Page 3 of No Holds Barred

“I can’t,” Angelica murmured.

She hadn’t expected anyone to actually say those words out loud. Even Logan hadn’t done that much. He’d defended her, yes, but he hadn’t said so simply that Josef was wrong, that his actions toward her were wrong. Not in the way Rex just did.

“So, like we’re back in Vegas, I’m going to stand between you and him.”

“By your own choice? Or Logan’s orders?” Angelica held her breath, not sure why she needed to know his reason.

“By my choice.” Rex nodded at her firmly. “Hope was right about one thing. I need to stand up and do more, because someday, Eva’s going to be in the same situation you were in unless men like me do something different than we have for generations.”

That made far more sense. He wasn’t doing this for her. He was doing it for Eva. Angelica relaxed back into her chair and glanced at Eva, who was still coloring happily at her desk. “All right. Then you film with me and Cadence films with Hope.”

“Good. Settled.” Rex held his hand out toward her.

Angelica hesitated for a brief moment before she slipped her fingers into his and curled them into the handshake. Rex’s hand was rough, callouses along the edges of his skin. He shook her hand firmly before letting go.

“Now, about filming, Cadence has some wild ideas.”

Angelica chucked lightly in agreement. “She does.”

“And I think I’m going to struggle to keep her under control.”

“Why would you want to?” Angelica opened an app on her iPad and prepared to take notes on their conversation. Sheneeded to make sure that she was as prepared as she could be for the upcoming season of filming.

“Time. Energy. Effort. And finances. And I’m sure you’re far more aware of that last one than I am.”

Humming, Angelica nodded. “Yes. Some of her ideas would be expensive. But they’re not all bad.”

“Most of them aren’t bad.” Rex pulled up his iPad. “Most of them are good, actually. Just expensive and time consuming, and I’m not sure the return on investment of those two will be worth the outcome.”

“All right. We’ll have a conversation with her about those ideas. Production can take most of those conversations to limit you having to deal with them.”

“I’d appreciate that, thank you.” Rex sent her a quick smile. “Since we’re starting in Maine, and we’ll be on the coast proper several times during this season, I’d like to get some shots with both you and Hope with the ocean behind you. I’ll likely need you to do pickups on those moments.”

“Sure.” Angelica took a note on that. “The hotel isn’t on the water though.”

“Boston’s is.” Rex slid her a glance. “You’re not scared of the water, are you?”

“It’s a pool of death.” Angelica raised her eyebrows at him. “Who wouldn’t be afraid of it?”

“Really?” Rex sounded shocked.

“No.” Angelica laughed lightly, her cheeks heating up. “No, I’m not scared of the ocean. Though, it’s been a while since I’ve put a toe in the water, especially not the Atlantic.”

“Maybe you and Eva can find some time to go down to the water, then. I’m sure she’d like that.”

“I would too.” Angelica genuinely smiled at him. “I honestly missed spending time with her last season.”

“She did too. It was partly why I agreed to bring her today.”

“I’m glad you did.” Angelica focused back on her iPad, ready to dive back into work. She needed to be able to focus on what was coming next. And they needed to get their work done for the day. But she was glad that after everything they’d been through in the last two seasons, they had seemed to come to an arrangement.

She might even be so bold as to call it the beginning of a tentative friendship.

Although… she might wait to see how it all played out in Maine before she officially titled that. But knowing she wouldn’t have to fight Rex going into filming was a weight off her shoulders.

“The studio would like to shoot more teasers this season, try to up the viewership so maybe we can see a renewal,” Rex said. “So that means I’m going to need you and Hope to… play off each other a bit during these first two episodes.”

“I think we can manage that.”