Page 43 of Her Movie Star's Secret Plan

She slapped his arm playfully. “I was not.”

He laughed. “Yeah, you were.”

“Then why didn’t we ever date? I just assumed you weren’t attracted to me because of my weight, but you told me yesterday that you didn’t feel that way.”

“Do you think I wanted Chase to pound my face in?”

“Was he trying to keep you away from me back then?”

“No. He didn’t know I liked you, but I knew he would beat me up anyway. He was always so protective of you whenever he found out that a guy liked you. I saw him pummel a guy in the locker room once because he said something off-color about you.”

“What?” Alexis had never heard such a story before. “I can’t believe that.”

“Why not? Your brother is very protective of you.”

“I can’t believe that any guy liked me back then. I was so awkward and chubby.”

Owen shrugged. “Some guys like bigger girls.”

“That’s hard for me to understand. I’ve had it so drilled into my head that I had to lose weight for a guy to like me.”

“Who drilled that nonsense into your head?”

Alexis pressed her lips together. She wasn’t sure she should tell Owen. But then she decided to be open with him. “My mom.”

“Your own mom body shamed you as a teen?”

“She was always getting on to me about my weight. She told me that I’d never find a husband with wide hips.”

“So that’s why you’re so focused on being thin now? Because of what your mom told you as a kid?”

“I guess you could say that. I hadn’t really thought about it that way before.”

“That’s infuriating. I see all these women in California trying their hardest to be a size zero. Not that there’s anything wrong with being tiny. But I suspect that many of them feel like they have to be that size to be worthwhile, and that’s the part that bothers me.”

“I know the feeling all too well.”

“I don’t want you ever to have to feel that way again.”

“I’m not sure how to change it. It’s been so drilled into me.”

“I can understand that. I’ve had it drilled into my brain that it’s bad to be poor.”

“I guess I’ve had that drilled into me too.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having lots of money,” Owen said. “But you need to have a good reason why you want the money. Is it for status? Control? Power? Greed? Or do you want to do good things with the money?”

“My parents taught me that I wasn’t worth anything unless I had the kind of money they have.”

“Is that why you’re trying so hard to get your bakery successful?”

“I’m sure it has something to do with it.”

“Because you feel like you’re a nobody if you aren’t bringing home a certain amount of money?”

“I do feel that way,” Alexis whispered. Pain impacted her chest. “I feel like the biggest loser imaginable.”

“And somehow, you’re going to feel better if you bring home the kind of paycheck your dad brings home?”

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