Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
B lake stared at his front door, contemplating the consequences of his actions. Piper was going to stay the rest of the night.
In his house.
In one of his bedrooms.
The idea sent his thoughts spiraling a dozen different, previously unexplored directions.
She was his costar. His colleague. Someone who trusted him to help her do a good job. Someone who helped him up his own game in the singing department.
She was authentic and real in a way that felt foreign in Hollywood.
But it wasn’t just that.
There were things that were just Piper that he found fascinating. Like the tiny little dimple on her left cheek that only appeared when she smirked or was deeply amused.
And she was naturally gorgeous with a girl-next-door appeal that made him want to invent ways to spend more time with her. He found her more attractive in leggings and a T-shirt than any of the women he’d seen on the red carpet.
He liked her.
He wanted to find out more about her.
That was a dangerous combination. Hooking up with a costar never worked because the fantasy always interfered with reality. By the end of a project, it was never clear if they’d fallen for each other or the characters they’d pretended to be. It would be stupid to pursue anything with Piper while they were working together.
Marshall stepped up next to him. “Now that is one fine -looking woman.”
He grunted acknowledgment. If he didn’t engage in this conversation, maybe Marshall would take the hint and change the subject.
“She’s smart,” Marshall continued in a carefully casual tone of a man testing the waters. He was trying to figure out if Blake had already made a move. They’d been friends a long time, and they’d formed an unspoken code of hands-off when one of them was interested in a woman. “Funny. Sexy as hell. Mind if I ask her out?”
“Yes, I mind.”
Just because he hadn’t thought of Piper that way before today didn’t mean he wanted to watch his best friend go after her in his own house.
He shouldn’t be standing here by the door. He should go make sure the rooms were ready, or shove Marshall into the pool to cool off, or something other than wait like an eager puppy for her to walk back in.
“Why?” Marshall eyed him. “You going to make a move? I thought you didn’t like her.”
“I never said that.”
“I distinctly remember you called her a drill sergeant.”
“I was frustrated. Doesn’t mean anything.” His first impression of Piper had softened. She was a hard worker and determined to create something great. He couldn’t fault her for that. “I wasn’t getting it, and she called me on it.”
“Frustrated.” Marshall drew the word out with enough innuendo to give it an entirely different meaning from the one Blake had intended. “I thought you swore off dating costars on active projects.”
“I’m not sleeping with Piper.”
Yet , he filled in silently to himself.
“Hmmm.” Marshall inspected him like he was some sort of bug. “But you like her.”
“Sure. What’s not to like?”
What was taking her so long? Had she parked at the bottom of the driveway, or somewhere down the street, or somewhere in Nevada?
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t at least take her to dinner.” Marshall wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe a drink at my place. A little wine. Nothing too outlandish. You know, just to get to know her better.”
The idea of Marshall wining and dining and…other things…with Piper made him twitch. “One good reason? How about Brenda Sanchez.”
“That’s not fair.”
“You twisted that girl’s head so much she had a nervous breakdown. It delayed the shoot for a month.”
“I did not,” Marshall said. “She had the nervous breakdown before we met. It was the crazy-ass director of that stupid horror movie that twisted her head. Not me.”
“We can’t afford to have Scorched slide back a month. We’re already behind schedule, and if it does that we won’t hit our target for principal photography on Conned . Hell, we haven’t even finished scouting locations because I’m tied up with this.”
“What’s your point? ”
The point was he didn’t want Marshall the Perpetual Flirt anywhere near Piper. “She doesn’t need you distracting her. She needs to focus, and so do we, so back off.”
“You’re getting pretty territorial for someone who hasn’t made a move. Unless this little sleepover was going to be your excuse?”
“Of course not.” If they didn’t change the subject, Piper would catch them talking about her like she was a piece of meat in a store window. “What the hell is she doing out there?”
“So your objection to me asking her out has nothing to do with you wanting her for yourself?”
“Stop putting words in my mouth.”
“Stop avoiding the subject.”
Blake flipped him off.
