Page 118 of Wilder

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Lexi breathed heavily as she and Mikhail sat in the kiss and cry, waiting for the score of their long program. Irina was sitting next to Mik, while Lev—who’d joined them since he had other skaters in the competition—sat beside her, his presence a heavy weight on her.

They all knew that a gold medal might not be won in the short program, but it could definitely be lost. Their short program had left them in third, which, since they hadn’t competed together in over a year, wasn’t bad. At least in her mind.

Mikhail had been ticked, and Irina hadn’t been happy either. Considering where Mik had been placing with his previous partner, she thought he should be happy that they were at least that high in the ranking.

In the past, third would have made her as ticked as Mik currently was. But given the journey they’d travelled to get there, they were actually sitting pretty well.

Lexi knew that Mik and the coaches were hoping for gold. She had slightly lower goals. She was just hoping to make the podium, even if that meant third.

Winning gold would pretty much guarantee that they would make the Olympic team. Silver or bronze would still mean they’d be considered. Anything less than that, it wasn’t as likely they’d be given one of the coveted spots.

Lev continued to mutter to her about what they’d missed, as if she hadn’t seen their stumbles just played out on the rerun. She kept herself perfectly still as she smiled, aware that the cameras were on them. There was no way she was going to let the world see the turmoil going on inside of her.

Other skaters and some fans might not want her there, but she belonged on the ice. These past few weeks had proven that she still had something to give. Whether that was as a skater or a coach, she couldn’t walk away yet.

A roar sounded from the crowd as the scores came up. The knot of anxiety in her stomach unraveled. They were in first, which meant they were guaranteed at least third place, since only the pairs that were first and second after the short program were still left to skate.

They’d done their best. Now their future was in the hands of the two last pairs to skate. One of which was on the ice, skating a few more minutes of warmup while they waited for their turn.

Now that they had their scores, the four of them stood up and moved away from the kiss and cry area. There was another area set up for the current first, second and third place teams to wait. The pair that had been in third got up and left, while the other two pairs shifted down to give Lexi and Mik the first-place seats.

Lexi didn’t want to be sitting there with the other skaters. She knew what they thought of her. A couple of them had been very vocal about her following her dad’s arrest.

Weighty silence settled over the area, but Lexi kept a serene expression on her face. She was not going to let them see her sweat. Never had, never would.

As she sat there, she kept her gaze on the large monitor, but her thoughts were a million miles away. Or at least as many miles as it was to Serenity Point, Idaho.

The past few weeks had been hard. For the first time in her life, the training hadn’t had her total focus.

She’d known that she’d made the right decision in putting distance between her and Wilder, but it hadn’t been easy.There hadn’t been a day where she hadn’t thought about him. Wondered how he was doing. Wished she could see him.

It was only after he wasn’t around that she became aware of how much he’d taken care of her. Making sure she was eating. Checking to see if she needed anything. Bringing lightness and laughter to her life when it had been at its darkest.

She hadn’t known that laughter was such an important part of life until Wilder had befriended her. He’d shown her that even though she had to take certain parts of her life seriously, she didn’t have to be serious all the time. She wished she’d taken the time to tell him how life-changing meeting him had been for her.

Instead, she’d told him that she didn’t have a place for him in her life. It had been more important to protect herself than to maintain a friendship with him.

Was he watching? Had he seen her and Mik skate?

His text had said that they’d be supporting her, so Lexi hoped that meant he’d be watching. She probably should have worked out a signal to give the camera in the kiss and cry to let him know she was thinking of him. Her signal to her mom was touching the necklace her mom had given her, which she always wore.

She missed Wilder so much. More than she had thought possible, and her heart ached with the loss of him from her life.

Love at first sight wasn’t something she believed in, but from their first conversation, something was there. She might not have recognized it for what it was initially, but soon enough, her heart was telling her that Wilder was someone special.

Though they’d become friends, her heart had wanted more, even though she’d known it wasn’t going to work.

Come the snow melt, Wilder would be off on his world travels once again. And her life was going to keep her in the US.

It had taken her years to fall in love with Mikhail, but with Wilder, she’d fallen faster and deeper. She wished with all her heart that they had a chance.

When Mikhail let out a groan beside her, Lexi focused on the screen again. The pair in second place had just taken over first from them, with one pair left to skate.

As the pair came into the waiting area, the pair in third got up and left. She and Mikhail and the other pair shifted down to free up space for the new first-place team.

This was definitely not something she’d missed. Most of the time, she and Mikhail had been the last or second to last to skate. Being third meant sitting through two more programs before knowing their final placement. It was excruciating, especially since there was so much riding on their performance here.

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