Page 131 of He's The Reason Why

“She should be over here with the rest of the cast,” Jeremy whispered. He shook his head.

“Be fair, Jeremy. They didn’t invite her to sing,” Gina said. “A diva’s pride is a dangerous thing to mess with.”

Blake’s song was almost over. He bowed with a flourish, then glanced over his shoulder and winked at Piper.

She laughed and applauded along with everyone else exceptRachel, who leveled a stare on Blake that could burn a hole through diamonds.

Music cued for her duet with Blake, and she forgot all about Rachel.

Piper twirled out onto the stage, and they reenacted the song with some of the dialogue from the movie to the delight of the crowd.

They took their bows together, and then Blake kissed her hand before they drifted off to opposite sides of the stage.

She felt that kiss all the way to the dressing room.

As promised, the team of transformation artists waited to help her change from animated princess to red carpet ready.

They toned down her makeup, relaxed her hair with a few clever flicks of the wrist and bobby pins, and helped her into an Audrey Vidal original silk slip dress in emerald green with strappy heels. They added an emerald leaf and diamond drop shaker necklace, matching earrings, and nestled a tiara in her hair.

She felt elegant, regal, and very much a princess.

She hadn’t seen Blake since the performance. She went to find him, but was redirected toward her limo and got in. They were each being taken one by one around the block to the front of the theater so they could walk the green-carpeted forest for the cameras.

When the door to her limo opened in front of the theater, Blake poked his head in.

“Oh.” His gaze traveled down to the scoop neckline that barely concealed her breasts, to the slit that revealed a lot of her thigh. “It’s not fair to look like that. You’ll make everyone jealous.”

She smiled up at him. “Back at you. I like the hat.”

Blake wore a blue summer linen suit with a white T-shirt underneath, but the best part of his outfit was the snazzy blue fedora. Only Blake Ryan the Movie Star could pull that off.

He tipped the hat. “Ready, Princess?”

She took his hand and stepped out.

Every head swiveled to watch her arrive.

Cameras flashed.

Everyone took in that Blake Ryan had helped her out of the car and held her hand and looked at her like she was the most important woman in the world.

The moment stretched like the afternoon sun. Sound faded into a blur as it sank in.

She’d done it. She’d achievedtwodreams. Her sisters were back together, and they were here to watch her have this moment.

Just her.

She wasn’t in character now. She was Piper Bellamy, singer, voice actor, and movie star, stepping out onto the carpet, going in to see a movie she’d played a part in making.

The world crept back in with clicks and flashes and the white noise of questions.

“Piper, who are you wearing?”

She didn’t see who asked, so she smiled at the crowd of reporters. “It’s an Audrey Vidal original.”

“Piper, what’s it like to star in a movie with Blake Ryan?”

She gripped Blake’s hand a little harder. “It’s a lot of fun.”

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