He kissed my hands.
Why did he have to be so good to me?
He dropped my hands. "There's still more in the backpack."
"More?" I eyed what was already laid out and raised an eyebrow. "How much do you think I can eat?"
"It's not for you." His eyes twinkled. "You think I'm that unselfish? I've worked up an appetite. I can put away a lot." He dug back into the backpack.
When it was finally empty, we took a seat at the table, side by side so we could look out over the view.
It was so beautiful and peaceful that for a moment I forgot myself. "What could go wrong on a day like this?"
"Being up here makes real-world problems seem pretty remote."
I nodded. "If only that were true, and not just an illusion resulting from lack of oxygen and the heady scent of fir."
Dex grinned mischievously. "It could be true. I have a plan to get rid of Jesse."
My eyebrows shot up. "You do? You thought of it in your sleep?"
"What do you think I was up early working on?"
I set my sandwich down. "Are you going to let me in on it?"
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
"Remember—you asked." He dusted his hands of crumbs and looked at me intently. "I hired a PI. His name is Dick. He's not just any PI. He's topnotch. The best. Discreet. Entirely trustworthy. Both Justin and I have used him for some delicate and highly confidential matters in the past. I've instructed him to find out everything he can about your wedding to Jesse. To find out how you got Bella. To reconstruct the events that led up to when you ran away.
"If we can find out how you got Bella, fill in the gaps in your memory, we may be able to get evidence, real proof, that Jesse gave Bella to you as a gift."
"Oh."
"What's wrong? Not good?" Dex looked perplexed. "What are you worried about?"
I swallowed hard. Everything. "What if he doesn't?"
Dex shrugged. "You don't know Dick. He'll dig until he does. Look, the best way to get rid of Jesse is to prove to him that this plan of his isn't going to help him or his ratings. We're giving him a poison pill, making getting you on the show and exposing you more trouble than it's worth. If we can take away the stick he's using to blackmail you with, we've solved the problem. We've outwitted him."
Dex looked me in the eye. "It would help us, Shelby, if you could give me details. Anything you remember—the name of the wedding chapel, where you bought your dress, the name of the casino where you met Jesse, names of anyone, your friends, for example, who might remember something about Jesse and what went on. Anything."
"Your PI could really do that? Fill in the gaps in my memory?"
Chapter Fifteen
Shelby
I was afraid Dick the PI could find out everything. More than I wanted to know. More than I wanted Dex to find out…
"Shelby? What's wrong?"
"I don't like remembering." I bit my lip. "It's…embarrassing. The whole incident is painful and doesn't paint me in a flattering light—"
"I don't care about that. I know your past, remember?"
Not all of it.
We sat silently while I mulled it over. One of Dex's strengths was that he was good about not pushing. He knew the importance of quiet reflection.
What could Dick dig up? Why would he be interested in what happened after I ran? As far as anyone knew, after I ran from the chapel, the story was over.
I was being silly. How could Dick find out Dex's involvement?
If I refused to answer Dex's questions, wouldn't I look even worse? What possible reason did I have not to cooperate? And maybe Dick could find something useful.
Dex finally broke the silence. "If it helps you decide, there's something I should tell you about Jesse. It might change your opinion of him. And yourself. It doesn't make me look particularly good, either."
I glanced at Dex. "We're in a race to the bottom now?"
"We're a pair, aren't we?"
"All right. You're right," I said. "If you're willing to be vulnerable, I will be, too. I'll be as brutally honest as my memory allows. Part of the unflattering part is how drunk I was. How silly."
"I'll go first." Dex looked me directly in the eye. "Remember that story I told you of how I hit my head and lost my memory in Vegas? How Justin was trying to sober me up in the shower?"
I nodded, trying not to grin. It was a funny story that painted quite the mental picture. Where was he going with this?
"Hang with me. It gets interesting."
