Loves Billionaires and Corgis: A Feel Good Romance

by Gina Robinson

  Shelby

  I was shaking as we pulled away from the airport, wondering whether I'd done the right thing. Yeah, sure, it was the honorable thing. But was it the best thing? Was it the smart thing? How many shots at love, fake or real, did you get in life? How many times did you connect with a guy like I did with Dex? And how many hot, sweet, funny, dog-loving billionaires did one meet in a lifetime?

  I held up a single finger and counted to one. Yeah, that looked about right. You could give me a thousand more lifetimes and the odds were good I'd never even meet another.

  I'd better hope Jesse and Luke were as good as their word and paid well. But they'd never pay well enough to make up for what I'd just thrown away.

  I called Lucy—she'd been watching Bella and Charlie at her place—and asked her to drop Bella off at my house, giving her instructions to put Bella in the backyard. I remotely unlocked Bella's electric doggy door. I wanted the comfort of my dog when I got home, and I couldn't bear the thought of seeing Charlie. Or bumping into Dex as I picked Bella up.

  How would I explain to Bella that I'd just broken up with the human father of the father of her puppies? Who was only my fake boyfriend, but my heart was broken? That I'd destroyed any thoughts of happy homes with Bella, Charlie, and puppies altogether, at least for a time? And maybe trashed our livelihood in the process? All because I cared too much about Dex and the fake had become very real.

  I was confused about it myself. It was hard enough to put into thoughts, let alone words a dog would understand.

  Bella was waiting for me when I got home, lying in the shade in a perfect, adorable Corgi sploot. She was so cute like that with her little legs splayed out. My breaking heart welled with love. She looked about like I felt—wiped out. When I came in through the back gate, she raised her head and barked happily. She got comically to her short legs and ran to me, jumping up on me, pawing at my legs.

  I scooped her up and cuddled her close. "How was your weekend with Charlie?"

  She barked, happy and excited.

  "I figured as much. Mine with Dex was perfect, too. Until…" I sighed and blinked back tears. "I had to end our fake relationship, Bella babe. For his sake."

  Bella cocked her head and gave me her admonishing bark. She understood a lot more than people gave dogs credit for. Maybe she was simply picking up on my tone, but she knew something bad was going down.

  "I know. I'm sorry. I had to do it. Jesse forced my hand."

  Like at one point he'd forced his hand-in-marriage hand.

  "I have my limits. One fake relationship at a time is enough. I'm the monogamy queen of fake relationships. I couldn't continue on in a fake love triangle. You know? It's not my style. And it isn't fair to Dex."

  Bella barked again. But it was hard to tell whether she was sympathizing with me or admonishing me again.

  "Yeah, I know you had to be with both Bruno and Charlie. But you're a dog. Life is different for dogs."

  I swore she shook like she disagreed with me.

  "Everyone's a critic," I muttered beneath my breath.

  I scratched Bella beneath her chin, set her down, and grabbed the handle of my suitcase, walking toward the house. "I had to come clean with him and tell him how the three of us met."

  Bella trotted at my feet, shaking her momo almost indignantly. She barked again, not pleased.

  "You selfish little dog. Don't give me that. I didn't have a choice. The truth was closing in on me. Dex had a right to know how we ran from my wedding to Jesse. You were there when we all met in Vegas. You remember how Jesse was—dead drunk and not that concerned with your welfare, little lady."

  Bella stopped and gave me that cocked head again.

  "All right. Maybe you were too young to remember. How old do puppies have to be before their long-term memory kicks in and they remember events from their past? I could really use a witness to back me up here."

  She cocked her head further.

  "Don't look at me like I should know." I tapped my chest. "You're the dog. That makes you the expert, not me. I've never been a puppy."

  I swore Bella shook her head like she was frustrated with me. And how dumb were humans, anyway? Yeah, she got that "dogs are superior" smirk.

  I gave her the side-eye as I let us inside. "Man's best friend."

  If she'd been a cartoon dog, she would have sniggered at that. Despite all that, Bella comforted me. Someone loved me unconditionally. Someone whose career I couldn't ruin.

