Chapter 45 #2
“It is what it is,” she whispered.
“But it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. Does it?”
Angelica wanted to say “no,” but the word wouldn’t form on her lips. She couldn’t make her vocal cords react to say anything.
“Think about the contract, Ange. And think about everything that comes with it that can’t be put into words on paper for you to sign. All right?”
“Yes.” She looked at him directly. “Thank you, Logan.”
“Of course.” He tightened his fingers around her hand again before letting go. “I look forward to hearing from you.”
He walked out. Angelica stayed in the chair, not moving.
None of this had been expected. She kept replaying the conversation in the last hour, the fact that Hope had clearly had this conversation with Logan a while ago, the fact that she hadn’t mentioned anything to Angelica about it.
“Damn it, Hope.”
Angelica stood up sharply. She snagged her purse and jacket before opening her phone and letting Lyric know that she needed to be driven somewhere.
When they arrived at Hope’s, Angelica got out of the car and nodded to Lyric. “I’ll text when I’m ready to head back.”
“Sure, boss. Just, um… how long should I wait up?”
Angelica looked directly into Lyric’s blue eyes and shook her head. “On second thought, I’ll just order an Uber this time. I have no idea how long this is going to take.”
“Gotcha.” Lyric waved at her as she shut the door.
Readying herself, Angelica walked directly up to the front door and pressed her finger into the bell.
The camera came on instantly, but Angelica said nothing as she waited.
Hope was expecting her tonight. She wasn’t expecting what Angelica wanted to talk to her about, but they had planned to get together.
Hope swung the door open, a grin on her lips and a light in her eyes that Angelica wanted to fall into and be consumed by. But she had come with a point to make, and damn it, she was going to make it.
“Do you know what you did?” Angelica’s voice cracked through the air between them, sparking.
Hope’s smile faltered. “I can’t decide if I want the angry principal to come at me or if I want to be a brat and tease her even more.” She stepped back and let Angelica inside.
Angelica put her purse and jacket next to the door and then spun around, hands on her hips, as she tried her damnedest to glare at Hope. “You made demands about your contract?”
“Oh. That.” Hope’s cheeks reddened, a sly smile still gracing her lips as she walked toward the kitchen. “Yes, I did.”
“You can’t just throw away a job like that because you want to make some ridiculous demands—”
“They’re not ridiculous.” Hope stopped walking toward the kitchen and came back to Angelica. She ran her hands down Angelica’s arms from her shoulders to her fingers, lacing them together. “They’re not ridiculous demands. They’re things that are completely reasonable.”
“Refusing to sign a renewal contract without me also being a part of the show is ridiculous,” Angelica mumbled, because that was the issue, wasn’t it?
Hope wasn’t just thinking about herself when she needed to be.
That selfish streak Angelica had gotten so used to was nowhere in sight.
The pay increase was just an added happy bonus.
But refusing to take a job if Angelica wasn’t involved?
That was the heart of the issue that she was trying to get across.
“No, I don’t think it is.” Hope stepped in closer. “And I meant it when I told Logan that, and I’d say it again. I refuse to do Hotel Bombshell season four without you.”
“But what if I didn’t want to do it?” Angelica looked up into Hope’s eyes.
“Then neither one of us would do it. I didn’t tell Logan that to force you into it. I told him that to give us options.” Hope smiled at her, pleading her to understand.
Angelica just stared back, her breath catching in her throat.
“Hope…” She stilled, staring down at their joined hands.
“Look, I know what the issue is.” Hope lifted Angelica’s chin so they looked in each other’s eyes. “Your business brain is warring with your heart. Businesswise, it was a bad demand for me to make, but this isn’t business.”
“It is,” Angelica countered, needing her point to be made.
“No, this time it wasn’t.” Hope breathed steadily.
Angelica just continued to stare at her, waiting for it to click in her thick skull, but no matter how hard she tried to grasp what Hope was saying, it just wouldn’t happen.
“I love you,” Hope whispered, that gentle curl to her lips making the smile that much more genuine. “I love you.”
“I know that.” Angelica clenched her jaw.
“Do you?” Hope looked at her again, pulling Angelica’s chin back into place. “Do you believe it?”
“I…” Angelica paused. She did believe it. But the resistance to everything was still tightening in her chest. “I do.”
“But…?” Hope asked, teasing out what Angelica hadn’t wanted to say.
“But you shouldn’t have done that.”
Hope nodded slowly. She slid her hand behind Angelica’s neck, threading her fingers in the hair and tugging tightly. Angelica closed her eyes at the sense of possession that filtered through her, the way Hope commanded and took control.
“If you’re thinking with your business brain, then yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t have made that demand.”
Angelica dashed her tongue against her lips, feeling Hope’s breath along her cheeks as she moved in even closer. Her voice lowered. Angelica’s eyes fluttered shut as sensation after sensation ripped through her.
“But this was a decision I made with my heart, and it was selfish, I won’t deny it.” Hope brushed a kiss over the corner of Angelica’s mouth. “I want to be with you, Angel. And I wanted to make sure that we had a chance to do that, together. You and me. Because I love you.”
“Oh, Hope.” Angelica breathed in deeply, surrounded by Hope’s scent, by the lilacs and the comfort, by the splendor and impulse.
Opening her eyes, Angelica looked directly into the crystalline blue ones across from her.
Angelica reached forward, fisting the fabric of Hope’s t-shirt in her hand and tugging hard.
“Fuck,” Angelica whispered right before their mouths crashed together.