preview of He’s The Reason Why
Piper Bellamy, one-third of the former pop sensation The Bellamy Sisters, leaned toward the camera in her formal living room turned recording studio and beamed at her 150 million streaming followers.
“Good morning! First, I’m so sorry I won’t be able to stick around for the comments today. I know, I know. It’s your favorite part. Mine too. But wait until you hear why.”
She cherished these Wednesday Morning Coffee Chats. Connecting with her fans kept her grounded and sane, especially after her little sister, Della, had turned all their lives upside down by going solo. The people who stuck with her after that weren’t just fans of The Bellamy Sisters, they were Piper Bellamy super fans.
“Today is finally the table read for Scorched . Can you believe it?” She put her coffee cup down because her wild gestures were putting it in serious danger of spilling over. “I can’t believe we’re finally moving forward on this. When they cast me, what, almost two years ago now? Wow, time flies. Anyway, I was so excited to get started. That was all thanks to you, by the way. I’ve mentioned it a thousand times but one more can’t hurt…if you hadn’t put up that Twitter campaign, I’d never have been cast. So thank you, thank you, thank you, a million times.
“Then, as you know, there was the writer’s strike, and a problem finding the right leading man. But now, finally, finally we’re getting started. Today is the first read-through, where we go through the whole script with everybody at one time. Some of us have also spent the past six months practicing some of the big songs, and you know I’ve put some quality time in the studio, but everyone will be there today, from the director, Tamar Shurer, to Paul Lester, the producer, to…wait, am I al lowed to say this? I hope so because I’m going to…Blake Ryan!”
She almost squealed his name, she was so excited.
“He just signed on to play Prince Jesse a couple of weeks ago. They probably haven’t even announced that yet.”
She put a finger to her lips. “Shh don’t tell anybody, okay? Can you say fourth time’s a charm? I can’t believe they didn’t pick him first because I can’t imagine anyone else being so perfect for this part. Sexiest Man of the Year, hello! Plus, I get to meet Gina Paige, Jeremy Graham, and Rachel Morris. Seriously, it’s a huge, huge day for me. A giant step forward into something new and different. Can’t wait to see what working on an animated movie is like.”
Piper gave her audience a wave and a big smile. “I promise I’ll check in on the comments later and let you know how the day went. Bye for now, and remember…you rock ! Wish me luck!”
She clicked the Stop button, checked to make sure the video uploaded to all of her streaming platforms, then carried her coffee to the kitchen.
Call time was eleven a.m., which left her forty-five minutes to get to the studio. While it gave her plenty of time, she didn’t want to be late. Not today. She needed to get going.
She was halfway to the kitchen when she heard the code being entered into the front door security lock. Romi Mizrahi, her friend, bodyguard, and head of security, probably just wanted to check in before Piper left for the day.
The door opened, and a tall, lanky blonde wearing strategically ripped denim shorts, a white crop top, and red-stitched ankle boots bopped through the door like she owned the place.
“Della!” Piper did a double take, then narrowed her eyes at her youngest sister. “What are you doing here?”
“Good morning to you too,” Della said, looking offended. She dropped her red handbag onto the entry table and held her arms out wide. “I want to give you a hug.”
Piper submitted to her sister’s over-enthusiastic greeting, then led the way to the kitchen. “You should have called first. I can’t stay, I have a meeting.”
“I know, silly, that’s why I came.” Della looked around the kitchen like she’d never seen one before, then meandered far too casually toward the coffee bar.
Piper watched her sister over the edge of her coffee cup and did her best to hide her irritation. Della had shown up this morning with a too-sunny smile that Piper didn’t trust for one second.
“Explain to me again why you need so many coffee makers?” Della poked a button on the drip coffee maker, then quickly poked it again when it started to gurgle.
“Explain to me again why you’re here,” Piper countered. She tapped her phone to double-check the time. “I have to leave in fifteen minutes, okay?”
Della flicked the espresso maker on. “You said today was the run-through. That’s huge, right? I just wanted to wish you luck. Is that a bad thing?”
“Not exactly, no.” Piper watched her sister wrestle with the machine for a few amusing seconds before helping her sort out a shot of espresso for her latte. “But you could have done that over the phone or by text. Showing up in person this early feels like there’s strings attached.”
“That’s just mean.” Della pushed her lips out in a fake pout.
“Not if it’s true.” Piper added frothed milk and vanilla flavoring to the coffee before she handed it to Della. “Is it?”
“Of course not.” Della pointed at the large family photo on the wall.
