Page 62 of No Holds Barred

“Give her some time, she’s not moving as quickly as she usually does.” Hope bit her lip again and stared at the door. She should have texted to make sure that Angelica was even in her room. But they had a late call time that morning while the crew set up, and Hope assumed that Angelica would be working from here.

Finally, the lock clicked, and the chain slid. Eva squeaked with glee, once again bouncing in her shoes.

When Angelica opened the door, she awkwardly had to move to get it wide enough while maneuvering the knee scooter. Hope held the door to help while she shifted. As soon as she straightened her back, Eva pounced. She stepped straight into the room and wrapped her arms around Angelica’s hips in a hug, burying her face in her side.

“Oh! Good morning.” Angelica furrowed her brow and brushed her fingers over the top of Eva’s head. Angelica went from looking at Eva to looking directly into Hope’s eyes.

The air in Hope’s lungs left her in an instant. Angelica wasn’t made up yet, she didn’t have her hair or her makeup done, the lines in her face were deeper and more obvious, but it was sexier than Hope had ever seen her before. Hope had to clear her throat to try and find her voice again, but it didn’t work.

“What’s the cause for such an early morning visit?” Angelica frowned slightly, but she was looking at Hope and then down at Eva.

“Breakfast!” Eva bounced again, still holding onto Angelica’s side. “Mom found this restaurant?—”

“Cafe,” Hope corrected.

“Cafe,” Eva repeated. “That she wants to try out, and since it’s a late morning, she said yes!”

Angelica’s lips parted, and she again went from looking at Eva to Hope.

“You’re invited,” Hope said. “She forgot that part.”

“Oh.” Angelica tightened her grip on her scooter with the one hand she still had on the handlebars. “I was just getting some work done…”

Hope’s heart sank. She’d known that would be the answer before they’d even asked, but with Eva’s enthusiasm, she’d hoped that she would be wrong, that somehow Eva would be the magic key to getting Angelica out of the hotel and into the real world for just an hour. She’d missed those random meals they’d shared together while filming when they finally had downtime.

“Come on!” Eva whined. “Everyone has to eat sometime!” Eva squeezed Angelica’s hips harder, and Hope could see the pain register in her face.

“Eva, not so tight,” Hope corrected.

“Oh right.” Eva frowned. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No.” Angelica shook her head, again brushing her fingers through Eva’s hair. “I suppose I could manage breakfast.”

“Yay!” Eva squealed again and clapped her hands, once more bouncing.

“They do have coffee. I promise.”

“Good,” Angelica said. “Uh…where is it?”

“Just across the street.” Hope dropped her gaze down Angelica’s body, the way her loose slacks hung on her frame, or the button-up shirt she had flared around her neck. Without a doubt, this was Angelica’s preferred outfit for work. And the pants covered the cast on her leg nicely. The only thing that made it obvious she had a broken leg was the knee scooter her leg rested on. “We can walk there easily enough.”

Angelica nodded. “All right.”

It took them longer to get across the street than if it had just been Hope and Eva, but Hope didn’t mind. Eva chatted Angelica’s ear off even after they sat down at the small corner table in the cafe. Hope glanced around, trying to decide if there was anyone in there who would recognize them, but thus far, they seemed to be left alone.

“Hope?” Angelica called her name, furrowing her brow.

Hope looked up to find a waitress staring down at her, waiting to take her order. “Oh, just coffee. Black.”

“I’ll come back around for the food order in a minute.”

“I’ve never been to Vermont!” Eva proclaimed loudly, drawing all the attention to her.

It was either a brilliant move or the stupidest one Hope had made, because with Eva there, she couldn’t say the things she wanted, but she was also fairly certain that without Eva there, Angelica wouldn’t have agreed to breakfast.

“It’s much prettier in the fall,” Angelica said, pointing out the window. “All the leaves turning, and the chill in the air.”

“Sounds like a perfect time for ice cream and hot chocolate.” Hope played with the napkin on the table, trying to keep her hands busy.