Drew smiled at the memory of running into Kate as he sat in L.A.’s bumper-to-bumper traffic a few days later. He'd almost bolted when he realized he had just bumped into her. The last time they'd seen each other was at Aiden's funeral and he was sure her whole family hated him. Hated that he had lived when Aiden had died. He had been so surprised when he'd gotten an announcement for Kate's wedding earlier that spring. Surprised that they would even want to be in the same room as him. Part of him regretted not going, or even responding to it. But he hated the thought of darkening what was supposed to be the happiest day in Kate's life with his presence. Her family didn't need any reminders from that bleak time of their lives.

He'd definitely done his best to strip it from his mind. Keeping his hands and mind busy so he could hopefully get over the guilt he'd brought upon himself. But when Kate's announcement had come in the mail, he'd decided that if her family had been able to move on, maybe it was time for him to move on too.

Finding Your Soulmate had been after him for years. After his dating app went viral, there had been a constant dialog going through the media about his relationship status. Which, for the most part, was single. He had been so busy numbing his mind and heart with the coding, trying to keep his startup from crashing every night with all the new downloads, that there just wasn't time to date during the first few years. He barely even had time to sleep. And then, when he'd pulled his head out of the cave he'd thrown himself into after Aiden's death, he'd come out to find that he'd done it too late. The only girl he'd ever really fallen for, the girl who had inspired the app idea in the first place, was getting married.

But thankfully, time healed all wounds, and his heart hadn't hurt too much when he'd run into her at the grocery store.

Drew looked at the ridiculous wig and facial hair sitting in the passenger seat of his black Lamborghini. Why did he have to look like a hobo when he'd run into Kate? She'd looked like she was about to scream when she saw him. He couldn't blame her though; he did look pretty crazy.

Drew grabbed the disguise and headed into the studio, straight to Alexis Olley's office. She was the show's executive producer, and they had a lot to go over before his first promotional interviews started next week.

"Let's just jump right in," Alexis said when Drew sat in the black chair across from her mahogany desk. Alexis was a no-nonsense-type lady. She'd started Finding Your Soulmate ten years ago, and it had been in the number one time slot ever since. She was dynamite and didn't put up with anything but the best.

Which was why Drew had to come into the studio today. Things hadn't gone quite the way Alexis had wanted on the last day of filming, and she was dead bent on salvaging the show in any way she could.

"Now that you've had the holidays to relax, it's time for us to save this season."

Drew gulped. He knew he'd made them unhappy, but he hadn't thought it was a complete train wreck.

"What do I need to do?"

"I'm going to be blunt with you, Drew. Here at Finding Your Soulmate, we expect to watch people fall in love. We expect a happily ever after. And we did not get the happily ever after you agreed to. Now, the rest of the producers have met several times trying to come up with a way to save our ratings and guarantee people will keep coming back season after season. So after much deliberation, we've decided that you will propose to Gwen on our live after-show."

Panic jumped in Drew's veins. "But what if we're not ready by then?"

"You better fake it. It's in your contract to have a proposal. And that's what we expect. Even if you have to pretend."

But could Drew pretend to get engaged?

He liked Gwen…most of the time. They had a lot of good times together. But would he be able to ask her to marry him in just two and a half months, especially when they only got to see each other in person every other weekend?

"Do we have an understanding?" Alexis pressed.

Drew swallowed thickly. "Yes. I'll make it happen."

Alexis's face brightened, along with her tone. "Very good. Which brings us to our next step in operation 'save the show.'" She pushed a sheet of paper across her desk. It was a bulleted list of what looked like possible questions an interviewer might ask him while he was on the promotional tour, and the answers that the studio approved of him saying.

"We've already discovered that acting is not a career you should go after—you know, if you somehow drain your savings accounts." She smiled at her own joke. "So you'll need to practice these until they roll off your tongue." Alexis looked at him over the rim of her glasses. "Let's just get started, all right?"

"Sure." Drew shifted in his chair. He lifted the white paper so he could read it better.

"So Drew," Alexis said, jumping right into the character of her favorite nighttime TV host of all time, Davey Denton. "What was this experience like?"

"It was amazing. A once-in-a-lifetime experience," Drew said, reading the script she'd given him.