It had been taken at Belhurst Castle, the inn their oldest sister, Lizzie, operated, just after Lizzie’s wedding two months ago. Lizzie glowed in the center next to her new husband, Jackson Renic, and surrounded by her sisters.
“That picture came out great. Usually, bridesmaids’ dresses look so hideous, but I actually wore mine again to that dinner thing last month. What did you do with yours?”
Piper stared at the photo. “I shoved it in the back of my closet with all the other costumes.”
Lizzie’s wedding had been classy and elegant and filled with love. For the first time in a long time, they’d felt like a family again. It made her smile every time she looked at that picture.
Della studied her cup as if something might leap out of it. “This doesn’t look right.”
“Why are you really here, Dell?”
She sniffed the coffee. “I want some sister time. Let me give you a ride to the studios.”
“I have a car, and I know how to drive.”
Her sister was up to something, and Piper had a feeling she knew what. It was no secret that Della wanted to get their group back together. She’d already talked their other two sisters into it.
Della hadn’t asked Piper directly since the disastrous brunch five months ago when Mattie had had a meltdown. The topic still hung in the air between Della and Piper every time they got together, but neither one of them mentioned it out loud.
Della rolled her eyes. “I’m just trying to be nice. I have to go that way anyway. I’m heading to an open house in Beverly Hills.”
“You’re house hunting here?” Piper considered having her baby sister as a next-door neighbor and shuddered. Where Della went, crowds followed, and they had eyes only for their star. Della cast a long, long shadow, but LA was far enough away from NYC that Piper had gotten used to being in the sun for a change.
Della carried her coffee to the table and sat down. “Maybe. I don’t know. I mean, you’re here, and Mattie’s here. It would be cool to be closer to you guys. It’s a long way from Lizzie, though. Hey, maybe she’ll move out here someday.”
“There’s no way Lizzie is ever leaving upstate New York on any kind of permanent basis. She loves that inn. I don’t blame her. It’s so peaceful.” Piper drained the rest of her now cold coffee. “And Beverly Hills is nowhere near Day Dreams Studios.”
“Can’t I do something nice for you without you thinking I’m up to something? Come on.” Della sounded hurt, but it was a lie. They both knew it.
“You could, but not this early in the morning. You haven’t seen a sunrise since you were twelve. Why are you really here?” She needed to push this along. Traffic on the 10 was murder this time of day.
“I just wanted to talk to you.” Della sounded unsure now, which was a sign they were getting close to the actual point of the conversation.
“About?” Piper leaned against the counter and gave her little sister her full attention.
Della took a sip of her coffee, grimaced, and set it down. “Nasty. We should get Starbucks on the way.”
“We should get to the point,” Piper said with what she hoped sounded like patience.
Della bit her lip, then nodded. “Okay. You’re right. I do want to ask you something. Just please, please listen to the whole thing before you say anything?”
“Okay, I’ll try my best.”
“Really? Because you don’t look like you mean that. You look like you’re about to say no and you don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
Piper hated the way her stomach tightened into knots whenever this subject was brought up. She’d worked hard over the years to let it go, but her body apparently hadn’t gotten the memo. “I know what you want, Della. Hell, people on the space station know what you want because you’re as subtle as the Great Wall of China if it was set on fire. So go ahead. Ask and get it over with. This hemming and hawing is painful for both of us, and I have to get going.”
Della huffed an impatient sound. “You’re not even going to listen.”
“I’m listening. Believe me.” Piper couldn’t stop the growl of irritation. Della could trigger her every nerve despite Piper’s best efforts to stay calm. “It’s pretty hard to avoid this particular topic, actually, because the rumor is all over Twitter and Facebook and every gossip rag from here to Hong Kong. You really shouldn’t use social media to manipulate me. You know it just makes me mad.”
Della looked genuinely confused. “What do you mean by that? I haven’t posted anything on social media about this.”
“You haven’t?” Piper frowned. She’d seen a ton of posts about The Bellamy Sisters getting back together. She’d assumed they were started by Della, but she had to admit she hadn’t examined them too closely.
“Nope. Not me.” Della stared out the back window.
Was she looking for inspiration or escape? It was hard to tell.
“Oh.” After a few awkward seconds of silence, Piper added, “Sorry.”
Della shrugged. “It’s okay. It sounds like something I would have done. You know, before.”
“Della— ”
“Okay, here it is.” Della faced her. “I came here to tell you I’m sorry. What I did was self-centered, and selfish, and unbelievably naive. I thought I was a victim when I was the luckiest girl who ever lived. I hurt the people who mean the most to me, and by the time I figured that out, I was too ashamed to undo it.”
