Page 63 of No Holds Barred

“Ice cream?” Angelica raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Who wants ice cream when it’s cold?”

“You’d be surprised.” Hope spared a glance to Eva who looked curiously between them. “Isn’t the dead of winter your favorite time for ice cream?”

“Yeah!” Eva grinned.

“We live in Los Angeles, Hope. Dead of winter is still sixty degrees.” Angelica folded her hands together.

Hope leaned in, her gaze dropping to Angelica’s lips, which looked oh so damn kissable this morning. “It’s still cold.”

“By your standards,” Angelica whispered back. “I think Tatum would have a different opinion on the matter.”

“We’re not in Colorado.”

“No,” Angelica shifted, coming even closer. “No, we’re not. We’re in Vermont, and I imagine the type of cold here isn’t all that different from the kind in Colorado.”

Hope chuckled, the sound starting low in her throat, and she barely contained it before shaking her head and leaning back in her seat. The waitress came back over, and they ordered breakfast, Eva adding apple juice to her order.

“How are you feeling about Leanne being here?” Hope asked before she could stop herself.

Angelica’s pale face and tightened lips told her that probably wasn’t the right direction to take the conversation.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—” Hope put her hands up and covered her face. “That is…” She sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not an unreasonable question to ask.” Angelica took a sharp breath in, her gaze lingering on Eva for a brief second before she focused back on Hope. “I don’t have a choice in her being here.”

“You have a choice in what you do with it.”

Angelica shook her head. “Josef wants me out.”

“It seems he does.” Hope bit her lip, her gaze again drifting down to Angelica’s lips. “But what do you want? You said something about being done after this season.”

Hope waited on the tightrope for Angelica’s answer. The last thing she wanted was for Angelica to just walk away and leave her. She slid her phone to Eva to distract her from the conversation, and to maybe be able to get a bit more conversation from Angelica.

“I don’t know, Hope. I’m not exactly getting any younger, and this car accident proves it. I feel like I’ll never recover.” Angelica waved at her leg, but she didn’t have it propped up like she normally did. “I’ve never felt older in my life.”

“You’re in the prime of your life, Ange.” Hope couldn’t tear her gaze away from her.

“No, I’m not.” Angelica’s cheeks pinked, and it looked adorable on her. “You are.”

“I don’t feel like it lately.” Hope brushed her fingers through her hair, tugging at the strands. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I can only hope to correct some of them.”

“I think you’re doing a decent job at that.”

Did Angelica mean with them or did she mean with someone else? Hope touched her lips, remembering the way Angelica had kissed her time and time again—feverishly, slowly. Hope’s cheeks burned, but she didn’t hide it from Angelica. Instead, she looked her squarely in the eye. They could do this, right? They could flirt and just be friends and it wouldn’t mean anything else?

“I’m trying.” Hope thanked the waitress as she brought their food and set it down on the table. She was pleased when Angelica immediately started to eat. She’d been worrying more and more about that lately. It was so much worse than the firstseason when they’d filmed. “I’ve been trying to not make the same mistakes.”

“And what mistakes would those be?” Angelica ripped off a piece of the croissant and popped it between her lips.

“The ones I made with you.” Hope glanced at Eva, but she was completely engrossed. She leaned closer to Angelica and lowered her voice as quietly as she could. “I’m really sorry, Ange…for the way I treated you.”

Angelica’s lips parted, surprise lighting in her eyes, and she seemed almost taken aback. She canted her head to the side, her lips quirking up slightly at the corners as if she was almost ready to smile but not quite.

“Thank you,” Angelica whispered.

Hope nodded at her. “I mean it.”

“I know you do.” Angelica pulled off another piece of her croissant. “I know you fairly well at this point, Hope, and there’s one thing you don’t do well at all. In fact, I’d wager that you don’t even try.”