“Clear!” A voice called out and I knew the cameras were off. I turned away, my hand over my mouth as I saw Laney turn away, her face blanched with realization.

“Stay exactly where you are, right now, do not move, do not twitch a muscle!” Carol called out to us from the landing at the stairs. “I will remind you, this is being broadcast live, so please, no swearing when the cameras come back on, people!”

I’d forgotten that part. I scrubbed at the back of my neck with my hand, my gaze on the floor now. I couldn’t watch Laney and do what I needed to do.

I glanced up to see Carol glaring down at me menacingly. I wanted to give her the finger but held myself back. It wouldn’t accomplish anything if I did.

With a sigh, I turned back to face the music, the women, my fate. Laney wouldn’t meet my eyes. Hers were cast down to the ground, hands clasped behind her back. She’d looked so amazing as she came down those stairs in that wonderful gown. She looked like the princess I wanted to make her, the kind that could get down and dirty in the mud, and the kind that could wear designer labels with just as much ease. I wanted to give her the world at her feet, and seeing her like this I knew she deserved it. She deserved everything I could give her with my love and my money.

But I might lose the second part if I chose the first part. My eyes darted to Arabella and I knew what hatred was. She gave me a saucy wink and my hands clenched again. She made me feel so helpless and frustrated, the furthest thing from love there was. How could she take such delight in that torture?

How could one person be so bitter? I wondered as the cameras came back on and Skip walked into the room.

“It’s that time, folks, time for decisions to be made and for lives to change. Tonight, we’re going to learn who the fellas have picked as their mate, and we’ll also reveal which of these rather handsome gentlemen is going to give his lady the life of her dreams.”

He wandered in front of Trent, mic in hand, and eyed the man up and down. “Have you made a decision, Trent?”

“I have, Skip, and it’s going to be a shocker, I think.” Trent started to move but Skip stopped him.

“Don’t tell me yet, just wait a minute. Down, fella, don’t be so eager.” Skip winked at the camera and moved to David.

“And you, David? Our gentle soul with the spirit of a poet, have you made your choice?”

“I have, Skip,” David said plainly, giving nothing away.

“Are you anxious to reveal your choice?” Skip asked, a rather silly question if you asked me.

“I’ll be happy to get back to my normal routine, and I hope she accepts my choice, because I think she’ll be the perfect addition to my life, Skip. An amazing woman, she really is.” David winked back at Skip.

I stared at David in shock. Love really did change a man! Our serious David, always so quiet, had a playful side I’d never seen from him before!

“And what about you, Jake? I’ve heard you’ve had some difficulty making your choice.” Again, a toothsome grin and a wink for the camera. The man was incorrigible.

“I’ve come to the best decision I can, Skip. The only one I can possibly make really.”

“Good to hear, good to hear. Now…” Skip swung around to the ladies before he could go on. “Onto the ladies. Wow, you’re all so gorgeous, my dears. How are you? Ready to get on with this?”

We all nodded in agreement and Skip moved to the middle ground between us all.

“Now, gentlemen, I think it’s time we put our ladies and the audience out of their misery, don’t you?” He winked at us this time. I wanted to punch the man if he didn’t get on with it.

“David? Are you ready to reveal your choice?” Skip turned to David and waited.

I heard a squeak out of David and had to smother a chuckle.

“I am, Skip.” He was finally able to answer, his eyes already on the beaming Kelly.

“Then, please, reveal all to us now.” Skip dramatically flourished his hand in the direction of the women and David walked straight over to Kelly.

“Kelly, if you’ll have me, I want you to be my choice and my bride.” David went down on one knee as Kelly squealed and jumped with happiness, the music swelling dramatically around us.

“Yes, David, oh my God, yes!” She dragged him from his knees and a rather dramatic kiss began. Skip had to clear his throat to get them to stop.

