Page 48 of Wilder

Wilder had hoped to run by the resort—the rink, to be precise—the next day, but when his dad asked if he could help him paint at the house, he’d had no good reason to say no. Without significant snow on the ground, he was still killing time, waiting for his job to start.

There was snow on the higher slopes, but they needed a good dump all around to be able to open. He’d known when he decided to come home earlier than usual that he’d have downtime before getting to work, so he wasn’t that upset about it.

His desire to go out to the resort that day had more to do with checking to make sure Alexandra was doing okay. Even though he knew that there couldn’t be anything romantic between them, he enjoyed hanging out with her.

The frosty exterior he’d been faced with when they first met was slowly melting. That woman probably wouldn’t have agreed to go on the Segway tour with him. It made him hopeful that Alexandra would continue to open up and do things she hadn’t experienced before.

More and more lately, she’d becomeLexiin his mind.Alexandrajust seemed so formal, and the more he got to know her, the less formal their friendship became. He had no idea what she’d say if he started calling her Lexi.

Maybe he’d give it a try. He was known to live dangerously at times.

“What’s making you smile, son?” his dad asked from where he was adding more paint to the tray for the roller.

“Have you heard about Alexandra?” Wilder asked as he slowly rolled the sage green color his mother had chosen for one of the guest bedrooms on the large wall.

“Is she the ice skater that Kayleigh hired?”

“Yep. Did Kayleigh tell you anything about her?”

His dad pounded the lid back onto the can. “Not much. Just that she wasn’t sure why Alexander had built the rink or hired someone like her to work there.”

“Someone like her?” Wilder returned the roller to the tray for more paint, wondering what Kayleigh had shared about Alexandra with their parents. It didn’t sound like it was positive.

“She just said that Alexandra is definitely overqualified for the job, given her experience as an Olympic gold medalist.”

“I get the feeling that she’s been blackballed in the skating community because of what her dad did. Her coaches and her partner all dropped her when he was arrested, and it was revealed what he’d been doing.”

“That’s a shame,” his dad said as he picked up the roller he’d been using and continued his work on the opposite wall. “Unless she played a role in what he did, she shouldn’t have to pay the price.”

“I’m sure it’s been difficult for people to separate her from her father. It’s probably why she’s ended up here. Sort of like a place to hide.”

“So you brought her up after I asked you what was making you smile,” his dad reminded him. “Is she making you smile?”

“Not in the way you think.” Wilder carefully maneuvered the roller toward the upper part of the wall, mindful of not getting paint on the ceiling. “I was just wondering what she’d say if we started to call her Lexi instead of Alexandra.”

“You don’t think she’d react well? Nicknames can be a sign of a person’s affection and desire for a closer friendship.”

“Two things that would probably scare her off,” Wilder said. “She’s a bit standoffish and aloof, so I’m not sure she’d accept a nickname.”

His dad grinned at him. “Only one way to find out.”

Wilder laughed. “Well, you might have to use Mom’s blow dryer to thaw me out if Alexandra doesn’t like the nickname. She’s got a look that I’m convinced can freeze a person in their tracks.”

“If you try it out, be sure to let me know what happens.”

“Will do.”

“You two need to quit chitchatting,” his mom said as she walked into the room. “You’re never going to finish.”

“Yes, ma’am,” his dad said, snapping a salute at his wife.

“All you’re missing is a whip,” Wilder told his mom. “Where’s the threat?”

“I’ve got plenty of threats for your dad,” she said with a wink. “I’ll figure something out for you.”

Wilder grinned as he went back to work. Though he might have liked to go to the resort, he also enjoyed hanging out with his parents.

He appreciated that, aside from encouraging him to go to college, they let him live his life. And they’d become more involved in it when they’d joined him at the orphanages that he’d visited.

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