Page 89 of He's The Reason Why

It sent his thoughts racing back to the bedroom, where images of her naked in his sheets taunted him.

He was careful to say good morning to everyone standing in between him and Piper so that by the time he got to her it was just another greeting.

“Good morning.” She made grabby hands at the cup. “Tell me that’s for me.”

He held it a little out of her reach and watched with suspicion the way she bounced on her tiptoes. “How many of these have you had this morning?”

“Only one.” She blinked innocently.

He didn’t believe that for a hot second. “What size? Double? Venti?”

“This isn’t a caffeine high, it’s just excitement.” She wiggled the tablet at him. “The new lines are great.”

He handed her the cup. Her fingers brushed against his as she took it from him, sending shivers down his spine that lodged uncomfortably further south. His hand closed reflexively, and for a second, they played tug-of-war with the coffee cup.

Her eyes narrowed with a hint of mischief and amusement.

He cleared his throat and let go.

Piper took a cautious sip then sighed happily. “This is perfect, thank you. Oh, did you see this?”

She held out her phone for him to see a popular entertainment blog’s current headline:Rachel Morris and Marshall Weston Paired in Rom-ComShe’s All Mine.

“Nice.” Blake skimmed the article. It was a press release with nothing more than basic details that focused on a planned premiere date two years in the future. “They’re getting a jump on the publicity. Smart move. Ours is running way behind.”

She tilted her head. “Have you told Marshall yet?”

“Hell no.”

Her eyes twinkled. “Coward.”

“Yes,” he said with feeling.

“Come on, how bad could it be? She’s a good actress, and it’s not a big part. You’d only have to spend a few days with her, right?

“More like a few weeks.” He looked around to make sure nobody was listening. Rachel was on the far side of the room, deep in conversation with Tamar. There were so many people talking in the small space, he doubted anyone could hear them, and though they hadn’t named anyone, he kept his head down and his voice low just in case. “She’s like a barnacle. Impossible to scrape off.”

Life with Rachel had gone from a dazzling week of hormones behind the scenes of a teen-angst movie to three months of gossip rag speculation about their sex lives. The near-constant contact with her left no room to breathe, or think, or do anything but try to dodge paparazzi.

“We were just having a fling one minute and the next our potential wedded bliss was all over the media.”

“Ouch.” Piper winced.

“I felt like a dog on a choke chain, every time I tried todisentangle myself, the noose got a little tighter. She’s a kraken. My advice is to stay out of the water.”

He’d missed being able to talk to her like this. It felt comfortable, like something they’d been friends for a long time.

“Good morning, everyone,” Paul called out from somewhere near the center of the room. “How are my favorite people doing this morning? What did you all think of the new script?”

“I really love the new lines,” Piper said. “And I love that shirt, Paul. It’s perfect.”

There was a murmur of agreement from others in the room.

It was covered in black pumpkins with eyes that actually lit up. Paul beamed at her. “Thank you! I had it made special. I love Halloween. There’s a giant bowl of candy on my desk if you want to go trick-or-treating later.”

Tamar climbed up on the couch in the studio to address them. “Good morning, and welcome back. Thanks for being here, thanks for working with us on the new schedule. We’ll be in the studio for the next two or three weeks. Okay, maybe four. We focus on the group scenes first, then the sisters, then the love birds.”

Blake’s thoughts raced ahead to calculate the time between now and the planned premiere. Three or four weeks of recording would take them almost to Thanksgiving. That left four weeks, or less, to do all the remaining animation, edits, and produce the final cut, never mind all the lead up to the launch like rounds of morning talk shows and interviews.

---