Alexis tsked. "Could you possibly say that with less of a monotone and with a lot more enthusiasm? If we’re going to sell viewers on watching another season of this show, we need to make it look like they won't be wasting their time. They want excitement, fun, and most of all, romance. Let them know they're in for the experience of a lifetime if they watch your season. You're the Billionaire Bachelor. Sell it like you sold your app."

Drew cleared his throat and tried again. "It was amazing!" He put emphasis into his words. "A once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"That was better," Alexis said, scribbling a note onto her script. "Let's try it one more time."

Drew sat up straighter as she read the same question again, and this time, when he answered, he thought about the date where he'd gone ziplining through the Amazon with Gwen. She'd been scared to death of heights and screamed the whole way down. But the rush of adrenaline that had shot through him as they'd flown through the trees was something he'd never forget.

"It was amazing! A once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Alexis clapped. "Much better. I almost believed you that time."

Drew slumped his shoulders, picking up on the almost in her sentence.

He was going to ruin the show before it even started airing.

"Next question," Alexis said. "Who did you pick?"

Drew read the answer. (Drew chuckles) You know I can't answer that. But I will say this: I'm really happy with the way things turned out.

But was he?

"Do you see the answer?" Alexis looked at him expectantly.

"Yeah, sorry. Ha, ha, Davey. You know I can't answer that. But I will say this: I'm really happy with the way things turned out."

Alexis drew in a breath and released it before speaking. "Are you even trying?" Frustration was apparent in her voice.

Drew swallowed. "You said yourself I was a crappy actor." He thought for a moment. "Here, I'll take this home with me and practice. We can try again later."

She nodded, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "Okay, make sure that you do. Your first interview is only four days away and those interviews better go off without a hitch. I will not have my ratings take a dive because you can't answer a few questions."

Drew's mouth went dry. He really was going to be the worst bachelor in all of Finding Your Soulmate's history. And any credibility he and his app had in helping other people finding love would go down the drain with the show.

Dion, one of the other producers, knocked on Alexis' door. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure, Drew and I were just about finished."

Dion stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "I just got some bad news."

Alexis leaned back in her chair. "What do you mean bad news?"

Dion cleared his throat and took the chair next to Drew. "Drew's handler just quit."

Alexis's eyes widened. “Bryce quit?"

"Apparently, he has issues with our bachelor."

Drew shook his head. Of course Bryce blamed it on Drew instead of owning up to the fact that he'd taken a job with Finding Your Soulmate's biggest competitor.

"What are we going to do?" Alexis asked. "We're already short staffed as it is. Drew has a bunch of appearances. It's not like you or I can just drop everything and make sure he gets to his interviews.”

Dion turned to Drew. "Don't you have a personal assistant who can do all this for you?"

"Byron is busy handling my whole company right now." Drew shook his head. "But I'm a big boy. I can get myself to the airport."

"No!" Dion and Alexis said at the same time.

Dion pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've had bachelors try that before, and then they ended up being late for their interviews. That's not something we can afford to do, especially with the season we have ahead of us."

Alexis blew out a long, frustrated breath and looked to Dion. "Do you have anyone else in mind? We can't just hire anyone. We don't have time to do all our usual background checks and screenings. We need someone we can trust. Someone responsible who won't quit on us midway through the season. Preferably someone from Drew's past that we know will get along with him. We don't have time to wait and see if they're a good match to work together."

Kate popped into Drew's mind, and he tried to push the thought away. Working with him was probably the last thing she wanted to do. But before he knew it, he was saying, "I might know someone. I've known her since we were kids. She's driven and responsible, and I think she's looking for something full time."

"One problem,” Alexis said. “She's a she. I don't need another bachelor falling for his handler. Especially one who isn't quite engaged."

Drew gulped. Yikes. Alexis really was going to hold that whole engagement thing over his head until he fixed it.

"She's married. If that helps anything."

"Married?" Alexis perked up, her expression relaxing for the first time since Dion walked in.

Drew nodded. "Yeah, she got married this summer." Why was he pushing forward with this?

Alexis smiled. "Good. Call her now. We need to get this spot filled as soon as possible. In fact, if you can get her to come in today so she can sign a confidentiality contract, that would be ideal."

Drew swallowed, wondering what he'd just gotten himself into. He couldn't call Kate. Not with their history. The last thing he needed was her assistance in his engagement. That would be even more excruciating than knowing millions of fans were watching him try to find love on TV each week.