“Well, there we go, folks, a rather dramatic turn of events there. Let’s see what our next bachelor can bring to our show. Jake, have you made your choice?” He turned to me with hard eyes and I froze.

Why didn’t they ask Trent first? I glanced at Laney and saw she didn’t look well at all. My heart broke for her, but I knew that it would soon be over. I straightened my back and chin and looked directly at Skip.

“I have, Skip. It wasn’t a hard choice, really.” I glanced up and saw Carol glaring down at me like an evil monkey and gave her a wink of my own. “I made up my mind a long time ago.”

I took my first step, a step toward Arabella, and carried on. She looked so damned smug, her head tilted in triumph, waiting for my kiss.

“Arabella,” I started, “you are one beautiful woman, there’s no doubt about that.”

I stood in front of her and took her hand. I heard a noise from Laney, but forced myself to ignore it. “You would make any man proud to have you on his arm. Your beauty is perfection, and you really should be on the cover of magazines.”

She pranced in place, accepting her due as queen of the ball as the music began to swell once more.

“But, inside, you’re a mess. And rather ugly.” She looked up at me, shocked into total silence. “Laney, on the other hand…”

I dropped the witch’s hand and moved to Laney. She looked so sick and I felt terrible about what I’d just done. Her eyes were wide, and she looked a little green around the edges. I had to fix this, quickly.

“Laney, you are perfection inside and out. I’ve never had a single doubt about you. Not even once. I choose you, if you’ll have me.”

I heard a screech of rage from Carol and Arabella, but it was Laney that had my attention. Her eyes went impossibly wide, her face flushed, and before I could do anything, she turned her head and vomited all over Arabella.

“You bitch, oh my God, oh my GOD!” Arabella screamed, her hands up to protect her face, and honestly, I couldn’t blame her. Being vomited on had to be one of the most humiliating things to happen to a person. It was also hilarious to watch.

Laney let go several times before she finally crumpled into a heap of tears on the floor. People finally started to scramble around and I heard a voice screaming ‘clear’ as people crawled out of the woodwork to clean up the mess and one hunkered down in front of Laney.

I heard cell phones going off all over the place, and all I could do was laugh. I sat with Laney after we moved her out of the view of cameras and held her hand as she cried.

“I puked all over Arabella. God, I’m going to die of humiliation.” She leaned her head against my shoulder and blew into a tissue as tears continued to pour down her face.

“You might, but I’ll be there to revive you.” I chucked her under the chin and pulled her face up. “You still haven’t answered me.

“That was a rotten thing you did, Jake!” She glared at me, but gratefully took a piece of gum from a passing assistant. She chewed for a minute before she continued. “You know I can’t say no to you.”

“I was rather hoping you couldn’t.”

I could hear cheering from the other room and looked up to see David and Kelly were the culprits, along with quite a few of the staff. Carol glared at us.

Arabella was assisted out of the foyer and into another room. Somebody had mopped up the floor and now the cameras were preparing to go back on.

“Do you think you’ll be in trouble?” Laney asked, her eyes on me as Trent made his choice. Neither of us really cared about who he chose. We knew it was a sham anyway. Trent and Skip had been carrying on an affair throughout the whole show.

“I don’t care. Really, I don’t. I’ll take care of Gran, I’ll find a way to do that. And you, although I don’t think you’re that kind of a woman, are you?” I looked down at her and saw a fierce pride burning in her gaze.

“No, I’m not that kind at all. I don’t care if you have more money than the US gross domestic product. I only want you, Jake, not your money. You know that.” She looked at me tenderly, her gaze full of only love.

I wanted to carry her away now, I wanted to take her back to the cabin in the woods and make love to her until neither one of us could move, but I knew there was one more part to the show. The big reveal.

“You will get back out there, and you will smile. Go!” Arabella came out of the room, Carol behind her. She’d changed and been cleaned up, but her hair and makeup were still a mess. She was being made to go on national TV looking like that, just another humiliation. One she deserved, I felt.

