Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
The warmth of the plate seeped into Hope’s fingers as she turned the corner into the conference room staging area. She nearly dropped it. Angelica sat at the table, iPad pushed to the side, and her legs propped up like she commonly sat now, the black air cast still on her right leg.
But it was Leanne, who was sitting where Hope generally sat, leaning over and touching Angelica’s arm lightly.
It was the lightness in both of their faces, the laughter that had filled the room.
What alternate universe did she just walk in on?
Hope bit her tongue to keep herself from saying anything stupid, but she was thrown for a loop.
Shuffling forward, she set the plate down next to Angelica and then stood right next to her, standing sentry. As far as she was aware, they were still supposed to hate Leanne. And yet Angelica looked as though she was having the time of her life in here.
“I brought you some lunch,” Hope said, nerves zinging through her body. She bit her lip and put her hands behind her back as she stared down at Angelica, who seemed more than a little surprised to see her there.
She shouldn’t.
Hope had brought Angelica breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the last three days while they’d been filming, and they’d sat together while Angelica ate—or rather picked at the food.
It was hard on one level not to be offended that Angelica didn’t eat more of what Hope knew was delicious food, and on the other hand, she was just happy to see Angelica consuming anything.
“We were just talking about the burst pipe in the Los Angeles hotel.” Angelica pointed at Leanne. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so wet in my life.”
Angelica didn’t look at Leanne for that one. Her baby blues were turned on Hope, locked together with her eyes in a battle that Hope wasn’t sure was even happening. Angelica reached up and snagged Hope’s fingers, lightly pulling on them.
“It’s a joke, Hope. You should be laughing.”
“Right. Sorry.” Hope shook her head a bit, trying to get her senses back, but it was so hard to focus right now. She’d never seen Angelica act like this before, and it unnerved her. “How did the pipe burst?”
Leanne snorted, and she squeezed Angelica’s leg tightly. “One of the owners decided they wanted to do some renovation and had hired a questionable site manager. They cut right through it when they were taking down a wall. It was one of the fire suppression pipes.”
Hope wanted to pluck Leanne’s hand off Angelica’s bare skin and flop it away so that no one would be touching Angelica—no one but her that is.
Hope had to bite back that thought. Angelica wasn’t hers, but the possessiveness that stole through her was astoundingly sharp.
She didn’t want Leanne to touch her. Not one tip of her finger.
And to have Angelica be making sexual jokes with her?
God, what world had Hope walked into?
“There was six inches of water filling the ballroom—you know the room where we held the wrap parties?” Angelica asked, looking up at Hope and snagging her fingers again.
Hope nodded her understanding. She knew what Angelica was saying, but the feelings roiling around in her stomach were another beast entirely. She didn’t understand those.
“Six inches of water. It took a whole month to dry the place out and get everything fixed and back into place. After that the Kartalis refused to find another construction company without my approval.” Angelica squeezed Hope’s fingers tightly. “What did you bring me for lunch?”
“Oh, just… something easy.” Hope bit her lip. The flip-flopping of the conversation and her emotions was getting to her. She wasn’t as good at keeping up with this as Angelica was.
Angelica let go of Hope’s fingers and reached for the cloche, pulling it off. She breathed in deeply and hummed her pleasure. “It smells delicious.”
“It’s a red potato and leek frittata with goat cheese and dill, but I didn’t use potatoes for you. I used patty pan squash instead to mimic the texture.” Hope slid her clammy hands against her thighs.
“Why not just use potatoes?” Leanne frowned, confused.
Hope’s lips parted in surprise. How long had Angelica and Leanne actually been together?
She knew they worked together for years, and yet Leanne had no idea that Angelica had food allergies.
How was that even possible? How much more had Hope learned about Angelica in the short time they’d known each other—and even shorter time they’d been in a relationship—than Leanne?
“Just a preference this morning.” Hope flashed Leanne a fake smile. “I wanted to try something new and test my skills.”
“Oh, well it smells delicious.” Leanne nodded toward the plate. “Is there any left?”
“No, sorry.” There was, but Hope wasn’t going to feed a woman she wasn’t supposed to like.
She’d fed the rest of the kitchen staff, knowing that Angelica wasn’t likely to ask for seconds, but there were still a few slices left as far as she knew.
Hope moved her gaze back to Angelica, keeping her eyes locked there.
“Let me know if there’s anything else that you’d like. ”
Angelica shook her head. “This looks amazing, thank you.”
Hope was about to step away, not sure what to do or where to stand any longer, but Angelica snagged her hand again. “Stay for a minute.”
“Uh… sure.”
Angelica let go and stared directly at Leanne. “I need to talk to my costar.”
“Oh, right.” Leanne’s smile faded instantly. She hadn’t been expecting that.
Leave it to Angelica to always keep someone on their toes. She’d done that repeatedly with Hope over the last few years. Leanne shifted and stood up, nodding her head in Angelica’s direction.
“Let me know if you need something and I can get it.”
“Will do.” But Angelica’s tone said exactly the opposite.
Satisfaction swirled in Hope’s chest. It was one thing for Hope to dote on her and it was another entirely for Angelica to accept help from Leanne.
Hope stood strong, her chest puffed out as she stared down at Angelica while Leanne escaped the conference room.
But then the memory of their laughter hit her again, and she bowed her head in dejection.
“What was that all about?” Hope asked, folding her hands tightly in her lap. She was so confused. Angelica had willingly touched her in front of Leanne, not just on the arm or anything simple, but she’d held Hope’s fingers. It had been…intimate.
