Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
“Oh, I uh… didn’t realize we were on the same flight.”
Angelica paused in her step as she came upon Hope, sitting at the edge of a bar with a glass of wine in front of her, her rollaboard next to her, and a curious look on her face. Angelica might not have even seen her if she hadn’t said anything.
They were supposed to be flying together from Los Angeles to Kansas City for their next episode shoot.
Both had returned. Though Angelica had initially thought it’d been to woo an investor, when the investor had pulled out last minute, Hope had dived into work at her restaurant and Angelica had hidden away at the hotel for a few days.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” Angelica frowned at Hope, her grip tightening on her own suitcase until her knuckles were white. Something about the way Hope had interacted with her since the end of filming in Houston had been off, and Angelica couldn’t put her finger on what was going on.
Hope shrugged and turned back to her wine, a slight frown on her face, which Angelica didn’t like seeing. She held her breath, giving Hope a good look. She wasn’t being herself, and she was holding back. Anyone who knew her could see that from a mile away.
“Do you mind?” Angelica asked, catching Hope’s attention again.
“Mind what?” Hope asked.
“If I sit with you and have a drink.” Angelica raised her eyebrows in Hope’s direction.
“We haven’t exactly had much time to talk lately.
” And Angelica was fairly certain that had been intentional.
Ever since the wrap party, Hope had been distant.
But with the episode ending and both of them traveling to Los Angeles and preparing for the second episode to shoot, it had also seemed somewhat natural.
Yet something niggled in the back of her mind that told her Hope was holding back.
“Uh… sure.” Hope lifted her wine glass and pressed it to her lips for a sip.
Angelica nearly walked away. That was the cold shoulder Hope was giving her, not her usual bubbly and welcome self.
But they really should probably work through whatever this was, because they still had four more episodes to shoot this season.
And Angelica wanted the rhythm back that they’d discovered.
It’d made work so much easier.
Sliding onto the stool next to Hope, Angelica glanced up at the bartender who was already waiting for her.
She glanced at the nametag emblazoned across her chest and smiled. “Hi Betty, just get me whatever wheat beer you have on tap, please.”
“Coming right up, boss.”
Angelica dropped her gaze to the counter and spun the coaster in circles on the counter.
But now that she was here, she wasn’t sure what to say, or how to break the ice.
Betty set the beer down, and Angelica immediately lifted it to her lips to take a sip.
She nearly sighed into the flavor. It’d been a long time since she’d managed to have a beer.
She’d been stuck drinking wine for ages it seemed.
“Wh-when is the next investor dinner?”
“I haven’t set the date yet.” Angelica put her pint down and looked over at Hope, who still wasn’t making eye contact. “If you want, I can still schedule those for your restaurants instead…”
Hope shook her head. “No, you’re right. I should be there.”
Angelica pressed her lips together hard. Hope might think she needed to be there, but everything about the way she was sitting and speaking said she surely didn’t want to. And Angelica wasn’t going to force her to show up when there were alternatives.
Hope sighed heavily. “How’s Tatum?”
Just that name nearly broke Angelica’s heart.
She’d just been on the phone with him that afternoon, and it looked as though she was going to continue managing Mountain View West for at least another year, until they could finally get the property sold.
But Hope wasn’t asking about the property.
She was asking about the person behind it all.
“He’s struggling.” Angelica sipped her beer again, and when she glanced at Hope, she was surprised to find those crystalline eyes locked on her.
“Really?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
Hope nodded slowly. “Yeah, I would. You’re right.” Hope sighed heavily. “Is there anything we can do?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Angelica let her shoulders slump a little. “They’re preparing the space for sale in the next six to nine months, but Tatum’s insisting that they’re going to hold out for the right person.”
“What does that mean?”
Angelica shrugged. “I’m not sure he even knows. But he’s also still navigating his own grief and his father’s grief during all of this.”
“Would you ever buy it?” Hope bit her lower lip, and Angelica had a hard time dragging her gaze away from where her teeth were pressed into her delicate skin.
“Me?” Angelica blinked, shaking her head. “I’m not in the ownership business, Hope. I manage.”
