Page 11 of Wilder

The rink was open from one until seven on weekdays and eleven to nine on weekends. Her current schedule was from Thursday to Monday. Although, if they’d asked her to work seven days a week, she would have happily done that.

In addition to her time spent at the rink for her job, Alexander had also told her she could take on private students if she wanted. Lexi wasn’t sure yet if she wanted to do that, beyond the two girls she was meeting with the next morning.

At one time, her focus had been on her future. Every win she and Mikhail had achieved was another step up the staircase of coaching respectability. Every win gave them the ability to command more exclusivity and pay. They would be able to choose who they wanted to coach.

A career as a figure skater had to be as much about the present as the future. People couldn’t maintain a highly competitive level of performance until the conventional retirement age.

Some people went on to perform in skating shows, and while Lexi hadn’t been opposed to that, eventually, even that would end. So she and Mikhail had been looking past even that.

It was why they’d both worked so hard on their craft. They’d been known for being great pairs skaters, but beyond that, they’d been great singles skaters too. They’d practiced their singles elements almost as much as their pairs ones. And when they weren’t on the ice, they were working out and taking ballet lessons.

They’d been very involved in the choosing of their music and choreography, while Lexi had also focused on their costumes,working with designers to create the perfect outfits that reflected them and the music they skated to.

Now it was all gone.

The early morning practices. The workouts. The hectic travel schedules. The fierce competitions. The injuries. The recoveries.

None of it was left except for the practices and workouts that she’d continued with, even a year and a half after she’d last competed. But they were without real purpose now.

Still, she couldn’t get away from the habits of a lifetime. Which was why she was headed home to spend time working out in the gym at her apartment building before returning for the staff meeting a little later and her shift at one.

CHAPTER FOUR

Lexi made the short drive from the ice rink to the main part of the resort, planning to grab a bite to eat before her shift started. She still didn’t like to cook for herself, so she tried to eat at least one good meal at the resort each day.

Previously, her dad had hired someone to do meal prep for her and Mik. All of it had been nutritiously sound and scientifically balanced, prepared to give them the energy they needed for their intense training.

Food had never been a thing of enjoyment for her. She ate to fuel her body and for no other reason, and she’d always been careful to eat at specific times. Now that she was on her own, though, it was sometimes hard to remember to eat. She should probably set alarms on her phone to remind herself, like she had in the past.

She usually grabbed a piece of fruit and some yoghurt for breakfast, followed by lunch at the resort. Supper was a salad or more fruit and yoghurt. Something easy to prepare.

It wouldn’t have been enough to fuel her body previously. But now, even though she was still skating and working out, her skating routine wasn’t anywhere near the intensity of before.

The hostess at The Steakhouse greeted her with a friendly smile when she walked in. She showed her to a small table near the back of the restaurant. It was where Lexi preferred to sit, and now the woman took her there without her having to ask.

After she sat down, she glanced around. It was fairly busy, but that wasn’t unusual since they were gearing up for the weekend. She’d learned that the resort was busiest fromThursday to Monday, which was why her work hours were scheduled like they were.

Her gaze lit on Kayleigh St. James, where she sat in a booth a couple of tables away. It wasn’t the first time Lexi had seen the woman in the restaurant, but if she was there, it was usually with her husband. The tall, handsome man many described as Alexander’s right-hand man.

Today, however, Kayleigh sat with one of the men who’d been present at the meeting earlier. Lexi recalled that Trev had introduced him as Wilder, a ski instructor.

Wilder had dark hair and a short beard, and, if she remembered correctly from earlier, dark eyes. Unlike Kayleigh, who was dressed professionally in a dark green pantsuit, he wore a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt.

While Kayleigh sat with her spine straight and shoulders squared, Wilder definitely had a more relaxed posture, leaning back against his side of the booth.

It was clear they knew each other well. Their smiles and laughter came easily as they talked while they ate.

Lexi’s first thought was that they had some sort of relationship, but then she dismissed that idea. There was no way that someone as successful as Kayleigh would meet a boyfriend at a place where her husband was as well known as she was.

And Lexi didn’t think it would go well for Kayleigh if she was, in fact, cheating on her boss’s right-hand man.

“What can I get for you?”

Lexi looked up at the young man standing beside her table, realizing she hadn’t even looked over the menu. Not that she really needed to. She’d basically ordered the same thing every time she came.

“I’d like the grilled steak salad, please.”

“And to drink?”

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