“God, I missed your mouth,” Angelica murmured.

  Hope wanted to say something quippy back, but she kept it to herself.

  Opening her eyes, Hope looked at Angelica as the short hairs that no doubt hadn’t been dealt with because of the car accident tickled and scratched at her nose. Breathing deeply, Hope swished her tongue back and forth. Angelica’s hips raised up and she pressed into Hope’s mouth harder.

  “Yes…” Angelica dragged the word out, flinging a hand over her head as she teased her nipple and pulled it.

  Hope wrapped one hand under Angelica’s thigh and put her other against the bed so that she wouldn’t accidentally hit Angelica’s broken leg and cause more pain. Everything about this moment was pure and true. It was the most vulnerable they’d ever been with each other, and certainly that Angelica had been with her. Hope had to hold that carefully. She couldn’t damage this. Not again. Hope watched as Angelica’s breathing picked up, the way her stomach moved rhythmically. She cried out, her stomach tightening as she curled up slightly.

  Slowing her movements, Hope stayed where she was as Angelica eased down. She teased here and there, but mostly, she kept her mouth against Angelica because it just felt so damn good to be here, to be allowed to give Angelica as much pleasure as possible. Moving away, she kissed Angelica’s inner thighs and waited for the next set of instructions.

  “Get up here and make this easy on me.” Angelica’s voice sounded slow, sated.

  Satisfaction raced through Hope because she was the cause.

  Standing up, Hope shucked the rest of her clothes and then crawled on the bed after Angelica had moved to the middle. The queen-sized bed that Angelica had was vastly different from the two fulls that were smashed into Hope’s room. There was so much more space to move around in here. She bent down and kissed Angelica again. She would never get enough of doing that.

  “Come on. Climb on top.” Angelica pushed at Hope’s thigh to move her.

  Hope bit her lip, shifting her weight as she straddled Angelica, moving higher until she was over her shoulders and her knees were pushed into the pillow. She shifted slightly to move Angelica’s hair out of the way so she wouldn’t pull it accidentally.

  Angelica smiled up at her and then turned her cheek slightly to kiss Hope’s leg. “We’ll do this again, I promise.”

  “Of course we will,” Hope answered.

  “I mean when I have more energy.” Angelica laughed a little before she pressed another kiss to Hope’s thigh. “When we have all night.”

  “Angel, this is more than I thought would happen.”

  Angelica hummed, kissing her again and pressing the flat of her tongue against Hope’s skin. “It’s not enough.”

  Angelica moved closer, breathing in Hope’s scent and humming. A shiver ran down Hope’s spine. Angelica’s hands against her body guided her into place, and the first touch of Angelica’s mouth against her was pure heaven. The last time that she’d had sex had been in that closet, fingers pressed deep inside Angelica as she’d brought Angelica to the brink of orgasm in one of the best quickies Hope had ever had.

  She never regretted it.

  Rocking her hips against Angelica’s mouth, Hope gripped onto the headboard to keep herself steady. She lifted up slightly, but Angelica pulled her right back down. Looking between her thighs, her eyes met Angelica’s, and the pleasure that rushed through her took over her entire body.

  She’d never fallen out of love with Angelica. She hadn’t even tried. She’d been so focused on Rex and the dissolution of their marriage and relationship, that she’d completely ignored the fact that she needed to deal with Angelica and the heartbreak that came with their relationship.

  Heartbreak that hadn’t ever quite manifested.

  Hurt, yes.

  Hope breathed slowly, continuing to look deep into Angelica’s eyes that looked so dark in this light. Angelica slid her hands up and down, over every inch of skin that she could reach. Hope stayed in this moment, in the way Angelica had told her that she loved her—multiple times. In the way Angelica had held to her truth, in the way she’d asked for the one thing she wanted.

  To be loved.

  And wasn’t that what they both wanted? Hope’s nipples hardened as the first wave of pleasure started to build into the rushing inferno that she knew would take control of her shortly. But she wanted to watch Angelica through the entire thing. She wanted Angelica to know just how much this meant to her.

