Page 30 of Wilder

“I suspected that was the case,” Alexandra said. “But I thought it might be rude to remark on it.”

“Nope. Not rude. Our family is very open about the fact that four of us are adopted.”

Before the conversation could continue, the girls approached them, now wearing their skates.

“Ready to go?” Alexandra asked, shifting her attention to Layla and Amelia.

“Yep.” Layla stepped out on the ice and took a couple of strokes before turning back around to wait for Amelia.

“We’re going to warm up first, so follow me.”

When Will joined them at the boards, Wilder dropped his arm from Janessa’s shoulders, and she moved closer to her husband.

As he watched Alexandra with the girls, Wilder wondered if she would be able to handle more kids at a time. Because if this Christmas program really came together, she’d be dealing with more than just two kids.

“Why are you here?” Janessa asked.

“Why are you?” Wilder shot back.

“We’ve gone to a lot of the girls’ lessons,” Janessa told him. “So this is normal for us.”

“Since I take them to the rink during the week, I figured it was a good idea to see what she was working on with them. Plus, I’m working with Alexandra on a project.”

He told them about the program, not surprised when Janessa expressed some skepticism.

“You don’t have much time.”

“I know.” Sighing, Wilder leaned more heavily against the boards, resting his arms on the top of them. “It’s going to be a minor miracle if we can pull it off. I feel like Alexander and Kayleigh are asking a lot of Alexandra when she’s barely got her feet wet in this job.”

“It does seem like a lot. If we can help in any way, let us know.”

“Hopefully you mean that, because I may have to prevail upon a few of you to give us a hand.”

“As long as I don’t have to get on skates, I’m there for you,” Will said. “And I won’t dress up as Santa or an elf.”

Janessa grinned at her husband. “Ah. Come on! I would pay big bucks to see you in an elf costume.”

Will just rolled his eyes, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Sorry to disappoint you, my love, but that’s not happening.”

“You’re not going to get Jay on skates either,” Janessa said. “He definitely does not like the ice.”

“Well, we need more than skaters. Once we’ve had a chance to sit down and really flesh it out, I’ll have a better idea of where you guys can help us.”

Janessa smirked at him. “I’m sure you’re not objecting to spending more time with the beautiful figure skater.”

Wilder couldn’t deny that there was a part of him that was drawn to Alexandra. Why, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t that he had a certain type of woman that he was attracted to. But usually, he found himself drawn to women who shared a similar outlook on life as him. Easy going, laid back, willing to take risks and explore the world.

Alexandra didn’t seem to have any of those qualities. But still, he wanted to spend more time with her. Perhaps it was the “duck out of water” vibe he got from her that made him want to help her out.

“Wow. I can already see that the girls have improved,” Janessa said as she watched them on the ice. “That’s incredible.”

“She’s spent a lot of time teaching them correct positioning,” Wilder told her. “And that seems to have helped them perform their spins and jumps better.”

“I guess that’s what happens when you have a coach who is a gold medal Olympian. She’s probably undergone some pretty rigorous training.”

“I wasn’t sure it would make that much of a difference,” Charli said, having joined them at the boards with Blake and Shiloh. “But I can see I was wrong.”

Wilder was glad that they saw the value in Alexandra’s skill and talent. And though he wasn’t sure either of the girls wouldmake the Olympics one day, they’d definitely be better skaters for having been under the coaching of Alexandra.

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