Page 56 of Her Movie Star's Secret Plan

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be marrying Chase. You were the one who insisted I go on that blind date.

Alexis giggled. “That’s true.”

A nail tech called them back, and the girls lined up in chairs for manicures and pedicures. They were all getting white tips on their fingers and toes so they would match for the wedding. Lauren and Sariah sat down for manicures, and Alexis sat with Tessa and Carrington for pedicures. Alexis put her feet in the tub of water and enjoyed the way the water bubbled around her feet. She leaned back in her chair and allowed the nail techs to work to make her feet silky soft.

Carrington turned toward Alexis and slowly closed her eyes. “This feels like heaven.”

Alexis chuckled. “I know what you mean.”

Tessa called across the room, “Lauren, you’re our favorite person right now.”

When their pedicures were done, they switched. Alexis sighed as the nail tech massaged lotion into her hands when her manicure was complete. They finished up, and all returned to the front of the building so Lauren could check out.

Lauren turned to Alexis. “I’m glad I’m not the one doing all the work this time.” Lauren usually was the one giving the manicures and pedicures in her salon. She planned to keep running her salon even after she married Chase.

Alexis said goodbye to the other girls and drove back to the bakery to check in on things. “How’s everything been going today, Delilah?”

“We’ve been slammed all day. Tons of new customers have been coming in.”

“Well, that’s awesome.” It was hard to come back to the bakery after the escape she’d just enjoyed with her friends.

Alexis went back into her office to finish balancing her books. She’d gotten started on it earlier that morning, but she hadn’t been able to finish up because it was time to meet up at the spa. She was supposed to meet with Owen that night, and she had to admit, she was looking forward to seeing him again. As nice as her day had been, she missed Owen and wanted to spend time with him again. She really was starting to develop deep feelings for him.

Alexis turned on her computer screen and squinted at the lines of numbers. Balancing the books was her least favorite part of running her bakery. But it had to be done. She had Ryan from Accounting Solutions do her taxes every year, but she still had to get her invoices put into the system first before he could make sense of what she’d earned.

Alexis rubbed her tired eyes as she stared at the screen. She shouldn’t be this tired after the relaxing day she’d had, but all the pampering had worn her out. Alexis finally put in the last of her bills, and then she switched over to reconcile her books for the month. She checked off each transaction and then completed the reconcile.

When that was done, she pulled up her profit-and-loss statement. She scrolled down to see the result. She groaned. She was way too far in the red. She had no idea how she was going to recover from it this time. All the extra traffic her business had gotten hadn’t been nearly enough to counteract the huge tax bill she’d had to pay. She’d be digging herself out of this hole for a while. She didn’t know how she was going to pay her employees, let alone buy flour. And she still owed payments on the business loan she’d taken out when she opened her doors.

If Owen hadn’t hired that horrible pastry chef and kept him reigned in, she would have been much better off. She didn’t want to overreact, but she couldn’t help but think that he’d contributed to the problem. But she didn’t know how she was going to tell him that. Well, she’d have her opportunity tonight because she was supposed to meet up with him in thirty minutes.

She turned off her computer and then went upstairs to get ready. She changed into a striped tank top and bright green shorts and paired that with a long, delicate necklace and matching gold earrings. She put on her favorite white strappy sandals and shouldered her purse before looking around her apartment. She’d been so busy spending time with Owen that she hadn’t had the time to clean up properly.

As she stepped outside, a light rain began to fall. By the time she got to her car, it had begun to pour. She drove over to Owen’s house in the downpour and ran through the sheets of rain to his front porch. So much for trying to look nice. She probably looked like a drowned rat.

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