  I tossed my purse and backpack on the sofa and wheeled my suitcase to my bedroom. I had to walk past my studio. Everything I'd worked for…

  I took a deep breath. Damn involuntary tears. Not that voluntary tears were really better. Both of them ended up giving you a headache.

  In the bedroom, I plopped onto my bed with Bella beside me. I looked around at the pithy, romantic, sweet framed sayings that hung on the walls surrounding me. Examples of my work and art. Love poems I'd hand-lettered and painted. At sensually perfumed candles from some of my previous subscription boxes. Romance was all around me. Romance and weddings were my life.

  Resolve strikes at odd times. Now was one. From deep down, it came calling, steeling me to grab fate and take control. To take what I wanted. To stop being a victim. Since when I had I become a quitter?

  I was, really, a romantic at heart. So how did I keep screwing my own romantic life up so badly? It was time to stop reacting and start thinking. Time to fight for what I wanted. What would Dex do?

  It came to me in a flash—turn the tables on Jesse. Now that everything is out in the open, give him what he wants. Fulfill the letter of the contract. But make sure it's a brilliant contract written in your favor. Get everything you need in writing. This is the twenty-first century. I'm a smart, kickass woman. I have free will. I don't have to date Jesse a second longer than I must to accomplish my ends. And then…

  Oh, that will never do, my rule-following self argued. You can't fool the man like that. That's using him. It's not nice—

  Like hell she can't. Look, the man is just using her to further his own career. Why shouldn't she use him to get what she wants? Fair's fair. What goes around comes around, and all that. I know what you're up to, sister. You have my full support. I say do it. I'll help. I'm full of good suggestions—

  Don't listen to her—

  I shut the conversation with myself down. It was time to be undivided. So, yeah, what I had in mind was risky. The stakes were high, but the reward was worth the risk. No time to wallow in sorrow and heartbreak. Time to take the bulls by the horns and wrangle the one I wanted back.

  I had unfinished business to attend to. I had a fake boyfriend to win back. A plan was forming…

  I wiped my eyes, composed myself, grabbed my phone, and called Jesse.

  "Hey, babe. Come to your senses? Ready to be a TV star?" His sexy voice slunk through the phone to me, having no effect on me except to get my ire up and fortify my new resolve.

  "I'll do it. I'll do the show. I wanted to tell you before I called Luke and hammered out the details."

  There was a beat of silence. I'd surprised him.

  "Fantastic." He regained his composure and had put the charm back on. "What changed your mind?"

  "You have to ask?" Somehow I managed to sound flirty.

  "Ah, babe." There was a confident grin in his voice. He was used to women falling over him. That hot voice of his was a weapon he wielded well. Good thing I was immune. "You won't regret it. Gold Digger has been the best thing that's happened to me. It will be the best thing that's happened to you, too. To us." His voice dropped into the bass range. It would have curled most women's toes. "I can't wait to get reacquainted."

  "Yeah, me too." If he could play with my life, I could toy with him. "I have a couple of conditions, a few quid pro quos. Besides the ones we've already discussed, obviously. I broke up with my billionaire boyfriend—" I thought I'd gained control, but I fought to hang on to my composure. Relationship grief.

 
"I'd be lying if I said I was sorry to hear that." A sexy chuckle floated across the ether to me. He clearly thought it was because of him. And it was, just not in the way he thought. "I promise to make up for his short…comings."

  I did a silent count to three. Dex definitely wasn't short, and neither were his comings.

  "I want him, any mention of him, left out of the show. Bygones. The past is the past." Which should have sent a message to Jesse.

  "You got it, babe. Shouldn't be a problem."

  He was taking this all wrong. Which was exactly right.

  "I assume you're going to bring up our past?" I scratched Bella beneath her chin.

  "You mean how you ran out on me? It's embarrassing, but it makes for great TV. People love an epic love story."

