Page 13 of He's The Reason Why

The evil sorcerer, Jeremy, responded from across the room in a sultry, seductive tone. “Give me the map and I will return her safe and sound, Princess. The map, for your sister’s life. That’s the deal.”

“The map won’t work for you!” Piper stood up, hyped up with song adrenaline and irritated by Blake’s inexplicable reaction to her performance. “It’s bonded tome.If you try to read it all you’ll see is a blank page. Now give her back!”

She shouted the last line to show her character’s anger and frustration. A couple of the kids along the wall giggled, and Rachel watched her with judgmental eyes that told Piper exactly how little talent Rachel thought she had.

Blake actually cringed.

Maybe she’d gone a little overboard.

She’d been on stage most of her life, but she’d never felt as intimidated as she did in that moment. Now she understood why Jeremy Graham was a Hollywood legend. He’d transformed himself from the nice older man who’d offered to give her a ride to the studio in his helicopter so she could avoid rush-hour traffic into an evil sorcerer who’d taken her sister. She had no idea how he’d crossed that line without any visible effort, but she wished she had that skill. Could he teach her how to do that? Or would he laugh in her face if she asked?

She kept her voice a lot more subdued after that. Scene two featured another song, only this time, she was lead since Rachel’s character had been carted off. She nailed the determination and fear and ended on a low note that brought instant applause.

When she took her seat, she found Blake watching her with his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Did I miss a note or something?” she asked him.

“No.” Blake sounded a little distant. “You were pitch-perfect on the song.”

The way he said it made her think it was his polite way of saying something was wrong, but before she could ask for more feedback, Tamar called for the next scene.

The point of view switched to introduce Blake’s character, Jesse, which meant she could relax for a little while.

Blake started speaking, and it was as if a whole new person sat next to her. He barely looked at the script, which meant he’d memorized the lines even though he’d only signed on a couple of weeks ago.

“I promise I will find that stone,” Blake said as he stood up. “I’ll do whatever it takes. You can count on me. After all…”

Blake launched into his song with bravado. “I’ve defended our ports from the pirates, I’ve beaten bandits and monsters and more.”

He climbed up onto the table and planted his feet wide, with his hands on his hips. “Slaying a dragon? No problem. I’ll come through.”

He glanced down at Piper and put his hand to his mouth as if whispering. “I have to. That’s what I’m here for.”

Blake strode up and down the table, hamming it up for his audience as he tried to convince everyone that he was the right man for the job, including himself.

Piper listened to him sing, a little confused. Blake was a tenor with a natural edge that lent character and style to the vocals, butevery now and then, he missed a note, spoke rather than sang, or over-exaggerated the line.

She hadn’t expected that. His father was Eddie Ryan, the crooner known for a mellow baritone that melted hearts. She’d been a huge fan herself when she was younger. She’d expected Blake to sound a lot like his dad, but he didn’t. He sounded a little rough around the edges.

He’d only had two weeks to get familiar with the material, which might explain it. It was impressive that he not only knew all the songs but the dialogue as well. He had talent, no question, and she could see why they’d cast him as Jesse.

Blake sang with enthusiasm. His performance was magnetic, if not technically correct, but with a father like that, she was sure he knew what he was doing. So why was he holding back?

He finished the song with a swish of an imaginary sword lifted toward the ceiling in triumph while the backup singers all swooned.

Piper laughed and joined in the applause with everyone else. She hadn’t imagined Jesse’s solo sounding anything like what it just had, but now she couldn’t imagine it any other way. Blake added swagger, which made it entertaining and fun. They could focus on the vocals in the studio when he wasn’t trying to impress a room full of people.

Blake plopped down into his chair, a little out of breath.

“That was fun.” She smiled encouragingly at him just like she would any new musician.

He grinned proudly at her. “Thanks. Glad you liked it.”

“Can’t wait to work it out in the studio,” she said.

His grin slipped. “Work what out?”

“Fantastic job everyone,” Tamar shouted. “Now it’s time for our young heroes to meet. Ms. Bellamy, if you would be so kind as to take us into the third scene.”

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