  “Angel—” her voice broke, the orgasm tearing through her unexpectedly. She cried out loudly, her voice echoing in her own ears. Hope pressed her hand against the headboard to keep herself steady and raised slightly above Angelica so she didn’t suffocate her, but it was so damn hard to concentrate.

  As soon as Hope could think again, she flopped down onto her side and uncurled her legs, stretching them out. She laughed, her face pushed against Angelica’s leg as she stayed on the bed and stared up at the ceiling to catch her breath.

  “We should definitely do that more often,” Hope finally said with a laugh. She ran her fingers up and down Angelica’s leg, her entire body jelly to the point that she wasn’t sure she could move yet. “I should absolutely get the privilege of helping you shower again.”

  Angelica laughed, mimicking Hope’s soft touches on her calf. “You’re more than welcome to join me in the shower again. Not tonight though. I’m not sure I could stand long enough for that.”

  “I’d let you sit.” Hope popped her head up to look at Angelica. “But no falling this time.”

  Angelica didn’t respond to that. Hope let the comfortable silence fill the room until she felt as though she was ready to move. Sliding around, she shifted so that she was pressed against Angelica’s side, tracing her fingers along her stomach and chest and breasts—not to entice. Simply to touch and feel and be as close as possible to her.

  “I do love you, Angel.”

  Angelica smiled, turning to face her. “We have a lot we need to talk about going forward.”

  “We do?” Hope furrowed her brow, but her lips were still bowed upward. “Like what?”

  “Like what we’re doing.” Angelica tapped Hope’s nose lightly. “I’m not doing this the same way we did it the last time.”

  “No, let’s not do that,” Hope agreed, sliding to kiss Angelica’s cheek.

  Hope went in to kiss her cheek again, but Angelica turned. Their lips connected. Hope smiled and deepened the embrace. She trailed her tongue along Angelica’s lips and then smiled when Angelica parted them for her. She lost herself in the kiss, in this tender moment that she’d treasure for the rest of her life.

  When she finally settled herself, she played her fingers over Angelica’s skin again. “Are you cold?”

  Angelica hummed her yes. Hope got up from the bed, pulled the blankets down, and then covered Angelica’s chilling body before sliding under them with her. She curled against Angelica, knowing that she had to leave far sooner than she wanted to.

  “I want us to properly talk about what this means before we tell anyone,” Angelica said, aimlessly threading her fingers through Hope’s short hair.

  “Of course. After watching Rex’s relationship and then breakup with the nanny, I don’t want to talk to Eva about this for a while.” Hope pressed her nose against Angelica’s neck, breathing in her scent. Everything about this moment was perfect.

  “I don’t want to break Eva’s heart.” Angelica said it so quietly that Hope wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly. “I wouldn’t be able to bear it.”

  “We are going to have to tell her at some point.” Hope closed her eyes, relaxing more than she had in ages. “I don’t want to keep something this big from her.”

  Angelica kissed Hope’s forehead. “We need to talk first.”

  “So, let’s talk. Pick one thing speeding through that brain of yours, and let’s talk about it.” Hope kissed the hot flesh of Angelica’s neck.

  “This is our secret for now. Nothing on screen. In fact, if we could hate each other on screen, that’d go a long way in helping to eliminate the Leanne problem.” Angelica scraped her nails across the back of Hope’s scalp. “You know, I thought that was love. I think I wanted to believe it was, but the way she left me was so cold and heartless. It hurt, but not like when you left.”

  Hope’s heart clenched. Not everything was resolved yet, and she had to remember that. She still had to work to repair the damage she’d done to Angelica’s trust in her, to how they related to each other. She had to become trustworthy again.

  “I’m so sorry,” Hope whispered.

  “You were in an impossible position,” Angelica responded.

  “Yeah. I was. But it was of my own making, and I’m not going to ignore that fact. I did a lot of things wrong last year, so many things. I acted so impulsively that I ended up hurting every single person around me.”

