“Yeah. Fine.” Angelica pursed her lips and closed down her iPad and snagged her phone in her hand just as it buzzed again. “I need to get back to filming.”
She didn’t wait as she walked out of the small room and straight to where she knew Sy and Rex should be. She could only hope that they were back already. That she could dive into the filming and forget that everyone in her family was coming out of the woodwork to guilt her into breaking the boundaries she’d set decades ago.
“Ange!” Eva raced toward her, the nanny trailing after her.
Angelica stopped short, opening her arms for Eva to run into them and give her a hug. She breathed slowly and took in this moment more than she normally would. She’d needed this, even if Eva hadn’t known that.
“Where are you off to?” Angelica asked, letting Eva go and stepping back.
“I’m still not allowed to leave the hotel.” Eva frowned and then pouted. “So we’re going to watch a movie and look at the beach.”
God, that sounded miserable. This whole situation could have been avoided, and Eva wouldn’t be suffering like this. Josef was to blame for it entirely, but that didn’t alleviate the guilt that Angelica felt when she looked at this spunky kid who was forced to live inside a hotel room because the people out there couldn’t be trusted to leave her out of adult problems.
“Maybe you can sneak down to the beach later when the chaos outside eases up.” Angelica brushed her fingers across Eva’s shoulder.
“Maybe,” Eva replied, though she didn’t exactly look like she believed the sentiment.
Which Angelica could understand. All of this was throwing them for a loop. Angelica bent down and whispered, “Look, I know this is really crappy. None of us are happy about it. But it’s what we have to deal with right now.”
“Because of you and Mom.” Eva looked at her directly, those crystalline eyes that matched Hope’s meeting Angelica’s.
“Yeah, kind of.”
“What do you mean kind of?” Eva wrinkled her nose in confusion.
“It’s because I made Josef mad because I didn’t want to do what he wanted, so he’s making a mess that we have to clean up because he’s mad.”
“He’s throwing a fit,” Eva said succinctly.
“Yeah, like an overgrown toddler.” Angelica laughed a little and snagged Eva’s fingers to squeeze them. “And we have to deal with him throwing his fit.”
“You know, Mom always says that you ignore toddlers who are throwing fits and then they’ll stop. But if you give them attention, then they’ll keep doing it because they get what they want.”
“Your mom is a wise woman.” Angelica sighed a little and then smiled up at her. “She’s not wrong, but we do also have to make sure that no one gets hurt in the process, and that’s really what we’re doing. Okay?”
“I guess.” Eva shrugged a little. “You should watch a movie with me tonight. Mom said I could watchKPop Demon Huntersagain.”
Angelica’s lips curled upward. “I’d love to, but I’m not sure I can find the time this week. Next time, I promise.”
“Okay.” Eva stepped back a little before she leaned in and whispered into Angelica’s ear. “You make time for Mom, right?”
“Yeah. I do.” Except she hadn’t lately. Angelica’s heart clenched hard. She and Hope had barely had a moment to themselves. They’d been thrown back into filming, and Angelica had treated this season like any other season. And she hadn’t intentionally made an effort to find time—outside of work—with Hope. And that was her fault.
“I will,” Angelica corrected. “I promise.”
“Good.” Eva gave her a brilliant smile and then stepped back. She looked at her Nanny and then skipped away as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
Angelica truly hoped she didn’t.
“They’re ready for you when you are.” Rex’s deep tones reached her ears, and Angelica tensed.
How long had she been staring into the space that Eva had occupied before he’d found her? Staring off into a world of thought and anxiety that she couldn’t control. Her phone buzzed again, and she still didn’t manage to resist the urge to flip it over and check the notification. Another cousin. She pursed her lips and looked up into Rex’s eyes.
“Is Hope joining?”
He shook his head. “No, not this time. She had an issue in the kitchen she needs to resolve.”
“Naturally,” Angelica mumbled. Why hadn’t Hope told her that? Instead, she’d heard it through the grapevine instead of directly from the source. If that didn’t say anything about the state of their relationship currently, then she didn’t know what else would. Eva was right. Angelica had to put in way more effort.
