Page 127 of No Holds Barred

“You’re telling me.” Angelica glanced down at Eva. “You listen to your mom, okay? I’ll see you soon.” She smiled at the girl and then walked away. The last thing she needed was to screw that up again. Because she’d very nearly lost whatever credibility she had with Eva to begin with.

But for now she just had to go back to Mark and Alexis.

The couple that never should have been.

The couple that really shouldn’t be working together.

Ever.

Chapter

Forty

“Ireally need to talk to you.” Hope held her breath as she looked longingly into Angelica’s eyes from the other side of the doorway. She hadn’t even been sure that Angelica would still be awake this late at night, but it had taken her an extra hour to get Eva to sleep that night, and then to sneak out of the room.

“This really isn’t the time?—”

“I mean it, Angel.” Hope’s stomach twisted hard.

Angelica sighed. “There is more to a relationship than just sex.”

“Ouch.” Hope furrowed her brow and stayed planted just on the other side of Angelica’s room, waiting to be let in. “But if you recall, I said talk.”

Angelica eyed her carefully before giving a single nod and holding the door open to let her in. Once they were cloistered in silence, the nerves Hope had been avoiding reared their ugly head. She was barely managing to keep her head above water lately. Everything crashing down unceremoniously, which meant that each time she looked a new direction there was another fire she had to put out.

But this one… this one they could do together.

“What is it?” Angelica asked, sitting in the chair while Hope sat on the edge of the bed.

Where should she even start?

“Rex is going to have Eva sit with him tomorrow, since Rishal is out with the flu.” Hope brushed her sweaty palms over her thighs. Get the business out of the way, and then maybe Angelica would be able to focus better on the actual conversation they needed to have.

“Okay.” Angelica didn’t move. Her face didn’t change. Was she even affected by this? God, sometimes Angelica’s poker face was too damn good.

“I’m sorry about earlier today and Eva interrupting.”

“Some things can’t be helped.” Angelica narrowed her gaze. “I don’t think this is why you insisted on talking tonight.”

“No, it’s not.” Hope ran her fingers through her hair, head bent, and pulled at the strands on the top to shock some reality back into her. This wasn’t going to be easy to talk about, and they were both so exhausted.

“I’m waiting.” Angelica crossed her arms and continued to watch Hope relentlessly.

Hope sighed. She didn’t want to mess up the good thing they had going so far. They hadn’t even had a chance to feel the bliss of a relationship yet. And that was all she’d really wanted. Live in the honeymoon phase of the newness for as long as possible and deal with complications later. But Angelica seemed to be the exact opposite. Sort out complications now for an easy life later on. And maybe she was right to do it that way.

“I’m really struggling so just give me a second.” Hope sighed loudly and closed her eyes. She had to get her thoughts in order, but she kept flipping between Eva, Cadence, Leanne, Angelica, Rachel, Josef, and this fucking hotel. It was such a mess, and what she really needed was for someone to sort it out and put apriority order in front of her so she knew which thing she had to deal with first.

Angelica’s thick wall broke. She moved off the chair and came to sit with Hope on the edge of the bed, hand on her knee with a light squeeze. “What’s bothering you the most?”

“Eva!” Hope groaned. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She doesn’t act like this, but she’s been so clingy, and it’s been so difficult this week. I don’t know what to do with her to help her. Rex is out of ideas too. And we’re tag teaming everything, but I just… it’s so hard.”

Angelica nodded slowly and squeezed Hope’s knee again. “Have you thought about the fact that the last episode we shot last year was San Diego, when her world as she knew it fell completely apart?”

Hope stilled, a line of tension pulling her tight and straight. “What?”

She hadn’t thought about that. She’d been so focused on the here and now and how well they were doing, that she hadn’t even made the connection between the two.

“I know what happened between us in San Diego, and I know that Eva wasn’t really a part of that. But I assume you and Rex were struggling then. And you and Rachel.” Angelica left off there, no doubt wanting Hope to fill in the blanks for her.