Page 103 of Wilder

“I guess so.” She still wasn’t sure it was the best idea, but she needed a break from her own company or that of Mik and Irina.

“What type of pizza do you want? Or will you bring your meal prep?”

She was so tempted by the idea of pizza, but in the end, she knew she couldn’t take time off from trainingandeat badly. “I’ll bring my meal prep.”

“Sounds good.” With a smile, he opened her door for her. “See you in a bit.”

With a nod, she slid behind the wheel. He closed the door, then gave a wave and jogged to where he’d parked. Lexi watched him go, feeling a weird sense of happiness just from having been in his presence.

It wasn’t something she’d experienced before, and as she glanced in her mirror to see his car behind hers as they pulled out of the parking lot, she wasn’t sure she could be strong enough to put the distance between them that she knew she should.

For sure, she wasn’t going to put that distance between them before the fundraiser. It wouldn’t do if Santa and Mrs. Claus were estranged.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Wilder walked into the chaos of the kitchen back at the house and let out a sharp whistle. Everyone turned to look at him, their expressions ranging from annoyance to curiosity.

“If the baby starts crying because of that, you’re sleeping in the garage,” Charli said as she crossed her arms. “What are you making a racket for?”

“Lexi is coming to join us for dinner,” he said.

“And you needed to make an announcement for that?” Janessa asked.

“Yes, because she’s coming, but she’s not going to eat anything here.”

“She’s eating special food,” Layla said. “Right, Uncle Wilder?”

“Yep. She’s going to bring her own food, so don’t try to encourage her to eat the pizza and dessert.”

“We won’t,” Amelia said quickly. “She has to give her body the fuel it needs to be able to train as hard as she needs it to.”

“I’m impressed, Berry,” Wilder told her, holding out his hand for her to slap. “That is very good, and I know Lexi appreciates your support.”

Amelia beamed up at him as she gave his hand a hard slap. She’d been warming up to him, and he enjoyed their little interactions.

“We’re behind her,” Janessa said. “No talk about food tonight.”

“Thank you.”

Wilder was surprised and happy that she’d finally agreed to come for the evening. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand that her focus was on her training, but he thought maybe she needed a little break now and then.

She’d been attending church with them, and he’d counted that as a significant win. But as a friend, he also enjoyed spending social time with her. Hopefully, she felt the same way and that the evening would be a good break for her.

When the doorbell rang, the girls raced off to answer it before Wilder could even turn in that direction. Still, he followed them, getting there in time to see Lexi step into the foyer.

“I can take your jacket and hang it up,” Amelia volunteered, holding out her hand.

Lexi gave her a smile as she unzipped it and shrugged out of the jacket. “Thank you.”

When Amelia took the jacket and went into the closet to hang it up, Layla said, “You can leave your boots there.” She pointed to the boot tray just inside the door.

After she’d done that, they all went back into the kitchen. Everyone greeted Lexi, and Wilder was glad to see that she didn’t withdraw behind her polite smile. The smile she gave the people there was friendly and even a bit warm.

“We’re just about ready to eat,” Charli said. “Someone can go ahead and open up the pizza boxes.”

While a couple of people moved to do that, Charli approached Lexi. “Wilder said you were bringing your own food tonight. Do you need it warmed up in the microwave?”

“Yes. That would be great.” She handed over a container that didn’t look like it held a whole lot of food. “I usually put it in for a minute and a half.”

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