Piper swallowed hard.
She hadn’t expected to hear the words I’m sorry from Della and have her actually mean them.
She’d expected Della to leap right over the past and on to the future by asking Piper to go along with her scheme to reform The Bellamy Sisters. It was all Della had talked about for the last year—to everyone except Piper.
“If I were you, I’d never forgive me for it either.” Tears glistened in Della’s eyes. “But I hope you can. Someday. Because I really miss my best friend.”
Piper’s chest squeezed so tight she almost couldn’t breathe. Tears poked at her eyes, and prickles of heat filled her belly. She’d imagined a dozen different scenarios and how she’d respond, but she hadn’t planned on this.
Things between her and Della had eased a lot since they’d all come together to help Mattie after nude photos of her had surfaced online. Della had arranged the private jet that brought Mattie home, along with a hideout to keep her away from the media. She’d shown a maturity Piper hadn’t known she possessed, and it impressed her so much she couldn’t help but soften her own attitude. Maybe her little sister was finally growing up.
They’d met for lunch several times since then, and Della called or texted every other day to check in. The fact that Della was still here on the West Coast instead of at her home in New York City seemed more than a little strange in hindsight.
Della loved the nightlife and the crowds, and she craved constant attention. Things in LA were a lot more laid-back on a day-to-day basis. There were so many famous people here that it was easier to go unnoticed if you didn’t stumble onto a tourist spot by accident. Della hadn’t trended on Twitter or Instagram once since she’d brought Mattie back from Seychelles. Five months of silence from the media had to be driving her nuts.
So why hadn’t she gone home?
The simple truth was staring Piper in the face with giant, tear-filled eyes.
Piper’s planned responses all evaporated, and she let her heart speak. “I’m not mad at you. Not anymore, anyway.”
“Really?” Della looked like she didn’t believe her.
Piper sat down and took Della’s hands in hers. “Look. You’ll always be my baby sister. I love you, and I forgive you.”
At the look of doubt on Della’s face, she shrugged in acknowledgment. “Oh, I admit I was furious at the time. I was hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to even talk to me about it first. I thought we told each other everything. So finding out that you could talk to Renic, and not me.” Piper swallowed the lump in her throat. “That kind of thing takes a long time to heal. But I’m over it now. I’ve moved on. You should too. Okay?”
Della sniffed and squeezed Piper’s hands. “I’m really, really sorry. You’re right. I should have had the guts to talk about it with you. It won’t ever happen again. From now on, we share everything, even the painful bits. I swear.”
Piper swiped away a rogue tear and held out her pinkie. “Pinkie swear?”
Della wrapped her pinkie around Piper’s, and they shook. “Pinkie swear.”
“Good.” Piper’s heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. She held her arms out for a hug .
Della dove into her, and they squeezed each other. “I’ve missed this so much.”
“Me too, DellBell. Me too.”
“I can’t wait for the next tour. It’ll be just like old times.”
Piper froze. “What did you say?”
Della pulled back so that she could look Piper in the face. Her smile was so bright it would light up the Vegas Strip. “I can’t wait to be back on stage with you and Mattie. She’s working on new songs for us, and Renic says he can put together an epic world reunion tour.”
Piper jerked her head back in disbelief. Della’s vision for the future… her future…might as well have been a slap to her face.
Dammit, she’d been expecting this question, but not like this. Not after Della had softened her up by saying sorry.
The apology had been heartfelt and sincere, and not a damn thing had changed. Della still wanted what she wanted, and she’d only apologized as a means to an end.
“You’re unbelievable.” Piper pushed away from her.
“What?” Della’s smile faltered. “Worried about a tour? We won’t do it until your project is done. I know how important that movie is to you.”
“I’m not worried about a damn world tour.” Piper’s building irritation festered as her sister scrambled to backtrack. “Guess why that is.”
“I just thought…I mean, you said…I…” Della shook her hands out. “Come on. I said I was sorry. I am sorry.”
“You have to actually ask the question, Della. You can’t just assume you know the answer.” Piper picked up Della’s abandoned coffee cup and tossed the contents into the sink with a little more force than necessary. Liquid splashed all over the side of the sink and onto her shirt. She swore and lunged for a paper towel .
“I asked.” Della sounded defensive. “You said we should move on.”
“No. You didn’t ask anything.” Piper dabbed at her shirt, but the stain had already soaked into her white shirt. “You apologized for ripping our family apart, and I said I forgive you. I thought for a minute there that’s actually what you came here to do, but I should have known better.”
