“Excuse me?” Rex choked out the words.

  “Either someone died, or there’s something going on that I don’t know about.” She pointed at all of them and pursed her lips before tapping her finger against them. “Hmm, I think there’s something going on here under the table.”

  Hope choked.

  Angelica held her breath, assessing the situation quickly. Decisive action was one thing that she was known for, and it was about damn time. “Cadence, why don’t you take a seat?”

  It sounded like Angelica was going to tell her what had happened, but like hell she was. It was just a way to break Cadence’s focus.

  “We’re here to discuss filming for this upcoming season.” Angelica pulled her iPad closer to her, not looking at Hope. If she did that, then Cadence would surely see what Angelica didn’t want her to. She was too adept at doing that. “We’ll primarily be on the East Coast this year, which will limit the trips we can take back home to work on other business.” Angelica looked at Hope then, making sure that she was understood.

  The silence reverberated through the room, and Cadence still looked between each of them. They were going to have to up the ante on the masks they wore if they were going to make it through the next four months.

  Angelica checked the time, wishing that Josef would show up already, maybe even Logan, just so they could get through this meeting as quickly as possible and end it straightaway. Angelica tossed her hair over her shoulder and lowered her chin to look at her iPad as Cadence reached for the small snacks that Lyric had set in the room.

  This wasn’t going to be a short meeting, unfortunately.

  “Ange.” Josef’s loud tenor tones reverberated through the room.

  Angelica tensed, but she was glad he was here. Any buffer that she could find, she’d take. He plopped down between Hope and Cadence.

  “Logan’s not coming today.”

  Angelica frowned. She’d wanted him here so he could witness how Josef treated her. He’d had so many questions during the break, and he’d promised they’d be watching Josef closely, but it seemed as though that wasn’t actually going to happen.

  “Like I was saying before you came in,” Angelica started, “we’ll primarily be on the East Coast, so there won’t be as many trips back to Los Angeles while we film. We’ll be heading to Maine first, and the problem there is the kitchen primarily and updates to the hotel itself. It’s like walking into the eighties.”

  Rex snorted. “Yeah, it is.”

  Angelica shot him a look, but she quirked her lips up slightly. They could manage this, couldn’t they? It might take a bit of time to get used to how they were all going to interact, but they could find a way to work together for the next four months without causing too much drama or hurt. The stark difference between Hope and Rex now compared to the end of season two was already obvious. They had definitely talked and worked on some of their problems.

  “I’ll be heading a renovation of the main hotel, at least a light renovation of the rooms but a major overhaul of reception, and Hope, I’ll need you to focus on the kitchens because I won’t have time for them,” Angelica said, not looking in Hope’s direction. She wasn’t ready to risk that yet.

  This would give them a break from each other, a separation that they’d both no doubt need in order to survive the first episode. Shooting that first episode was always like pouring a cold bucket of chaos over them, and Angelica wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible this time around. They had their crew together, so they all knew how each other worked. It should be easier this time around.

  “Don’t forget that we need to keep the tension high,” Josef chimed in. “Season four renewal depends on us knocking this one out of the ballpark.” He laughed boisterously, but his gaze was hard as it landed on Angelica. “I expect you and Hope to deliver on that.”

  Angelica hummed, but she didn’t say anything. Cadence’s gaze bounced between all of them. Angelica had no doubt that she was drowning in the dynamics that she had been previously unaware of.

  “I’m sure Hope and I can find something to argue about in Maine.” Angelica made a note of that, though it wasn’t one that she intended on going back to. Josef could fuck himself for all she cared. If she only had one more season of working with him, then she’d be in bliss at the end of filming. Whatever was happening next, she needed to separate herself from him for her own mental health.

  “Budgetary conflicts always seem to be a hit on social media for you two,” Cadence chimed in, looking directly at Angelica.

  “Sure. We can do that. Hope?” Angelica faced Hope, looking for confirmation and forgetting how damn sexy she was with that new haircut of hers. It was as if she’d come fully into herself with it, as if it rounded out the edges that she’d had before trying to fit into a box that she didn’t measure up to. But with this… fuck, Angelica was in over her head.

  “Yeah. Sounds like a plan.”

  “Good.” Angelica did note that. There. They had one argument planned and set. Angelica looked back up to Cadence. “Anything else?”

  “Oh uh… No. It was just a thought.” Cadence squinted at Angelica and then shifted her gaze to Hope.

  If Cadence had doubts before, she’d have none after this season of filming. She was astute, Angelica had to hand it to her, but also the crush she’d harbored on Angelica probably made her far more in tune to these types of things than the typical male in the room with them.

  “Boston is going to be another problem…”

  Angelica focused on work, pushing through the meeting as quickly as she could. Two hours later, she was closing up her iPad and turned around to find Hope still standing in her office. Her heart stuttered, but she managed to keep herself in check as she stood near her desk.

  “Was there something else you needed to discuss?”

  “You and I need to talk,” Hope said, walking forward. “We need…” Hope sighed heavily, her shoulders coming up in a sign of tension that Angelica deeply understood.

  “I have another meeting, Hope. I can’t continue with this right now.”

