Page 136 of Wilder

“I like the sound of that.”

Wilder did too.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Lexi circled the rink, taking long strokes, then positioned herself for a jump. As soon as she took off, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to do the number of rotations she was aiming for. Instead, she popped the jump into a single and focused on landing safely, then bent over to brace her hands on her thighs.

Anxiety plagued her, as it had since she’d woken that morning. Straightening, she shook her hands out as she took short strokes over to the boards, not certain she wanted to chance another jump when her focus was just not there.

It had been just over four weeks since she and Wilder had started dating, and for the most part, it had been a wonderful time. That day, however, felt like it was a test of their relationship.

She was back to working at the rink, although it was only part-time, and she was still a spokesperson for Remington, having done a couple of commercials for them. The money from both of those was good, but she’d recently decided to move out of her fancy furnished apartment.

Wilder and his family had helped her find an apartment that was in a nice part of town and, though smaller, the space had felt like home the first time she’d taken a tour of it. So, on the weekend, she’d be making the move to her place, which was unfurnished.

At least she had a mattress, and the rest of the furniture she’d bought would be delivered early the next week. While she was excited about her new place, her mom was less so.

She thought that Lexi should stay where she was, and she’d offered to cover the cost of the rent. However, Lexi had turnedher down. The building she was moving to was nice, even if it wasn’t as posh as the current one. It had a decent gym and good security, which was important, and it wasn’t too far from Charli and Janessa’s, which was a nice bonus.

Slowly but surely, her life in Serenity was taking root.

Lexi continued to skate while she waited for Wilder to show up. She’d hoped skating would serve as a distraction and ease her anxiety, but it really wasn’t working. And sadly, the rink hadn’t been very busy that day, which didn’t help to keep her mind off things.

Kayleigh had agreed for Lexi to continue to work at the rink, though only part-time. She basically had the same schedule as Wilder, working Thursday to Monday. She didn’t start as early as he did, though, and she worked only until five.

Her Saturday mornings were spent coaching. She coached Amelia and Layla together, and then she had a group of five students that she worked with when she was finished with the girls. It wasn’t the coaching she’d envisioned doing in her future, but it was still satisfying.

When Wilder showed up, he walked in with Amelia, Layla and a slender young woman. The girls ran over to the ice and carefully stepped out on it to hug Lexi.

“Hi, babe,” Wilder said as he reached them. He gave her a smile that held a wealth of affection. “How was your day?”

“It’s been good.” Aside from the anxiety over meeting a woman who had known Wilder longer and was a part of something that was super important to him.

“I want you to meet Miriam,” he said, angling himself to gesture to the woman who had come in with him.

Lexi mustered up her professional smile for Miriam. It was all her anxiety would allow. The one the woman gave her in return was friendly.

“And Miriam, this is my girlfriend, Lexi.”

“Nice to meet you,” Miriam said as she held out her hand.

Lexi reached out to shake it. “Nice to meet you, too.”

She wasn’t sure how to converse with this woman, who was even more different from her than Wilder had been. Thankfully, she had overcome her reluctance to deal with those differences with Wilder, and if necessary, hopefully, she could do the same with Miriam.

Wilder seemed more than happy to carry the conversation, telling Miriam about the rink and the resort. Amelia and Layla stuck close to Lexi, pushing each other back and forth on the ice, even though they were wearing street shoes.

“Are you still coming for dinner at Mom and Dad’s?” Wilder asked.

More than anything, Lexi wanted to say no. It was far out of her comfort zone, and she’d rather hole up by herself in her apartment. But Wilder had said that he wanted her to be there, so she would go for his sake.

“Yes.”

“I’ll swing by and pick you up,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. I’m going to drop Miriam off and take the girls home, then I’ll come get you.”

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