Shaking her head, Angelica sighed heavily. “I honestly have no idea.” Between everything that had been thrown at her in the last few weeks, Angelica didn’t know which direction to turn or what step to take. Quitting felt like letting Josef win. But sticking it to him couldn’t be the only reason she stayed either.
“I hate this,” Hope murmured.
“Me too.” The quiet stillness covered them. “So tell me what’s going on here.”
Hope groaned a little and rolled her eyes. “You know you can linger in feelings. It might be uncomfortable for you, but it’s okay to actually feel.”
“I feel more deeply than you give me credit for, more than anyone gives me credit for.” Angelica looked directly into Hope’s eyes. “Don’t ever underestimate me on that.”
“I-I don’t.” Hope frowned. “I’m sorry. I was trying to be light and teasing and avoid bringing us back around to work.”
Angelica hummed noncommittally. She stepped in closer, moving her lips to Hope’s ear. “If you want, we can go up to my room, and I can show you what a much better distraction looks like.”
Hope’s sharp intake of breath was exactly what Angelica had wanted to hear, and it turned her on in an instant. The fact that Hope would still react that way to her that way? Perfection.
“I have Eva this week,” Hope murmured, but she turned slightly inward, their shoulders touching even more than before, and her thumb brushed across the top of Angelica’s hand.
“There are other ways…” Angelica dropped her tone seductively “…and other places.”
“Angel…” The warning was in Hope’s voice, and it lit a fire in Angelica, one that she’d have to fan until they could find a few minutes alone together.
“So, work?” Angelica’s lips quirked upward in a knowing smile. “Have you solved all of the problems here yet?”
Hope barked a laugh. “Hardly.”
“I’m behind in my prep work. Please, fill me in.” Angelica squeezed Hope’s hand and they moved to a small love seat near the front window and sat next to each other.
“This place is disorganized, so right up your alley.” Hope gave her a small smile and patted her thigh. “You’ll be able to whip them into shape really quick on that front.”
Angelica snorted lightly. She felt anything but organized lately. In fact, everything felt as though she was clawing just to keep track of it all.
“It’s finances, primarily. So you’ll need to dig deep into your math and accounting lessons for them.” Hope squeezed her knee. “Which I know for a fact you can do.”
“Did we pick hotels that were all similar this season?” Angelica raised her eyebrows. “Finances. Branding. Finances. Branding.”
“They do tend to go hand-in-hand.”
Angelica hummed her agreement.
“Mom! Ange!” Eva skidded to a stop in front of them, her face bright with joy and excitement.
“Eva.” Hope’s lips curled upward as she held out her arms for Eva to slip into them for a hug.
Angelica couldn’t stop the smile that reached her. This was wholesome, and exactly what she’d needed after the last few days. This was what she was fighting for ultimately. Family—the one she wanted to have.
“Ange, why were you late?” Eva leaned against her mom’s side, her hand against Hope’s back as she played with the short hairs at the back of her head, running her fingers through them. Hope didn’t even seem to notice the touch.
Angelica would always notice touch. She was rarely touched by anyone other than Hope and Ansel, and Hope was the only one who would ever touch her with softness. “I had a meeting I had to go to in Los Angeles.”
“You’re always traveling,” Eva said.
“All of us are,” Hope replied.
“True.” Eva grinned widely.
“Your mom tells me that this hotel has a lot of math problems. Think you’d be up for helping me with some of that?” Angelica eased herself back into the couch, trying to relax for what little time she had. Because as soon as the work started in the morning, she knew she’d be lost in the fray and all the calm she’d found in this moment was gone.
“Uh…” Eva grimaced. “No, I don’t want to.”
