Page 29 of Wilder

“I’ll phone around and see what I can find out about bleacher rentals. Once we have that, we’ll know exactly what we’re working with.”

“Kayleigh said you could also help me figure out how to recruit skaters.”

“Let’s sit back down,” Wilder said, then led her back to the table.

The more she and Wilder discussed the details, the less Lexi felt like it was an impossible task. He broke it down in ways that her brain could handle, and he was more than willing to take on the responsibility for several things.

Maybe… just maybe… this wouldn’t be the catastrophe she’d thought it would be. All thanks to this man who had unexpectedly stepped into her life and offered the support that she’d been so desperately missing.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Wilder climbed from his car and headed for the entrance to the rink. He was running a bit late, but he hadn’t let that stop him from coming.

The first two times he’d come for the girls’ skating lesson had been mainly curiosity. This time, however… it was something more.

The times he’d spent with Alexandra so far had intrigued him, drawing him to want to learn even more about her, because every detail felt important.

And now they’d broken bread—quite literally—which felt like a milestone. He hadn’t thought through bringing cinnamon rolls and coffee to someone who had been an elite athlete. Which was why he hadn’t pressured her to accept any of what he offered.

He’d given a tiny internal dance of victory when she’d chosen to indulge of her own accord. Though he understood why she wouldn’t want to eat like that on a consistent basis, surely, once in a while would be okay. When it came to food, Wilder tended to have theeverything in moderationmindset.

Reaching out, Wilder grabbed the wooden handle and pulled the heavy door open. While it was definitely warmer inside the rink, the temperature shift between inside and out wasn’t as great as it might be in another building. He knew they kept the rink cool for the sake of the ice.

It was too bad the café wasn’t open. A coffee wouldn’t go amiss. He could have stopped for one, but since he was already running late, he hadn’t wanted to delay further.

This time around, Janessa and Will had come along. Will was currently helping Layla with her skates, while Blake did Amelia’s. Janessa was standing with Charli, peering at Shiloh in her car seat.

Wilder spotted Alexandra on the ice near the boards, so he went to her. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Her smile lingered a bit longer than it previously had, which Wilder hoped meant she was warming up to him. “Come to watch the lessons again, huh?”

“Yep. It helps me know how to help the girls when we go to the rink during the week.”

“That’s good that you’re doing that for them.”

Her gaze flicked past him just as he felt an arm go around his waist. Shifting, he spotted Janessa next to him. He lifted his arm, then put it around her shoulders.

“Did Charli introduce you?”

“Nope,” Janessa said with a shake of her head.

“I forgot to introduce Lee and Rori when they were here, so I don’t want to do that again.” He looked back at Alexandra. “This is Janessa, another of my sisters. And that’s her husband, Will, helping Blake with the skates. Nessa, this is Alexandra.”

He could see the curiosity in Alexandra’s gaze as she skated closer to the boards and held out her hand. However, she didn’t remark on the fact that Wilder and Janessa looked nothing alike.

“Nice to meet you,” she said with what he’d come to think of as her performance smile.

After having watched a bunch of videos of her competing, Wilder had realized that the smile she wore whenacknowledging the crowd was the same every single time. It was the same after a perfect performance as it was after a flawed one.

It seemed like she kept herself tightly controlled, and that smile didn’t offer any glimpses into the depth of her emotions.

“Nice to meet you too,” Janessa said. “I’ve heard a lot about you from the girls. They think you’re amazing.”

Alexandra’s eyes widened briefly, then she said, “That’s sweet of them. I think they’re pretty amazing, too.”

Wilder had no idea if she was being sincere in her response, but he hoped that if she wasn’t, that at some point in the future, she’d realize that the girls really were, in fact, amazing.

“And yes, I’m adopted,” Janessa said, a grin spreading across her face. “People are always a bit confused when we first introduce ourselves.”

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