Page 4 of Culinary Chaos (Hotel Bombshell #1)

“Mrs. Lawrence.”

Hope shook her head. “I didn’t realize you were picking up Rex. You just dropped me off thirty minutes ago.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Lyric tilted her chin downward, her cheeks lit up with a slight blush. What was that all about? “It made sense for me to just take on the role of driving the Lawrence-Daystrong family today.”

“Oh, did it now? What’d you do, drive around the corner and park for thirty minutes? You could have come in, you know. I could have made you a snack or something.” Hope shook her head with a light laugh. “Come on in.”

“No, I didn’t just park and wait. I refueled the car and checked the flight times.”

“Right.” Hope brushed her hands down her sides. “They’re just getting the bags.”

Hope stood awkwardly. Normally she would make small talk and engage someone in conversation, but the loneliness was already settling in. She really should avoid that.

“You’re not going to Dallas, are you?”

“I am,” Lyric answered, a smile on her lips. “I work for the production company, so I go where they go. I’m picking you up from the airport in a few days.”

“Are you now?” Hope eased at that. “Is there a reason why they don’t just hire new drivers? Not that I don’t like you, but it just seems a bit excessive.”

Lyric hummed, her lips pulled tightly. “Ms. Shields can be a bit…particular.”

“Are you her personal driver?”

“Yes.” Lyric’s cheeks lit up.

“So when you say production company, do you mean actual production company or do you mean Angelica Shields?”

“Ms. Shields owns her own company.” Lyric nodded to someone behind Hope. “I can get those.”

Without hesitating, she stepped farther into the house and snagged the two large suitcases from Rex. He let her take them, and Lyric deftly pulled them outside.

“Eva! Go to the bathroom before you hop in the car.” She heard Eva scramble down the hallway, and without hesitating, Hope snagged Rex for another kiss.

She hummed and closed her eyes. It’d be a long few days, but they’d be back together soon enough.

She just had to remind herself of that. “Text me when you take off, and land, and get to the hotel.”

He kissed her quickly. “Do you also want me to text you pictures of the kitchen when I get there?”

“Um, yes, was that even a question?” She laughed as she kissed him again. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Rex pulled away, snagging a light jacket off the front hook by the door. “Eva’s really going to miss you.”

“Same!” Hope grinned as Eva barreled toward her with arms open, expecting another long hug. Hope gladly obliged. She had Eva get her shoes and her jacket on, giving her another kiss as they made their way out to the car.

“I love you both.”

“Love you, Mommy!” Eva grinned as she slipped into her car seat, which Lyric had somehow managed to put into the car already. When had she done that?

Hope snagged Rex’s hand, gave him one last kiss, and then stepped back as they got into the car.

She watched until Lyric drove off, the car out of her sight and a chill setting into her bones before she made her way back inside.

With the door firmly shut behind her, and locked, and her shoes off her feet and stashed near the front door, Hope sighed heavily.

Now what?

Her phone buzzed. Frowning, she pulled it out of her pocket, expecting Rex to have texted. But it wasn’t Rex. It was a number she didn’t recognize. She unlocked her phone and pulled open the text, expecting it to be one of those stupid spam texts that was trying to scam her out of money.

But that wasn’t what she found.

(307) 222-8903: I thought we could get some work done before your arrival.

Hope stared at it, canting her head to the side. Her thumb hovered over the keys as she debated what to say. She wanted a break from work that day. She’d been going strong since four in the morning, and she deserved to at least relax a little, didn’t she?

Hope: Who is this?

(307) 222-8903: Angelica Shields.

Hope gritted her teeth. Had Angelica waited to text until Rex was gone? Or was the timing purely coincidental? Hope didn’t know her well enough to make that judgment call, and she wasn’t sure how she wanted to respond yet either. She bit her lower lip and answered.

Hope: What do we need to work on?

Angelica: The shoot.

Hope rolled her eyes and groaned. This woman didn’t understand a request for more information when it hit her square over the head, did she? Hope walked directly toward her kitchen, needing a snack as much as Eva had.

Hope: What specifically about the shoot?

Three little dots appeared on Hope’s phone before they vanished. Then again. She frowned as she reached into the fridge to grab some leftovers from the dishes she’d made that morning during the shoot. What was Angelica avoiding?

Angelica: Something came up. We can talk when you arrive.

Was that the end of it? Really? Hope took a bite of food, not tasting it as she stared at her phone.

Was she even supposed to respond to that?

She shook her head, closed her phone, and pocketed it.

All it meant was that she could actually relax tonight like she wanted.

A few hours off work before she dove deep into it again in the morning. This was perfect.