This confession did little to reassure her. Although she already stood like a beacon, she straightened and seemed to gain two inches in the process. “I swear on everything you love, Spencer, if you did anything to grease Wheezy’s wheels, I’ll never forgive you. I know you meant to be nice and that you thought you were doing me a favor by handing me a dog-show trophy, but if that’s the person you think I am, then—”

“You,” he said, unable and unwilling to let her finish that sentence. He knew how it ended: then we’re through, then I never want to see you again, then you aren’t the man I need you to be. Each one of those options made his blood run cold.

She blinked, clearly taken aback. “Me what?”

“You swore on everything I love,” he said. This was dangerous territory, but he had to say it. She had to know. “That’s you. You’re everything I love.”

Instead of being touched by this confession, Ruby put her hands on her hips. “Spencer, don’t.”

“Sorry. I know there’s a good chance you don’t feel the same, but I had to say it.”

“Well, don’t say it again. I’m here to win a dog show, not entrap one of the judges into doing my bidding.” She cast a quick furtive glance around the gym. Several people were watching them, some sidling close enough to overhear, so she leaned close and lowered her voice. “I don’t need your charity. I know my life isn’t the glamorous picture I made it out to be, but it’s mine. I’m sorry for lying about what I did for a living, but I’m not sorry for who I am. If you aren’t willing to hold Wheezy—and me—to the same high standards you hold for everyone else, then we have no place here.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not one of the judges,” he said.

There was no way Wheezy could understand the conversation they were having, but the length of it was starting to make him feel neglected. He fell to the floor with a dramatic slump. Since Ruby was holding the other end of his leash, she slumped with him.

“Wait—what? Spencer. What?”

He smiled. He hadn’t been sure that such a thing was possible when so much between them was up in the air, but the look of incredulity she shot him demanded nothing less. His parents and Lawson had experienced similar reactions to the news, though Lawson must have sensed something was up because he got over it pretty quickly. And as for Eva, well, Spencer’s ears were still ringing with her response.