“Hah! I knew it.” Marshall pointed at him. “You want to sleep with her.”
He slapped Marshall’s hand away. “Would you shut up? She probably heard that.”
“I don’t think you have a shot. She likes me more, I can tell.” Marshall flicked imaginary lint off his shirt.
“I doubt that.” Blake resisted the urge to check his own shirt. If Marshall caught him primping he’d never hear the end of it.
“Did you see the way she kissed me? She’s into me.”
Blake snorted. “No she isn’t. She kissed your cheek.”
“Trust me, I can tell.”
“She’s off-limits,” he said firmly.
Marshall gave him a look that said he knew the answer but was going to ask the question anyway, just to see if Blake would be honest. “Why?”
Because he knew exactly where that would lead.
Marshall would mess around for a while, Piper would get invested, then he’d move on and she’d be pissed off at both of them, and that was unacceptable. “She’s having a hard enough time without you screwing around, and besides, you have a trip to Vegas next week. We need those locations nailed down.”
Marshall waved off that objection. “I’m on the plane first thing next week. That leaves plenty of time for a little distraction.”
The word no rebounded around his head like a basketball. It wasn’t rational. He and Marshall usually had entirely different tastes in women, and besides, his friend was easily distracted. He might go on one date with her then move on. He shouldn’t care about it, but he did.
He did not want Marshall making any moves on Piper.
He couldn’t just say that. The harder he pushed back at Marshall, the more determined his friend would be to get Piper all to himself. “Make sure you check out the penthouse suite, and the garage, and the pool, and be sure to check in with Marissa about the dates and deposit on the ranch. We need to know if we need to supply generators for the barns.”
“It’s all on the list.” Marshall tapped his phone where it rested in his back pocket. “And don’t think you’re distracting me. I see what you’re up to, you know. I’m not blind. You want to get to her before I do.”
“I do not.” He hadn’t, until this second.
Marshall narrowed his eyes. “If I can’t ask her out, neither can you.”
“Fine.” He’d agree to almost anything to end this conversation.
“Having her sleep over is pretty damn close to asking her out,” Marshall pointed out.
“It’s not a date. I’m just being nice. It’s late. You’re sleeping over too, and I’m sure as hell not asking you out.” Maybe he should make Marshall sleep by the pool.
“She’s spending all day with you too.”
“We’re working . ”
“She’ll be spending all day with you while I’ll be out of town.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, if you want to play it that way, let’s make a deal.”
Marshall’s deals were usually complicated and filled with hidden traps and loopholes, and he almost always won unless Blake got in the first shot.
“Fine. You can’t sleep with Piper while we have an active project, and if you do, I get your vintage Mustang. The cherry-red one.”
“Oh no. It’s not that easy. If I can’t sleep with her, neither can you, until Scorched wraps. Then it’s free for all, fair game, no rules. Deal?”
“No way.” Blake lowered his voice, just in case. “If we do this, it has to last until after Conned .”
That would give him more time to work with her without fear of her being swept away by Marshall’s vortex of charm.
Marshall gaped. “That’s going to take months.”
“It’s not prison. You aren’t swearing off all women. Just this one.”
Marshall considered him. “You’re saying we both go hands-off Piper until Conned wraps.”
“Yes.”
Had he heard footsteps?
It was too dark to tell if there was someone on the porch through the frosted glass. He could check his security feed, but then it would look like he was stalking her or something.
“Fine. For the record, I’m not buying this holier-than-thou attitude you have going. I think you are a hell of a lot more into her than you’re letting on, but whatever. I’m game. We need stakes.”
“She’s coming back any second,” Blake hissed. “We can talk about it later.”
“Then we better nail this down quick,” Marshall said, unmoved. “She’s staying under your roof, there have to be stakes in case you decide to go wandering around in what’s left of the night.”
Blake gestured for him to wrap it up. “It’s your deal. You go first.”
“If you cross the line, you have to…” Marshall tilted his head in thought. A crafty, devious smirk spread across his friend’s face. “I got it. If you screw up, you have to take the buddy role in She’s All Mine. Shooting starts in September, and they asked me the other day if you’d be interested.”