"More interesting than you and Justin tangoing in the shower?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Much more interesting. That story was just a lie to provide an alibi for Justin. He'd promised Lala that he wouldn't play any more blackjack. But the night I lost my memory, he had disobeyed orders. We were supposed to be hanging together, me birddogging him. But…" Dex shrugged. "He went to the blackjack tables and I went to the slots. We concocted the shower story to cover for him. The truth involves Jesse."
Now I was intrigued.
Dex took my hands. "Would it surprise you to learn that Jesse and I have met before?"
"What?"
Dex took a deep breath. "In Vegas around the time of your runaway bride adventure. Justin and I just remembered who Jesse is and connected the dots—Jesse is responsible for my memory lapse. He shoved me backward into a slot machine in Vegas and ran when I hit my head on a metal stool and blacked out."
I should my head in disbelief. "How?"
"I'm getting to that."
I listened in horror as Dex related the story. How Jesse had been very drunk. How he'd accused Dex of cheating him the day before when Dex began playing a machine that Jesse had abandoned. How the casino had backed Dex up. How the next night, he'd spotted Dex at the slots and come after him again.
"I have no memory of it, even now." Dex squeezed my hand. "I didn't remember him. Justin did, when we were watching Gold Digger together after your kiss with Jesse was on the news. Neither of us had seen the show before that. When Justin saw Jesse, he was sure he remembered him from somewhere. Justin has an excellent memory for faces. After giving it some thought, it came to him. He was fairly certain Jesse was the guy who accused me of cheating.
"We had security video from the casino of the guy who pushed me. The casino turned it over to the police and us. But it wasn't a clear shot of the guy's face, not enough to ID him. Until last night, when Justin suspected that guy might have been Jesse, and watched the video again." He pulled his phone out and handed it to me. "Here. Take a look for yourself."
I watched the video in horror. Jesse was wearing the tux from our wedding. I felt sick.
"Shelby?"
I pointed to the phone screen. "That's the tux he wore for our wedding. That's the day I ran away from him."
Dex scowled and muttered some choice words beneath his breath. "That explains the anger and the drunken stupor. He was loaded for bear."
I put a hand to my mouth.
"I'd like to tell Justin that. I'd like to tell Justin that you're Jesse's runaway bride. We can trust him. Justin won't tell anybody. And it would help."
I nodded, wondering how long until Dex put two and two together. He looked and sounded so fierce about Jesse. I was pretty sure now that I was indirectly responsible for his memory blackout. For Jesse coming after him.
"What casino was this?" Stunned, I handed his phone back as Dex told me. The same one I'd run to after escaping Jesse. The one where I had met Dex. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
Dex gave me a funny look and smiled. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
But I did.
"This is on Jesse. You made a luckier escape than you knew," Dex said. "Jesse is a mean drunk."
"Yes. Lucky escape. I'll tell you everything."
Dex pulled out his phone to take notes.
I rattled off everything I could remember about Jesse, our relationship, the wedding I ran from.
When I wa
s finished, Dex held the phone up. "I'll text these to Justin."
I nodded.
"I'd better give him some instructions." He began typing, which gave me time to think.
This wasn't how I wanted to tell Dex the truth—that he'd rescued me. That he was my hero. That I felt the zing of attraction the first time I'd met him and felt it again as intensely the second time. The timing was so off.
I wanted to tell him at a time when it would be romantic. When we could laugh about it. Marvel at it. Savor it.
I didn't want anger attached to it. Just love.
And now, because of everything, I felt like I'd blown it.
"You should just call Justin," I said, watching Dex type. "It would be easier."
Dex looked at me, excited. "You sure?"
I nodded. "Go. Talk to him in private. Over there. I'll sit here. I need to think."
I watched him walk to the edge of the woods and make his call. I watched his excited gestures and expressions as he related the details to Justin. He thought this was winning. He thought he'd just gotten something over on Jesse. But as I sat there, I knew this might be losing—everything we had together. And I knew with complete clarity what I had to do.
Shelby (Liver of fat lies.)