“Leanne is trying to take over for me, Hope, and I want to know how close she is to making that happen. Josef has been giving me a wide berth the last few days, and I don’t know why.”
“That might be my fault.” Hope frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Angelica moved the fork to the meal Hope had prepared and took a small bite of it. She hummed as soon as it hit her tongue, and that was exactly what Hope had wanted to hear. And when she went back for a second bite, Hope was even happier.
“Hope, what do you mean it’s your fault?”
Hope glanced around the room and toward the open door.
She moved swiftly to shut it and then took up Leanne’s vacated spot, dropping her hand onto Angelica’s cold skin.
She brushed her thumb gently against it, warming her.
Angelica bit her lip when she looked down at where they were connected, and the look she gave Hope was so different from the one she’d given Leanne.
Was there more interest there? More…attraction?
Hope wasn’t sure that she dared to dream that up.
Angelica had made the boundaries clear.
“How does Leanne not know about your food allergies?” Hope asked, keeping the simple pattern of her thumb moving back and forth against the inside of Angelica’s knee.
“I uh…” Angelica’s cheeks pinked, a stunning flush running through her cheeks and down her chest. “Is your mic on?”
“No, I turned it off before I came in here.” Hope canted her head to the side, genuinely curious now.
Nodding, Angelica flicked her gaze back down to Hope’s hand. “That feels good.”
“This touch?” Hope asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Angelica whispered, her voice breathy. She cleared her throat, and instantly refocused. Hope could see the shift in her features as she centered herself on what she was there to say. “Leanne and I didn’t share a lot of meals together.”
“Because she’s not a chef.”
“No.” Angelica bit her lip again, her gaze flicking down to Hope’s hand on her knee. “Because we were busy doing other things.”
Cold washed through Hope.
“Leanne and I didn’t have much of a relationship, reflecting back on things.” Angelica reached up, her hand pressing into Hope’s with a gentle squeeze before she released it. “Not like you and I did.”
Did.
It was that past tense again. It was a knife straight to Hope’s heart.
She didn’t want what was between them to end.
That kiss back in Maine had been everything, and yet, now they were still sitting here as if they were nearly strangers.
At least, Hope thought Angelica wanted it that way until she started touching like this.
“What are we doing, Ange?” Hope whispered. But she couldn’t force herself to look up into Angelica’s gaze.
“Eating lunch,” Angelica answered as she took another bite of her meal.
That hadn’t been what Hope wanted to know, but she would take that answer for now. Angelica wasn’t having the same thoughts that she was. It was all in her head, and she needed to accept that. Angelica didn’t want her anymore.
“What was that with Leanne?” Hope pointed toward the door.
“Sometimes to make difficult people cooperate, it’s necessary to make them think they’re the one in control.” Angelica looked directly at Hope, her gaze unnerving. Had Angelica done the same thing with Hope two years ago?
Had that been what last year was about?
Pushing that thought to the back of her mind as much as she could, Hope refocused herself.
“I asked Rex to pull the audio from the confrontation with Josef the other day,” Hope said, staring down at her hand against Angelica’s knee because for the life of her, she couldn’t make herself move it.
“You did what?”
“I had a feeling that it was all recorded, and I wanted to hear exactly what he’d said to you, again. I wanted to know what threats he’d made.” Hope bit her lip, turning her face to look at Angelica full on. “How long has he been saying things like that?”
“This isn’t your fight, Hope.”
“You made it my fight when you asked me for help with Leanne.”
“Leanne is one thing. Josef is another entirely.” Angelica shook her head, and her entire body tensed.
Hope missed the relaxed woman she’d come in here and found. “I don’t think they’re all that different, and because Josef brought in Leanne, the two are really well mixed up in this.”
“Leanne doesn’t understand the dynamics.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Hope rolled her shoulders, sitting back a little but still keeping her hand on Angelica’s bare knee. “Leanne doesn’t know that you and I used to be in a relationship.”
“Hope…” Angelica’s voice broke into a whisper. “We talked about this.”
“We really didn’t.” Hope’s face hardened.
“But since you asked, I listened to what Josef said to you and then I sent that recording to Logan. I’m tired of allowing a bully to run this show, and I’m tired of letting him walk all over you.
Whether or not anything else happens between us in the future, Ange, you deserve to work in a place that isn’t antagonizing you. ”
Angelica’s jaw dropped.
“Back to business.” Hope straightened her shoulders and moved her hand from Angelica’s leg.
“I think I’ve solved the room service issues, and I’m working with the chef to tidy up some small things in the kitchen and to work on a new menu that will really up the level of their food.
As for Ashlee, I think the best thing you can do for her is either tell her to step out of the business, hire a good manager to come in here and run everything, and be hands off—or send her to one of your hotels for three months to get a crash course and offer consultation after that.
But that’s just my opinion and I know you’ll do whatever the hell you want. ”
Hope stood up and brushed invisible lint off her clothes.
“Hope!”
“I hear we’re scheduled to do a trial run of room service for filming tomorrow.” Hope shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked back on her heels. “I’ll make sure that the team is ready for it.”
“Hope,” Angelica repeated, harshness to her tone that Hope hadn’t heard in a long time. “Don’t leave like this.”
“Like what? As coworkers? As costars?” Hope bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m only following the lines you’ve set, Ange. Nothing else.”
She turned on her toes and walked out of the room. She needed some air. She needed some space. Because whatever had just happened in there hurt too damn much.
This wasn’t what she wanted.
This attraction, this desire, this love she still harbored for Angelica hurt too damn much in moments like that.
And she just needed a few minutes to herself—to put her head on straight, to breathe without the scent of Angelica’s perfume invading her senses.