Chapter 41
Chapter
Forty-One
The red dress plunged downward, showing off Angelica’s breasts in a way that made Hope want to reach out and brush her fingers against them.
Whoever had chosen that dress should go to hell, because Hope was distracted as fuck right now.
They’d finished the main bulk of filming twenty minutes ago, and now Rex and Sy were resetting outside Mondial so they could film the conclusion to the show with the plans going forward.
Angelica stood quietly while Ansel preened her face with whatever magic he had in the little box he brought with him everywhere. He’d already made sure Hope looked better than she had ten minutes ago, and now it was Angelica’s turn.
But fuck, that dress.
Angelica pursed her lips when Ansel told her to as he dabbed on more lip gloss, but her gaze met Hope’s.
There was nothing but amusement in those eyes.
She knew exactly what was going on. Hope shuddered at the power that Angelica held over her, but she also wouldn’t want it any other way.
She’d longed for this type of ease between them for years, and they finally had it. Hard fought and hard won.
She wouldn’t give it up without a fight.
Not that she thought she’d have to. Not their relationship anyway. But maybe the show. She knew without a doubt that she wouldn’t continue Hotel Bombshell if Angelica wasn’t right here with her. She couldn’t stand to be away from her any more throughout the year ahead.
“I hope you two enjoy the break we’re about to have,” Florence said, standing with her arms crossed right next to her.
Hope raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn’t even noticed Florence coming near.
Cadence was still filming in the dining room, making sure that they got enough footage of the new experience Jenesis had put together, and Hope had to leave them on their own, give them the control to do what they wanted from here on out.
Which had been difficult, because it felt like they hadn’t quite set everyone up for success with the last-minute change in plans.
“Four weeks isn’t going to be enough,” Hope murmured. “Not with everything going on right now.”
“It’ll have to be.” Florence looked over at Hope before focusing back on Angelica. “You need to make sure that she’s ready to come back and be focused.”
“I need to?” Hope raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m pretty sure that’s Ange’s job or it’s the job of production—”
“It’s the job of her support system. And you happen to be most of it, I think.”
Hope pressed her lips together hard. She hadn’t quite thought about it like that.
But Angelica didn’t have family like she did, and despite the issues she’d had with her family lately, she still knew if there was an emergency she could run to them for support.
Angelica didn’t have that at all. Florence was right, Angelica was largely out here on her own and still rocking every day like she owned the world.
“You might be right,” Hope answered, still keeping her gaze on Angelica as Ansel finished up. “You could expand that.”
Florence chuckled low. “Only if she wants me to be there. Which, right now, isn’t the case. Come on, we’re doing a lighting check.”
Hope followed Florence to where Rex and Sy had set up and stood in front of the camera so they could get everything set up like they needed it to be. This time, when someone stood next to her, she knew it was Angelica, with just the tenderest slide of fingers against Hope’s forearm.
“Everyone ready?” Rex called.
“We are!” Hope answered as others called off their responses. She stood still next to Angelica, the silence between them speaking volumes. They didn’t need to talk right now. They just needed to be together for this, to make the show, to do the work. They didn’t need anything else.
Florence moved to stand between Rex and Logan, as if she was flanked by them and it was the three of them against the two women. Except Hope knew better than that. Ultimately, they were all on the same side, with the same end goal in mind: make this the best damn show possible. No matter what.
Well, perhaps not no matter what anymore.
Now they had standards and principles. They weren’t going to take out one person just to make someone else be lauded over them. That was for damn sure.
“We’ve spent the last week in Helen, Georgia, fixing up Mondial.” Angelica smiled, her hands folded in front of her as she stared directly at the camera. “And it’s been quite the experience.”
Hope internally shook herself to get focused again.
“We spent time with the people here, learning all about just what makes this small town so unique and special,” Hope said, glad she remembered the line she’d quickly memorized that morning.
She hadn’t had very long to look over the lines and was trusting the fact that there wasn’t much different than there normally was when they did this, and her body and brain would kick everything into high gear as soon as they’d started.
“I’m not sure Angelica or I will forget the special flavor that Helen has. ”
“No, I don’t think we will,” Angelica responded. She kept herself still and tight, though without the cameras on, Hope wouldn’t be surprised if she’d leaned a little closer to Hope and actually made physical contact. “From renovations in the main lobby area…”
“…to completely redoing the menu and dining room,” Hope said, finishing the sentence as she was supposed to. They’d gotten so much better at this back-and-forth over the years, and there weren’t awkward pauses to be edited out any longer.
“…we’ve overhauled Mondial and set it on a track where it will succeed.”
Hope wasn’t convinced of that, and she knew Angelica wasn’t either. There was always a layer of grit and determination that was necessary for those kinds of things, and they didn’t always know, when leaving a hotel, if they would have what it took to stay solvent.
“They’re creating an experience. From the moment you make a reservation to the moment you leave, you’ll have a one-of-a-kind experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life.” Angelica moved her hands out to the sides as she spoke, as if encompassing the entire hotel.
