Page 56 of He's The Reason Why

“That’s not fair.”

“You twisted that girl’s head so much she had a nervous breakdown. It delayed the shoot for a month.”

“I did not,” Marshall said. “She had the nervous breakdown before we met. It was the crazy-ass director of that stupid horror movie that twisted her head. Not me.”

“We can’t afford to haveScorchedslide back a month. We’re already behind schedule, and if it does that we won’t hit our target for principal photography onConned. Hell, we haven’t even finished scouting locations because I’m tied up with this.”

“What’s your point?”

The point was he didn’t want Marshall the Perpetual Flirt anywhere near Piper. “She doesn’t need you distracting her. She needs to focus, and so do we, so back off.”

“You’re getting pretty territorial for someone who hasn’t made a move. Unless this little sleepover was going to be your excuse?”

“Of course not.” If they didn’t change the subject, Piper would catch them talking about her like she was a piece of meat in a store window. “What the hell is she doing out there?”

“So your objection to me asking her out has nothing to do with you wanting her for yourself?”

“Stop putting words in my mouth.”

“Stop avoiding the subject.”

Blake flipped him off.

“Hah! I knew it.” Marshall pointed at him. “You want to sleep with her.”

He slapped Marshall’s hand away. “Would you shut up? She probably heard that.”

“I don’t think you have a shot. She likes me more, I can tell.” Marshall flicked imaginary lint off his shirt.

“I doubt that.” Blake resisted the urge to check his own shirt. If Marshall caught him primping he’d never hear the end of it.

“Did you see the way she kissed me? She’s into me.”

Blake snorted. “No she isn’t. She kissed your cheek.”

“Trust me, I can tell.”

“She’s off-limits,” he said firmly.

Marshall gave him a look that said he knew the answer but was going to ask the question anyway, just to see if Blake would be honest. “Why?”

Because he knew exactly where that would lead.

Marshall would mess around for a while, Piper would get invested, then he’d move on and she’d be pissed off at both of them, andthatwas unacceptable. “She’s having a hard enoughtime without you screwing around, and besides, you have a trip to Vegas next week. We need those locations nailed down.”

Marshall waved off that objection. “I’m on the plane first thing next week. That leaves plenty of time for a little distraction.”

The word no rebounded around his head like a basketball. It wasn’t rational. He and Marshall usually had entirely different tastes in women, and besides, his friend was easily distracted. He might go on one date with her then move on. He shouldn’t care about it, but he did.

He did not want Marshall making any moves on Piper.

He couldn’t just say that. The harder he pushed back at Marshall, the more determined his friend would be to get Piper all to himself. “Make sure you check out the penthouse suite, and the garage, and the pool, and be sure to check in with Marissa about the dates and deposit on the ranch. We need to know if we need to supply generators for the barns.”

“It’s all on the list.” Marshall tapped his phone where it rested in his back pocket. “And don’t think you’re distracting me. I see what you’re up to, you know. I’m not blind. You want to get to her before I do.”

“I do not.” He hadn’t, until this second.

Marshall narrowed his eyes. “If I can’t ask her out, neither can you.”

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