“I already know what you’re capable of,” he said. “And I became ineligible as a judge the moment you stood in my living room and dared me to admit how I felt about you. You know that as well as I do.”

She faltered, the firm set of her lips quavering at the edges. Tears sparked in her eyes, but he already knew she wouldn’t let them fall.

“You are, without a doubt, the most determined, kindhearted, resilient person I know,” he said. He gave in to the urge to grab her hand. Like the rest of her, it was shining and perfect from a distance. Up close, however, it still bore several large welts and angry red patches.

He lifted that perfectly imperfect hand to his lips and kissed it.

“I don’t need a pageant or a dog show to tell me any of that. Trust me—anyone who’s spent more than five minutes in your company knows it.” Ruby made a motion to draw her hand away, but he held fast. “Which is why I found a replacement judge who will not only rip you and Wheezy to pieces but who will most likely leave both of you in tears before this day is through.”

Her hand stilled in his. “You did what?”

He chuckled softly. “Did you think I was going to leave this whole thing to Eva and Lawson? I love them both to death, but they’re not nearly harsh enough to provide the criticism these animals need. And yes, Wheezy, I’m talking to you. You are, without a doubt, the poorest specimen of a show dog I’ve ever seen in my life. Even with those falsified papers—”

Ruby stiffened and placed herself in a protective stance in front of the dog. “You can’t prove that DNA test was his. I never agreed to it. Mrs. Orson didn’t give her consent.”

“Even with those falsified papers,” he echoed, fighting the laugh that rose to his lips, “I predict that you two will go down as the worst candidates the West Coast Canine Classic has ever had the misfortune to see. And I’m including a few years ago when a bull terrier and an Irish wolfhound got into the school kitchen and ate three bags of frozen fish sticks.”

“Is that a challenge?” she asked, her shoulders squared to meet him. Spencer had never been so happy to see anything in his life. There was still a lot that had to be said between them, and he wasn’t sure if Ruby would ever be able to forgive him, but she was back to fighting form, and that was all that mattered.

“Yes, Ruby,” he said, meeting her gaze and holding it. “It is.”