Page 27 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

“Oh, thanks. It’s a phoenix rising from the ashes.”

“Interesting choice. I like it.”

Was that how Lauren saw herself? Someone who was reborn after her divorce with a second chance at happiness?

“Thanks. Would you like a drink? I have water, milk, apple juice, and orange juice. All the kid choices.”

“I’ll take water.”

Lauren led him into the kitchen. She handed him a bottle of water from the fridge. Their hands brushed as she passed it over. He had to fight to keep his eyes from rolling back in his head. She looked amazing and athletic in the clothing that showed off her curves. This woman was making him crazy.

“Do you mind if I burn some incense?” Lauren asked.

“Go for it.”

“I like to burn it to help me chill out. It’s very peaceful.”

“Have you been dealing with anxiety?” Chase asked.

“Are you kidding me?” Lauren said. “I’m riddled with it. I’m so stressed about my salon right now.”

“What’s stressing you out the most?”

“I’m struggling to meet my financial obligations. Right now, there’s more money going out than coming in, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Have you tried some advertising?”

“There’s no money for it. I get some walk-ins because my location is decent, but once they come in and see how run down the place is, they sometimes don’t even stay to get their hair done. But the ones who do stay tend to become repeat customers because they like the job we’re doing. But getting them in is the hard part.

“It sounds like you need to do more social media marketing. A lot of times, you can do that free.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Lauren admitted. “I have a social media account for the salon, but I forget to post on it.”

“You can take pictures of your clients before and after and then post them on your page to show your work to others.”

“That’s a good idea. My hope is to drum up some traffic so I can start saving up for a remodel.”

“Have you thought about getting a loan?” Chase asked.

“Brandon went on a spending spree right before we got divorced, and I was left with most of the debt. Now my credit is ruined,” Lauren admitted.

“Brandon? The same Brandon you were dating in high school?”

“Yep.”

“I had no idea you’d married him.” Anger swirled through Chase. He shouldn’t be surprised that Brandon had turned out to be such a jerk.

“It’s terrible he ruined your credit. I’m sorry that happened to you.” The more he heard about Brandon, the angrier he got. What a piece of scum. Lauren deserved so much better. Alexis had used her business loan to fix up her bakery, and it was thriving. She almost had her loan paid off, from what Chase understood.

“It is what it is,” Lauren said.

“But you deserved so much better.” He put his hand over hers. “You’ll get your salon renovated. I know you can find a way to do it. If there’s anything I can do to help, I would be more than happy to do it.”

Lauren went quiet for a moment before speaking. “Can I post your haircut online? Like the before and after pictures?”

“I’ll do you one better. What if I post them myself and tag your salon in the picture?”

Lauren’s mouth fell open. “You would do that for me?”

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