Somehow I made it through the hike down the mountain and back to the lodge without giving anything away. I managed to compartmentalize and push the inevitable to the back of my mind. I enjoyed a playful afternoon swim in the infinity pool. A romantic dinner. Another nighttime swim beneath the enormity of the stars.
I savored every minute, trying to burn it into my memory. But it was all bittersweet. I knew what was coming.
After the nighttime swim, Dex introduced me to Lazer's red room of game. "Do you game?"
"Not well. I haven't gamed for years. Since I was a kid."
"Then we'll have to teach you. If you want to hang with my crowd, you need to know at least the rudimentary skills."
The red room of game wasn't as red as you'd think. The logs of the walls had a reddish hue and there were red accents here and there. Red pillows with outdoorsy designs. Prints with red themes.
"Look at all the gaming systems!" I marveled at Lazer's equipment. "And the retro games. I used to play some of these."
"Good." Dex sat down on the plush leather sofa and pulled me next to him. He handed me a controller. "I knew there would be something here that interested you. Shall we play a game?"
It was fun. It was pretty obvious that Dex took it easy on me. It was homey, stepping back into time, playing old childhood games. Like being a kid again.
We gamed until late into the night, laughing and competitive. Then we went to our room and fell into bed and made love. For my part, I made love like it was the last time.
But I was immediately proven wrong when we woke the next morning and made love again.
We had breakfast at noon and boarded the helicopter for home around two. My heart pounded during the entire ride home.
When we landed at the airport, I felt so sick that I almost couldn't speak. Dex had some errands to run before he picked up Charlie, who was with Bella at Lucy's. He had called ahead for a car to drive me home. It was waiting for me when we arrived.
I grabbed Dex's arm. "There's something else I need to tell you."
He looked puzzled. "Yeah?"
I took a deep breath. "This weekend was the best one of my life. You're the perfect guy."
He grinned, but looked uneasy. "I don't know about perfect—"
"For me." I screwed up my courage. "But there's something you should know—Jesse didn't come after you that night at the casino because he thought you cheated him at the slots. Or not just because of that. He came after you because you rescued me. You helped me escape from him. I didn't realize he was responsible for your head injury until you showed me that video.
"It's taken me the rest of the weekend to work up the courage and find the right time to tell you. I've known since I first saw you at Puppy Love who you are. How could I forget you?"
He tried to speak.
I put a finger to his lips. "Don't interrupt. Please. This is hard enough."
I swallowed hard. "When I left the wedding chapel, I ran to the casino, looking to hide. I had no plan. I had Bella. She's a big part of the reason I bailed on Jesse. She was such a tiny puppy, hungry and scared. I wanted to step out of line to feed her. Jesse wanted to get married first. It just seemed…cold."
I took a deep breath. "His reaction sobered me up. I suddenly realized what a crazy thing I was about to do. I saw him with different eyes. I didn't know what to do. I should have been mature and called it off then and there. But I was afraid he'd take the puppy. And I couldn't have that. So maybe I did kidnap Bella." I shrugged. "Maybe I only rationalized that I didn't. You have to understand—I couldn't leave her with him.
"I excused myself to go to the bathroom, taking Bella with me, and just kept running past the bathroom out into the street. In my wedding dress.
"My shoes slowed me down. I took them off. I gave them to a couple I met on the street and kept running. I ducked into the casino. By that time, I was a mess—crying, barefoot, runny mascara. I looked like a crazy woman.
"But I ran into you. And was hit by the force of my attraction to you the moment I saw you. You were so kind. And funny. And not frightened at all by my appearance. Or what I'd very apparently done to another guy.
"You took pity on me when everyone else avoided me." I took another deep breath. "You helped me escape. Me, a crazy, upset stranger who'd just left her groom in line to buy a wedding package and run without an explanation." I laughed bitterly at myself and blinked back tears.
"You bought me that Bitch hat as a disguise. You bought food and a carrier for Bella. You paid for a car to take me to the airport and stuffed a wad of cash into my purse to pay for a flight to take me home.
