Page 86 of Baby For The Billionaire Silver Fox

“Whew, dodged a bullet. The plug was just loose in the outlet.” I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

By the time we got it back in place, returned the food items to their original spots, and helped a few customers, it was time to close.

With the AC not working in the shop, I couldn’t wait to get home to my apartment. Letting myself in, I made a beeline to the bathroom for a cold shower. The heat struggle had been real. The shower cooled me down but didn’t help my mood.

Shivering a little, I put on comfy clothes and walked into my tiny kitchen. Opening the fridge, my hopes that edible food had miraculously appeared inside it were dashed. Only a few carrots and something I couldn’t identify greeted me. Although I didn’t have a plan B for my life, I did have one for my dinner—pizza delivery.

Waiting for the lovely sound of my doorbell to announce my meal had arrived, I got on Facetime with my best friend, Nicole.

“Hey, Sexy Lexi,” Nicole said with a grin. She had a hundred nicknames for me but preferred this one because she knew it bothered me the most.

“What’s up, Nik?” I asked. We Facetimed often just to chat. Nicole worked 12-hour shifts as a nurse, so that didn’t leave many evenings to get together in person.

“The usual. Luckily it’s been a slow night at the ER. Just another day in the life of an RN trying to find Mr. Right.”

“So Richard is not Mr. Right?”

“Well, even though we’ve been together for a while now, he hasn’t asked me to marry him, move in with him, or even meet his parents. And why is that?”

“I’m no expert on men. As you know, my track record is a sad thing. But maybe Richard’s just happy with the status quo—getting some whenever he wants without having to put a ring on it.”

“Shut up,” she laughed, flipping back her black hair. “You sound like my Aunt Peggy.”

I gave her a you-know-I’m-right look.

“Sooo… got a hot date tonight?” she asked.

“No way,” I shook my head. “You know I’ve sworn off men for at least the next year. None of them have worked out. I don’t know, maybe I’m the problem. Except for Noah, he was definitely the problem there and the last straw.”

I shook my head. “Nope, a man is the last thing I want to think about right now. Maybe after a year or three, I can try again. I mean, there have got to be a few good ones still out there, right? And happily ever afters?”

“I’m counting on it,” Nicole replied.

I frowned. “Anyway, right now, I’m going to stay in my lane, and focus solely on my bakery, which has been my plan all along. So no more getting side-tracked. I didn’t go to college only to have student loans to show for it.”

“College seems a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Now you’re getting paid to bake cookies, and I’m getting paid to stick needles in people,” Nicole smiled.

I placed my phone on my counter and angled it so its camera would still catch my activities as I moved around the kitchen. “Sometimes, I regret going to business school.”

“What do you mean?”

I just shrugged, reaching up to get a plate in anticipation of my pizza’s arrival. I found a warm bottle of water in a cupboard, took everything to the counter, drew up a stool, and sat. “I’m feeling down today. And my business degree doesn’t seem to be helping me very much.”

Nicole shook her head adamantly. “Nope. Huh-uh. Where’s the spunky Alexis Templeton I know? The one who has a passion for baking and business—and left her little town in the dust to go to school to start her own bakery in the Big Apple?”

“I don’t know.” I absently picked up my stuffed teddy bear, Max, and hugged him as I talked. “I’m a broke, unsuccessful, single, twenty-something who is hugging a teddy bear. Not exactly living the life.”

“Don’t dis the bear. He’s been there for you through everything. If he could, he’d probably be giving you a pep talk right now.”

“Shh, I know you love me and want to motivate me, but just let me vent.”So much for not being a whiner, I thought.

“You got it, girl,” she said, making a zipping motion across her mouth.

I gave her a thumbs up. “Good. Anyway, as I was saying, I left Nana and my home to come here to make it—bright lights, big city, and all that. I think I was too cocky, too full of myself. I spent a lot of money getting my degree—and for what?”

“You were following your dreams,” Nicole answered simply.

“You promised not to talk.”

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