Page 24 of The Billionaire Love Match

“Basically nothing. Other than to say that I’m the villain of the house and that I’m still glad I’m here.”

“So, you really like Colt then?”

“As much as you know I hate to admit it, yes.”

Amanda squealed. “Don’t question it. Don’t doubt. Don’t second guess yourself. You’re smart. Trust your gut. I’m really happy for you.”

“I thought you said I shouldn’t trust my gut.”

“Well. What do I know?”

“Have you talked to my parents? I feel so bad I didn’t tell them. I just didn’t think that I’d make it, so it seemed silly.”

“I called them and told them not to watch, just like you told me.”

“They’re going to watch anyway, aren’t they?”

“Probably.”

“This is so humiliating,” Casey said. “Meanwhile, have you been watching my accounts?”

She had asked Amanda to keep an eye on her social media accounts. The show had its own app, but all the contestants were encouraged to use their other social media as well. Anything, really, to bring attention to the show. Casey had been avoiding all of them after seeing a comment where one of the fans called her a Gold Digging Hussy. Most things were good, but that one comment jarred her so much that she knew she couldn’t handle much of the public response.

“You wouldn’t believe it,” Amanda said.

“What? I haven’t looked in the last day.”

“You should.”

“Right now?” Casey asked.

“Yes. Now.”

Casey pulled out the phone the show had given her and opened up the app they had installed to manage Twitter.

“No way,” she said, looking at the numbers. “That can’t be right.”

She could hear the sound of Amanda’s smile over the line. “Oh, it’s right.”

A few days before, she’d had just over a thousand followers. Which had been a cause for celebration and a lot of hard work. She was now sitting at over 50k. When she clicked notifications, she had hundreds of likes and comments and retweets.

“I don’t even know how to manage this,” Casey said.

“You can’t. Are they letting you use social media while you’re there?”

“We can, but we have to use this app that they built so that they read what we write before we post. So I just haven’t done anything. Too much pressure.”

“You should,” Amanda urged. “And you should tell them about—”

“No.”

There was silence on the line for a moment. “Okay,” Amanda said. “But I don’t know why not. Now how about you tell me more about this billionaire bachelor. What’s got you smitten. I can hear it in your voice.”

Casey realized that she had a huge smile on her face. “Shut up. It’s crazy. I shouldn’t feel this way about someone I barely know. But, Amanda, I do. Tell me to hold back. Tell me I need to be smart.”

Amanda laughed. “Friend, would you listen to me if I did?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Okay, then. Keep telling me what’s so great about him.”

Casey thought for a moment. “I don’t know that I can put it in words. You know I’m not one of those woo-woo people. Please kill me if I sound like that. But there’s something between us. And I have to know if it’s real. Otherwise? I’d tear up my contract and pay whatever they would try to make me pay in damages. Because it really sucks to be here. But thinking of Colt? That’s the only reason I’m here.”

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