Page 20 of The Billionaire Love Match

He tapped the quick word out, testing. She smiled and tapped her thumb against his palm.

H-I B-A-C-K, was what he thought she meant. But what she messaged was actually H-I S-A-C-K. Clearly she wasn’t quite proficient yet.

He snorted and caught a confused look from Chris Haversham, realizing that as they focused on the Morse code, they had just been staring awkwardly at each other.

“So, tell me about yourself,” he said. “What’s your idea of the perfect date?”

He stroked her wrist now, soft and slow. His own body warmed up at the secret touch. Her eyes seemed to grow misty and he knew she felt it too. They definitely had something between them. Was it more than just physical? And could he find that out in within the confines of the show?

“First of all, my ideal date wouldn’t have fourteen other women.”

He laughed but realized how that might sound with editing. It could easily get her pegged as the kind of contestant who hated everyone else. The kind that ended up with a target on her back. She already had earned glares from the other women who no doubt now knew about the hashtags.

C-A-R-E-F-U-L, he tapped out on her wrist.

But he could see from her eyes she didn’t get it, so he asked another question. “So, what do you do when you aren’t going on dates with fourteen other women?”

“Oh, um,” she looked down. “I’m a barista.”

“You make coffee?” Colt was puzzled. His mother would never have chosen someone with a minimum wage job for the show. Then he remembered that Casey wasn’t supposed to even be chosen. But he wondered how she made even the top thirty. He made a note to check the file on her that his mother had.

She hesitated and he could see there was more she wanted to say. She began tapping on his palm.

Y-E-S

N-O

So she wasn’t just a barista, but didn’t want to say what she did here in front of the cameras.

The conversation felt stiff and awkward. He knew that it likely looked that way to the cameras as well. He hoped this would keep his mother off her back. But he needed to ramp it up somehow to get her to stay. She seemed distracted by the cameras and also trying to tap out secret messages. It would likely take time and practice to really communicate with Morse code well and carry on a conversation. He hoped they would have a chance.

She reached out suddenly and traced the high plane of his cheek, just below his eye. It was still swollen, the skin under his eye a deep purple. “Does it hurt?”

He smiled. “Not really. I don’t mind.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be. Please.”

He froze as she tapped another message.

K-I-S-S M-E

He swallowed, looking at her face, which was trained on his, looking eager and hopeful. More urgently now her finger tapped.

K-I-S-S M-E

He took a drink and tapped S-L-O-W on her wrist. She didn’t get it.

N-O

She got that, looking hurt. She started to pull her hand away.

W-A-I-T

This one she got and smiled. Chris Haversham cleared his throat from a few feet away, looking bored. Colt hoped this wasn’t so bad that it couldn’t be salvaged. He wanted Casey to stay. No, he needed her to stay. Seeing her again made him all the more sure that there was something here he wanted to uncover. Even in the midst of a completely fake and manipulative setting, here was something real. But would being here kill it?

“Time’s up,” Chris Haversham said, reaching out a hand to Casey.

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