“That is why I came here. I came to tell you I’m sorry, and I meant it, dammit.” Della’s voice got louder and higher, just like it used to do when they’d squabbled over a toy as kids.
“I know you meant it.” Piper’s voice rose to match.
“Then why are you so mad at me?”
“I thought you’d finally figured things out. But you haven’t figured out a damn thing.” Piper thrust the dirty paper towel into the trash. She sucked in a calming breath and deliberately lowered her tone. “I have to go.”
“Wait.” Della held out a hand to stop her. “You said you’d let me finish.”
“Finish what, Della?”
“You said I have to ask then you don’t let me.” Della glared at her. “I want all of us together again. No more solo. Mattie already said yes. Lizzie thinks it will work. But you’re right. I haven’t asked you. So now I’m asking straight out. Will you come back with us? Will you be part of The Bellamy Sisters?”
There it was.
The question Piper had planned on hearing for almost six months was finally out in the open.
Funny, it didn’t feel anything like she thought it would. She’d expected a dozen different scenarios. In some of them, she’d actually been tempted to say yes.
She missed performing with her sisters. Sometimes, when she was on stage at the small VIP concerts she held for her fans, she missed her sisters so much she ached with longing. If Della had asked her then, she might have said yes.
But now she realized with absolute clarity what her answer had to be. “No.”
Della’s mouth dropped open. “No?”
Piper shook her head. “No.”
“But…why?”
“Think about it. I’m sure the answer will slap you upside the head eventually.” Piper stared down at her coffee-stained shirt, then stalked out of the kitchen toward her bedroom.
Della chased after her, hot on her heels. “You said you missed us. You haven’t even put out an album since. I thought—”
Piper threw open the door to her closet and stormed inside. “How did you see this playing out? When you pictured us all together again on that reunion tour, who did you see singing the lead on the new songs?”
Della stilled. The look of astonished confusion on her face would have been funny if the whole thing wasn’t so irritating. It hadn’t even occurred to her sister that anyone other than her would ever be center stage.
“That’s what I thought.” Piper tugged off her ruined shirt and snatched a replacement off a hanger.
“I don’t get what you’re saying,” Della said.
She backed out of the way as Piper pushed past her out of the bedroom.
“You aren’t capable of sharing the spotlight.”
“Yes, I am,” Della protested. “I share it all the time. I have a whole orchestra on stage with me, plus the backup singers and the dancers. It’s not like I’m ever alone out there.”
“Backup is the key word here, Della. You don’t share. Never have, never will. It’s who you are. I thought maybe you would change. You know, grow up. Mature. But I was wrong.” Piper grabbed her bag from the side table near the door but didn’t see her keys.
“Oh yeah, you’re being real mature right now. You can’t even look me in the eye and give me a real reason why you won’t say yes.”
Piper turned to stare Della down. “I can’t—won’t—share a stage with you because I’m done coming in second. I want more than that, and you aren’t capable of giving it. If we got back together, you’d be front and center while Mattie and I would sit in the backseat like we’re part of the crew, and it would just cause more resentment and more fights. I won’t do that to Mattie, or us.”
She spotted her keys on the floor and swept them up in one fist.
“It wouldn’t be like that,” Della said. “We wouldn’t fight.”
“Yes, we would.” Piper shook her head. “You never saw how hard it was because all that time on stage you never once looked back.”
“I did too. I had to check positioning, and I always sang the chorus with you on your mic. Especially that last tour.”
“Yeah, I rushed up to wherever you’d decided to stand so we could sing ten words together and then you twirled off in another direction and left me standing there. That’s not sharing. That’s using me as a mic stand.”
“That’s not fair.” Della’s shoulders fell. “It was just a show. I didn’t mean to make you feel…I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I know.” Piper put a hand on Della’s shoulder. “Since you were four years old, we all made you the belle of the ball. You don’t know any different. I get that. Hell, I was a huge part of making that possible. You’re the baby of the family, and after Mom died, we all made you the center of attention because we didn’t want you to miss out. But you don’t need us for that anymore. You have a thriving solo career, and you get to have that limelight all to yourself.”
“Dammit, I don’t want it by myself. I want my sisters with me. I want you with me. Come on, Piper. Let’s get back together. Please?”
Piper’s will almost buckled at the look of pleading in her sister’s tear-filled eyes.
Almost.
She squeezed Della’s shoulder and then let go. “Look, I meant what I said. The past is the past. I’m your sister and your friend, and that’s enough.”