“I want you to inspect every single plate.” Hope put her hands on her hips. “And if it’s not perfect, I want you to send it back.”
“Got it.”
“Good.” She nodded at him and took the one plate they’d finished making. She said nothing as she left the kitchen and walked out into the dining room, making eye contact with Cadence and Lyric as she walked past them.
Hope kept silent, but it was obvious where she was headed. Who else would bring the Ice Fairy a plate of food when she was in a particular mood? No one would be brave enough to do that. She walked through the back hallway toward reception, hoping that Angelica would be there.
And sure enough, she was bent over a computer with a line in the center of her forehead, and tension in her shoulders.
“Take a break,” Hope said, making her tone of voice as soft and gentle as possible. Angelica needed to see this as an olive branch, not as an attack, which would be difficult right now. “I was teaching Trey how to make fish Florentine and thought we could both use a meal to fill our bellies.”
Angelica flicked her hair over her shoulder and looked up before eyeing the plate and standing straight. “Do you think I haven’t eaten today?”
That was a trap. Right?
Hope was damn sure that if she said yes, she’d end up in trouble and if she said no that she would end up in another line of questioning. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it.”
At least that much was truth. But it also filled in even more of the gap that was pushing them apart. Last season, and the season before, Hope would always make sure that Angelica had food at the ready because she typically forgot to eat. But Hope hadn’t been a good girlfriend in that regard, so it wasn’t odd that Angelica would be poking at her for doing it now.
“Break time,” Hope said a bit more firmly, cocking her head to the side and staring down into Angelica’s baby blue eyes. “Come on.”
Angelica glanced up to see Rex standing there with his arms crossed and giving her a hard stare. At least he seemed to have Hope’s back this time. There had been a time when Hope would have questioned that. But not now. Not with the way they’d proven themselves over the intervening months.
Angelica did take a step away from reception, but she started toward the small staging area. Hope’s stomach clenched tight with nerves. She put her free hand on the small of Angelica’s back and started to guide her toward the elevator.
“No, this is just for you and me,” she whispered it into Angelica’s ear. “We’ll finish filming later. I promise.”
Angelica paused, her lips parted, and Hope could see the objection in her eyes.
“Please,” Hope whispered.
“We’re pretty much wrapped for the day, Ange.” Rex stepped closer, keeping his arms crossed and looking at both of them. “So you don’t need to come back.”
Angelica shook her head. “We have several scenes we need to film still.”
“There’s always tomorrow.” Rex looked from Angelica to Hope and then back again.
And Hope saw everything she needed to know in that glance. This was for the crew, not just for Angelica. Whatever was going on was pushing beyond just herself and into those around her, and it had clearly been a struggle for them to get things done that day.
“See?” Hope said. “We can eat it upstairs together.”
Angelica hummed, but it wasn’t the pleased little hum that Hope would prefer to hear. Hope pushed her slightly toward the elevator and then walked with her until they reached it. They were silent as they stood next to each other, riding up the three floors.
When they stepped out, Hope paused. She hadn’t actually been to Angelica’s room yet this trip. And something about that felt so wrong. What were they even doing? If they couldn’t be in a relationship for over half the year while they were filming, they why were they even together? Keeping that thought to herself, she followed Angelica to her room and waited as she keyed herself in.
Once the door was shut, Hope tensed.
Angelica spun on her, eyes wild with anger. “I can’t believe you did that!”
Chapter
Twenty-Four
“How dare you pull that shit?”Angelica’s voice ricocheted through the room, anger building in her chest and pulling tightly into a ball. “We talked about this!”
Hope paled, her jaw going slack. She was stuck between the door and Angelica with no way to step farther into the room, and like hell would she escape it.
“Angel…”
