Page 7 of Under the Table

Biting her lower lip, Hope closed her eyes and breathed slowly.

She couldn’t do this.

Not now.

Not when there were people around and it couldn’t just be the two of them.

Spinning around on her toes, Hope walked back into the main area of the studio. She’d keep quiet for as long as she could. She’d do everything that Wade wanted her to. And she’d ignore the knot in her stomach that seemed to twist tighter with each breath she took.

Chapter

Three

“Ican do this.” Angelica breathed slowly, steadying her heart rate. Or at least she tried. Instead, her entire body was tense, and it felt like she was going to erupt with emotion.

Hope wasn’t supposed to be there.

Angelica had worked so hard to push off this little reunion even longer, and then when Lyric had picked her up, Angelica had panicked. Because Hope was still at the studio, and because they were going to have to see each other again. So much sooner than she’d wanted it to be.

Breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth, Angelica clenched her eyes shut tightly as fear ratcheted up a few more notches. It was just going to be the first few weeks that would be awkward and then they’d be able to figure out what they were doing and how to work with each other. Intuitively, she knew that. But the reality was still smacking her in the face hard.

Tears breached the corners of her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Angelica swiped them quickly. She couldn’t mess up her makeup. Then she’d have to sit in another chair while she waited for them to fix her up again.

“I can do this,” Angelica repeated to herself. “Just one day at a time.”

They could figure it out. They had to, because they were contract bound to work together for the next six months between preseason prep, filming, and post season press. Angelica took one more breath, finally steadying herself. At least to the point that she thought she could hide it from everyone out there.

She squared her shoulders and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked cold and dead to her, which was exactly what she was going to need to go into that studio and take pictures. Wade would hate it because the pictures wouldn’t be perfect, but she couldn’t do this any other way.

With one last moment for herself, Angelica slid her feet into the heels she was supposed to wear and stepped out into the hallway. The air around her changed from nervous to tension-riddled and tight. That was exactly what she needed. She rolled her shoulders and walked back toward the studio. Her goal was to make this as quick as possible and be done with the photo shoot sooner than their scheduled time.

“Ange!” Wade grinned at her and then waved his hand up and down her body. “Perfect as always.”

Angelica hummed at him, her jaw clenching tightly, but she didn’t say anything to him in response. She did, however, flick her gaze toward Hope. Hope was riveted to her, gaze dragging down and up Angelica’s body before settling on her face, lips parted, eyes wide, and cheeks flushed.

Holy hell, this was going to be a challenge.

Angelica nodded at her and turned to face Wade again. “What shots do you need first?”

“Headshots. We can give Hope a break.”

“Of course.” Angelica stepped toward the backdrop and stood where the small X was taped on the floor. She pulled hershoulders back, smoothed her hands down her jacket, and raised her chin up to look at the camera. Instead, her eyes met Hope’s.

“That’s it, Ange. These are just a few test shots to get the lighting right.”

She said nothing, barely even hearing Wade as he rambled on about all the things she only halfway cared about. Because she couldn’t hear anything other than the intake and exhalation of her own breath, the rapidthump thump thumpof her heart against her ribcage. Her eyes were glued to Hope’s, their gazes locked in a battle that they were both drowning in.

If she closed her eyes, she could still smell the waft of lilacs that Hope always seemed to have around her, no matter how long she’d been in the kitchens. It was underneath everything. Angelica swallowed hard.

“Ange, I need to you face me and tilt your chin up a bit.”

She barely even registered him, but did as she was told. Hope gasped, her lower lip quivering. Angelica’s breathing deepened, her entire body on fire as if Hope was the one scrutinizing the way she looked, turning her this way and that way to see just how beautiful she was.

“Hope, why don’t you join her?”

Angelica froze. Hope’s cheeks turned bright red, and she turned to the side and set the water bottle that hadn’t left her fingers down onto a small table. Neither one of them spoke as Hope walked closer to her and under the lights.

She had to stop herself from taking in too deep a breath as soon as Hope was next to her, because she was already overwhelmed with the scent of lilacs, with the heat from Hope’s body, the closeness that would only take a few inches to remove. Angelica opened her eyes and looked directly at Wade, refusing to make eye contact in such close vicinity with Hope.