and poured the last of the lemonade over ice, deep in thought as she did so. She wasn’t completely sold on the idea of making a list, but she did go into her bedroom, taking out a pretty navy blue leather journal she’d bought a couple weeks ago. Armed with her glass and her notebook and a pen, she went to her deck and reclined on a chaise, sipping and thinking.
Chapter 2
Despite Sherri’s insistence that a list would make things easier in the dating department, it only made things worse. Alexis dutifully wrote down all the characteristics she was looking for in a man. However comprehensive the list was, it wasn’t magic; even months later, the list didn’t cause Mr. Right to show up at her door. She was sticking to her resolution not to look anymore, but she hadn’t noticed a sudden influx of new men in her life. She told Emily so while they spoke via Skype that night. Emily was breast-feeding one of her sons and Alexis felt a pang in her own breasts as she watched. She was so fascinated that Emily had to call her name a couple times to reengage her in conversation.
“You aren’t listening to me, are you?”
“Not really,” Alexis admitted. “Where is Daniel?”
“I’m impressed. Most people can’t tell Randall from Daniel. Daniel has already dined and his loving daddy is changing him and putting him to bed. So tell me what happened with the dating thing? We talked about this back in June and here it is, almost Halloween and you’ve done basically nothing to improve your dating situation.”
“I told you I’m not on the hunt anymore. He’s going to find me and so far he’s taking his own sweet time.”
Emily was about to say something when Todd came into view to scoop up Randall. He was bare chested and wearing scrub pants and the look of love he gave Emily made Alexis’s heart turn over. After he greeted Alexis with a quick hello, he bent to kiss his wife and cradled their son on his shoulder, patting his little back to insure a good burp. Emily stared after him with the same besotted look in her eyes and Alexis suggested that they talk later, but Emily wanted more dating details.
“Emmie, there are no more details. I just haven’t had any social intercourse to speak of, really.”
“Wow. You made this decision way before the babies were born and now it’s the end of October. But I really do think it’s better to take your time than to mouse around with a slew of losers. Don’t worry. Your man is on his way, trust me.”
“He’d better get here soon because frankly I’m losing interest in the whole idea. I’m looking for a couple new spa locations, one in Hilton Head and one in Georgia. I’ve decided to be a tycoon. I don’t have to look for anyone or wait for anyone to do what I do best.”
Emily sighed deeply and ran her fingers through her hair. “Don’t give up on love, Alexis. There’s someone out there for you, I know there is.”
Todd returned to the bedroom and soft music started playing. He had a tray with two flutes of what looked like champagne and a plate with fruit and cheese. This time Alexis insisted that she had to leave and Todd gave her a grateful smile.
“I’m not giving up, Emmie. I’m just not looking anymore. If my Mr. Right is out there, he’ll find me. Now it looks like your Mr. Right has some plans that don’t include a third wheel so you go ahead with your evening and we’ll visit again soon. Good night, you two.” Before Emily could protest, Alexis got offline at once.
She stared at the computer screen and traced the outline of her lips several times, something she did when she was deep in thought. Without actually realizing what she was doing, she took out her navy journal and turned to the pages with her secret list. “Maybe I need to rethink this,” she murmured as she picked up her pen.
* * *
Now that her list was complete, it occupied a permanent corner of her mind. Given the time of year, it seemed like an early letter to Santa Claus. She was headed to work in her cute little MINI Cooper Countryman. She loved the little car with its custom paint job; the roof was creamy ivory and the base was chocolate brown and it suited her perfectly. While she was fastening her seat belt, the list was still foremost in her mind and she started giggling at the Santa Claus idea. “Dear Santa, I’ve been a very good girl. Could you please bring me a burning-hot hunk of tall, dark-chocolate-colored love to have my way with on Christmas morning? I’ll be a very bad girl then, I promise.”
Alexis was still laughing out loud as she pulled into the parking lot of Sanctuary One, the first spa she’d opened five years before. When she crossed the employee entrance in the back of the spacious building, she was engulfed by the familiar scent of her home away from home. It was a combination of organic hair products, scented candles and the incense from the yoga studio. She inhaled deeply and smiled as she went to her small office to leave her purse and jacket. After she looked at her daily planner, she slipped on a fresh smock while she took off her taupe platform heels and put on her black wedges. They were just as high as her heels, but she’d learned the hard way not to wear light-colored shoes to work. One drop of tint was all it took to ruin an expensive pair of pumps. That was also why she protected her expensive clothes with a cover-up; one drip of peroxide or even permanent wave solution would wreck an outfit. This she knew from sad experience.
Alexis worked very few customers these days. Her emphasis was on managing the spas, not servicing customers. Hiring, training, managing the budget, advertising and other such areas were her bailiwick now. Besides hairstylists, she had aestheticians, yoga and Pilates instructors, nail technicians and manicurists to manage, in two locations, no less. But there were a few clients she continued to work on mainly because they were close friends and they simply wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch their heads. She also liked to keep her hand in the various offerings so that her skills would remain sharp. Emily’s mother was one of those ladies she couldn’t abandon and, since she was in town, of course she was getting the full treatment today.
The salon was laid out in such a way that each patron had the luxury of some privacy due to the half walls that separated the stations, yet it wasn’t so closed off that they couldn’t chat with one another. There was something about being in a hair salon that encouraged even the most reserved women to relax. There was always pleasant conversation to go along with the soothing jazz that played all day, except for the early afternoon when the soaps were played on the wall-mounted flat-screen televisions. Alexis was making her customary preopening walk-through to make sure that everything was in proper order. It was always pristine and perfect, a tribute to her management and to the loyalty of her staff. All Alexis had to do was start the coffee and the water for tea, and she really didn’t have to do that because her lead stylist, Javier, was already taking care of that.
He greeted her with a raised eyebrow and a grin. “One of these days you’ll let someone else do things around here and we’re all going to pass out from shock,” he said dryly.
Alexis pretended to misunderstand him. “Oh, then I shouldn’t have made those ultrarich brownies and pecan tassies last night? Well, shoot, I guess we don’t need them here. I can just drop them off at church for choir rehearsal, I guess.”
“Don’t pay me any attention, I’m still half asleep,” Javier said hastily. “Did you leave them in your office? I’ll just go back there and get them and you can arrange them any way you like. Just ignore me altogether. You know I don’t have good sense.”
Nothing could have been further from the truth, of course. Javier DeLaCruz was very smart as well as being very talented. He was also quite easy on the eye with smooth golden skin, jet-black hair and eyes and a smile that brightened any room. Alexis sized him up as he left the room. He was a devoted
