Out of the shower, I throw on the clothes someone left on the bed, not bothering to shave or even put on shoes. When I make it out to the great room, guests mill about. They spill out to the patio. Liesa is putting on a grand party with the friends hired for the show and people I’ve never seen before.

Simone, still carrying a mimosa, makes the rounds, flirting and giving air kisses. She spots me and I hurry toward the patio, getting caught behind a gaggle of short-skirted girls smelling of expensive perfume and gin. I’m not quick enough to dodge Simone and she intercepts me.

“Zach.” She kisses me on the mouth, then wipes the lipstick off with manicured fingers. “That shirt is the perfect color for your eyes. I knew it would be.”

“Do you know where Liesa is? I need to talk to her.” I search the room but don’t see her blonde curls anywhere. If she’s making plans to fix things I want to know what they are.

Simone sips her drink and waves her hand. “She’s around somewhere.”

Two hands clamp over my eyes from behind me. A subtle vanilla scent wafts to me and I smile, recognizing an ally. “Alicia. What are you doing here?”

She whisks her hands away and gives me a playful hug. “Who knows? Liesa called Mom and insisted we join the party. Niles is already on his way home, but we aren’t due to fly out for another couple of days.”

I sling my arm around her shoulders, surprised I’d missed her so much. “You’re hanging around longer than usual, aren’t you?”

She rolls her eyes, locating Mom among a trio of other middle-aged women. “Apparently, I’m too serious with Joel Kuxhauser and Niles hopes a separation will cool things off.”

Niles and his manipulations. At least Alicia is smart enough to avoid the extremes of being tossed in Jonas’s cage. “Is he right?”

She grabs a rum punch off the tray of a passing waiter and gives him a flirty smile before taking a sip. “Only partly. I couldn’t care less about Joel, so yeah, pretty cool about that. It’s Bryan Lewis I’d like to ride like a rodeo hero.”

“Oh, jeez.” I laugh anyway, knowing Alicia pays lip service to Mom and Niles and tends to get her way by flying under their radar.

Mom sidles up to me and takes my hands. “Oh, Zach. You look tired. Are you eating? I don’t think this is good for you. I’m going to tell Jonas you need to move back to the condo.”

I kiss Mom’s cheek, something she adores. “I’d love to move home.” I don’t tell her it’ll never happen. That whatever happens next, I’ll never live under Niles’ roof again.

Alicia tips the rum punch back and empties it. “Please do. It would give Mom someone else to focus on for a while.”

Mom pouts at Alicia. “I thought we were having a fun mother/daughter bonding time.”

Alicia plants a kiss on Mom’s other cheek. “I love you, but another high tea and I’m going to puke.”

“Oh, Alicia.” Mom giggles as if Alicia said something hilarious.

Alicia raises her eyebrows at me. “See? Tell me I’m not deserving of a rodeo. Right. Now.”

“Oh,” Mom brightens. “Excuse me, Loretta is on the patio and I need to talk to her about the hospital charity raffle.”

Alicia punches my arm. “And I’ve got to see a man about a horse.” She takes off for the waiter with the drinks tray.

The couple entering the party catch my attention and my stomach clenches. Jonas walks in from the foyer, Mrs. Knightly’s hand resting lightly on his arm. He doesn’t look happy.

At that moment, Liesa makes a grand entrance from the stairs. “Welcome everyone. I’m glad you could make it on such short notice.”

She pauses and sweeps the room with a radiant smile. “Because of the last-minute situation, I decided we’d go super-casual with a buffet and it’s being set up in the dining room. But for now, a bar is open on the patio and Ricky is a genius with all the favorite island cocktails and please help yourselves to the canapes.”

Liesa descends the last step and makes her way through the knots of guests.

In the corner of the room I notice Bob with the camera on his shoulder and Lurch doing his thing next to him. Bob aims the camera at Kylie. Next to him, Jeri watches me with gleaming eyes, as if sitting down to a banquet when she hasn’t eaten in months. Across the room, Jonas flashes a toothy grin and gives me a thumbs up.

Shit. They’re filming Kylie and me. My knee-jerk reaction is to grab Kylie and hide. But you know what, fuck that.

