Ricardo proposed to Paula, much to Eddie's annoyance. Gregory informed Tim that he was expanding Tim's "duties" as a chauffeur. Caitlin and Cole enjoyed a romantic rendezvous in their private beach cave. Annie deliberately misled Meg before Meg could confront Ben about being "S.B."
Mindful of Gregory's warning, Cole declined Caitlin's offer to be her first lover. Mark emceed the Valentine's Day costume dance at the Deep, where several Sunset Beach near-couples couldn't seem to connect. Ben decided to get Annie out of the country before anyone discovered she was still alive.
Both Caitlin and Sean took guests to the Richards' family lunch. Mark was jealous of Tiffany's date with Sean. Vanessa panicked when Jalene disappeared. Ricardo and Paula announced their engagement to Elaine.
Ricardo was too distracted by the Douglas murder to pay attention to Paula's wedding planning, but she was understanding. Ricardo suggested that they divide duties: Paula would go window-shopping for wedding rings, while Ricardo went over to the Java Web to surf the Internet for possible wedding sites. Meanwhile, Eddie was going through Del Douglas' briefcase, which held the famed Deschanel jewels. Picking a diamond brooch from the collection, Eddie headed out to get it appraised.
At the jewelry shop, the jeweler informed Eddie that the piece was undoubtedly part of a very expensive collection. Eddie excused himself to use the phone when he was paged. Paula entered the jewelry shop and immediately noticed the brooch on the counter. Paula informed the jeweler that she was interested in wedding bands, as Eddie walked up from behind. Unaware that the woman in front of him was Paula, Eddie continued to ask the jeweler about the brooch. Turning, Paula admired the brooch; Eddie hastily covered that it was a family heirloom and made a quick exit. From outside the shop, Eddie watched as Paula checked out the rings.
At the Java Web, Ricardo tried to concentrate on finding a wedding site but was distracted by the sounds of female frustration at the next computer keyboard. Rationalizing that since he was just engaged but not married, there was no reason to not help. The woman was the same sexy Cleopatra from the Valentine's Dance that had had her eye on Ricardo. Although there was some flirting, Ricardo revealed his status as taken. Frustrated, Ricardo was unable to focus on his part of the wedding plans.
Back at Ricardo's place, Paula showed Ricardo brochures of some of the rings she'd seen. When Ricardo noted the lack of diamond size, he urged Paula to return to the jewelry shop and choose a ring that she wanted, not one that she believed Ricardo could afford. Paula happily ran out to choose her ring, while Ricardo stayed behind, looking like a trapped animal. At the jewelry store again, Paula was questioning the jeweler on the best methods of choosing a ring. Eddie turned up again outside and panicked as he saw that Paula was taking notes.
When Paula returned, Ricardo confronted her with an idea. Since he couldn't handle the big wedding plans, they could just elope. Back at his own place, a paranoid Eddie thought back to his past few run-ins with Paula -- all of them had Paula questioning Eddie's sudden wealth. Eddie began to pack his gear bag.
After the disastrous lunch with Sean's family, Tiffany ran back to the abandoned day care center that she'd been living in, unaware that Sean had trailed her there. When Sean asked in disbelief if she actually lived in the dump, Tiffany covered quickly by saying that she lived in El Segundo, and only went to "this dump" to feed the stray animals. Reassured, Sean asked Tiffany to forget what his father had said; Sean liked Tiffany for who she was, not how she dressed. Touched, Tiffany agreed to meet Sean later at the Java Web, and Sean left for work. Pensively, Tiffany reached for a pair of scissors and began to snip at her hair.
At the Web, Mark confronted Sean about Tiffany's homeless state. When Sean gave Tiffany's version of her home life to Mark, Mark blasted Sean for being so ignorant where Tiffany was concerned and informed him that Tiffany did live in "that dump," and before that, Tiffany had been homeless. Not wanting to believe Mark, Sean headed back to the abandoned day care center to confront Tiffany again. Later that day, Mark was stunned when Tiffany walked in sporting a new hairdo and looking very well groomed but was deflated when she asked if Sean was there.
Meg decided the only way to get to Ben was by playing their email/chat game again. As she sent "S.B." -- Ben's Internet name -- a message revealing her identity as Dorothy --Meg's Internet name, with Mark looking on. Neither noticed that Ben was actually in the Java Web, as well. At Ben's place, the whirring modem caught Annie's attention, and she opened up Ben's laptop.
As Meg poured her heart out over her concern for Ben's emotional state over Annie's death, Annie quickly deduced that Meg and Ben had had a relationship over the Net -- but that until recently, neither had known who the other really was. Realizing that Meg had discovered who her Internet love was but that Ben was still clueless, Annie played dirty to block Meg from getting a firmer hold on Ben. Annie sent Meg an instant message that implied that Annie was the true love of Ben's life -- even more so than his late wife, Maria. Hurt by the dismissive transmissions, Meg was totally devastated when a "Connection Terminated" message flashed onto the screen.
