Page 51 of He's The Reason Why

“Marshall’s going to pretend he’s not here,” Blake said with a sideways glance at his friend.

“I seriously doubt he can pull that off,” Piper said.

Marshall pretended to zip his lips shut and blinked innocently at her.

“Ready?” Blake asked in a low voice.

She looked into his eyes.

He’d done it again. He’d flipped a switch, and she had no ideahow he’d done it. It was so fast, and the only real indications that he was in character were the way his eyes narrowed slightly and the crooked tilt to his lips she’d come to associate with Jesse.

They were standing in the rain, about to crawl through a sewer, she reminded herself.

“Any chance you’d let me tag along with you, Princess? I mean, you’ll definitely need my help to save your sister from the evil sorcerer.”

A part of her wanted to tell him that was the wrong line, that this didn’t make any sense, and it wasn’t going to help. Another part told her to say something,anything, that started with the letterb. She didn’t want to disappoint Blake and Marshall. They’d tried so hard to teach her what she needed to know. Shehadto make this work if only to prove she could.

She faltered and stammered as she said the first b-word that flew into her mind. “But…”

Blake gave a slight nod of encouragement.

She swallowed and tried again. “But…if I do that…you’ll just betray me like you tried to do before. How can I trust you?”

“Can’t you see how much you need me?” His flirty tone and intense gaze captivated her, and she found herself leaning toward him.

Princess Jewel would never give in to Jesse, especially not with her sister’s life on the line. He’d just tried to steal the stone out from under her. He probably had some other hidden agenda. She couldn’t trust him. She shook herself and straightened her shoulders.

“Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be?”

“Eventually you’ll have to admit you need my help.” Blake quirked a smile at her.

“Forget it, you’ll just betray me again.” She turned away. She couldn’t do this staring at his face with that come-hither expression on it.

Blake grabbed her hand. Warmth traveled up her arm and made her heart flutter. “Give me a chance?”

Piper paused. She was supposed to useh, but all that came to mind was hell no, which was not a yes statement. The limitations of this game were frustrating. Princess Jewel wouldn’t accept limitations like that. She’d say what was on her mind.

Piper leveled a cold stare at Blake. “No. You used me to get to the stone.”

A gleam of triumph flashed through Blake’s eyes, then he became Jesse again. “It wasn’t like that.”

She snatched her hand away from him. “You tried to steal the map the first time we met.”

“I only did that to save my family and my kingdom. Come on, you’re about to crawl through a sewer to save your sister. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing in my shoes.”

She absolutely would have, except for one crucial detail he was conveniently leaving out. “Maybe I would have. Until I found out your sister was in danger.”

“Well, guess what, Princess, my kingdom isstillin danger and I’m standing here withyou, because like it or not, there’s no way I’m letting you face Malignon alone. I’m crawling through that pipe. I don’t need your permission.”

“Yes you do.” She thrust her chin out.

He brushed nonexistent hair out of his eyes and leaned toward her. “You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”

“I don’t need you.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Ugh,” Piper growled. “You are so…so…”

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