  “You did.” Angelica turned on her side so they were facing each other. “But I also wasn’t clear with you either. And I should have been.”

  “I hadn’t exactly proven that I could be trusted.” Hope ran her finger over Angelica’s lips. “So where do we go from here?”

  “We take things slowly.” Angelica’s lips quirked up to the side. “And then, we talk.”

  “And never stop talking?” Hope asked with a light laugh.

  “I hope we never do.” Angelica moved in and kissed her again. “You should go. Eva will be wondering where you are.”

  “Yeah.” Hope kissed her again. “But you’re so warm.”

  Angelica laughed. “Next week, you’re all mine. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Hope pulled Angelica in, kissing her deeply. She trusted that they’d be back here, together, entwined. She wasn’t going to hold back again, and she knew that Angelica wouldn’t either. With one last kiss, Hope slipped out of the bed and slowly dressed while they talked about filming tomorrow and where exactly they could make conflict out of thin air.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Five

  Angelica looked directly across the picnic table to meet Mel’s gaze. She folded her hands in front of her, glad to be sitting for this scene, and pushing down the anticipation that had been built up over this conversation. All day, she’d been playing tag with Mel and Jess to gain their trust so they could talk out the problem with Katherine.

  And she’d left Hope to do the same with Katherine.

  But now they were all sitting at the table, all five of them. Angelica was just about to start the conversation when Leanne stepped into her view.

  “Hey, what’s going on?”

  Angelica paused, flicking her gaze from Leanne to Hope and back again. They’d specifically tried to keep Leanne out of this conversation. Everyone had, actually, from Rex to Cadence to Hope. But here she was, as if she knew exactly where to find them. Angelica shifted slightly, catching sight of Josef over Leanne’s shoulder.

  So he’d found out and sent Leanne out here to do her thing.

  To intervene.

  Perfect.

  “We were just about to discuss Katherine’s position at The Dorset.” Angelica kept her body rigid, but unfortunately there was space for Leanne on the other side of Hope, which meant that she was likely going to sit down and join them for this.

  But at least Hope knew what to expect this time when Angelica took a hard line with her.

  As expected, Leanne slipped into the only seat left. Angelica pursed her lips and looked to Rex who shook his head at her in disbelief. It seemed no one knew who was in charge this season, and that was causing more issues than ever. Then again, had they ever really known? Josef had thrown enough curveballs to keep everyone on their toes.

  “Mel, let’s start with you, what are your thoughts on Katherine’s position?”

  Mel sighed heavily, and she refused to look at Katherine. She turned her entire body toward Angelica so that she was only looking at her. “We need someone who’s trained and who has the skills to keep up with the demand.”

  “I can do that!” Katherine squeaked out.

  Angelica put her hand up to stop Katherine from talking. “You’ll have your chance to speak in a minute. I promise.”

  “While Katherine is skilled in what she knows, she doesn’t know how to cook anything not on the menu. And we need more than just six dishes if we’re going to grow.” Mel stared down at the tabletop. “So my vote is to fire her.”

  “Is this survivor?” Hope hissed the words. “What, are you just going to vote her off the island? Out of the mountains?”

  Angelica whipped her head up, looking directly in Hope’s eyes. She hadn’t expected that. Then again, perhaps she should have. They’d talked, albeit briefly last night, about once again causing tension that would get Josef’s attention, and that’s exactly what Hope was doing, but this was also just Hope—support the underdog no matter what. Well, as long as they were willing to support themselves.

  “It’s a conversation about the future of the hotel.” Angelica clenched her teeth, keeping her tone tight. She focused on Hope, standing her ground.

  “Future of the hotel?” Hope’s eyebrows rose and her eyes widened. “Don’t you mean Katherine’s future? What the hell is she supposed to do if they cast her out like last night’s leftovers?”

  Oh, Hope was pulling out all the stops for this one, wasn’t she?

  “I don’t think that’s what Ange meant,” Leanne’s voice was softer this time, less curious, and far more surprised.

  Perhaps this little plan of theirs was working.

