Page 12 of Culinary Chaos

“I wasn’t…” Josef stopped, contemplating his words. “We weren’t sure how you felt about kids.”

Angelica needed to choose her words wisely. She took the time to find them. “Because I don’t have any?”

“Well, yes, and because… well, you don’t seem like the type of person who would like a six-year-old just hanging around.” Josef looked down at his fingernails as if this conversation and the intensity of Angelica’s stare were making him feel uncomfortable.

Good, he should.

“So you made the assumption because I’m fifty-five years old and don’t have any children that it must be because I don’t like them.” Angelica narrowed her gaze at him. “Would you make the same assumption if I was a man?”

The silence spoke volumes.

When he didn’t answer, Angelica hummed. “That’s what I thought. I don’t have children because I made a choice to focus on my career, and I’ve never found someone to have children with. It has nothing to do with whether I like them or not.”

“Ah.” Josef seemed thoroughly scolded, but the conversation shifted when the door opened loudly.

A little girl clung to her father’s hand. She looked exactly like her mother. There would be no mistaking that this was the daughter of Hope Lawrence. They had the same rounded face, high forehead, the same fluffy dark, almost-black hair that curled slightly but looked more wild than tame. They had the same bright blue eyes, though this girl’s were a whole lot bigger than Hope’s.

Angelica’s heart pattered sharply as she looked up to make eye contact with Rex. There was some of him in the girl too, though definitely not as much.

“Kyle?” Angelica asked.

“On his way,” Rex said with a tight smile. “She won’t be loud, I promise.”

“Why does everyone think I hate kids?” Angelica rolled her eyes and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “It’s as though you would think I was the wicked witch of the west instead of just an Ice Fairy.”

Rex and Josef laughed at that, which was exactly what Angelica had been going for. Break the tension now and maybe they wouldn’t have to deal with it later. They had work to do, and she needed to focus before her weary mind decided to give out for the night.

Chapter

Five

“Is it a habit for you to always be late?”

Hope froze at the sound of Angelica’s voice. She’d literally just stepped into the hotel they were there to fix up. Her neck ached from the angle at which she’d fallen asleep on the plane, and her knees were telling her that she was seventy-five instead of thirty-five. And Angelica’s anger laced with annoyance and something else underlying it all wasn’t what she wanted to hear as soon as she arrived.

“No,” Hope answered, halting her progress and gripping the small carry-on bag that she had taken with her. “But I can’t make the rush hour traffic go away as much as I would love to have that magical power, and I certainly haven’t figured out how to create a site-to-site transporter.”

Angelica paused, her brows knitting together in confusion before she relaxed. “You flew in today.”

“Yes, I did.” Hope shifted her luggage to the side so Angelica could see it fully. “I had to finish filming my show before I could leave.”

“Right.” Angelica sighed heavily, her gaze flicking from Hope to behind her.

Was there someone there? Hope wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want to look away from Angelica either. She was back in her black suit, which Hope was thinking was going to be her normal garb. Comfortable but professional slacks, white cotton-looking crew neck, and she clearly had another layer of a white tank underneath it. And oh what those layers were doing to Hope’s insides.

But why? Because layers in clothing? That seemed ridiculous.

“Do you have a minute?” Angelica asked, sliding her hand into her pocket and popping her hip out slightly.

“I suppose I do.”

“Good.” Without saying anything else, Angelica started to walk away.

Hope stared after her for a few seconds before Angelica glanced over her shoulder and nodded in the direction she was headed.

“Coming?”

“I guess I am,” Hope murmured under her breath. She took her luggage with her, rolling it along the tiled floor, the wheels clicking every time they rolled over a line of grout. The sound echoed loudly in Hope’s ears, the exhaustion from a long day of work that morning and travel that evening weighing heavily on her shoulders. She wanted a sweet dessert and a drink that was too strong for her taste buds and to crawl into her bed with Rex and Eva and close her eyes and forget the last few hours had happened.