Page 59 of Wilder

Wilder shook his head. “Oh, we don’t want to interrupt your date.”

Rori smiled at them. “It can be a double date.”

“It’s not a date.” He and Lexi were a duet in their response.

Lee laughed. “Okay. Then we’ll be on a date, and you can just be friends.”

“Do you want to join them?” Wilder turned to ask Lexi, aware that he probably shouldn’t be putting her on the spot.

“Sure,” she replied with a shrug.

Wilder stepped to the side so Lexi could take the spot across from Rori. He hoped she really didn’t mind spending some time with Lee and Rori. Of all his siblings, Lee was probably a good one for her to be around. And from what he’d seen, Rori was sweet and friendly.

Once they were seated, a young woman approached the table. “More guests, Dr. Lee?”

“Yep. This is my brother, Wilder, and his… co-worker, Alexandra.”

At the revelation that Lexi wasn’t his girlfriend, a gleam of interest appeared in the woman’s eyes. “Welcome. What can I get you this evening?”

“We’ll need a few minutes with the menu,” Wilder told her. “But for now, I’d like a cup of decaf.”

“Sure thing.” She directed her attention to Lexi. “And for you?”

“Just water, please.”

The waitress nodded, then headed in the direction of the bakery cases.

“How do you know her?” Wilder asked Lee.

“She’s the sister of Alys, our vet tech at the clinic.”

Wilder lowered his gaze to the single page menu. “It’s ages since I was last here. What do you two recommend?”

“I love the warm brownie with ice cream,” Rori said. “So yum.”

“I go for the mocha cheescake,” Lee said. “But you can’t go wrong with anything here, really.”

“I think I’ll get the brownie,” Wilder said, then looked at Lexi. “How about you, Lexi?”

“I think I’ll have the strawberry shortcake,” she said.

“Oh, that’s good too,” Rori told her.

With that settled, they placed their orders when the waitress returned with their drinks. It didn’t take long for her to return with their desserts, then after refreshing Lee’s coffee, she moved off toward another table.

“How is life at the resort?” Lee asked as he lifted his mug.

“It’s good,” Wilder said. “We’ve finally got a plan for the Christmas program, which is no longer a program.”

“Oh really? Do tell.”

As they ate, they shared what had transpired and what they hoped to pull off.

“If they do an auction, we might be able to donate something from the clinic. Like a grooming.”

“You offer grooming?” Wilder asked.

“Not by an employee at the clinic,” Rori said. “But we have a groomer who comes to the shelter to cut nails and such. I’m sure if we said we’d pay for her time, we could offer her services for the cause.”

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