Page 22 of He's The Reason Why

She’d nearly had enough. Perfect.

“See, the audience would overlook a lot of your performance limitations if they could see how you look in those leggings.”

He cast an appreciative glance over Piper’s dancer physique. Her skin-tight leggings did nothing to hide her deliciously toned ass. If she wore this outfit every day, it was going to be a pleasure working with her.

He let that show on his face.

“You…you’re such a…”

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “There. That feeling. Hold on to that. You’re going to need it in the next scene.”

He sauntered away, pleased with himself and relieved that Piper Bellamy had turned out to be such a quick study.

Chapter Five

It took eight hours to finish the first read-through for a two-hour movie.

Eight hours during which Piper struggled to sound like she knew what she was doing while everyone around her breezed through line after line like the experts they were, and Rachel paraded through the room at regular intervals, making sure everyone remembered she existed.

By the time they reached the end, Piper was exhausted from analyzing everything she said, everything everyone else said, the reactions to her various attempts at “feeling” the character’s emotional set, and, most of all, she was annoyed by Blake’s cavalier approach to, well, everything.

He slipped in and out of character so easily it gave her whiplash. She couldn’t figure out how he did it, which left her following along helplessly while he pushed her buttons and toyed with her emotions. Everyone else seemed very happy with the result, but she finished the day feeling frustrated, intimidated, and cranky.

By the time she got home, she was starving on top of everything else.

She’d had no idea doing the voice for an animated character would be this hard, but the not-so-subtle hints that Rachel might take the part away from her only made her want to dig in her heels and try harder.

Piper dropped her bag and keys on the kitchen counter and opened the fridge. She really should have eaten something during the day because she had was yogurt, sour milk, and leftover soup from lunch with Mattie last week.

She dumped the soup and the milk, grabbed a strawberry yogurt, and carried it along with her phone into the den.

The two-story Cape Cod-style house she’d bought five years ago looked like something out of a holiday movie, and it came with a ton of history since it was the former home of old Hollywood royalty, but she’d bought it because she’d fallen in love with the decked-out kitchen that led to the open living space the second she saw it.

The walls in the den were white shiplap with rich mahogany accents. A burgundy rug grounded the space, and the old upright piano that had been in her family since before her mother was born stood as a centerpiece on the wall where a fireplace would normally be.

She’d filled the room with comfortable furniture that invited her to linger. A framed poster announcing The Bellamy Sisters’ first world tour hung on one wall, surrounded by pictures of her family. The other walls featured hanging sculptures she’d picked up along the way at various stops on the tour.

The room was a scrapbook and a tribute to her family, and more than any other place she’d ever been, it reminded her of her childhood home. She could picture her Daddy in this room. She could hear the music and the laughter, but most of all, she could imagine her mother loving this space.

The window overlooked her private courtyard, which led to a thick expanse of thorny bushes and a fence high enough to stop even the most aggressive paparazzi from catching a glimpse of her through the window.

Piper relaxed into the sofa, shoved a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth, and checked her phone. She’d left it in her bag all day so she wouldn’t be distracted, which turned out to be a wise choice.

There were fifty unread texts and three voice mails, all from her sisters. She’d expected nothing less. Everyone knew today was a big day.

She poked Play on the voice mail from Mattie.

“Hey. I heard Della finally popped the question. Of course she did it today. Look, don’t let her push you. I support your decision, whatever you choose. I’d love to be back on stage with you two but I’m also doing just fine writing songs with Adam, so this is your call. I told Della to back off and let you think. That should last for a couple of days.”

“More like a couple of minutes,” Piper muttered.

“Oh, and Lizzie wants to host Christmas at the Belhurst. You up for that? Let us know. ’K bye.”

Piper ate another spoonful of yogurt and listened to the voice mail from Lizzie.

“Hi. I just wanted to check in and see how everything went. Della said she stopped by and said some things that maybe didn’t sit well. I take it she finally asked you? I’m sorry she picked your big day to push that. Give me a call if you want to talk it out. Also, do you have plans for the holidays? I wasn’t sure if your schedule would allow it but I’d really love to see you. Let’s touch base this weekend, okay? Love you.”

Piper finished off the yogurt and licked the spoon clean.

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