Page 4 of No Holds Barred

“Good. I’ll let the two of you figure out how you want to do that.”

“I appreciate it.” Angelica wrote that down. Though she wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to broach that subject with Hope. Because she still wasn’t ready to talk to her.

Chapter

Two

“Turn to the side.” Wade’s voice was gentle in his correction.

Hope shivered, clenching her jaw as she crossed her arms, turned to face the wall, and looked over her shoulder at him. That was what he wanted, she was sure of it. But she’d been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard him the first time he’d said it. She clenched her jaw and tried to push down the disappointment that ran through her at every snap of Wade’s camera.

Where was Angelica?

Hope had expected to see her here, to be taking photos with her. And she’d spent the first half of her photo session with Wade looking over her shoulder for an entirely different reason. Where was Angelica? Because she certainly wasn’t here, and no one had mentioned whether or not she’d be coming.

“Hope?” Wade’s voice reached her ears.

“Yeah?”

“I need you to face the other way now.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Her cheeks tinged with embarrassment. She twisted her body the other direction and plastered on the smile that she knew he was looking for.

Wade raised the camera in front of his face and snapped another photo of her.

“Do you know if Ange is coming today? For the photos we’re supposed to take together?”

Wade lowered the camera, a line forming in the center of his forehead. “No, she’s not coming. I thought you knew that.”

“I must have missed the email somewhere explaining it.” Hope bit her lip as she stared back at him. What was she asking this for? Of course Angelica wouldn’t want to be in the same room with her. There’d be no other reason she wasn’t here.

“There was a scheduling issue, and it was impossible to get the two of you in at the same time this season, so I’m just going to edit the photos together.”

“Right.” Hope stared down at her feet, hating that she was reacting like this. She really needed to figure out how to control herself better. But they’d avoided each other all summer, and she wasn’t quite ready to be smashed into a room with Angelica. Then again, they needed to break the ice at some point, and Hope would prefer to do that sooner rather than later.

Everything in her life was pure chaos right now. And she’d just wanted the one consistent thing that would put her back on her feet, which was this damn photoshoot with Angelica. But that wasn’t going to happen now. Hope crossed her arms and looked straight up into Wade’s camera.

This photo shoot could end anytime now, and she’d be a happy camper.

“Hope?”

Fuck. Again.

“Yeah?” Hope really needed to pay more attention to what was happening in the room and stop dreaming about Angelica. Not that she was actually dreaming. But the ball of nervous energy and anxiety building up in her stomach over seeing heragain wasn’t helping the situation any. Hope clenched her jaw tightly.

“What made you go so short with your hair?” Wade switched out memory cards in the camera swiftly.

“Oh. Um…” Hope ran her fingers through her short hair, still loving the slight buzz she had in the back and the extra length she had on the top. It’d been an impulsive decision toward the end of the summer, but damn, it wasn’t one that she regretted. Not at all. “I thought it was time for a change.”

“Change?” Wade wrinkled his nose. “There’s more changed about you than just your hair.”

“What do you mean?” Hope immediately moved her thumb to her ring finger, feeling the empty space where the gold band used to rest against her skin. She still wasn’t used to it not being there. And there were days that she wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to it. Then there were days when Rex ticked her off that she absolutely knew she would. It’d just be a matter of time.

“You’re different.” Wade put the camera down. “You’ve got like a shroud over you. Your smile seems forced in a way it hasn’t been before.”

“Oh.” Hope nodded slowly, sadness seeping into her bones. “Yeah, I know. Maybe someday I’ll get my light back.”

“I hope it’s soon.” Wade winked at her. “I miss it.”