Blake thought about that. It took him a few seconds to zero in on the catch. “Didn’t you say they were tapping Rachel for the lead?”
“That’s right!” he said with a smug satisfied smile. “You’ll get to be the one Rachel dumps to get to me.”
Blake closed his eyes and counted to five. “This is ridiculous. You can’t just promise to keep your hands off a woman for a couple of months? It’s that hard?”
“I can. I don’t think you can. I saw the way you looked at her.” Marshall gave him an I-know-you-better-than-you-know-yourself smirk. “If you can’t handle the stakes, then I’m asking her out when she comes back in here.”
“I haven’t said no.” He itched to pull up the camera feeds on his phone. What the hell was she doing out there? “If you so much as kiss her, even on the cheek, I win and you have to…”
He sifted through all the asinine things they’d done over the years, but none of them fit this situation. Singing karaoke on a plane wasn’t nearly enough to get back at him for this. Neither was streaking down the beach at sunset. Neither was having to drink an entire bottle of hot sauce.
No, he needed something big. Something Marshall would hate so much it would keep him away from Piper for good.
“Got it.” Blake smiled at his friend with predatory triumph. “ I win, and you have to do the changing scene in Conned butt naked.”
Marshall froze. “Seriously?”
“Bare-ass, full-on, no-covering-of-any-kind, no-body-double, full-moon glory.”
He didn’t think Marshall would take the deal. He’d hit the one thing his friend hated above all else. Marshall was proud of his chest and his abs, and he’d do full frontal without blinking if he had to, but he had a thing about showing his bare behind.
A kiss from Mother Nature had left him with a birthmark on his left butt cheek that he hated so much he put a big bandage over it if he was even thinking of having sex, just so the woman he slept with wouldn’t see it.
That was the thing about best friends, they knew all your secrets.
“That’s…that’s cold,” Marshall said in a breathless whisper.
“It’s your deal. I just picked my stakes.”
It wasn’t that Blake was dying to see his best friend’s bare butt on the big screen, but he wanted to make absolutely sure he wouldn’t ask Piper out. Nothing guaranteed that Marshall would behave himself more than the promise of lasting evidence.
The door opened, and Piper came through carrying a black duffel bag over one shoulder and tapping out a message on her phone.
He glanced sideways at his best friend. “Deal?”
A slow, sly grin spread across Marshall’s face. “Oh, it’s on.”
Piper looked up from her phone. “Something wrong?”
Blake cleared his throat. “Rooms are upstairs. Follow me.”
Piper picked the smallest bedroom near the back of the house. She said it was because it overlooked the pool and had a cozy feel, but he suspected she picked it because it was the room farthest away from the rest of the house. It also happened to be directly above his bedroom, and the beds were in exactly the same position.
Marshall took over his usual space when he stayed overnight: the media room.
Blake got undressed and lay down on his bed, but wound up staring at the ceiling for at least an hour because he couldn’t stop himself from picturing Piper above him doing the same thing.
Did her go bag include something to sleep in? Or had she improvised with some combination of T-shirt and underwear?
What if she didn’t wear anything?
Didn’t that image send his pulse racing.
He turned on his side and closed his eyes. If she somehow levitated down one floor, she might be snuggled up against his back, or he might be spooning her . His imagination helpfully kicked in with what it would feel like to have her warmth pressed up against him, to let his hands roam over every soft curve of her…
He growled and tossed to the other side of the bed. For crying out loud, she wasn’t anywhere near him. She was at the back of the house, on another floor. He’d have to go past Marshall, up the stairs, and all the way down the hall to get to her.
Which would be a really, really, bad idea.
He was her coworker, things were clicking along well, and he had the deal with Marshall. He could not, would not break it for a hundred different reasons.
Why was it the second he promised to keep his hands off Piper, all he wanted to do was get them on her? Was it some sort of twisted cosmic joke? Fruit of the forbidden tree?
Or had he just been fooling himself?
