Page 2 of Culinary Chaos

Hope tried not to look in the mirror, her fear over whatever they were doing to her body far too much to control if she didcatch a glimpse. Where was Rex when she needed him? Right, not there, because this was a photo shoot, not an actual episode shoot. She winced and then was promptly scolded to keep her face neutral.

She wasn’t someone who could do that.

Everything was written across her face. She had no ability to keep her thoughts from showing up on her features—despite how many times she’d tried to learn that skill. She barely had a chance to glance in the mirror before she was sent off to a dressing room to get herself in whatever outfits had already been chosen for her.

Staring at them, Hope frowned. The chef’s jacket was an obvious choice. This one was black and had her name emblazoned in gold across the breast pocket and the show logo on her upper right arm. She ran her fingers over it. The other outfits, all five of them, were way out of the norm for her. Business suits with dress shoes.

Who did they think she was?

She wasn’t the hotel manager. She barely even considered herself a business owner, even though she was, by definition at least. She owned four restaurants and had plans to expand beyond those four and into newer and bigger cities. She had a plan, and this job would help her accomplish that. She didn’t care about the cameras.

She cared about the food.

Food was her passion.

Well, food and her family. She couldn’t forget them. Her lips quirked upward at the thought of Rex and Eva, her beloved husband and daughter. She was doing this for them, and working with Rex on a show? That would be an experience that they both would have to figure out how to deal with.

Snagging the chef’s jacket, Hope turned around to put it on. The knock at her door startled her. She frowned and opened it. “Yes?”

“They want you in the suits first, then when Ms. Shields gets here, we’ll take some photos with you and her in those and then your chef’s jacket.”

Hope stared at the young man with an earpiece and a microphone pressed against his cheek. He hadn’t even introduced himself, and she had no idea who he was other than he knew far more about what was happening today than she did.

Putting her hand out in front of her, she opened the door a little wider and grinned at him. “I’m Hope.”

“Tanner. And you’re really late, so we need to get going to get your head shots and individuals in before Ms. Shields shows up.” He put his hand on the doorknob.

Hope’s lips pulled upward to the side. “I’ll be right out. I promise.” She winked at him and then allowed him to close the door on her. Had she really messed up the schedule that badly?

“You ready?” The knock echoed through the small room and berated Hope’s ears.

She hadn’t even had a chance to unbutton her pants yet. “Almost,” she said, cringing at the sound of her own voice. Always happy. Always flirtatious. It had gotten her a long way in the end, and she was thankful for it, but some days, she preferred to throw the pots and pans in her kitchen in a fit and live into the anger that simmered under the surface. She just hated when anyone saw that.

It exposed her in a way she never wanted others to witness.

Only Rex could catch glimpses of that.

Again she wished he was here. New places always gave her nerves a run for their money. And she was ready to be done with this part of her new job so she could dive into the work that she was really excited for—restoring and rebuilding mis-managedkitchens and giving them as much life and future as she possibly could.

“This is Wade. He’s the photographer for today.” Tanner pointed out a man hunched over a camera as he squinted into it.

Hope breathed through her nerves, keeping that ever-present smile plastered on her lips. She could do this. This wasn’t why she was in the business. It was just the side of it that needed to be done in order to do what she wanted. Popping her lower lip out, she started toward the photographer to introduce herself.

“Hi, I’m Hope.” She grinned at him.

“Oh, good to meet you.” He smiled and took her hand in a firm shake. “Did Tanner give you the rundown of what’s happening?”

“Yeah,” she said, although she didn’t quite feel like she had the entire rundown. It would have to suffice. Because she didn’t really want to ask for a play-by-play and tick anyone off. She didn’t have enough pull yet. “I’m excited to see what you come up with.”

Wade winked at her. “Oh, it’ll be excellent.”

“Perfect.” She loved confidence. It was one of the sexiest things alive.

“Why don’t you step in front of the backdrop and we’ll take some test photos to check the lighting?”

“All right.” Hope smoothed her clammy palms against the front of her thighs as she did as she was told. She even smiled for the test photos.

She stood there awkwardly while Wade made a few minor adjustments to the lights and big umbrella things. No matter how many times Rex told her what they were, she could never remember. Reflectors? Alien silver thingamabobs? She preferred the latter description.