“But you could own. I’ve seen you work, and I think you could do it.”
Angelica hummed slightly. “It’s not a matter of whether or not I think I can do it.
” Angelica never really had struggled with confidence in her own skillset.
Hope may have, but not Angelica. “It’s a matter of whether I want to.
Ownership means being tied to one place for a long time, especially in the hotel business. ”
“But you’ve been at your current hotel in Los Angeles for ten years.”
“Eleven,” Angelica corrected quickly, although she was impressed Hope had even known that. “But I still have owners to answer to. Although, at this point, they mostly let me do whatever I want there. They come in once a year to check on things and leave me alone.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Angelica took another swallow of her beer, glad that the conversation was flowing smoothly. She’d needed that more than the drink.
“That must be nice,” Hope murmured sipping her wine. “I like owning my own restaurants.”
“Have you figured out where you’re opening the next one?”
Hope sighed and shook her head. “I’ve had bigger problems to solve this last year.” She looked directly at Angelica, her shoulders tense, her cheeks taut.
Angelica could only imagine what those things were, but she was fairly certain their last season—or rather the way they ended it—was likely the problem that Hope was referring to. Angelica pursed her lips and said nothing. Because what could she say?
In this entire scenario, she was the other woman, and she was the one who would be blamed for everything. A stolen kiss here or there hadn’t meant much—at least, she’d thought it wouldn’t—but she’d been proven wrong. Again.
She’d put herself in this situation, really.
She was always diving into relationships or hoping for them when the other party wasn’t willing or able to reciprocate.
It’d been that way with Leanne, and it was the same with Hope.
Always and perpetually unavailable or unwilling to be with her fully and completely.
Perhaps it was time to admit that she was destined to be alone and without a romantic partner.
She didn’t need anyone, that was for certain.
But that longing for a partner, someone to share the woes of the world and the highs and lows of her day had never quite gone away.
And it’d taken her until she was in her mid-forties to truly understand that it was something she wanted for herself.
“Lyric has done…quite amazing things with your Instagram in the last year.”
Angelica cocked her head to the side, eyeing Hope carefully. What had she meant by that comment? Sarcasm or truth? Settling on the latter, Angelica nodded. “She has.”
“It’s been crazy the way the fans have erupted around the first season.” Hope finished her glass of wine and ordered another.
“Indeed,” Angelica responded with a slight nod. “Without it, we wouldn’t have gotten renewed.”
“Was that the final nail in the coffin?” Hope sipped her wine, but her eyes were locked on Angelica.
“Coffin?” Angelica raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. “I didn’t realize working with me was that difficult.”
Hope’s cheeks turned red. “No. I… I didn’t mean that.”
“Hmm,” Angelica had to work hard to keep the smile from her lips. “They call themselves the lesbian army.”
“What?” Hope’s red cheeks morphed into a look of shock. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” Angelica bit her lip. “Not quite an apt description, considering you’re not, but apt enough.
” She took a long drink from her cold beer, needing it to keep herself calm.
They were venturing back into the flirtatious territory, one they’d often found on their travels together, and one that Angelica was going to struggle to resist.
“I’ve seen some of the reels go viral, but I didn’t think that was the determining factor.”
“It was.” Angelica sighed heavily. “At least for the next two seasons to see if we can continue to build up an audience.”
Hope shook her head. “Wild.”
Angelica smiled, her lips pulling into a bowed curve as she pressed them around the edge of the pint and drank. She was enjoying this far more than she should. “I did talk to Lyric about being more discrete in what she posts on my social media. For your sake.”
“My sake?” Hope furrowed her brow.
“Because of Rex…” Angelica trailed off. She’d noticed the difference between them, how it was far tenser than it had been at the beginning of last season, but the cracks were still there.
She wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed, but she had a much closer view than most. “I thought it might be best if we were more careful in what was posted. That’s all. ”
“Angel, most of those reels were made from the episodes. Not from our social media.”
Angelica shrugged slightly. “But they could…”
“They could. But we can’t control what fans are going to do. And if we want to save the show, shouldn’t we give them a taste of what they want?”