Putting her hand up to stop Hope from saying anything else, Angelica held her breath. “Just… think about it.”
“Okay.”
Angelica nodded. Then she turned around to wait for the elevator. She didn’t have anything else that she wanted to add, and Hope seemed to respect that. As soon as she was in the elevator alone, she pressed her fist to her heart and closed her eyes as she held back her tears. She was making an even bigger mess of this.
Episode 2
GATLINBURG, TENNESSEE - RIVER VISTA INN
Chapter
Thirteen
“Holy shit,”Hope murmured under her breath. The front of the small hotel they were coming in to fix was littered with vehicles, and it wasn’t the crew. She grabbed onto Eva’s hand and clasped it tightly in her fingers.
“Mom, what’s going on?” Eva asked.
Hope shook her head, still bewildered. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. They’d had a few paparazzi show up on set, but it was never like this. She wasn’t famous enough for this bullshit. Hope bit her lip, still staring out the window at the crowd in front of River Vista Inn and held her breath. “Fuck.”
“Mom, that’s a bad word!”
“And reasonable to use right now.” Hope fished in her pocket for her cellphone and immediately dialed Florence’s number.
“Yeah,” Florence said, her tone curt and clipped.
“Are you here?”
“Are you outside?” Florence asked.
“Yeah, but there’s no way we’re getting through this mess.” Hope continued to stare at the crowd in front of the hotel with cameras at the ready as soon as she was stepped out. The lastthing she wanted was for this to send a message that she was avoiding.
“Come around back to the kitchen and it’s not as bad.” Florence hung up.
Great. Now Hope really didn’t have a chance to avoid this, did she? She leaned forward to give the driver extra instructions. As they pulled away, the crowd of paparazzi started to follow them, but the driver was quick enough to escape and turn to the back side of the hotel. Here there were only three people waiting with cameras, as if they were taking their chances that this would be the best backup option.
As soon as the car stopped, Cadence popped her head out the back door and waved at Hope.
“Here we go,” Hope said. “Let’s make this quick, Eva.”
She took Eva by the hand, opened the door, and raced inside. Cadence went out to get the luggage and waltzed it inside like nothing was wrong. Once the kitchen door was shut, Hope shook her head. “What’s going on?”
“I thought you were going to tell me.”
Hope narrowed her gaze.
“They’ve been here all day.”
“What?” Hope furrowed her brow. “How did they even…” she trailed off. “Where’s Ange?”
“She’s not here yet.”
Hope’s stomach twisted. Angelica was supposed to land before her since she’d left a day earlier to take an overnight trip. She should have been there already. Reaching for her phone again, Hope scrolled through the texts to see if Angelica had sent her anything, but there was nothing.
Nothing except a text she’d missed.
Josef
Cat got your tongue?
