Page 4 of Culinary Chaos

“It’s good to finally meet you, Ms. Shields.” Hope held her hand out.

Angelica hesitated to take it. What if she was trembling so bad that Hope could feel it? She bit the inside of her cheek hard, waking herself back up. Her fingers slipped against Hope’s warm skin, a sizzling electricity under the touch. It nearly burned. But Angelica kept her hand in place, firmly shaking Hope’s hand. “Mrs. Lawrence.”

Hope gripped Angelica’s hand hard, her other hand coming up to cup Angelica’s almost like a caress. Angelica dropped her gaze to their fingers before flicking her eyes back up to the blue-eyed brunette beauty in front of her. Her hair, curled, was down around her shoulders. Angelica had never seen her like that before—all the videos and pictures had her hair up and out of her face. But this way made her seem so much softer, not just more welcoming, but gentle somehow.

Angelica cleared her throat. “It’s good to meet you in person.”

Why had she said that? God, she was an idiot. Hope would know she’d been looking her up on the Internet, wouldn’t she? Because she was damn sure that Hope had googled her. She’d be an idiot not to.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there when you were vetted,” Angelica added. And she truly was. To meet the first time when they were in front of a camera wasn’t ideal. And she definitely wanted to know where this feeling—whateverthisfeeling was—was coming from. Because seriously, it was knocking her off her feet and plopping her down on her ass.

And she would have loved a forewarning of the power thatthiswoman held over her.

“Yes, that is a pity. It would have been nice to see that we actually have some chemistry to make sure that this show goes off without a hitch.”

Oh my God, is she actually flirting right now?Angelica had to bite her cheek again. This woman didn’t just have power, she was fucking bold with it. Tightening her jaw, Angelica squared her shoulders and evened out her stance. She had to find some way to defend herself against whatever this was.

“Chemistry?” Angelica’s voice rose with an unexpected tease. Fuck, she was enjoying this flirting way too much. And the fact that Hope had teased her into joining in? This was going to be a long photo shoot. “Wrong kind of show, Hope.”

The chuckle that reached Angelica’s ears sent a shiver through her body. This woman would be the death of her, nodoubt about it. “Oh, it’s exactly the right kind of show. If the two of us don’t havechemistry?—”

Fuck, why did she have to say it like that?

“—I’m fairly certain the show will fail.”

Angelica stepped in even closer, lowering her tone. The teasing was over. The fact that Hope had managed to spell out Angelica’s biggest fear in the span of seconds? She wasn’t going to allow it. “It won’t fail. I won’t let it.”

Looking directly into Hope’s crystalline eyes, Angelica held her gaze. She wanted to make damn sure that Hope understood what she was saying and what she wasn’t saying. She would put all of her energy and passion and time into this project to make sure that it got off the ground and that they were renewed for a second season. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Great! Those are some great shots,” Wade said loudly, catching Angelica’s attention. She dropped the intensity and stepped to the side, turning around to face the photographer. She’d worked with him before, and he was excellent. Especially at catching those candid pics of her that were the make-or-break shots they needed because she wasn’t good at posing on command.

“What shots?” Hope asked curiously.

“Of the two of you meeting.” He stared down at the back of his camera, clicking his tongue. “Yes, this might just be what we want for some of the promotion.”

“Naturally,” Angelica mumbled under her breath.

It would damn figure that the intense feelings she had rushing through her would show up on camera, and he would be the right damn photographer to catch it.

“I need to change.” Angelica looked at Wade. “Then I’ll be back.”

“Good timing. Hope needs to change, too.”

“I do?” Hope asked.

“Into your chef’s coat. Ange, yours are labeled in the order I want you in them.”

Angelica said nothing as she pressed her lips together tightly and started back toward her dressing room. She wasn’t a fan of nicknames, and certainly not ones she didn’t give permission for, although she was grateful he knew her well enough to put everything in order. Fewer decisions made for an easier day for her.

The outfit hanging up made her pause.

What the hell was Wade thinking?

Sliding into the outfit, Angelica stared at herself in the mirror and cringed. It was gaudy compared to what she would typically wear. But she put it on, not arguing with the expert. She didn’t have time or energy for that today.

As soon as she stepped back into the studio, she understood. Hope’s chef’s coat was black, and it set off the color in her eyes like a beacon of light. It matched her dark brown hair, letting the auburn highlights in it shine brightly and give her even more dimension. The way the chef’s coat fit to her body, the tightness against her chest and stomach, across her hips and the black leggings she wore to match—Angelica’s mouth went dry.

Fuck, this isn’t good.