Page 6 of Culinary Chaos

“Then again, sometimes the heat goes well with the cold. I had a hot honey ice cream once that was to die for.”

Again, Angelica’s stomach recoiled at the very thought. She straightened her shoulders and looked at Wade directly. She had to end this, whichever way she could. “What other shots do you need today?”

Chapter

Three

“How did it go?” Rex asked.

“How did what go?” Hope dropped her bag onto the kitchen counter, eyeing her husband. They rarely had a minute together with the two of them home when Rex was filming something. Luckily, he hadn’t started filming onHotel Bombshellyet. Which meant they could find these quiet moments to quickly connect.

“Meeting the Ice Fairy,” he said with a little chuckle as he slid some bowls into the dishwasher.

“Fine.” Hope furrowed her brow. “Don’t you think it’s a bit mean to call her that?”

“Nope.” Rex laughed again. “I think she likes it.”

Hope wasn’t convinced of that, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the way that Angelica had smiled at her during the photoshoot that afternoon. Her heart skipped a beat at the memory. She dashed her tongue across her lips, Rex catching her attention.

“You haven’t worked with her yet. Trust me, you’ll get the full view of who she is once we start filming.”

Hope pressed her lips together, pulling them to the side. She never liked when other people tried to inform their opinions ofothers on her. She had a particular way of getting to know people and making them comfortable around her, and that was a whole lot harder when there was a cloud of opinion hanging over her head.

“I think Wade got some good photos. He seemed happy at least.” Hope leaned on the countertop, watching her husband intently. She did love a man who didn’t mind cleaning, and the fact that he was doing dishes already would probably earn him some bonus points tonight. Then again, it only confirmed the fact that he was leaving in a few hours. It was days before she was to head out to Dallas for filming. She would be the last one to arrive on set, but it was the only way they’d managed to make the scheduling work with her prior commitments.

“Mommy!” Eva skidded through the kitchen, her socked feet sliding on the tiled floor. She pressed her face into Hope’s side as she wrapped her arms around her.

“Hey baby.” Hope smiled, hugging Eva tightly to her and holding on until Eva indicated that she wanted to move. She’d read in a book once, or maybe it was a social media reel that she’d long forgotten about, that when your kids hugged you it was important to let them guide how long, how tight, and when to let go. She’d taken it to heart and never stopped, and Eva always proclaimed that she gave the best hugs now. At least it had built some sort of security and attachment for Eva, which had been Hope’s goal all along.

Especially with the busy lives they had and all the travel they did. And were about to do.

“Are you all packed up?” Hope asked, brushing her fingers through Eva’s long hair.

“Yeah!”

“She is,” Rex confirmed. “And I went through her suitcase to make sure that she actually packed what she needed and not the twenty stuffies that she insisted on taking with her.”

Hope chuckled at that. She’d been on the packing end of Eva’s insanity more times than she wanted to count, so she understood the pain Rex had gone through that morning. Eva went straight to the pantry and pulled out a packet of Ramen and held it out to her mom. “Can I have this?”

“Sure, why not?” Hope nodded toward her. “But you’re old enough to make it yourself.”

Eva grinned and squeaked. She immediately snagged a bowl from the upper cabinet, climbing up onto the counter to reach it, and started to make her meal. Hope watched her with rapt attention. How much of this would they miss while they were on the road for so long? Twelve weeks was a long time to be gone. And if all went well, Rex had hopes that it’d be even longer for season two.

Hope had signed a three-season contract, but she had no idea if they’d even make it beyond season one. And with Rex’s complaints, she doubted that the show would continue. Still, it was an opportunity that she wanted.

“I need to go to San Francisco to check out my restaurant there as soon as we’re done filming. There’s something going on internally that I can’t figure out.” Hope traced her fingers in a circle on the cold marble counter.

Rex shot her a concerned look. “Like financial?”

“No, financially it’s doing fine.”

“Then what is it?” Rex shut the door on the dishwasher and crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter.

Hope smiled at him, walking her way around to lean into him and press her lips to his. Rex hummed, holding the back of her head to deepen the kiss.

“That’s nice,” he said.

“It’s good to see you,” Hope whispered, pecking his lips again. Eva weaseled her way in between them, hugging them both at the same time. Hope laughed and pulled her daughter uponto her hip to hold her. She never would have predicted that this was what her life would be like ten years ago. She thought she’d have more kids, that she and Rex would spend all their time together—not really, but definitely way more than they did—but she did think the white-picket-fence idea hadn’t been half bad. Now? She wouldn’t trade this for anything.