Page 48 of No Holds Barred

“You got it, boss,” Sy said with a wink. “We’ve got you.”

“Thank you.”

Chapter

Sixteen

The warmth of the plate seeped into Hope’s fingers as she turned the corner into the conference room staging area. She nearly dropped it. Angelica sat at the table, iPad pushed to the side, and her legs propped up like she commonly sat now, the black air cast still on her right leg.

But it was Leanne, who was sitting where Hope generally sat, leaning over and touching Angelica’s arm lightly. It was the lightness in both of their faces, the laughter that had filled the room. What alternate universe did she just walk in on? Hope bit her tongue to keep herself from saying anything stupid, but she was thrown for a loop.

Shuffling forward, she set the plate down next to Angelica and then stood right next to her, standing sentry. As far as she was aware, they were still supposed to hate Leanne. And yet Angelica looked as though she was having the time of her life in here.

“I brought you some lunch,” Hope said, nerves zinging through her body. She bit her lip and put her hands behind her back as she stared down at Angelica, who seemed more than a little surprised to see her there.

She shouldn’t.

Hope had brought Angelica breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the last three days while they’d been filming, and they’d sat together while Angelica ate—or rather picked at the food. It was hard on one level not to be offended that Angelica didn’t eat more of what Hope knew was delicious food, and on the other hand, she was just happy to see Angelica consuming anything.

“We were just talking about the burst pipe in the Los Angeles hotel.” Angelica pointed at Leanne. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so wet in my life.”

Angelica didn’t look at Leanne for that one. Her baby blues were turned on Hope, locked together with her eyes in a battle that Hope wasn’t sure was even happening. Angelica reached up and snagged Hope’s fingers, lightly pulling on them.

“It’s a joke, Hope. You should be laughing.”

“Right. Sorry.” Hope shook her head a bit, trying to get her senses back, but it was so hard to focus right now. She’d never seen Angelica act like this before, and it unnerved her. “How did the pipe burst?”

Leanne snorted, and she squeezed Angelica’s leg tightly. “One of the owners decided they wanted to do some renovation and had hired a questionable site manager. They cut right through it when they were taking down a wall. It was one of the fire suppression pipes.”

Hope wanted to pluck Leanne’s hand off Angelica’s bare skin and flop it away so that no one would be touching Angelica—no one but her that is. Hope had to bite back that thought. Angelica wasn’t hers, but the possessiveness that stole through her was astoundingly sharp. She didn’t want Leanne to touch her. Not one tip of her finger.

And to have Angelica be making sexual jokes with her?

God, what world had Hope walked into?

“There was six inches of water filling the ballroom—you know the room where we held the wrap parties?” Angelica asked, looking up at Hope and snagging her fingers again.

Hope nodded her understanding. She knew what Angelica was saying, but the feelings roiling around in her stomach were another beast entirely. She didn’t understand those.

“Six inches of water. It took a whole month to dry the place out and get everything fixed and back into place. After that the Kartalis refused to find another construction company without my approval.” Angelica squeezed Hope’s fingers tightly. “What did you bring me for lunch?”

“Oh, just… something easy.” Hope bit her lip. The flip-flopping of the conversation and her emotions was getting to her. She wasn’t as good at keeping up with this as Angelica was.

Angelica let go of Hope’s fingers and reached for the cloche, pulling it off. She breathed in deeply and hummed her pleasure. “It smells delicious.”

“It’s a red potato and leek frittata with goat cheese and dill, but I didn’t use potatoes for you. I used patty pan squash instead to mimic the texture.” Hope slid her clammy hands against her thighs.

“Why not just use potatoes?” Leanne frowned, confused.

Hope’s lips parted in surprise. How long had Angelica and Leanne actually been together? She knew they worked together for years, and yet Leanne had no idea that Angelica had food allergies. How was that even possible? How much more had Hope learned about Angelica in the short time they’d known each other—and even shorter time they’d been in a relationship—than Leanne?

“Just a preference this morning.” Hope flashed Leanne a fake smile. “I wanted to try something new and test my skills.”

“Oh, well it smells delicious.” Leanne nodded toward the plate. “Is there any left?”

“No, sorry.” There was, but Hope wasn’t going to feed a woman she wasn’t supposed to like. She’d fed the rest of the kitchen staff, knowing that Angelica wasn’t likely to ask for seconds, but there were still a few slices left as far as she knew. Hope moved her gaze back to Angelica, keeping her eyes locked there. “Let me know if there’s anything else that you’d like.”

Angelica shook her head. “This looks amazing, thank you.”