Fuck them.

I take a step in Kylie’s direction and her eyes brighten. Yep, this is the moment I’m going to take her hand and walk out. No big explanation, no drama for the cameras. Just me and Kylie.

What about Liesa?

She can take care of herself.

She’s as trapped as you are.

But Kylie.

Someone laces a hand through my arm and Liesa leans close. “It’s show time.”

I look into her sapphire-colored eyes. Have they always been that blue? So much like Kylies? “Where can we go? We need to talk.”

She runs her fingers down my arm to twine them with mine. “We’ll talk later. Right now, I’ve got something I want to say in front of all my friends.”

Kylie leans against the wall by the kitchen door. She keeps her eyes on us, never noticing Bob. I want to shout at her to run. Whatever Liesa has planned, it won’t be good for either of us.

Liesa tugs me toward the stairs, she wears a determined smile and she searches the room, her gaze finally lighting on Jonas. When they lock eyes, she raises her chin in a defiant gesture and yanks me through a collection of hangers-on and paid actors who hover around Liesa and pretend to be her friend for a weekly paycheck.

Worry lines crease Jonas’s forehead and he shoves through the packed great room as if to intercept us. Kylie stands tall with sudden tension, her focus flitting between Jonas and me, fear overcoming the earlier excitement.

Alicia stands in the middle of a group of Liesa’s friends, nibbling on a crab puff and gulping on a rum punch. Mom looks up from her circle of ladies, mildly irritated at the interruption.

Liesa drags me to the stairs and jumps up, pulling me behind her. She shoves me three steps up and still holding my hand, she raises her voice. “Everyone! I have something I want to say.”

All heads turn toward us. Jonas now stands directly below, seething. Whatever is about to happen, he’d give his left nut to stop it. Across the room, Simone stares at us, mimosa frozen halfway to her lips. Mrs. Knightly has found a chair in the middle of the room and balances a teacup with regal grace, an amused expression on her face.

I seek out Kylie. She’s out of place and so perfect all at once. I tug my hand away from Liesa but she doesn’t seem to notice.

She pauses, waiting for silence. When she seems satisfied she has every ounce of attention, she pivots toward me and dips to one knee.

What the fuck is she doing?

A muffled gasp rises from the guests.

“Zach, I’ve been trying to hold back, to take everything slowly so I’m sure it’s right. But it’s no secret how much I adore you. To my friends and family, it may not seem like we’ve known each other long, but I feel as though we’ve known each other forever. I’m ready to commit to you and don’t want to wait another minute.”

I feel as though I’m being sucked into a swirling vortex. The only way out is to humiliate and crush Liesa in front of everyone she knows. I can’t do that to her. Not this publicly. In desperation, I look out on the room. Several of Liesa’s friends stand teary-eyed, their hands to their mouths or breasts. Simone looks mad enough to bite her champagne flute in half. Mrs. Knightly looks like she can’t wait to see what going to happen next.

Kylie hasn’t moved. She looks mesmerized by the scene playing out in front of her. I want to explain that this is for the camera only. Liesa knows I love Kylie. That she’s who I want to be with. As hurtful as that might be, she’ll have to understand. But for now, we’re trapped in Liesa’s web.

Liesa fumbles in the pocket of her party dress and pulls out a velvet ring box. She lets go of my hand to open the box and pops out a band encrusted with diamond chips. The gaudiest ring available, I have no doubt.

Without waiting for my response and while I stand like the biggest dipshit on the planet, she slips it on my left ring finger. “I know there’s no such thing as engagement rings for guys, but it isn’t typical for the girl to pop the question like this, either. That’s one thing you know about me. I make my own rules.”

“Liesa,” I start. This has gone too far. I can’t do this to Kylie.

She tugs my hand and when I look down at her, I see a desperate girl. I can’t let her down this publicly.

She draws my hand to her chest. “Zach, will you marry me?”

With one last glance at Kylie, pleading for her to understand, I say, “Yes.”

Liesa throws herself into my arms and kisses me. Around the side of her head, I see the kitchen door swing and the flash of Kylie’s ponytail.