode and could be in for a record season. Maybe I was his good-luck charm? He was more popular than ever.

  I was engaged in the perfect way—no chance of marrying. And soon, whenever I was stressed out, I could dissolve into a pile of puppies! I couldn't wait to smell puppy breath. I'd heard so much about it. And puppy love already, just hours in, could never be overrated.

  But now that Dex's parents had somehow found out, or guessed, that we were engaged, I had a complication with my parents.

  My parents had been patient and supportive during my other engagements and subsequent breakups. They'd absorbed the loss of deposits on wedding venues, flowers, and cakes without placing any blame or laying a guilt trip on me. They were perfect parents. Really, truly.

  Dad always said it was better to leave a groom at the altar than to marry the wrong man. However—

  If they found out that I was engaged and had told my fiancé's parents but not them? Heartbroken. I wouldn't intentionally hurt my loving parents for the world. Which meant, as I'd told Dex, we'd have to tell them too. Soon.

  I rubbed my forehead. The logistics…

  Mom and Dad lived in the area, but they were recently retired. One of their big bucket-list dreams was to drive around the country. Memorial Weekend they'd taken off in an RV for a summer driving tour of North America.

  Memorial Weekend was my first official date with Dex. So, no, my parents hadn't met him yet either.

  Now the pressure was on. Fortunately, my parents were used to surprise engagements. But how would I tell them about this one? Without breaking my contractual agreement? And before they found out that Dex's parents already knew.

  Speaking of which—we had a leak. Who? How? Where? What? Why? What did I do? How did I stop it before the news spread?

  Chapter Three

  Crazy Little Thing Called (Puppy) Love

  Dex Rushford (Billionaire nerd in love. Exultant deliverer of puppies.)

  Whistling happily, I walked into the Puppy Love executive suite to a sea of expectant faces. Everyone in the office knew that I had been out this morning to deliver a litter of puppies that Charlie may, or may not, have sired. My whistling was, of course, a cue, a clue. But I would have been happy even if none of the puppies were Charlie's as long as the entire litter was healthy, and Bella came through in fine shape.

  I called out to my admin, "Where's Top Dog?"

  Linda, one of my premier dog-sitters, had been watching Charlie for a few days. Charlie and Bella usually got along great, but with her due any day, I'd sent Charlie to Linda's. I didn't need his exuberance and boundless enthusiasm around while I delivered puppies. Plus male dogs could be a danger to newborn puppies.

  I'd asked Linda to bring Charlie to the offices for me. Before my admin could answer my question about Charlie's whereabouts, I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled for him.

  Within seconds, Charlie's nails clicked along the tile floors out of sight. He appeared around the corner an instant later and ran toward me, picking up speed. He was giving me the Charlie look that meant he intended to use me for a tackling dummy. I knelt down to brace myself for Top Dog's enthusiastic greeting. He leaped into my arms, nearly bowling me over, licking my face as I scratched behind his ears. "You did it, boy. Congratulations. You're the proud sire of at least six puppies, maybe seven."

  I hadn't had the heart to tell Shelby that I wouldn't count on that sole puppy that looked pretty much like a Corgi to actually be a full Corgi. I was pretty good at determining breeds, but it could fool us yet.

  Charlie let out a happy bark as if he understood what I was telling him.

  My good friend and VP of finance, Ellie Martin, stepped out of her office. "What's all the commotion? Are you going to hold us in suspense? Do we have puppies?"

  I rubbed Charlie up and stood. "I should have brought cigars. We have a healthy litter of seven puppies."

  "Woohoo!" Ellie clapped.

  The office erupted in applause with her. Some of the other execs stepped out of their offices to see what all the commotion was about.

  I turned to my admin. "Send a memo out to all our corporate staff and tell them the good news. Seven puppies. Six are almost definitely Charlie's. One?" I waggled my hand. "Maybe not. All born today."

  I pulled my phone out. "Here. I'll text you the times of births. I put them in my phone. Someone in the office betting pool is going to make a nice pile of cash off their guess."

  "I got the number of puppies right. But I think I'm off on the date and times." Ellie snapped her fingers and walked over. She scratched Charlie behind his ears. "Good boy, Charlie! Congrats, big guy."