“Do you feel up to it, or shall I carry you in, Laney?” I asked, fully meaning it.

“I can walk. I feel so much better now.”

She gave a quiet laugh and we stood up together. An assistant had given her a chair and she sat down as the cameras moved around. First, they panned over the women that hadn’t been chosen and then over the winners.

“Are you feeling better, Laney?” Skip asked, coming to her immediately.

“Much, Skip, thank you. Sorry, Arabella,” she called out the apology over her shoulder.

“Now, Trent and David have their lady fairs, but what about you, Jake? Have you accepted him, Laney?” Skip gave an excited wiggle of his eyebrows and waited.

“I have, Skip.”

“Congratulations!” the other man cried, his eyes happy.

“Now, it’s time to reveal the final secret and the prizes of the show!” Skip turned back to the camera. “One of our fellas is a billionaire. The question is, which one is it?”

I could see the camera panning over all of us and tried not to grin. I guess Laney already knew, but I was still excited. I could finally tell her everything, there would be no more half-truths, no more deflection, just the total honest truth. If I didn’t get sued into prison, anyway. My lawyer had that sorted, I hoped. There was more than one way to fry a fish, after all.

“Kelly, who do you think it is?” Skip pounced and held the mic in front of Kelly.

“Oh. I think it’s Jake. David has to be the teacher.”

“Ah, wise observation.” Skip’s eyebrows wiggled again.

“And you, sweetheart?” I could tell Skip had already forgotten her name.

“I think it’s Trent. He’s just so handsome and funny.” She twirled his hair in her fingers and for a moment I was worried we were going to have another case of spontaneous vomiting on the set. Skip got himself under control, thankfully.

“And you, Laney? You’ve heard what the others have to say, who do you think is our most eligible bachelor of all?” Skip waited for Laney to speak.

She looked at me for a moment and then smiled.

“I don’t care really, Skip. It could be any of them. Money doesn’t give you a look or a smell. There’s no way to identify a rich person from a poor one when they all dress the same.”

I liked that.

“Of course, but an answer would be nice, just for our audience.”

“I think it’s Trent. He’s always going on about his past and how he was raised. I’d have to guess it was him. I think Jake might very well be the plumber, he’s good with his hands, you know.”

“Then you’d be wrong, my dear.” Skip popped up and gave the camera yet another wink. “Because our real rich man is the one you’re sitting beside! A tech giant, Jackson Mallory is a god among men. He’s also a philanthropist that gives to many aid groups and has plans to provide education to the needy in some rather amazing ways.”

I saw her eyes go wide and knew she was impressed, but I still didn’t think it had quite soaked in yet. I was a billionaire and not just a little one.

I heard Arabella whimper in the background and my grin broadened.

“And just to ease the tension, David is the plumber, a very successful one with his own chain of businesses and Trent is the teacher.”

“I knew he wouldn’t be able to stand in front of a classroom of students.” I heard Laney mutter and chuckled.

“It’s an odd job for a poet, though, isn’t it?” I leaned over and asked her, ignoring the rest of Skip’s banter for a moment.

“Not really, most of the time he won’t be around people and he has time to think as he works. I imagine it keeps him busy too.”

She gave me a happy smile and Skip drew our attention once more.

“Now for the prizes. Each of the contestants will be receiving $100,000, a new car worth $40,000, and a trip to Hawaii, also on us.”

I heard Laney gasp in excitement at last.

“I can pay off the rest of my education!” she whispered to me.

“I’m giving mine to my charitable foundation. It can always use more money.” I made the decision on the spot. “The car I’ll give to someone who needs it.”

“But then you won’t have any prizes at all!” Laney said, her brows knitted.

“I’ll have you, Laney. That’s all I need.” I pulled her hand up, wrapped around my own, and kissed her fingers.

“I guess you’re right.” She smiled happily and I knew that this was only the beginning for us.