  "Epic, yes. Star-crossed lovers," I said. "People, women, especially, love second chances at love stories." I let that sink in a moment. I could almost hear him salivating at the thought of his sex symbol status rising. "That's the other thing—I want final approval on how our story is presented. I have to protect my wedding business and reputation. Told in the right way, our story can enhance it."

  "You can have anything you want. You can even do a Gold Digger version of those subscription boxes of yours. Gold Digger, wedding style. Play your cards right and I'll see what I can do about getting some swag for it. Maybe some autographed photos."

  Gold dust woman. Great. I resisted rolling my eyes. "I'd prefer solid gold."

  He laughed. "I'll be back in town soon. When can I see you again?"

  "When I've ironed out the contract details with Luke. I assume he'll want to capture our every interaction for the show."

  "Good point. You're getting the hang of this quickly."

  "Jesse, can I ask you something personal?"

  "Sure." For the first time he sounded hesitant.

  "Did we have sex in Vegas?"

  "Uh—"

  "I'm sorry to have to ask." I really was. "I don't want to be ambushed by the question on camera. I was blackout drunk for a large part of our engagement."

  He laughed. Nervously, I thought. "I was too. Hate to say. We were all over each other."

  "I remember that much." Another mystery that wouldn't be solved. I was walking on soft ground here. "Hard to resist a guy with a voice like yours."

  "I don't remember doing much talking. I can't say we didn't have sex."

  "All right, let's get our story straight. Let's agree to say we were waiting for marriage to consummate our union."

  He laughed again. "That sure as hell doesn't sound like me."

  "That's why we were in such a big hurry." I actually laughed too. He wasn't that bad to talk to.

  "That sounds more like me."

  "One more thing—you didn't have Bella before that day? You hadn't contracted for her? Put your name on a list earlier?" I took a deep breath, hoping I wasn't giving too much away.

  "Nah. We got her that day, like I said, because you wanted a Corgi."

  "But how? A purebred Corgi? They're in such demand—"

  "The concierge at the hotel casino had an aunt whose Corgi had puppies that were weaned and ready to be parted from her. I used my celebrity status, and a pile of cash I'd won, to convince her to sell me a puppy for your bouquet. I do remember that much."

  Beside me, Bella gave a little yap.

  "Is that my dog?" Jesse asked. "Can't wait to see you, too, you little bitch."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Big Boys Don't Cry

  Dex (Billionaire dumpee on a mission.)

  I cried in my beer to Justin that evening, figuratively speaking. Shelby didn't understand—I understood the difference between real and fake. What we had was real. There was no denying the chemistry and growing love between us. We belonged together. And being who we were, the only reason we called it fake was to keep it real and keep us together.

  Someday, somehow, we'd overcome our aversion to commitment. Or the thought of it, or whatever a psychoanalyst would say. Hopefully we'd reach that point at the same time. But for now, I'd take what we called fake over what most people called real any day of the week.

  Shelby should have had more faith in me. After all, I was her hero. If I could believe her, I'd already proven that. Someone give me a cape.

  And number one—I understood why she'd kept the truth about Bella from me. If I felt Charlie's safety was at stake, that someone could take him from me, I'd have done the same thing. I got that by the time she felt she could trust me, I'd made such a damn big thing about never forgetting her that it was almost impossible for her to confess. I also understood that it was awkward. Like when you meet someone and they tell you their name. And you forget it, but you fake it next time you see them. Until, after a while, it's embarrassing that you have no idea what the hell their name is and it seems like it would offend them to ask. Or so people tell me. I never forget.

  And number two—I wasn't done with Jesse Parker yet. Not by a long shot. He had yet to meet the full power of Dex Rushford head-on.

  I told points number one and two to Justin as we hung out on the back deck of my house, with its awesome of view of Mount Rainier, drinking craft beer made by a friend's brewery. Charlie panted at my feet in the shade. He'd been moping since coming home from Lucy's. Missing Bella, I assumed. He needed a companion as much as I did.

  Kayla was at her mom's with the kids. Justin was glad for the escape. My cousin could be difficult, i.e. emotional, when she was pregnant. Apparently Justin had come clean with her about what had really happened in Vegas regarding my head injury and memory loss and his alibi.

