Page 76 of The Billionaire Love Match

“Money. I don’t know.”

“That sounds...wrong. A whole lotta wrong.”

“Yeah. But anyway. She’s gone, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t it? She’s the first girl you’ve liked in almost a decade. I thought she was great. If you’d proposed, I wouldn’t have even blinked.”

“Actress, remember?”

“No, I don’t buy that.”

“I know what she said.”

“You’re using Morse code. Maybe it meant something else. I don’t know. I just don’t see that. She wasn’t acting in the pool, Colt. No way. I would have seen it. I think something else is going on and it’s got your mother all over it.”

“I bought her a ring,” Colt said.

Ty let out a hiss of air. “I’m so sorry. But, wait- I thought you weren’t going to propose?”

“I wasn’t. Not on camera anyway. I was going to say out loud basically what I said, probably a little nicer—”

“Were you mean? Colt.”

“What? She’s an actress. She can take it. Just like she took my mother’s fat check.”

“Go on.”

“I was going to tap her a message. I love you. Wait for me.”

“Love? You love her?”

“Obviously not. I mean, who knows who Casey even is.”

“Colt, I feel like something is off here. We need to figure out what. Because if you love this girl—”

“I don’t love her! She’s not real!”

“Okay. Okay. We’ll sort this out later. I’m just so sorry it’s going down like this.”

“It’s made one thing really clear,” Colt said. “I can’t take the studio from my mother. I would never be free. No matter what she says.”

“There he is. My brilliant best friend. I’ve been waiting for you to figure that out.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“First of all, you didn’t ask me before you signed this deal with your mother. Also, would you have listened?”

“Nope.”

“Okay then. Look, you done with all this yet? Want to meet up? Dinner? Drinks? Come crash at my place?”

“I’ve got one more woman to break up with. Then I’ll be there.”

****

EVEN THOUGH TESSA CRIED, telling her that he didn’t see her as his Perfect Love Match was so much easier than Casey. Because he had no feelings for Tessa. Too bad—she was beautiful and a really great person. She ticked off all the things he would have put on a checklist for his ideal woman. Except she wasn’t Casey.

And Casey wasn’t real.

---