Page 29 of Culinary Chaos (Hotel Bombshell #1)

Chapter

Twenty-Two

H ope had been right.

Not that Angelica would say that out loud to anyone.

But with the visit from the local doctor three days behind her, she was on her feet and feeling at least seventy percent of where she had been.

She could tell because she wasn’t pushing to go back to the original filming schedule.

That and Hope’s idea of focusing on building up the summer season income wasn’t a bad idea at all.

Again, not that Angelica would tell her that.

She sat outside, iPad in hand, and scrolled through some of the finances that Hope hadn’t managed to get to.

Everything seemed to be in good order, but it wasn’t balancing.

Hope had pointed that out, but she also couldn’t figure out where the discrepancies were.

Angelica was finally finding the time to take her shot at it.

Tatum sat down next to her, a smile on his face. “My mom loves it out here.”

“Oh?” Angelica wasn’t sure why she was continuing the conversation, but she wanted the break from staring at the numbers, and there was something so pleasant about Tatum that she felt compelled to stop and talk to him anytime she saw him.

“My dad built this garden for her a few years ago when she retired so that she could spend more time here with him.” Tatum smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Angelica hadn’t met his parents yet, but she’d heard the crew talking.

They were down in Denver with a long hospital stay ahead of them.

His mom had some type of brain cancer. Tatum was taking over the hotel temporarily until his father could get back to work.

This was a family operation, through and through, which was one of the biggest differences from the other hotels they’d been to so far.

“When do you think they’ll be home?” Angelica asked, fingering the edge of her jacket before dropping her hands to her lap.

She wasn’t sure she could ever do that. If her father or mother ended up with cancer, she wouldn’t drop everything to go home and take care of them.

She’d like to think that she would, but if she were truly honest, she wouldn’t.

She’d leave all that to her brother and stop by on occasion to give him a temporary relief.

“Don’t know.” Tatum’s smile faded. “Hopefully soon.”

“There you are.” Hope stepped outside, squinting in the sunlight before she put her hand over her eyes to shade them. “I was looking for you.”

“Always wanted, aren’t you?” Tatum asked with a grin as he stood up. “Make sure you take some time to rest, Ms. Shields. You’re still recovering.”

Normally Angelica would take offense at the chide, but something about the way Tatum offered it made her feel warm inside, as though he might truly care about her well-being. Before she had a chance to stand up, Hope came over and snagged her hand, pulling her upward.

“Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Angelica asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

“You know I don’t like surprises.” Angelica allowed herself to be led, slowly, back toward the doorway that led inside.

“You’ll like this one.”

Angelica hummed displeasure, but she wasn’t convinced that was what would actually happen or not.

“Come on.” Hope pulled her again, but they didn’t go inside.

Instead, they skirted around the side of the building to yet another large open garden space. This one wasn’t filled with green things to cook with, but it was much more like a traditional garden, except it was filled with wildflowers that were just starting to bloom.

“Oh…” Angelica murmured, her eyes widening as she stopped suddenly. She hadn’t gotten this far in the original tour before she felt too sick. That was a pity.

“Yeah, I was thinking they could set up some promotional images and do weddings out here. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Hope still had her hand in Angelica’s as she led the way to a small table in the center of a large white gazebo. “Tatum said that his dad planted everything out here.”

“For his mother, no doubt,” Angelica commented, remembering the conversation she’d just had with him.

“Yeah.” Hope grinned again, stopping at the table.

Angelica looked down, finding it set for two with a bottle of wine in the middle, sweating water glasses, and covered plates. “What’s this?”

“Killing two birds with one stone.” Hope stepped to the side and pulled out a chair. “Can we sit down first?”

Suspicious, Angelica did as she was told.

She set the iPad on the edge of the table and waited for Hope to move the cloche.

Under them was a stunning array of small finger foods, ones that Angelica had never seen Hope cook before.

They looked to be of her normal flair, fancy and something that Angelica wouldn’t know the name of, but also more rustic than Hope typically made.

