Page 5 of No Holds Barred

“Me too.”

Wade gave her a pitying look, and she despised it.

“Are we done?” Hope asked. She needed the escape, to get out of here and find some sense of peace before she dove into filming.

“Yes.” Wade gave her another sad look.

“Thanks.” Hope walked away from the studio and down the small hall toward the dressing rooms. She slipped into the one that she’d been given and immediately stripped out of her clothes and got dressed in the outfit she’d shown up in.

The quiet in the room hit her at once. It was so still in there. She’d never noticed that before. Leaning over the vanity counter, Hope dropped her chin to her chest and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply. She’d thought that this break would have been more productive than it had. But being here, she found herself rooted in the turmoil of what was coming next and the fact that her life was about to spin into chaos again. Unfortunately, right when she’d found a calm, centered place.

“You ready, boss?” Lyric’s voice reached her ears, and Hope couldn’t stop the smile from lighting up her face.

God, it was so nice to see a friendly face, and Lyric was always going to be that for her.

“You didn’t bring Ange, did you?” Hope asked. She couldn’t stop herself before the question was out of her mouth. Wade had told her that Angelica wouldn’t be there, but there was still some measure of hope that she would show up, that perhaps she was just running late.

“No, she’s in Colorado for a few more days.”

“Oh.” The disappointment in her voice hit her ears before the embarrassment did. She really shouldn’t be asking after Angelica. They’d been right to put space between them during the break, while Hope had dealt with her divorce and custody and figuring out what exactly her life was going to look like moving forward, but it still stung. “I just thought…”

“That she’d be here since she has been the last two times?”

“Yeah.” Hope nodded slowly. “I guess I’ll see her soon.”

“I think there’s a production meeting at the end of the week, isn’t there?”

“Oh, maybe.” Hope sighed as she followed Lyric out of the room and down the hallway. She was half a step behind as they walked toward the car that Lyric always drove when they were in Los Angeles. “I haven’t looked at my calendar yet.”

She honestly hadn’t. She’d been so caught up in trying to arrange childcare and interviewing new nannies with Rex that she’d barely had time to look at her schedule and when she was supposed to be where. It was a miracle she’d made it to the photo shoot on time that day.

“How are you?” Lyric paused as she opened the front passenger door for Hope. “I haven’t had much of a chance to catch up with you.”

“Oh, I’m good.”

Lyric cocked her head to the side, studying Hope deeply. She nodded once and then waited for Hope to slip into the car before shutting the door. She walked around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel, but she didn’t start the engine. Hope looked at her curiously until Lyric faced her. Her gaze was intense, but it was filled with kindness and compassion.

“How are you? Really.”

Hope’s eyes watered instantly. Her nose stopped up. God, she hated this. She’d thought she’d gotten past this in the last few months, but having Lyric ask her this now, ask her with such openness and seeming to really want an honest answer—it was too much.

“Hope.” Lyric whispered her name as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Hope’s shoulders and tugged her in for a hug.

Hope breathed in Lyric’s scent. She closed her eyes and rested on the woman as much as she could, needing the touch and the presence and the communication and everything that Lyric gave her. She’d had no one through this. She was barely talking to Rachel. They’d managed to make it through the family Christmas by avoiding each other, but the whole family kept telling Hope that she and Rachel needed to figure their shit out.

But she wasn’t ready for that.

And she didn’t feel like she had done anything against Rachel.

Hope breathed in deeply and backed away, putting space between them. “It’s been hard.”

“I can only imagine,” Lyric said, giving Hope a small smile. “Talk to me about it. I promise, whatever’s said in the car stays in the car.”

Laughing lightly at that, Hope sat back in her seat and put her belt in place. “My life has been a shitshow since we wrapped. Probably just before then, if I’m being honest.”

“And? What happened?”

“Rex filed for divorce.” Hope frowned. “He served me when I was doing press with Angelica, so she was right there when the server handed it to me.”