His parents were a prime example of why messing around with a costar was a monumentally stupid idea. Everything might start out great, but in the end, it led to your mother in tears in the middle of the night .
He tossed and turned for another hour before he fell into a doze, which was interrupted by a text alert.
It was from Marissa, the location scout in Las Vegas. Ranch is on fire. Looks like major damage .
She’d included a link to a breaking news article. He clicked on the link and started reading.
Adrenaline shot through Blake, and he was instantly wide awake.
A raging fire has consumed two outbuildings and now threatens the main structure at Buckhorn Ranch this morning. The fire, which was reported at 4:30 a.m., likely started in the largest barn, where a current film production had set off a large number of fireworks. According to Clark County Fire Department, the structure is a total loss, and they are now working on saving the other outlying buildings and the lodge where guests have been evacuated.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.” This wasn’t happening. This could not be happening because if it was happening, that would mean they had nowhere to shoot seventy percent of the damn movie.
He gave up on sleep and flipped on the light. They’d planned on doing most of the interior shots at that ranch. It had plenty of space for the cast and crew to stay on property, plus three enormous empty barns and enough land to set up the desert car chase. There wasn’t anything else remotely like it with such easy access.
He sent back a quick message to Marissa. Marshall there Monday. Will help with Plan B.
Three dots appeared.
We’re on Plan F, Marissa replied .
Blake headed for the shower to seethe about the incredible carelessness that had to have led to this disaster. Someone else’s lack of planning had just become his major problem, and there was nothing he could do about it.
How the hell did any movie ever get made?
He threw on clothes, then headed for the media room to tell Marshall, but his friend was dead to the world. A replay of yesterday’s ball game flashed odd colors across Marshall’s face.
He wanted to shake him awake just so he’d have someone to rant to, but Marshall would be doing the heavy lifting later today. Might as well let him sleep. It wasn’t like he could put out the fire.
He continued to the office, where he stood in front of the whiteboard contemplating options. They didn’t really have a backup plan for the ranch. They could try to build sets for what they needed at LA Center, but that would drive the cost of his already skyrocketing budget up even further.
Eighty-five million sounded like a lot of money until the costs of construction and union wages kicked in. Then it felt more like trying to create a blockbuster movie with the change he could scrounge from his mom’s purse.
He snatched the note with the ranch details off the whiteboard and crossed to the desk. He had an hour and a half before they had to leave for the studio. He could get a jump on the research for Marshall.
Thirty minutes later, soft footsteps interrupted his focus as Piper came in carrying a mug in both hands like it was some sort of offering. Watching her wander casually through the door into his inner sanctum drove home the reason he hadn’t been able to sleep.
Seeing her fresh from the shower just filled him with visions of her naked, which, he sternly reminded himself, was something he absolutely should not be picturing. He had a deal with Marshall, and he didn’t want to lose. She was a guest in his house and a colleague. They had a project to finish. They had to keep things professional.
The little rush of adrenaline her appearance had caused didn’t care about his deals or his professionalism. It cared that she smelled like fresh apples and rain, and that her T-shirt managed to be loose yet somehow caressed the curves of her breasts at the same time.
“Good morning,” she said with a yawn that ended in a squeak. “Did you get any sleep?”
He leaned back in his chair and answered her yawn with one of his own. “Not really. You?”
She curled up in one of the chairs like a cat and sniffed whatever was in the mug. “An hour or two.”
“What are you drinking?”
“Coffee.” She sipped, closed her eyes, and sighed with pleasure. She made it look like mana from heaven.
“I had coffee?” He’d never learned to like it, but he thought maybe now was the time to start.
“No. I had coffee in my go bag. You have a coffee maker, but no coffee. At least, none that I could find.” She peered at him over the rim of the cup. “How have you survived this kind of life this long without coffee in the house? Have you no soul?”
He saluted her with an empty can of Diet Coke. He’d had three so far this morning. “I have preservatives and caffeine.”
“You don’t drink coffee or tea.” She shook her head and sighed at him. “You’re missing out. Coffee is one of life’s truly great pleasures.”