Having left Meg to give her privacy, Mark was stunned when Ben walked out of the back room and said that he was "leaving to run errands." As Ben walked out the front door, Mark ran to Meg's side to tell her the news -- she'd been talking to an imposter. Meg made a beeline for Ben's home.
At Ben's place, Annie put on the infrared stereo headset and turned up the rock music, dancing around the living room. Unaware that the doorbell was ringing, Annie danced into the other room as Meg let herself in, calling Ben's name. Meg went upstairs as Annie danced back in and flopped onto the couch. Still calling out for Ben, Meg returned downstairs, circled the couch -- and screamed in shock.
As Annie ripped off the headphones, Meg pulled her into an ecstatic hug -- she was alive! But then, reality hit -- it had to have been Annie that Meg had been talking to over the Net. Livid, Meg confronted Annie, who deftly turned the situation in her favor. She explained that she'd lied for Meg's own good, saying that Ben had a heart of stone, which had happened after his wife, Maria, had died. When Meg incorrectly assumed that Ben had been in on Annie's escape from the crematorium and expressed disbelief that Ben could have kept Annie's survival from her, Annie informed Meg smugly that the only person Ben trusted was Annie.
Although Annie nearly blew her story, she recovered quickly enough to manipulate Meg into believing that Meg needed to leave town before she got even more involved with a "dangerous man like Ben." Annie urged Meg toward the door and encouraged to leave right away, before she got her heart even more broken, and she opened the front door -- to Ben.
Caitlin unwittingly revealed Gregory's new plan to separate herself from Cole when she informed her mother that the sister of the contessa whom they'd met at lunch had committed suicide over some "gigolo." Olivia correctly deduced that Caitlin's beau, Cole St. John (the role being played by Eddie Cibrian) was the gigolo in question. When Olivia confronted Gregory, he arrogantly announced that his only intention was to protect his daughter.
Waiting for Caitlin on the beach, Cole recalled his promise to a woman who appeared to be on her deathbed -- he vowed to reunite the family. Also mindful of Gregory's warning, Cole fashioned a story to break Caitlin's heart. Back at the Richards home, Olivia warned Tim to be careful -- the Richards family had a habit of eating their young.
On the beach, Caitlin was devastated when Cole informed her that he was in love with a sophisticated woman in London. His fling with Caitlin had just been a California diversion. Hiding his real feelings, Cole left a distraught Caitlin on the beach. Later, Gregory welcomed a sobbing Caitlin with open arms and words of sympathy as Olivia watched. When Caitlin ran out of the house again, Gregory called Tim and ordered him to make sure that Caitlin returned home safely. Olivia expressed her disgust and popped the cork on a bottle of wine. At the beach cave, Tim found Caitlin and persuaded her to let him take her home.
Later, at the same cave, a drunk Olivia turned up and wished for "some of that Deschanel magic" as Cole entered the cave behind her.
Ricardo persuaded Paula to elope with him that night. In the meantime, Eddie scouted the perfect location for the next part of his plan to protect his interests. Paranoid about Paula's seeming interest in his newfound wealth, Eddie fashioned a hangman's noose.
Later, at the Deep, Ricardo ran into the same woman who he'd helped out at the Java Web. While Paula headed for the shower, Eddie let himself in, then froze as the phone rang; he ducked back outside. While Ricardo's drinking companion likened his upcoming wedding to going off to war and made it clear that she was ready to wish the soldier a passionate goodbye, Eddie kidnapped Paula and suspended her unconscious form from the ceiling with the hangman's noose around her wrists.
When Meg ripped into Ben about his "deception," a confused Ben refused to let Meg leave, instead pulling her back into the living room. When Meg's accusations finally made sense to Ben, he realized Annie had been lying about the nature of their relationship. When Annie confidently prompted Ben to define their relationship to Meg, she was deflated to hear him call her a "friend."
When Ben went upstairs to make a phone call, Annie tried once again to manipulate Meg into keeping quiet about being Ben's "cyber-lover," Dorothy. When Meg agreed, Annie was thrilled -- until Meg announced that she'd try to connect with Ben "in the flesh." Meg went on further to suggest that Ben refused to be more than friends with Annie because he didn't trust her. Annie was further stricken when Ben walked into the room and agreed with Meg's analysis.
Ben suggested that he and Meg return to work and informed Annie that the more they kept things as normal as possible, the better it would work for them as they tried to prove Annie's innocence. A triumphant Meg flashed Annie a grin as she and Ben left, prompting Annie to note that if she really were a killer, Meg would be her target. Suddenly, Annie had a disturbing flashback of a woman's hands, covered with blood. Panicked, Annie envisioned more: the woman in her vision was wearing a black cape-like coat -- and the woman wiped the blood off her hands onto the front of the coat.
