Page 6 of No Holds Barred

“Oh my God. Asshole.” Lyric smiled as she looked over at Hope.

Hope grinned. God, she’d needed a friend so much. Why hadn’t she called Lyric before now? Right. Because she was undeniably intertwined with Angelica, and to talk to Lyric meant Hope would have to think about that part of her life which was also a disaster. She’d broken up with Angelica to save her marriage only for it to fall apart moments later. She’d been too late.

It was her own choices that had gotten Hope here, but that didn’t mean that it hurt any less or more than if it’d been out of her control.

“He brought the nanny to the premiere.”

“He did not!” Lyric’s eyes widened instantly as she pulled out onto the road.

“He did.” Hope whimpered. “God, that was awful. Talk about a rebound. It lasted maybe two months before he put an end to it, which devastated Eva.” Hope sighed. “We’ve both screwed up so much with her lately. We’re trying to do better now, but thisis a whole new life we’re navigating, and it’s hard. I haven’t been single since I was in my twenties and now I’m nearly forty!”

Lyric shook her head. “If you say you’re old, I’ll have to remind you most emphatically that you’re not.”

“Ha, not old, but certainly getting older.” Hope groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. She shook her head and settled into her seat more fully. “I wish I’d done so many things differently.”

“Like what?”

“So many things.” Hope wasn’t about to drop those bombs on Lyric. Some things did need to remain a secret. At least for a while longer until she got her feet under her and figured out how her relationship with Angelica was going to play out. Hope breathed slowly. “How’s…Ange?”

Lyric’s lips twitched, much in the way Hope had seen Angelica’s do when she was trying to hide her smile, but then she flicked her gaze to Hope and focused back on the road. “She’s doing okay, I think. She’s spent a lot of time in Colorado this year.”

“Didn’t she do that last break?”

“Yeah. I think she likes it there.” Lyric’s lips pulled tight. “But I wasn’t able to spend as much time with her this break as before. I was stuck here doing things she needed me to do.”

“Ah.” Hope rubbed her hands together in her lap. She really should stop asking about Angelica. It was just putting more hurt in her heart than there was before. “This season is going to be interesting to film. Will you be around for it?”

“Wouldn’t miss it!” Lyric grinned fully. “Have you and Rex talked about what’ll happen?”

“Not yet. But we probably need to.” Hope breathed in and out slowly. She’d been avoiding that topic, because it wasn’t the only conversation she had to have. She needed to talk to Angelica about it as much as she needed to talk to Rex. Everything was sotangled up, and while she’d spent the break untangling some of it, it was still in a messy knot.

“I’m excited to go to Maine. I’ve never been there before.”

“Same. I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”

Hope continued the conversation, keeping it light and at surface level. She was glad that she’d found someone to at least share her pain with, at least the pain that she could share. When it came to Angelica, well, no one could know about that. This was a secret she was determined to keep.

Chapter

Three

“Everything’s all set, Ms. Shields.”

“Thank you.” Angelica nodded, but she didn’t look up at Lyric. She wasn’t prepared for this conversation, but she and Rex had thought it’d be a good idea, considering all the drama that was likely to come out when they started filming. Hope had a short temper, and Angelica was damn sure that she’d throw something around once they were together.

“Was there anything else you needed?”

“No, thank you.” Angelica still had her nose buried in her iPad.

“A hug? A shot of vodka? A beer?”

Angelica furrowed her brow and looked up to meet Lyric’s gaze. “Excuse me?”

“You seem tense.”

Setting the stylus on top of her desk, Angelica looked Lyric over from head to toe before she let her gaze linger on Lyric’s face. She wasn’t going to say a damn thing until Lyric spoke again. She was going to let Lyric dig her own grave on this one.

“I uh…” Lyric stuttered. “It was just a comment.”