Page 19 of He's The Reason Why

He leaned casually against one of the tables. He wanted to put her at ease before he told her what was really on his mind. “I just wanted to get to know you a little before all the crazy starts. You seemed a little frazzled when you came in this morning.”

“A little.” A flash of irritation crossed her face. “I hate being late. Especially today. I’ve been waiting for this kick-off for over a year and I really wanted it to go well.”

He waited a beat while the catering cart rumbled past them. “This is your first table read, right? What do you think so far?”

Piper’s gaze shifted from him to the door, or maybe to the chair where she’d been sitting. “The first song felt solid. The second could use a little tweaking in the middle.”

He couldn’t imagine what she meant by that. Both songs hadbeen more than solid; they’d been perfect, as far as he was concerned. “How’d the read feel?”

Piper huffed out a laugh. “Horrible.”

He was relieved to hear that she knew how bad it had been. If she hadn’t been aware of her own performance, she wouldn’t be able to improve, and she’d be insulted by his offer to help. “You’re new to all this. It can be overwhelming and really confusing.”

“Like wandering backstage after they turn off the lights.” Piper shook her head. “I feel like I ran into something at least three times this morning. Maybe four. You were great, though. I really liked the way you put, um, character into the song.”

“Thanks.” He inclined his head in acknowledgment of the politely veiled critique. “I’ve been in this business since before I could crawl and sometimes it’s still hard for me. I can give you a few pointers, if you want.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Really? Like what?”

The tight muscles along his shoulders relaxed. She was open to help. So far, so good. “Have you read the whole script?”

“Yes.” She gave him a steely-eyed, are-you-kidding look.

“Did you memorize your lines?”

She tilted her chin up. “I memorizedallof the lines.”

He nodded, impressed. He could count on two hands the number of people he knew who bothered to learn all the lines, not just their own. “The first thing you need to do is stop reading.”

“Stop reading. At a read-through.” She looked thoughtful. “I thought about doing that at the end when I saw you ignoring the script. You think it will help?”

“Yes.” He smiled at the thought of passing on this particular piece of advice. It was the same thing his mother had said to him when he was a teenager. “Instead of looking down at the paper, look at me. Get up and move around if it helps.”

“Okay,” she said. “I can try that. Anything else?”

What he’d just told her wouldn’t even come close to fixing the problem. Even if she didn’t read the words, it was her first time delivering lines in front of a group. She’d still be stiff and nervous until she relaxed into the role.

“What were you thinking when Malignon was holding your sister hostage?”

“I wasn’t really thinking anything. I was focused on reading.” She glanced away, looking a little sheepish. “After a while I was focused on how awkward I felt. I kept trying to mimic what you all were doing but I think that just made it worse.”

He had to find a way to make this personal for her. “Don’t mimic what you think you see. Put yourself in the character’s shoes. If some bad guy snatched your sister right in front of you, how would you feel?”

“It depends on the sister,” she said dryly.

He couldn’t stop the bark of laughter. “Right. You said you had family drama. One of your sisters?”

“Della.” Piper sighed. “It’s always Della. Lizzie and Mattie don’t push my buttons like that.”

“Okay. What if you were walking down the street with Mattie when out of nowhere a stranger grabs her by the arm and drags her away from you. How do you feel?”

Her face darkened. “Pissed off.”

He waved off that initial response. “Try again. Anger comes later, after you’ve had time to process. Be in the moment. Here.”

He threw one arm around an invisible girl, then picked up a bottle of water off the table and held it at her imaginary throat. “I have your sister. I’m going to kill her if you don’t give me what I want.”

Piper gave him a be serious look.

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