  “Ange…” Hope’s face fell.

  “No, Hope. I’m not going to do this right now.” Angelica picked up her iPad. “I’m already late.” She nodded at Hope and walked out, leaving her there. She’d seen the message from Lyric that she had the car ready, and the escape was absolutely necessary. She wasn’t prepared to have a conversation about them, about what they were going to do next.

  Because it would hurt too damn much.

  And she hadn’t built up enough walls.

  Today proved that.

  Angelica slipped into the passenger seat and smiled at Lyric. “Ready whenever you are.”

  Chapter

  Four

  Two weeks.

  Two weeks of calls, emails, texts, and Angelica had flat out ignored all of them.

  What the hell was her problem?

  Hope breathed out slowly, staring at the front of the main hotel that Angelica managed. She’d worked herself up into a rage that she hadn’t been able to hold back any longer, and instead of sitting in her office at her restaurant spewing anger on people who didn’t deserve a damn second of it, Hope had gotten in her car and driven here.

  But now what?

  Go in there and throw a fit in front of Angelica?

  Or hold in her anger until the next time they saw each other, which would probably be on set?

  Fuck that.

  Hope wrenched open the door and stepped out into the bright sunlight that Orange County always offered. She hiked up her purse higher on her shoulders and glowered as she walked into the main building. She knew the way by heart now. And she knew how to avoid Angelica’s guard of a secretary by just flying right by her.

  She flung open Angelica’s office door as the secretary followed her, loudly protesting. Hope clenched her jaw, finding Lyric sitting across from Angelica and pointing to something on her iPad before she sat back in her seat with a smile on her lips that vanished almost instantly. “Hi Hope!”

  Hope faced down Angelica, ignoring Lyric. She’d feel bad about that later, but she wasn’t here to make niceties. “You’re just going to ignore me now?”

  “I’m so sorry, Ms. Shields. She walked right past me.”

  “I have no doubts about that.” Angelica sighed heavily and nodded to her secretary in a dismissal. “Thank you, Mrs. van Driel. I can handle this from here.”

  “I’ll… catch you later, Hope.” Lyric gave her a wavering smile before she slipped from the chair and out the door with Mrs. van Driel.

  “Shut the door, Lyric,” Angelica called, but she didn’t take her baby blue eyes off Hope.

  If Hope was a better person, she would have swallowed in fear. No one stood up to Angelica Shields like she was doing right now, but damn it, she deserved some sort of answer. She dropped her purse on the conference table and crossed her arms, glaring in the same way she’d come in. She wasn’t going to back down.

  “What do you need, Hope?” Angelica turned around and sauntered back toward her desk, as if the conversation was already over.

  Like hell it was.

  “What do I need?” Hope’s voice squeaked. “I need you not to be so avoidant and actually answer me.” Hope stayed right where she was, letting her anger seep into her veins and take control of her muscles. She was going to ride this out as much as she could. “You can’t ignore the fact that we need to sit down and have an actual conversation about filming this season. Not a what kind of scenes are we going to shoot conversation, Ange, but a conversation about us.”

  “There isn’t an us!” Angelica’s voice ripped through the room.

  It put a crack in Hope’s anger, one that she didn’t want to be there. But when she looked at Angelica now, she saw what she’d managed to avoid for so long.

  Angelica was hurting.

  Nothing about the way they’d ended the last season had been good, and through the entire break, they hadn’t managed to get in the same room to talk about what it all meant, to find closure for themselves. That was what Hope wanted to do now, but Angelica seemed so opposed to even the idea of it.

  But why?

  She just wanted a smooth start to filming for one damn season. Was that too much to ask? Especially if this was going to be their last season?

  “There’s no reason for you to be here, Hope. There’s no reason for us to have a conversation about something that doesn’t exist. You made that very clear to me.” Angelica pulled over her iPad and stared at the screen, another tactic to end the conversation.

  Hope gnawed on her lower lip, assessing the situation as best she could. But she wasn’t Angelica. She was hotheaded, and she damn well knew what she wanted. At least right now, which was to resolve whatever chasm was between them so they could work together. Maybe even get renewed for another two or three seasons in the process.

  Stalking forward, Hope moved directly in front of Angelica. She pressed her hand down onto her desk and leaned over it, making it impossible for Angelica to ignore her presence.

  “Even if we’re not together going forward, we need to have a conversation about what that’s going to look like on set.” Hope swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. The way Angelica’s hair fell across her cheek, hiding half her face from view, was stunning, as if she truly was the one with all the power in the room right now. “Come on, Ange. You’re better than this.”

  “Better than this?” Angelica dropped the stylus onto the desktop and lifted her chin to look Hope directly in the eye. She scoffed. “So now you’re stooping to narcissistic tactics to get me to do what you want? You know who’s better than this, Hope? You are. I won’t allow those tactics into my life again. And not once have I ever seen you use them before. If you plan on continuing that, then get out. Now.”

  Hope straightened her spine, her lips parting in surprise. Cold rushed through her, curling its tight grip around her limbs and body and constricting everything like a snake. She hated the fact that Angelica had a point, one she definitely needed to listen to. “You’re right. That one was uncalled for.”

