Page 65 of The Billionaire Love Match

He wished that he could fix it somehow. Maybe he could get her in touch with some of his people in marketing and promotion. Or even look at her books when he had his studio. They sounded like they might fit with his vision for the films he wanted to create: family-friendly and wholesome, but not boring or stilted. He didn’t say that now, though, not wanting to promise something he couldn’t follow through on. Yet.

“Is that a deal-breaker?” he asked. “You could always read to me. I’d like that.”

“I’ll think about it. Church?” This question had a note of hesitation. Clearly it mattered to her.

“Yes. You look surprised?”

“Your reputation is...” She trailed off.

“Made up by the media. My parents...my dad’s faith was really important to him. He passed that down to me. BeaconWood used to actually be family-friendly films, not blockbusters. I’d like to get back to that. Make movies with heart that aren’t cheesy or trite. Sorry, I derailed that question. How about you?”

“Similar. I grew up in church, but my parents didn’t push God on me. I mean I went to church with them, but it wasn’t like the tiny town in Footloose or something. They talked to me about it, but it was my own. I go to church, though I haven’t found one in LA that I love.”

“You’ll have to try my church. Ty and I go together. I think you’d like it.”

“I’d like that,” she said. “And that’s neat about your dad. I’m glad you’ll be carrying on that legacy. I’m sure it would make him proud.”

Legacy.The word that was so often on his mother’s tongue sounded totally different when Casey said it. She understood what that meant to him. He felt his throat working to swallow. A big lump had taken up residency there.

“Kids?”

“Nope.”

She paused. “You don’t want kids?”

“Oh, I thought you were asking if I have kids. I don’t have kids.”

She punched him in the arm. “Jerk.”

“Hey, you’re the one asking vague questions. But yes, I do want kids. I’m an only and it was pretty quiet and boring growing up. I’d love to have a bigger family.”

“Me too. But not yet. I want to enjoy some married time without kids. Travel, work, have fun together.” She paused for a moment. “Boxers or briefs?”

His face flushed. “Um...”

Casey turned toward him and laughed. “Your face! Oh, man. It was a joke. Don’t answer that question. That’s the kind of thing I want to find out...on our honeymoon.”

“When I find out about your secret tattoo?” he said, grinning.

“Yep.”

They had been dancing around the subject all night. Not just the idea of dating, but marriage. Maybe because of the show and how these things were set up, there was the expectation of a proposal at the end. But Colt knew that’s not why he kept circling back to this idea. It was Casey. Meeting the right woman, no matter how wrong or ridiculous the circumstances.

Her blue eyes looked dark and intense. Man, she was beautiful. That was a face he could spend the rest of his life looking at. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. His eyes travelled down to her lips. As much as he wanted to kiss her right now, they had a sort of unspoken agreement to spend their time together with as many words as possible. Still—he probably could have spent the whole evening with his lips pressed to hers.

“Colt?”

“Mm?”

“I know we said we wouldn’t talk about the show, but what’s next? How does it end?”

Colt thought carefully before answering. He had plans, but he also felt like he wanted to keep some things close to the chest.

As Ty suggested, Colt had his lawyer go through the contract with a magnifying glass. Turns out, he didn’t have to propose to anyone at the end. Instead the contract had talked about a proposal, but the only concrete thing was that he had to decide who to send home. Which meant he could send them both home and not propose to either Casey or Tessa.

“I thought you said you were falling in love with Casey. That you were thinking about proposing,” Ty had said.

“Not on TV,” Colt said. “We’ll never be free if we do it that way. No—I’ll wait until I can do it in private, for real.”

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