“I made lunch, with the idea that we could try out a few new recipes at the same time.” Hope slid into the chair across from Angelica. “And maybe you’d eat a full meal out of it.”

“That’s three birds,” Angelica pointed out, eyeing Hope. “I knew I should be suspicious of your motives.”

Hope chuckled, the smile lighting up her face the instant she did it. “Are you saying that we’ve actually figured each other out?”

“Hardly.” Angelica laughed a little before picking up her water.

“And despite your lovely wine choice, I think I’ll stick with this while I’m here.

” She’d been more conscious of how much water she consumed in the last few days, feeling better the more she drank.

Damn doctors when they were actually right about something.

Not that she’d admit that to anyone out loud either.

Hope explained each food item on the plate, but the information promptly went in Angelica’s brain and right out of it.

Angelica was entranced by every second that Hope spoke, her passion shining through each of the words.

It wasn’t what Hope was saying that made it so spectacular, it was the way her face lit up, her eyes widening and crinkling, the brightness of her tone, the energy that filled her body.

Angelica pulled off one of the small cucumber things and slipped it between her lips.

The cucumber was sweet and crunchy, the juices hitting her tongue right along with whatever else was on it, but she didn’t ask again, afraid that Hope would be offended that she hadn’t been paying attention for the first explanation.

“It’s good,” Angelica said around the bite.

“It’s exquisite,” Hope responded as she took her own and slid it between her lips. A small drop of the sauce stayed in the corner of her mouth, and her tongue dashed out to chase it.

Angelica’s heart skittered, and her knees went weak. Thank God she wasn’t standing up, because she might have had to grab onto something to keep herself upright. She took another bite, but she didn’t taste it this time. She was back to being bewitched.

“I wanted to try out a few finger foods to add to the catering repertoire.” Hope leaned back in her seat, not taking her eyes from Angelica. “I want them to beef that up a whole lot in order to increase the revenue, but I’m not sure that they will.”

“Not until Baxter returns,” Angelica surmised. “He’s really the one who takes the lead on everything, isn’t he?”

“Are you sure you’ve been sleeping through the last week?” Hope bit her lip, but the smile faltered. “I’m not sure if Tatum’s mom is going to make it through this treatment. Something Tatum said…” Hope trailed off at that, not finishing the sentence.

“And you think he won’t come back?”

“Would you?”

“Would I what?” Angelica reached for the glass of water and let it cleanse her palette.

“If your lifelong partner died, would you just go back to work like nothing had changed?” Hope wouldn’t move her gaze from Angelica’s face.

Angelica honestly had no idea. She didn’t have a love like Baxter and Miriam, one that lasted decades. Hell, the longest she’d made it in a relationship was a little over a year. Which made her a constant disappointment for her parents.

Hope hummed and shook her head. “You have no idea, do you?”

“No.” Angelica swallowed the guilt that tried to eat its way up into her chest. Why was she guilty? Their life wasn’t anything like her life, and there was nothing wrong with that. She never wanted to regret her choices, and this was one that she’d made consciously.

Nodding to herself, Hope sighed. “I’d go back to work, but it wouldn’t be the same. I don’t know if this place will ever be the same without Miriam.”

“But she didn’t work here,” Angelica argued.

“No, but her presence—her spirit—is in every inch of this place. You can feel it, even if you don’t know who she is or meet her.” Hope sipped her water again.

Angelica could see that. Looking around, she knew it, actually. Tatum made sure that his mother’s memory lived on through the stories he told, the way he treated the building and the gardens. They only had this place because of her. Angelica picked up another small piece of food. “What’s this one?”

“Ah, that one might be my favorite.”

It looked like a cracker with a pillow of cream on top of it.

Angelica lost herself in Hope’s description before she put the morsel between her lips.

Something about the way Hope described everything made the food taste that much better, and that would be something the catering business here was going to be missing.

They wouldn’t have Hope—much in the way that Mountain View didn’t have Miriam.

They made it through the first plate before Angelica couldn’t resist any longer. “You said there was something wrong with their finances.”