Page 157 of He's The Reason Why

She shook her head. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“So which one of us are you going to pick?” Marshall asked. “Me, right? It has to be me. After all, you said I was your favorite movie star.”

She typed out her answer.

“‘So far, the best-dressed man I’ve seen in Hollywood is Jeremy Graham,’” Blake read out loud. “That’s just mean.”

“Ouch!” Marshall put a hand on his chest and staggered back. “Right to the heart.”

Piper giggled. She scrolled down, looking for one more question before they left for the day, and stopped on one that made her smile. “Who is your celebrity crush?”

“Careful how you answer that one,” Marshall warned.

She typed out her answer, then set the laptop on the dining room table and walked away. “I’m going to get dressed.”

“Who’d you put?” Blake asked.

Marshall looked at the screen and read out loud, “‘I only have eyes for Blake Ryan. Look at him…he has the best ass I’ve ever seen.’”

Blake lifted his suit coat to display his very fine behind.

Marshall made a choking sound. “I don’t want to think about asses. Not today.”

“That’s right, today is penalty day.” Piper couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. “Can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about. You realize that will be the topic next Wednesday, right?”

“Oh no. Hell no.” Marshall looked sick. “Come on, Blake. I’ll let you out of yours if you let me out of mine.”

Blake looked at Piper. “Should I? We could call off both penalties and I wouldn’t have to work with Diva Face.”

He’d taken to referring to Rachel by various nicknames rather than her actual name. It had become their private version of She Who Shall Not Be Named.

“No way,” Piper said. “I want to know what’s on his butt. Besides, you shouldn’t have been making deals about who I get to kiss. You both deserve to be punished for that.”

“Come on, Piper. Please?” Marshall dropped to his knees and put his hands together like he was praying. “Pretty, beautiful, drop-dead gorgeous Piper, please?”

Blake kissed her shoulder in a very unfair attempt to get his way. “It’s your call.”

All she wanted to do was drag Blake back to bed, but they couldn’t do that because then they’d be late. “Hmm. Let’s see. On the one hand, I really don’t want Blake doing anything with Rachel ever again. On the other hand, I’m dying to know what’s going on back there.”

She tapped her chin and pretended to think it through. She already knew her answer; she just liked teasing Marshall. She glanced at Blake. “This is tough.”

“Come on, please? Please stop torturing me?” Marshall begged.

“We really should get going,” Blake prompted.

“Okay,” she relented. “I’ll say yes on one condition. I want to see it.”

Blake laughed.

Marshall gaped at her. “I can’t do that.”

“Show me or show the world, your choice,” she said and gave an I-don’t-care-one-way-or-the-other shrug.

“If he does, I’m out of the deal with Drama Queen,” Blake said quickly.

“Right. You’re either both out or both in. So to speak.” Piper waited.

Marshall stood up, looking mortified. “This is so not fair.”

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