“The food will be delicious, and Jenesis has upped their ante on practicing new dishes and making sure that every plate is cooked to perfection.” Hope pressed her fingers to her lips in a chef’s kiss move and then smiled at the camera.
“But for now, it’s up to Daph and Frannie,” Angelica continued, unfazed by Hope’s flirtation.
“To keep everything going, to continue to build off the skills we’ve trained them on,” Hope chimed in one more time, making sure that they were preparing to finish up strong.
“Now, everything is in their hands.”
“To the next one?” Hope asked, turning to look directly at Angelica.
“To the next disaster,” Angelica agreed.
Together, they turned to face the camera full on, shoulder to shoulder with their arms crossed, just like they’d done from day one on set.
“Cut.”
Hope immediately burst into giggles.
Angelica’s lips pulled to the side in a smile.
Relief flooded through Hope and between them.
They were done. At least for a little while.
They had a few weeks to re-center themselves, to catch up on life, to reset and make sure that when they went into shooting the next five episodes that they would be able to make it through unscathed.
At least, that was Hope’s plan for the next four weeks.
Build up their support, figure out their lives as an out couple in television, and maybe get to know one another in an entirely different capacity. Florence, Logan, and Rex put their heads together, but Hope didn’t bother going over there.
“They’re probably trying to decide if we need to film that again,” Hope muttered under her breath to Angelica.
“Absolutely they are, and if they ask, I’ll refuse.” Angelica nodded firmly. “Unless there was a technical glitch. Like I told you the other night, I’m ready for this break. I think everyone is.”
“I agree.” Hope rolled her shoulders and her neck. “What are the plans when we get back, by the way?”
Angelica canted her head to the side, her golden curls pulling over her shoulder in one direction. Hope reached up to push them behind her back, because she just had to touch her in some way. She wanted that physical connection because it was the only thing she could have right now.
“What do you mean plans?” Angelica furrowed her brow in confusion.
“For us,” Hope said.
Angelica parted her lips, about to say something, when Rex interrupted her. “That’s a wrap, guys! Thank you, everyone!”
Hope stepped away from Angelica as the crew swarmed in to start breaking everything down. She almost couldn’t believe it. It didn’t quite feel like they were done, not yet anyway. The disconnect between filming and not was too sharp this time.
“Hope! Ange!” Logan stepped forward and clapped his hands. “Great job. You two and Eva have a plane to catch. We booked you on an earlier flight to get you out before the paparazzi would completely be aware of you leaving.”
“Oh.” Hope wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that. Well, she was thankful, but it also was out of place—at least it would have been last season. But like she kept telling herself and everyone else, this season was different.
“Lyric will meet you in Los Angeles.” Logan reached for Hope’s shoulder and squeezed tightly. “Great job. Really. It’s been a tough schedule and with everything else going on, you two managed to keep everything together. Thank you.”
Hope nodded at him. “We did make a really good team this year, didn’t we? The whole of the crew.”
“Yes,” Logan agreed. “You did amazing! I’ll see you back in Los Angeles. Ange, you and I will have a meeting early next week to talk about the defamation suit.”
“Okay,” Angelica agreed. “I’ll look for the confirmation of date and time.”
Hope took Angelica’s hand and they walked toward the back door of the hotel. Eva stood by with her backpack over her shoulders and tablet in her fingertips. When she saw them, her eyes lit up brightly.
“Are we going home now?”
“Yeah,” Hope said, smiling and pulling Eva in for a side hug.
“Is Ange flying with us?” Eva popped her head around to look at Angelica.
“I am.” Angelica nodded at her. “Lyric will pick us up and bring us home.” Angelica looked directly at Hope.
They hadn’t discussed that, not in full detail anyway.
But Hope had mentioned so many times that she wanted Angelica to spend more time at the house when Eva was there, not just when she was gone.
That she didn’t want to separate their worlds more than necessary.
This was that compromise. Warmth filled Hope instantly. She reached for Angelica’s hand and wrapped their fingers together tightly.
“Yeah, Lyric will take us home, and then tomorrow we can unpack and do laundry and figure out what’s next.” Hope dropped a kiss into Eva’s hair.
“Okay.” Eva smiled at the two of them, then she looked pointedly at Angelica before dragging her gaze down to Hope’s left hand and back again.
Hope’s stomach dropped. Angelica had mentioned the conversation with Eva, but that had been it.
They hadn’t managed to dig any deeper into that one, and Hope hadn’t had a chance to talk to Eva about it either.
That would definitely be happening as soon as they had a chance.
Because she didn’t want Eva to be pushing Angelica into anything that she was uncomfortable with.
“Come on.” Angelica started toward the door, holding it open for Hope and Eva to walk through it in front of her.
Once they were all settled into the back of the Suburban, Hope relaxed. A few more hours, and they’d be home for four weeks. Exactly what they needed.