  “I meant what I said.” Angelica didn’t even bother to look at Leanne. She kept her entire focus on Hope, playing up that connection and that intensity for the screen. Fans would eat it up as soon as they got hold of it, and she could only hope that Lyric was taking photos somewhere. “This hotel can’t survive if Katherine stays here in her current position.”

  She’d just given them the out they needed if they wanted to take it, but Mel and Jess had already made their decision, and they hadn’t been able to see beyond the fact that they felt betrayed by Katherine’s lies. And on one level, Angelica couldn’t blame them for that. On another, she knew there was always another option.

  “Then why are we even having this conversation? Humiliation?” Hope’s lip quirked slightly, and Angelica knew without a doubt now that she was pushing to get a reaction.

  “No. Both you and I can agree that Katherine’s skills are very good. But she lacks the training to be in charge of a restaurant.” Angelica hardened her stare. “Would you put her in charge of one of your restaurants?”

  “That’s a ridiculous question to ask,” Hope fired back.

  “No, it’s not!” Angelica raised her voice. “Would you put Katherine in charge of one of your restaurants?”

  “No.” Hope cowered slightly.

  “Then you’ve answered your own question. Now, Jess…” Angelica settled back down and faced the other owner of The Dorset. You’ve had time to think, what conclusions have you come to?”

  “Uh…” Jess looked absolutely bewildered, like she had no idea what had just happened in front of her.

  “You just put her in an impossible spot, Ange.” Leanne pointed at Jess. “You just made her the bad guy no matter what.”

  “I didn’t.” Angelica again didn’t bother to look at Leanne. If she was going to cut Leanne from this show, then she would do it quickly and fully. She should have done this in Boston, but she’d been thrown off her feet too much to handle it—first with the car accident and then with the fact that Leanne was even there.

  “This isn’t how you manage people.” Leanne again tried to break into the conversation.

  “And I suppose you would know.” Angelica turned to her then. “Because you’re so experienced in the world of hotel management that you understand how to deal with complicated issues when livelihoods are at stake.”

  Leanne’s jaw dropped.

  But Angelica wasn’t going to stop. She’d been waiting for an opportunity like this for ages now, and she was damn ready to let everything spill out into the open. “You were protected when you worked for me from the hard, complicated choices. I made them. You ran the day-to-day and that was it.”

  “I did more than that.”

  “Yes, you created problems, Leanne. You didn’t solve them.”

  Leanne’s jaw dropped, and so did Hope’s. Perhaps Angelica had taken this a step too far. She debated whether or not to backtrack, but decided against it.

  “You consistently put yourself in the middle of situations where you’re not needed, and when you do that, you’re not there to help mediate, but to draw the attention back to you. When I first met you, I fell into the same trap.” Angelica looked at Leanne directly. “But I won’t do that again. Now, I’d like to get back to the topic at hand, which is whether or not Mel and Jess are going to terminate Katherine’s position here at The Dorset.” Angelica looked at Jess. “What conclusions have you come to?”

  “Like Mel said, I just don’t see how we can make this work,” Jess finally answered

  “Fine. Katherine?” Angelica folded her hands in front of her, staring Katherine down. “What would you like to add to the conversation?”

  “I can learn. I’ve proven that I have the skills, I just need to learn more. I need this job. I’m a single mom, and I need it to pay for my bills.” Katherine’s eyes watered. Hope reached over and brushed her hand along Katherine’s shoulders.

  Angelica kept her face impassive as she waited to see if Katherine had anything else that she wanted to add. When the silence went on for long enough, Angelica frowned.

  “There was entirely another option,” Angelica said.

  “What?” Mel and Jess said together.

  “You keep Katherine on but not as your head chef.” She looked at Hope then, locking their gazes together. “You train her, you take over management until you hire another chef who can not only help teach Katherine the rest of the skills that she needs but how to manage a kitchen. And if she continues to learn, like she says she will, then you promote her back up. Instead, you took the easy way out.” Angelica put her hand flat on the table.