“Maybe I’ll give it a try.” He crossed to the whiteboard and put the ranch note back where it belonged, now with a giant red x across it.
“What’s going on?” Piper uncurled and joined him at the board, still cuddling the coffee. “That looks like an angry x .”
“It’s a frustrated x .” He ran his hand through his hair. “The location I counted on for about seventy percent of the shoot is currently on fire.”
Piper frowned at the note. “As in…it’s popular? Or it’s actually burning to the ground?”
“From the news reports so far, one of the barns is already gone, the second one is about to fall, several acres of brush has gone up, and the fire is creeping toward the main house.”
“Oh.” She took a sip. “So what are you going to do?”
“I have no idea.”
They stared at his note in silence for a minute before Piper took another sip and sauntered away toward the storyboard.
“Does it have to be a ranch?”
“No. Most of it was going to be interior shots. Hotel rooms. Bar. Simulated casino floor. That kind of thing. The place has actually been used for a ton of movies over the years, everything from Westerns to part of a James Bond. It’s versatile space, with a place for the crew to stay, and a lot of desert around it to keep prying eyes away.”
“Hmm.”
Something about the way she made the sound caught his attention. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugged. “Just curious. Maybe what you need is to think outside the box. I mean, the story is set in a small town, right? I was just thinking maybe you could shoot in an actual small town.”
“Well, it can’t be just any town. It’s supposed to be near Vegas.”
It did give him an idea though. There was a small ghost town not far from Vegas that had seemed like too much work to convert to their purposes, but maybe it would be cheaper than a studio in LA.
He crossed to the desk to make a new note about that for Marshall .
“Why does the town have to be near Vegas? The desert doesn’t really feature in the story. At least not according to your cards here.” Piper tapped one of the scene cards. “Weather isn’t really a factor. It’s just this rich asshole owns the town, right? What if the town he owns is somewhere else?”
He leaned against the edge of the desk. “Because it all takes place near Vegas. It’s the whole desert vibe that makes it cool.”
She cast him a skeptical look. “Really? Because I thought the part that made it cool was a con man falling in love with someone out of his element, and then using what he knows to save it as a grand gesture for the girl.”
He blinked at her. “That’s not really what it’s about.”
“Really? What do you think it’s about?”
He could rattle off the elevator pitch in his sleep, he knew it so well. “It’s a buddy caper. Ocean’s Eleven meets The Count of Monte Cristo with a small-town twist.”
“I didn’t get that from the story you have here.” Piper took a sip and looked polite.
He could tell she was faking it by the way her lips froze in place. She wasn’t used to movie pitches. Maybe he just needed to explain the premise a little better. “Look, it’s all about a reformed con man who finds out the town he grew up in is being taken over by a developer who’s an even worse con man than he is. It’s a redemption story about a guy and his old high school buddies.”
“Except you have him falling in love, well, lust anyway, with a girl. Unless she’s the buddy you’re talking about, this sounds like a love story with a side of redemption.”
“Or redemption with a side of love,” he insisted.
She gave him a be-serious look. “Love is never on the side. Love is always the main course. And by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask…are you sure she’d kiss him here? He’s been acting like an ass up to now.”
Piper pointed to a card near the end of act two .
He knew the part she was talking about. It was a pivotal scene, the point where they all walk through a door of no return. “Sure. He’s just told her his plan to save the town. She’s grateful.”
“No she’s not.” Her face scrunched up. “She thinks he’s full of shit.”
His hands clenched the side of the desk. They’d been through so many drafts of this story that hearing someone misinterpret it was stirring all the wrong nerves. “No she doesn’t. She’s the one person who believes in him. There’s chemistry.”
She didn’t look convinced by his explanation. “Just because you wrote it on that card doesn’t mean it exists.”
“That’s literally what it means.”
Piper took the card that detailed the kiss off the board and studied it. “If I were her, I wouldn’t touch him until after the second bar scene. Right here she’s too frustrated.”
He flicked his gaze to the ceiling, hoping to find patience there. “Right. It’s called sexual tension. She’s giving in to it.”