  "How did she take it?" I asked, ready to duck if the story got ugly.

  He shrugged. "Surprisingly well. The timing was right for confession. She's too tired these days to really give me hell about anything. Takes too much valuable energy." He winked.

  "Fucking lucky bastard. If you have anything else you need to get out in the open, you'd better do it before she gets her energy back. FYI, Lala has a long memory."

  "Not that long." He grinned and reached over to pet Charlie. "Charlie looks lonely. I would have brought Data, but she's with Kay and the girls."

  "Charlie's missing Bella."

  "You two are a pair." Justin reached for another beer that sat in the cooler between us. "All right. I can't believe I'm asking, but lay the terrible tale on me. Every detail. I can't help you work up a plan without data."

  He didn't have to ask twice. I launched into the complete story of the weekend and Vegas, as I understood the sequence of events now.

  When I finished, Justin shook his head. "Unintended consequences. No one expects unintended consequences. Sounds like Lazer's plan for the weekend was brilliant. The romance part worked."

  "Yeah. It was a good plan. A great setting. The helicopter ride impressed the hell out of her." I took a deep swig of beer, shaking my head, mentally speaking. "Overcome by the truth. Can you believe that I rescued Shelby from Jesse and didn't know it?"

  "It's a little fantastic, true. But it sounds like you," Justin said. The beer was making him mellow. "You'd stick your nose out to help a pretty woman. I can believe that. And you like to throw money around, especially when it's easily won."

  "Easy come, easy go."

  "Exactly right. Now you can stop complaining about someone stealing your twenty-five hundred bucks."

  "Yeah, even though it was easily won, I hated the idea of it being stolen."

  "Or lost. Both of those are a damn waste. Used for a good cause, that's something else. In this case, fate."

  "Yeah, fate. Damn fate. If we'd never met before, if I hadn't given Shelby the money in the first place, we'd still be good. I thought Lady Luck liked me. But it turns out she's been screwing with me all along."

  "It's not just the money that's the problem," Justin said. "Even if you'd never given her the money, you'd still be in love with an alleged dog thief. Giving her the money didn't stop her from taking the dog."

  "But giving her
the money made me a damn accessory. My reputation is her main concern."

  "She's protecting you. That's good."

  I scowled. "I don't need protecting. I can protect myself." I grabbed another beer.

  "Yeah, but it shows she cares. She's not dumping you because you're a dick. Like most women would."

  I threw my bottle cap at him.

  He dodged it. "You've already had to spin Charlie going off leash and have a fling with Bella to protect Puppy Love stock prices. If people find out that Shelby walked out on a popular heartthrob, with his dog—"

  "Allegedly his dog."

  "Allegedly. But not everyone is going to hear that. They'll assume guilt. And that you aided and abetted dog theft… What's your plan now? Clearly, you aren't letting Shelby go that easily?"

  "Hell no." I took a deep breath. "I'm going to fight. If I can't outsmart that miner, I don't deserve Shelby."

  "Maybe you can outsmart an ordinary miner, but he's no ordinary miner. He's a mine boss." Justin winked. He liked ribbing me. "More importantly, he's a 'TV star.'" He rolled his eyes.

  At Justin's mocking mention of TV star, a light bulb went off for me. "Even easier. All I have to do is upstage him."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Along Came Dex

  Shelby

  Immediately after getting off the phone with Jesse, I texted Luke. I told him I'd do the show and gave him my conditions. He didn't bat an eye at them.

  I had just finished my text when I got one. That was fast. But it wasn't Luke. It was Dex.

  Don't give up on us. I'm not. I have a plan. Trust me.

  My fingers hovered as I decided whether to text him back. Maybe I should have held off. Not been too eager. But I didn't seem to be full of good sense lately.

  Give me a little time to work things out. I have a plan too. I don't need you messing it up ;-) Trust me.

  You're doing the show?

  Just verbally accepted.

  Damn. When can I see you again?