  Charlie ate up her attention. He loved Ellie anyway. I wasn't convinced he knew why he was getting so much praise, but Charlie took it any way he could get it.

  "Schedule a meeting with marketing," I said. "We have a big promo to plan now. And less than six to eight weeks to execute it."

  "I'm on it, boss." My admin gave me a thumbs-up.

  "And where are the congratulatory 'It's puppies!' people and doggy treats I ordered to hand out when the puppies were born?"

  "Marketing has them, I believe," Ellie said.

  "All right. Good." I turned toward my office. "Let me just text someone over there and get them started passing them out."

  Ellie followed me into my office, closing the door behind us. "Big day for you."

  I fell into my favorite chair. "I'm relieved there were no complications, and all the puppies are healthy. Bella's jumping right into motherhood like a champ. With first-time mothers, you never know."

  "Good," Ellie said. "You have the puppies you need to buy off Shelby's two prior fiancés. You're good." She had a twinkle in her eye. "And you're still bent on keeping a puppy? A joint custody kind of thing between you and Shelby? Owning a dog together is kind of a big deal, isn't it? A commitment, you might say." She lifted an eyebrow.

  Although Ellie was one of my best friends, she didn't know about my engagement to Shelby. Nor did my other best friends—Justin and his wife, my cousin Kayla, whom I called Lala. Nondisclosure agreement with Gold Digger.

  How many people sign nondisclosure agreements about their engagements? Only reality TV stars, I'd guess. Like people on those "married after one date"-type shows. So, yeah, it was odd. Especially odd that I'd been roped into this show. Stolen the show, more like. No walk-on parts for me. I'd swooped in for a starring role.

  In return for my temporary silence, I'd gotten good compensation. Real prime-time advertising and promo for Puppy Love. I didn't give something for nothing. Good thing I was damn good at keeping a secret.

  Ask Ellie. Or Justin. Or Lala. I knew all their deep, dark secrets and had never shared them. None of them could be too mad at me for keeping one of my own until the reveal party Shelby was planning. My parents, though—I was still puzzled how they had found out. They had their ways, but I was determined to find out their source.

  Ellie was a close enough friend to realize I had commitment issues. To be honest, it hadn't been that easy to tell. I'd had a general lack of a dating life before I met Shelby. I shrugged. "I like this girl."

  "That's something." Ellie settled into the second-most comfortable seat in my office. The most comfortable one was mine, of course. She stared out the window. "Not that you've had many women to compare her with. You've barely dated."

  "Are you saying you don't like Shelby? Or we aren't right for each other?" I was genuinely interested in Ellie's opinion. Not that it would change my mind. There were no takebacks on my marriage proposal.

  "What are you talking about? I love Shelby. I think you two are adorable together. You'd be lucky to get her to stick with you. Just throwing your own words back at you. You've always been all about data and relevant statistical samples. A sample of one woman is hardly adequate."

  "I thought it was you who told me that love isn't science," I shot back. "And shouldn't be treated as such."

  "You've come around to my way of thinking now?" Ellie laughed.

  "Don't get a big head," I said. "But I have to admit that falling in love has made me reevaluate some of my previous stances."

  "I win."

  "I wasn't aware this was a competition."

  "Since when? Everything's a competition with you," she said.

  Which wasn't far from the truth.

  "Back to the original topic—sharing a dog with someone is a big deal," she said. "Something usually reserved for engaged couples or people who are living together."

  I shrugged again. "I'm unconventional. Speaking of commitment issues, have you and Christopher set a date yet?" I wasn't giving an inch.

  Ellie had brought a manila folder in with her. She pulled a card from it and plunked it on the coffee table in front of me.

  I reached for it. "What's this?"

  "Your save-the-date card." She grinned wickedly. "Good thing you're sharing a puppy with Shelby now. You have a built-in plus-one."

  I scooped it up, reading the date. This wasn't good. I was no matchmaker, but Christopher, who was a nice guy—I actually liked him—wasn't right for Ellie. She'd let the right guy get away years ago. I was a good enough friend to her to see beyond her denials—she wasn't over Logan. Nor would she ever be. The only way to get over him would be to face him again. But I doubted she had the courage for that. As strong as she was, I knew Ellie was afraid that if she saw Logan again, she'd drop Christopher in a heartbeat. And her heart wasn't ready for another round with Logan.