Piper snorted. “I don’t think so.”
His fingers twitched against the desk. He’d been working on this screenplay for ten years, and she’d scanned it for five minutes. Her critique of one of the crucial moments of the film made him want to throw something. “It’s my story and I say she gives in to desire here.”
Her lips twitched with unspoken words. Finally, she shrugged and waved the card at him. “Okay. Fine. It’s your story.”
Her tone meant the exact opposite.
His jaw clenched. “Yes. It is.”
He snatched the card out of her hand and pinned it back on the board where it belonged.
Piper watched him carefully, like she thought he was having have a Beautiful Mind moment.
“What?” he demanded.
She blinked. “Nothing. ”
“It’s not nothing.” He pointed at her. “What’s in that head of yours? You look like you’re having an entire conversation in there without me.”
She glanced at the board. “I’m serious. It’s your story.”
“But…,” he prompted.
She tilted her head to the side as if she were trying to see the story from a different angle. “All I’m saying is no woman will relate to that kiss happening right there. They’ll think the woman is an idiot and the guy is a jerk. I just thought you were writing something different, that’s all.”
“He’s not a jerk.” He rubbed his forehead. This discussion, or the late night, or both, was giving him a headache. “That’s the whole point. He’s reformed, and he’s falling in love with the neighborhood girl next door. It’s a great moment.”
“You keep saying that, but a girl next door doesn’t want to kiss a guy who just told her how he was only pretending to save something she really cares about. She’d think he was just using her along with the rest of the town, and she loves this town. She can’t trust him. Not here. And a good girl doesn’t kiss a guy she doesn’t trust, don’t care how good he looks in a suit.”
He crossed his arms. “Where would you put it?”
She shifted a few feet and pointed at a card. “Here. After the first part of the sting has gone down and everyone’s flying high, but before things start to fall apart. If I were her, that’s where I’d kiss him. Hell, if I was going to give in to sexual tension at that point I’d really give in. A mere kiss wouldn’t do it for me. I’d want more.”
That got his attention. He could picture the scene so clearly, it was like they were there. Piper wore jeans and blue country-girl shirt and boots. He looked slick, like he’d just stepped out of the high roller room at the Bellagio. They were in the bar, he had her pressed into the corner with one hand on the wall, leaning into her …
He shook himself. He was losing his damn mind. “Oh really?”
She glanced at him. “Yes. Well, you know, if I were her.”
He considered that. If he shifted the kiss and expanded on it, it would be a stronger move into the third act. She had a point. He put the character card back on the board and lifted the kiss off. “Maybe.”
Piper glanced at her phone. “We should go. We’re going to be late.”
“Right behind you.” He pinned the kiss onto the section she’d indicated, then sent a quick text to Marshall before he followed Piper out the door.
Ranch is gone. Call later to brainstorm Plan F.
Everyone else was already in the studio by the time they got there, although nobody looked anywhere near ready to get started. Gina and Jeremy were deep in conversation, while Rachel had cornered Tamar and was gesturing toward the microphone with an earnest expression.
“I should be closer to the center of the room, especially if we’re going to run through the songs,” Rachel explained with an earnest expression.
“I’m not sure we’re doing songs today. Let’s focus on the castle scene, shall we?” Tamar glanced at them with a relieved expression. “Good morning, sleepyheads.”
Piper stifled a yawn. “Good morning. Is there coffee?”
Tamar peered at both of them. “I’m not sure we have enough to fix the tired look in your eyes, but yes. Hurry, please. Time to get started.”
Piper left to find the promised vat of caffeine while Blake took the opportunity to answer the sixteen texts he’d received during the drive in. Marissa had sent four possible new spots to replace the ranch, the caterer sent a link for a possible menu and a question about the ranch kitchen, which reminded him to pass along news of the fire to everyone from the caterer to the costume designer, which earned him instant responses that were both long-winded and unhelpful.
“Good morning,” Rachel said in a voice way too sexy for this hour of the morning.