  “Thank you,” Angelica said, her words unstrained for the first time since Hope had entered her office today. “Now, I’ll say it one more time since you didn’t deem to listen when I said it the first time. There’s nothing for us to discuss.”

  “If you think that, then you’ve got your head buried in the sand deeper than I thought.” Hope crossed her arms tightly and rocked back on her heels before leaning forward. “We can’t go into this season without talking, otherwise it’ll be an absolute, utter disaster. And you know it.”

  Angelica’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she flicked her gaze from Hope down to her iPad. “No, there’s nothing for us to talk about.”

  “Who are you lying to, Ange? Me or yourself?” Hope held her breath. Was this the right way to approach the situation? Or was there a better path? They hadn’t really figured out how to talk without these intense moments, had they?

  “There’s nothing for us to talk about,” Angelica repeated.

  “Gah!” Hope yelled, smacking her palm down onto the top of the desk before she stood up and stepped back to try and collect herself. She hadn’t wanted to get so mad that the two of them couldn’t actually talk. That would defeat the entire purpose, wouldn’t it? “Why won’t you just talk to me, Ange? That’s all I’m asking.”

  Angelica breathed heavily and then sighed out her frustration.

  Hope couldn’t stop staring at her. What had happened to them? Yes, they’d ended their relationship. Yes, Hope had made a choice she hadn’t wanted to—one she deeply regretted. Not only because she’d been forced to choose but how she’d handled it all. But beyond that, they’d always managed to find a way to work together. And now Angelica was just flat out refusing to do that?

  Angelica leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs. Her shirt pulled tight against her breasts, straining the buttons. Hope’s gaze dropped to the fabric, and she dragged her gaze up Angelica’s body to her lips, lingering on them, on the imperfections that made them so damn perfect, on Angelica’s tightened jaw muscles, on her flared nostrils, on her narrowed gaze.

  “Talk, Hope. Since you’re insisting.”

  “I…” Hope halted, now unsure of what to even say. She’d thought this would be a conversation, not a lecture. She thought she’d have more interaction than Angelica simply sitting there and taking everything in.

  “Well?” Angelica said, a little more force to her voice this time around.

  “How are we going to do this?” Hope’s voice trembled. “I mean… Rex and I talked about boundaries. Shouldn’t you and I talk about them?”

  Angelica shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes. “No, Hope. We shouldn’t. There aren’t any boundaries for us to discuss. You act like a professional and I will. It’s that simple. We didn’t have a marriage to break up. We barely even had a relationship.”

  Oh, that hurt.

  Hope’s heart twinged hard at those words, viscerally painful in a way she hadn’t expected. She’d known from the start that their relationship had barely gotten its feet under it, but that didn’t mean there was nothing there. In fact, there was a ton there. Hope had told Angelica that she was in love with her.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting⁠—”

  “You always have a meeting.” Hope rolled her eyes, the defense that she hadn’t wanted to come back rearing its ugly head in a matter of seconds. Couldn’t she keep herself under control for at least one minute?

  “Hope.” Angelica sounded exasperated now, and Hope could understand why. They weren’t getting anywhere with this conversation, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying on her part.

  “Ange…” Hope stepped around Angelica’s desk and stopped short.

  Angelica rubbed her fingers together, flicking her gaze wildly between Hope and the door. “You need to leave.”

  “What?” Hope blinked, trying to catch up. “We… we haven’t worked this out yet."

  “There’s nothing to work out. I don’t know how many ways I can spell that out for you.” Angelica turned around toward her desk, but Hope caught her arm and pulled her back.

  She stared down at where her fingers connected with Angelica’s arm, skin against skin. Her lips parted in surprise. She’d done that out of habit. She hadn’t been planning on touching Angelica. She’d come in here to talk, to find answers, to just be in Angelica’s presence again. When they were alone. When they could actually connect.

  Hope unclasped her hand instantly.

  That had been why she’d come all along, hadn’t it? This wasn’t to make the workplace easier or filming go more smoothly. This was because she’d wanted something, and she’d been dead set on getting it. Which had been exactly what Angelica had accused her of in San Diego.

  Being impulsive.

  Taking what she wanted.

  Hope bit her lip and shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

  Angelica clenched her jaw and sat down heavily in her chair. “Like I said, Hope. I have a meeting that I need to get to, and there’s no reason for you to be here right now.”

  Angelica was right. There was no reason for them to be talking other than Hope’s need to control the situation and push Angelica into doing something she very much didn’t want to. Anyone in Angelica’s position would do the same.

  Defend themselves.

  Protect themselves.

  Hope folded her hands in front of her, not wanting to impulsively reach out again. She flicked her gaze from Angelica’s eyes to her lips, lingering there. That last kiss on the night of their breakup was going to be their last, wasn’t it? As much as Hope had understood that, she hadn’t wanted to believe it. She needed the closure.

  But that was her need.

  Not Angelica’s.

  The silence was so loud, but it wasn’t like Angelica to say anything either. She’d made her stance perfectly clear. It was Hope who had continued to push it. Nodding slowly to no one but herself, Hope took a step back and put even more space between them.