Page 155 of He's The Reason Why

He leaned in for another kiss. “As long as I’m paying the penalty, might as well make it worth it.”

“Oh it’ll be worth it,” she whispered into his ear. “We’ll both be naked.”

He loved everything about that idea.

Chapter Twenty-Five

They were almost finished filming by mid-March, which was only two weeks behind schedule. Blake declared that on time, and the studio seemed to agree, because there was no more fuss about the budget. Early numbers showed they would come in about two million under.

Piper adjusted the camera on her traveling mount in the desert house instead of her home studio, which wasn’t ideal, but she hadn’t wanted to take the time to fly back and forth just forWednesday Morning Coffee Chats. Plus, she scored a cameo appearance from Blake and Marshall the previous week, which had sent her fans into spasms of ecstasy, and she was hoping to do it again.

The drama that happened over theScorchedpremiere was a distant memory to her fans now that she was so obviously happy. They were also becoming die-hard Blake Ryan fans, just like her, which helped settle some of Blake’s more ardent fans. Though it also seemed to stoke the fire of the more passionate ones who were still royally pissed off at Della, which was troubling, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about that.

“Good morning!” She drew out the word good like a morningtalk show host. “What’s so good about it, you ask? He loves me! He loves me and I love him back and the world is a beautiful place. You know, I never really understood those love songs my sister wrote until now. I mean, sure, I knewaboutlove. I’ve had huge crushes on guys before, so I thought I knew what the songs were about but I didn’t. Not really. Suddenly, those songs make more sense. Mattie, hats off to you. You nailed that third song. Nailed it. If you haven’t heard ourBluealbum in a while, check it out.”

She took a sip of coffee and sighed happily. “I bought a case of pumpkin spice syrup so I never have to be without it again. Take that, Starbucks. They should never phase out pumpkin spice. It should be on the menu all year long. Oh, and I have exciting news but I can’t share it yet. It’s a secret.”

She put her finger to her lips. “Shhh. It’s big. Huge. Very, very,verybig, and you’ll find out in three months. And to the hundreds who keep asking, no, I’m not pregnant. Why is it when a woman has news everyone assumes she’s pregnant? I’m not.”

She crossed her fingers in front of her to ward off the suggestion. “Let me repeat that. I amnotpregnant. But this news is just as exciting. You’re going to want to stick around, and you’re going to want to watch the live stream of the VIP concert in July. Links below.”

She pointed down at her lap to indicate where the links would be on the screen. “Go ahead. Smash that button and subscribe to get the invite link. You don’t want to miss this, it’s going to be epic.”

Piper cradled her cup in both hands. “We’re wrapping up the movie today, which makes me a little sad. I’ve had such a good time working on this movie, and I’ve discovered I love the desert. If you haven’t been out here to see the stars, you really should. They are out of this world, no pun intended. As for the movie, I’ve seen some of the dailies and wow. Blake and Marshall havecreated a fun, fast-paced story. I’m having a blast playing a small-town girl. It’s easier than I thought it would be, probably because Iama small-town girl at heart. Can’t wait for y’all to see it.”

She took a breath and sang the opening line from “Don’t Stop Believin’,” then laughed. “There’s a certain bar scene with a story behind it, but I’ll share that another time.”

She checked the time and sighed. “Can’t be late for the last day. Before I go, though, I just want you to know how awesome you are. You’ve been with me through everything, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

Piper pointed at the camera. “You rock. Never forget that. Let’s go make it a good day today. See ya!”

She ended the stream, made sure it uploaded to all the sites, then sat back to watch the comments flow in.

Blake snuck up behind her and started rubbing her shoulders. “You realize they’ll all think your pregnant. Doesn’t matter how many times you deny it, the fact you mentioned it is enough.”

She looked up at him with a grin. “I know. It’ll keep them distracted until we make the real announcement.”

“They might not be as happy as you think they’ll be that you’re going back on tour with your sisters. They’re Piper fans, not Bellamy fans.”

“That’s why I’m going to keep up those special little concerts even after we drop the new album.” She scrolled the comments to keep up with the questions pouring in. Most of the first few comments were statements of support, like always.

Blake leaned over her shoulder and kissed her ear before reading a question off the screen. “‘What kind of underwear is under those super-tight leggings?’ Seriously?”

“Yeah, that’s not even the worst question I’ve ever seen. Lots of trolls and pervs out there.”

“How do you handle them?”

It was cute how cranky he sounded.

“I ignore them. Neil’s team will eventually zap it. I like this one though. ‘Is Blake a good kisser?’” Piper typed out the answer. “He’s agreatkisser.”

“Damn right,” Blake said as he kissed the back of her neck.

If he kept doing that, she was never, ever wearing her hair down again.

“‘Was it love at first sight?’” she read out loud.

“Well, was it?” he whispered near her ear.

---