“No. Florence.”
Hope sighed. Of course Florence would call. Because she actually seemed like one of the good people, one of the ones who was going to get things done and do them ethically, and cared about the people that she worked with and who worked forher. A lot of the same traits as Angelica, honestly. Hope ran her fingers through her hair and tugged at the strands.
“It doesn’t seem to have caused a lot of upset or upheaval in the filming,” Hope added, not exactly sure what she needed to tell him now.
“That’s good to know.” Logan sighed a bit. “You should tell her to call me.”
“I can tell her until I’m blue in the face, but we both know that Ange makes her own decisions.” Hope started to spin the cup in front of her again.
Logan sighed, loud enough that Hope felt his sentiment through the phone. “I don’t think this will be the last of it.”
“Me either.” Hope worried her lips together. “I’m afraid this is just the beginning.”
“I’m sure it is.” The depressive tone in Logan’s voice didn’t give Hope any good feelings.
“I should get back to set.”
“Hope.”
“Yeah?” She continued to spin the coffee cup between her fingers, the weight of the situation on her shoulders, but also the pain of seeing Rex have to go through all of this drama in front of the entire crew. He was going to bear the brunt of that, all because of decisions Hope had made, along with all the mistakes.
“Stay strong on this one. Okay? It’s going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.”
Biting her lip, she nodded, though Logan’s words didn’t add any hope to her heart. “I’ll try.”
“Good. Talk to you soon.”
Hanging up, Hope snagged her coffee and left the cafe. She needed to get herself together and prepare for the worst. That’s what she’d heard in Logan’s last comment. As soon as she gotback to the hotel, Hope searched for Angelica. They needed to talk.
She finally caught sight of her, walking out of the conference room with her nose buried in her iPad. Hope touched the back of her arm lightly to get her attention. Angelica jumped, nearly falling into the wall. Her eyes were wide and lips parted, but as soon as she recognized Hope, she stilled.
“Jesus.”
“Mary and Joseph?” Hope finished for her, an eyebrow raised. “Because I hope that’s why you’re jumping.”
“Josef? Yes.” Angelica licked her lips and put her iPad to her side. “Yes,” she repeated with a sigh.
“Come here.” Hope wrapped her fingers around Angelica’s upper arm and looked around. She needed someplace that was quiet, and just the two of them. That was hard to find while they were filming.
Hope took Angelica with her as she stepped around the front reception counter and held her breath. No one was in the office. She shut the door behind them and immediately stepped in to wrap her arms around Angelica’s shoulders in an embrace. But Angelica remained stiff. Her breathing was even, but her entire body was tense.
This probably wasn’t helping.
Fearing that this was more for Hope’s mental and emotional stability than Angelica’s, Hope started to slide away but Angelica leaned in more, pressing her forehead to Hope’s shoulder.
“Just a minute longer,” Angelica whispered.
“Okay.” Hope tightened her grip and stayed right where she was. She buried her nose in Angelica’s hair, breathing in her scent. Her ears rang with the silence, but she didn’t need anything else. What she needed was this, and it seemed as though Angelica needed it too.
When Angelica pulled back slightly, she had tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Angel.” Hope reached up and brushed her thumbs against Angelica’s cheeks even though they were dry. “It’ll be fine.”
Angelica shook her head, dropping her gaze to the floor. “We need to get back to filming.”
“We do, but I think we can spare a minute.” Hope brushed her fingers down Angelica’s arm and wrapped their fingers together. “I talked to Rex this morning.”
Angelica face turned pained.
