“And are you ready?” Angelica asked her directly, trying to change the topic.
Cadence frowned but waved her hand at them. Angelica moved to stand next to Hope like she’d done dozens of times before. They had this one down now.
“I’m Chef Hope Lawrence.”
“And I’m Angelica Shields.”
“And we’re the hosts ofHotel Bombshell, here to bring you some after-hours recipes.” Hope clasped her hands together and grinned at the camera as she stared into it. “And to teach Ange here how to cook herself a meal.”
“You enjoy feeding me, don’t lie.” Angelica grinned brightly as she turned to the side and focused fully on Hope. She didn’t want to see Cadence’s look of disappointment or annoyance.
“I won’t lie about that. Today we’re making lemongrass and coconut steak with roasted red potatoes, or if you’re in Ange’s boat, we’ll make roasted patty pan squash.”
Angelica hummed, not exactly happy about that. The couple of times Hope had made the pattypan squash instead of potatoes, she hadn’t enjoyed it. When it was mixed in with another food, she was fine, but something about the texture made her stomach churn. And unfortunately, she was going to be on camera, so she was going to have to eat it.
“This is a dish you can start the night before and then just throw it on the grill whenever you’re ready to cook it up. And it’s a super simple recipe. Remember, to make anything look upscale, it’s all in the plating. Let’s start with the sauce.”
Angelica pressed her palm against the counter as she listened to Hope rattle off the ingredients and pop them into the blender. She was just about to frown when Hope said, “Ange, would you blend this up until it’s smooth? I’m going to get started on dicing the potatoes.”
The kitchen was filled with the sound of the blender, which meant that neither Angelica nor Hope could actually speak.
“Let’s just taste this and see what we’ve got going on.” Hope lifted the lid on the blender and dipped her finger in, popping it in her mouth. “Mmm… delicious.”
Angelica’s tongue peeked out against her lips, and she couldn’t drag her gaze away from Hope’s fingers, remembering the exact way Hope had said that after tongue fucking her to giddy delight. Angelica’s jaw dropped, and her breath came in short as she stared directly into Hope’s amused gaze.
“What do you think, Ange?”
“Uh… I…” Angelica turned to the blender and dipped her finger in like Hope had done, pressing it between her lips. She wrinkled her nose immediately and had to catch her breath from the flavor. This absolutely wasn’t something she was used to eating. “It’s good,” she choked out the words.
Hope barely hid the amused smirk on her lips. “We’ll let this sit for at least an hour before we pour it over the steaks that we’re going to grill. I already have one in the fridge that I made up last night. You can let this sit in the fridge for up to twelve hours if you want.”
When the hell had Hope made the extra one?
Hope handed the bowl to Angelica, who pulled off the plastic wrap.
“I’m going to have Angelica deal with the steak since she’s allergic to the potatoes and I’d rather not send my boss into anaphylaxis before we start filming season four. I don’t think she’d like that very much.” Hope leaned in and whisper-spoke that last sentence, as if it was a big secret.
“It wouldn’t be the first time you tried to poison me,” Angelica said, keeping her tone light and teasing. “And I’m sure it won’t be the last when it accidentally happens.”
“It won’t accidentally happen in my kitchen again.” Hope stilled, the seriousness in her tone hitting Angelica hard. She meant that, truly, and Angelica wasn’t going to fight her on it. “Ange, I want you to dip the steak into the sauce and then put it on the griddle. We have the griddle superhot so that we can get a good sear. Then we’ll put it on a pan and finish it off in the oven.”
Angelica did as she was told, following Hope’s directions as best she could. When Hope pulled out the already finished steak and wrapped the short episode, Angelica took only a small bite of food. This wasn’t something she’d choose to eat again, at least not willingly. But since they were filming, she’d suffer through it.
“You hate it, don’t you?” Hope asked as soon as Cadence called cut.
“It’s not…” Angelica sighed and frowned. “I don’t like it.”
Hope’s lips curled upward. “You don’t have to like every single thing I cook, you know. People have preferences.”
Angelica flicked her eyebrows up and down again, reaching for the coffee pot to pour herself a third cup for the morning. Not only did she need the caffeine, but the coffee would kill the flavor lingering on her tongue. That would be the best option this morning, wouldn’t it?
“When does the rest of your crew show up?” Angelica asked.
Hope glanced at the clock on the stove. “In an hour.”
Angelica sighed heavily and nodded. “See you at the meeting tomorrow?”
“Not tonight?” Hope reached for Angelica’s hands and threaded their fingers.
