Page 22 of The Billionaire Love Match

EIGHT

Casey threw herselfdown on the king-sized bed, which was a million times more comfortable than the twin bed in the room she shared with Amanda. Her hair was still damp, but from the shower, not the pool. She had to wash the chlorine out because her hair had the unfortunate tendency to turn green if she spent a lot of time in pools. Just one more reason to hate swimming.

“Wow,” Casey said. “So this is reality TV.”

Tessa giggled and dropped onto the bed as well. It was so big that even though they were sharing the bed and the room, there was still room stretching wide between them.

“I guess so,” Tessa said. “I’m still not sure I like it. But Colt—I like him a lot.” She sat up on an elbow, looking at Casey, making a face. “Sorry. That’s weird to say.”

Casey sat halfway up too, facing her. “Yeah. But we’re not going to be awkward about it. Any more than we have to. That’s the promise. Whatever happens, we’re good. Right?”

“We did pinky swear,” Tessa said, smiling.

Casey flopped back down and laughed. “For some reason this whole thing has me feeling like I’m back in junior high.”

“Maybe because that’s exactly what it’s like,” Tessa sighed. “The producers are like strict parents telling us what we can and can’t do. The other women are like those cliques that I couldn’t escape and I never fit into.”

“Me either,” Casey said. “I feel like this is worse somehow though. Because we should be old enough NOT to have cliques, right? Shouldn’t everyone be mature?”

“Yes...until you remember that we are all after the same guy.”

Casey blew out a breath. “Yeah. There’s the rub.”

She pictured Colt’s face again. His hair dripping wet and hanging over his forehead, his hazel eyes seeming darker with intensity as he leaned in for that kiss.

That kiss.

Casey shivered just thinking about it, the memory enough to send her skin humming. The kiss in the bathroom had been the most incredible kiss she’d experienced, but this—there was something deeper, more than just the physical. She felt like that kiss took them to another level, as though something passed between them. A commitment of some kind. Which was crazy. Did he feel the same? Was it just her? And how could they be getting closer when they had an awkwardly brief conversation on the couch, along with the addition of the Morse messages.

Which she needed to get better at, clearly. She had a feeling she said something wrong because he laughed, and she definitely didn’t understand what he was trying to tell her. “Kiss me” was the one phrase she practiced. She remembered keenly the disappointment when he said no. Why? Why couldn’t he kiss her then, but then could in the pool after she fell in?

If this were normal life, they could actually talk and have a conversation. But it wasn’t, so she felt like she was in some kind of relationship that was also very much a guessing game. Too bad she couldn’t get another moment alone, stolen in a bathroom to talk with Colt.

“Reliving that kiss?”

“Um. No?”

Tessa laughed. “It’s all over your face. You look like you’re swooning. I’m not even sure 100% what that word means, only that your expression right now can’t be described any other way. He’s a good kisser, isn’t he?”

The question made Casey’s whole body stiffen. She remembered the flame of jealousy that raged in her gut when she had seen Colt kissing Tessa. It had seemed so tender, such an intimate moment to be happening right there in front of the cameras and all of them. Right in front of her.

In that moment she had wanted to run from the set, ditching the mic they had pinned on (which likely got ruined the moment she fell in the pool) and telling them where they could stick their contract. She didn’t know how she was going to watch Colt with these other women.

“Sorry,” Tessa said. “Awkward again.”

Casey sighed. “It’s fine. We’re going to have to get used to this. And it will be much easier if you and I are on the same side.”

Even if we are kissing the same guy.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Tessa said. “This would be a nightmare otherwise.”

“Yeah,” Casey said. “I can’t even imagine how much of a nightmare it would be.”

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CASEY BROKE OUT OFthe room for a quick lunch while Tessa was on her group date. She tried to spend most of the time holed up in the rooms without cameras. The idea of her life being live-streamed made her break out in the sweats. Every morning she had found her way out to the poolside to have a cup of coffee and read a devotional book. At the first sight of the other women stirring, Casey would dart back into the room.

On the plus side, she had almost unlimited writing time in her room. Without the internet to keep her hopping from tab to tab when she should be writing, Casey had time and had focus. She was 15,000 words into her next novel. But her stomach was growling something fierce, so she took a deep breath and padded on bare feet down the stairs to the kitchen.

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