Page 121 of No Holds Barred

What was she supposed to do now?

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

“Mommy!” Eva skidded straight into Hope’s side, wrapping her arms around Hope’s hips and holding on tight.

She’d done that three times today already—anytime Rishal had brought her through the hotel and Hope had been within sight. Hope pressed the palm of her hand to the center of Eva’s back and rubbed gently.

It was trying her patience.

Eva was struggling, that was for damn sure, and she was clingy with Hope and no one else. Even Rex had tried to distract her, and she hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. Which just cemented the fact that this was all related to last season and that very last episode they’d filmed. Hope bit her lip and continued to rub Eva’s back.

But it was making filming damn near impossible.

“How was your day?” Hope asked Eva, trying to start a conversation to distract her from the fact that she still had about an hour of filming left and they’d have to go their separate ways again. The last thing she wanted to deal with was another catastrophic meltdown. She wanted to be there for Eva, and atthe same time, being there fully was so taxing on her energy levels.

“Bad,” Eva said into Hope’s side.

That had been her standard answer for everything lately. Looking up, Hope locked her gaze on Angelica as she walked through the lobby. There was a pause in Angelica’s step as their eyes locked, but as soon as her gaze landed on Eva, she continued on. It’d been so hard in the last three days to even have five minutes alone with Angelica. She was either working with Mark or Alexis, or she was sitting in quiet conversation with Logan.

Hope bit her lip and continued to run her nails lightly over Eva’s back. That was what she needed right now, the human connection between mother and daughter, and Hope was going to give it to her. They stood there, rooted to the spot as Eva continued to cling to her.

“Hope.” Logan stepped next to her, Josef only a few steps behind him. But Logan gave Josef one look, and he skittered away like a scolded child. “I need to speak with you.”

“Now?” Hope raised her eyebrows at him in surprise.

“If you have the time. I’d rather not push this off any longer than possible, and I’d like to have it resolved before we return to Los Angeles.” Logan flicked his gaze down to Eva. “Do you mind if I borrow your Mom for a bit?”

Eva glowered, but she did slide away slowly and hold onto Hope’s hand instead of pressing her face into her hip. Rishal came over and took Eva’s other hand, walking away. The way she left was slow and deliberate, as if she was only acquiescing because she really didn’t have another choice. And it probably only went so easily because Hope hadn’t been the person to ask this time around.

“What can I do for you?” Hope asked, turning to Logan. Her stomach twisted tightly. She wasn’t someone who often dealtwith anxiety and nerves, but something about the way he was looking at her, the quietness of Josef so far this week, and the stress of dealing with Eva was pushing her in that direction.

“In private.” Logan nodded toward the staging room they’d been using.

Hope swallowed audibly as she followed him into that room, and he shut the door. She made sure to click off her mic pack as she sat down, semi-parallel with the table itself. She spread out her legs and put her hand flat on the tabletop, tapping her fingers lightly as she waited for whatever hell he was bringing onto her today.

“How has everything with Josef been so far this week?” Logan asked.

“I’ve hardly seen him.” Hope frowned. She’d seen him in passing, like a ghost she’d rather avoid, but in terms of an actual conversation with him? That hadn’t happened at all. “But Eva’s been struggling this week, so both Rex and I have been busy tag teaming her.”

Logan nodded, his lips thinning. He looked toward the closed door to the room and then back at her. “He hasn’t made any comments to you or to Ange that you know of?”

“No. But I haven’t talked to Ange either.” Which was probably the hardest part of this week so far. Any time she wasn’t elbow deep in the kitchen or bouncing back and forth between Mark and Alexis, she was running circles with Eva.

“You and she aren’t…” Logan paused and then stopped all together.

The hairs on the back of Hope’s neck stood straight. A chill ran down her spine. Had he been about to ask her about their relationship? Did he know? Or was it just that he was listening to the rumors that Josef was spreading and he wanted to verify if they were true?

Every muscle in Hope’s body tightened. She wasn’t as good at avoiding as Angelica was, and if she had to do that, it was going to get messy.

“You two are still talking right? You haven’t had an argument like in season one?”

Hope blinked at him wildly. That hadn’t been where she’d expected the conversation to go at all. “No, not at all.” She bit her lip, still keeping all that tension in her chest because she just wasn’t sure where to go from here.

“I know Ange has been busy with Mark and Alexis, but you two haven’t filmed any scenes together since that first day.” Logan crossed his arms.

“That’s not always uncommon.” Hope furrowed her brow. “Would you like us to film a scene together?”