Page 70 of He's The Reason Why

He looked amused. “No, nothing like that. Well, I suppose it started with a kiss but not the one in the script. She’s pregnant.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I guess she and her partner have been trying for a while and it finally happened. She doesn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize the pregnancy so she’s stepping back from acting.”

“I get that.” She stopped in front of her car and dug around in her purse for the keys. “That really sucks, though. You, Marshall, and Jessica Bullock in one movie together would be box office gold.”

He gave her a questioning look. “You don’t think Marshall and I can carry it?”

“Of course you can. Are you kidding?” She rolled her eyes. “Forget Jessica. Every woman in America will see this movie just to catch a glimpse of you two. Especially if you take your shirts off. Make sure you do that.”

“True.” He puffed his chest up and shot her a burning look.

“Definitely do that, too.”

“Can’t go wrong with a little eye candy to spice up a plot,” he said in a low, incredibly sexy, leading man growl.

He was kidding. Hehadto be kidding, but an image of him standing bare-chested in the desert under the moonlight flashed through her mind, and she nearly choked with the sudden desire to run her hands over his chiseled abs.

What was she thinking? He wasn’t coming on to her, he was just fooling around.

She hurried to say something, anything, before he noticed how flustered she was. “It really does suck, though. It can’t be easy to recast.”

He deflated, and she caught a glimpse of the strain around his eyes. “It’s not ideal, but it is what it is. I’ll work around it.”

Her guilty conscience poked at her a little harder. Here was a man who’d done everything she’d asked him to do with the songs, who had gone out of his way to help her out, and now he was in a bind. She didn’t have anything going on besidesScorched. She had all this time on her hands, except for herWednesday Morning Coffee Chats.

Any good Southern girl would offer her help, right?

Sure.

It wasn’t because she wanted to spend more time with him, or because the thought of going back to her empty house was so unappealing.

Definitely not that.

She met his gaze. “Anything I can do to help?”

She could have sworn relief flashed through his eyes, but then it was gone, and he’d retreated behind his trademark life-is-good smile.

“Nah, it’s all good. Thanks.” He opened the car door for her and waited for her to climb inside. “Drive safe. I’ll see you when I see you.”

She didn’t like the tension in his shoulders or the slightly overwhelmed tone behind the word good.

“Stubborn much?” She leaned against the side of the car and ignored the open door. “Seriously, why would anyone in your shoes say no to a helping hand?”

He looked startled. “Excuse me?”

“You know, in our family, Lizzie did most of the heavy lifting when it came to scheduling and herding us from place to place, but I helped organize and strategize, and I’ve done a lot of myown scheduling for the past five years. Not to mention, I’m an absolute whiz at social media and public relations.”

“Why are you giving me your resume?” His eyes glinted, but she wasn’t sure if it was from amusement or irritation.

She tossed her bag into the car. “Because I feel guilty about being partially responsible for the bind you’re in, and I want to help. Think of it as a thank-you, for teaching me how to act.”

“I didn’t teach you how to act,” he said with a snort of laughter. “I showed you how to get started, that’s all.”

“Whatever. You helped me out a lot, and I’d like to return the favor.”

He considered her with an appraising look. “What exactly could you do to help me?”

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