"You refused to give me your number. You said that if we were supposed to, we'd meet again." My tears dripped down my chin. "Believe me or not. I should have told you right from the start. But when you didn't recognize me…
"When we met again, I didn't trust you. At first. You had to admit, it wasn't the most auspicious meeting, me accusing your dog of raping mine." I smiled sadly at the memory. "I was afraid you'd think I was a dognapper. That you might try to take Bella from me. And then…" I shrugged. "It didn't seem like I needed to. It didn't seem like the time was right. I thought it would ruin what we had going. It went too long and I couldn't."
I gulped for air like I was drowning, feeling totally wretched and desolate. "And now? Now I wanted it to be romantic when I told you. But my hand is forced. I can't let you confront Jesse without knowing the truth." I looked Dex in the eye, pleading with him to understand. "I want you to know that when I met you, you rocked my world, took my breath away with your smile. Made me believe in men again. I wish I could convey what I felt at that moment.
"Or how much I appreciated what you did. How much I wanted to meet you again. And how sorry I am that I kept it all from you. That I could have filled the gap in your memory a month ago."
I paused. "I've made up my mind—I'm going to do Jesse's show. Let him out me as his runaway bride. Tell the whole story. I'm tired of hiding. Tired of secrets. I'm going to give Jesse what he wants so he'll go away and keep you out of this. You can't be associated with a potential dognapper. You can't. I won't let you put Puppy Love at risk. When you asked me to be your fake girlfriend for the wedding, you didn't bargain on any of this."
Dex caught my wrist. "And if I don't want to let you go? If I won't? If I'd rather be part of a fake love triangle than lose you?"
"I won't let you sacrifice yourself on the altar of fake relationships for me. You deserve something real." I slid into the car. "Drive on," I said, shaking so badly that I could barely speak. "Drive on."
Chapter Sixteen
The Tarmac Was Spinning
Dex (Guy who's been dumped by his fake girlfriend for all the noble reasons. Bu
t are they good ones?)
I stood on the tarmac watching as the car drove away, stunned. Speechless. A rare occurrence for me. Dextyn Rushford was never at a loss for words.
Altar of fake relationships? Sacrifice myself? What the hell? What just happened? Did she not know I wasn't that selfless?
I had sworn to Shelby that I'd never forget the first time I met her. Never. That I'd laugh and refuse to believe her, even if she insisted we'd met before. I have a photographic memory. My arrogance got in the way of my good sense. I never thought…
Lesson learned—never swear to something until you've done your research first. But hell. Life is a game of risk. What were the odds that we would have met in the twelve hours of my entire life that were blacked out? Twelve hours were such a statistically insignificant percentage of the hours I'd lived…
If she'd told me we'd met at birth, or sometime during those first three years of life before long-term memory develops, it would have been less surreal.
I was still trying to digest what she'd said. It usually didn't take me this long to catch on to a foreign concept. I must have been in shock. We'd met before?
How in the world had I played hero, rescued her from Jesse and certain marital doom, and forgotten? That was the knight-in-shining-armor stuff of legend and awesome video games.
I racked my brain, trying to remember, and looked up so far—the position of remembering—that my eyes practically rolled back in my head, and kept it up until my eyes hurt. Nothing. Not a wisp of a memory. Not even when I tapped my chin sagely. If I were in a heroic myth, I'd consult an oracle. As it was, I only had my two best friends to rely on—Justin and Ellie.
I ruled out Ellie. She was off on a romantic getaway with her wimpy-ass fiancé. I needed a guy's opinion and a beer. I pulled out my phone and called Justin.
Fake girlfriends were as much a pain in the butt as real ones. At least I knew what had happened to my twenty-five hundred bucks now.
There was no way, no fucking way I was losing Shelby to one of her exes. Not when I'd already fought off Mitch. No fucking way.
Loves Billionaires and Corgis: A Feel Good Romance Page 13