Page 30 of The Billionaire Love Match

Casey felt embarrassed and ashamed. First she kissed Colt in a bathroom, trying to get away from Lucas, and now had made out with Colt publicly in front of a bunch of other women who wanted to do the same thing. And now the world could see it. Oh, please don’t let her parents be watching!

Then her kiss in the ocean with Colt was paired with her comment about the tattoo and him taking her out of her wedding dress. With the editing, she looked and sounded like a floozy.

This was not her. Was the show already changing her into something she wasn’t? Was Colt?

“Casey.”

She hadn’t been listening, caught up in replays of the episode. “What?”

There were some chuckles in the audience and at least one disapproving sound from the women around her. Casey could see Colt trying to hide a smile, holding out one of the matches.

“Casey,” he said again.

“Oh, sorry! Yes!” She crossed the stage to stand in front of him.

Laughter danced in his eyes. “Casey, will you consider being my Potential Love Match?”

“I do,” she said. Now the audience roared with laughter and Colt’s face broke out into a grin. It took her a moment to realize her mistake. “I mean, I will.”

Colt handed her the match and leaned in quickly, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad, Boots,” he whispered. His stubble tickled her cheek.

Chris Haversham led Casey back to the rows of chairs, which had been adjusted while the women all stood. Now there were only ten. She didn’t miss the glares she got from the other women, save Tessa, who winked. Tessa was the second name called, which gave Casey a quick shot of jealousy. But she was glad to have a chance to be near Tessa, finally. She took the seat next to Casey and they gave each other a quick hug.

“Thank goodness,” Casey said. “I think the other girls might murder me in my sleep if you weren’t around.”

Tessa stifled a giggle. The two of them held hands, waiting for the rest of the chairs to fill up. Casey barely knew the other girls, but wished Becca of the wet kisses hadn’t been chosen. Of course, she planted one of those kisses on Colt the moment she said yes, holding his face in a grip like a vise. Casey didn’t even feel jealous, because Colt looked like he was squirming to escape the whole time. When she finally pulled away, it was to give a giant smile to the cameras as she tossed her red hair over her shoulder.

When all ten seats were filled, it was time for the one-on-one interviews and Q&A. Haversham stood near the edge of the stage, talking directly to a camera while the crew changed out the set in the middle to have three armchairs. Colt sat down in one and looked irritated as someone came out and tried to mess with his hair and makeup. His black eye, Casey had noticed, was faded to more of a yellow.

One by one Chris Haversham called the women out to the seating area where he moderated questions for the woman, then for Colt about her. It was awkward and, to be honest, Casey felt like it was incredibly boring. She wondered if it felt slow to the audiences at home, too, like a big, bloated show that could have been broken up into several shows over a few days, or just trimmed for excess.

Casey’s name was called last and she focused on crossing the stage to sit next to Chris Haversham and across from Colt without falling. She sat, wiping her sweaty palms on her dress in a move that she hoped just looked like smoothing down the fabric.

Colt grinned at her and she smiled back. It seemed like fuel and encouragement for her to get through this last part of the evening. She was exhausted physically and emotionally and just wanted to go to bed. But this, as contrived and impersonal as it was, was time with Colt. She just needed to think of it like a date with a chaperone. And a lot of jealous women watching.

“So, Casey,” Chris said. “You’ve had a bumpy ride so far. Why don’t you tell us from your perspective how this past whirlwind week has gone. What have you learned?”

“What have I learned?” Casey asked. “Okay—let’s see. That I stink at volleyball. And maybe also small talk.”

Colt laughed, which made her smile. The audience followed suit. She had almost forgotten they were there. It was startling how easy it was to get used to having cameras follow you all day and an audience watching everything you did.

Chris gave a forced chuckle. “Well, for now, you’re the clear favorite.” He put his hand up and a graphic poll appeared on the screen behind them. A bar with a tiny picture of her face was well in front of all the others. It wasn’t even close.

“Oh, well. That’s nice, I guess. But there’s only one person I want to impress and he’s sitting right there,” Casey said. The audience said awww and clapped.

She gave Colt her best smile and he returned it, giving her a wink.

“Which leads us to the relationships with other ladies in the house.” Chris’ voice took a lower, serious tone. “It seems like you are not doing so well on that front. Why do you think that the other women take issue with you? Several described you in the episode as stand-offish and snobby. Is that an accurate portrayal?”

She gave a tight smile. “No—I don’t see that as accurate. The show puts us all against each other as much as possible.”

“But everyone else seems to be getting along in the house. You’d think that this would affect everyone if that were the case.”

“Well, I also think that I have a few strikes against me. I got more attention from Colt right off the bat when I passed out. Which, for the record, was not a stunt. Or I would have worn pants.” The audience roared. When they quieted, she continued. “And then when he chose to bring me back after saying no—that was another special moment that I got. Was lucky to get. Any time you get singled out in some way, I think it ruffles feathers.”

“Let’s talk about that first night. How did you feel when Colt picked Lisa instead of you?”

Casey swallowed and looked directly at Colt, holding his gaze. “It hurt. More than I thought it could for a guy I’d just met. I felt...crushed. Disappointed and confused.”

---