“Morning, Rach.” Blake kept his voice brisk in the hopes she’d take the hint and move on.
“You look strung out. What’s wrong?” Rachel put a soft hand on his arm. “Anything I can do to help?”
He started to say something snarky about her having a spare ranch in her back pocket but thought better of it. For one, he didn’t need the fact that they’d just lost their key location getting around, and for another, the day hadn’t even started and the last thing any of them needed was Rachel in a bad mood.
He did his best to smooth his expression into a semblance of happy politeness. “Thanks, but it’s all good. Just stayed up too late, that’s all.”
“Oh.” Rachel glanced at the other side of the room where Piper had just joined Gina and Jeremy. “She looks exhausted too, poor thing.”
He could see Rachel putting two and two together and coming up with sixteen. Her lips tightened.
“She rehearsed all night. You know how it is.”
“She does seem to be struggling.” Rachel stared at Piper as she pulled a phone out of her purse and held it up in the classic selfie pose. “She’s not streaming this, is she? I mean, these sets are closed. Right?”
“She has permission for quick interviews of the cast if they agree. Paul thought it would be great for publicity,” Blake explained .
“Good morning, everybody!” Piper smiled at the camera and waved. She looked delighted and a lot more awake than she’d been a few seconds ago. “I’m in the studio today for Scorched , and look who I’m with! Gina Paige and Jeremy Graham!” Piper pointed the camera at Gina.
“Good morning, everyone,” Gina said in her dragon voice with an elegant wave.
Jeremy shuffled over to get in on the action. “Greetings, fellow travelers. Welcome to where we make the magic happen. Literally, in this case.”
“If you can get through one whole take without hamming it up that will be magical,” Gina said in her normal voice. She gave Jeremy a fond pat on the arm.
“Gina, dahling, I’m hurt.” Jeremy put a hand to his chest like he’d been shot.
Piper giggled, and that flash of dimple appeared.
He lost the thread of Rachel’s conversation.
Get a grip , he told himself. You made a deal with Marshall that you do not want to lose. Besides, she hasn’t exactly acted like she’s interested in you that way. She’s not Hollywood. She’s focused on getting her lines right, not on getting busy with a costar. She’s off-limits.
“I can’t believe I get to work with the pair of you.” Piper’s admiration was so genuine he could see why she had so many followers. Her interactions with fans were authentic. “I can’t tell you how much of a thrill this is for me, and how amazing I think this movie is because you’re in it. Wait until you see the dragon fight with Malignon, you guys. You’re going to love it.”
Rachel muttered something he didn’t quite catch and squeezed his arm.
He tore his gaze away from Piper. “What do you need, Rachel?”
From the look in her eyes, what she needed was a bat and a minute alone with Piper. But she cleared the hostility off her face and replaced it with the charming smile that had earned her so many parts. “I’ve been meaning to ask if you’ve read the script for She’s All Mine .”
He glanced at Piper. She appeared to be posting the video she’d just made. “Yeah. I skimmed it.”
Rachel shifted until she stood in between him and the giggling trio. “They’ve asked me to play the girlfriend, but I’m not sure I should. I could use your take on it.”
“Sure.” His smile felt stiff, but it was the best he could do. He was tired, stressed, and distracted. “I’ll talk it over with Marshall and get back to you.”
“Thanks, sweetie,” Rachel cooed.
Tamar hustled back into the room and clapped her hands twice. “Places, please. Let today be better than yesterday and worse than tomorrow.”
Blake gave Rachel an apologetic smile, and they both crossed to their designated microphones.
Piper, Gina, and Jeremy got into line. Piper watched Rachel saunter past, then turned her microphone, so she faced him with her back to Rachel.
He raised an eyebrow at her. It was a ballsy move.
Piper’s dimple winked at him.
“Are we ready? Is everyone awake?” Tamar asked.
Blake added his voice to the general chorus of “ready,” but as he listened to Piper warm up her vocal cords, he knew he wasn’t anywhere near ready for what was sure to be weeks of intense, close, personal contact with Piper Bellamy without breaking his deal with Marshall.