On his way to realizing his Olympic dream, Tom Alan Baranowski finds himself in the midst of a dilemma. His traditional Japanese coach is insisting upon an arranged marriage between his biological daughter Erika and adopted son Tom Alan, who are partners on the ice. Tom Alan loves Erika, and his coach literally saved his life, rescuing him from an abusive home. How can he say no?<br><br>Somewhat resigned to his “not so bad” fate, everything changes when Tom Alan meets British ice dancer Milo Fisher. The spark between them is almost hot enough to melt the ice beneath their blades, and the two fall into an affair.<br><br>What about Erika? What about loyalty? What about gold? For Tom Alan, the impossible throw quadruple jump is suddenly the least difficult thing in his life.

Quadruple Flip

“Yes, Tom Alan,” she said with annoyance. “I remember.”


“It was nice how we kind of made some people happy for a little while, right?”


“Yeah.” She was subdued and sincere.


“That was special, Kiki, sharing that with you.”


“Yeah.” A beat. “Are we still on the news?”


Before heading to the States several days ago, Tom Alan had been hounded by reporters wanting comment and reassurance after Erika’s accident. The often-bashful skater was not terribly media savvy. He tried, though. “We’ll be good by Nationals,” he’d said. “Ready for Sochi.” That didn’t do much to appease the most die-hard Japanese fans, the real worriers. They wanted to see theirpair in Japan at the Grand Prix Final! Much of the population was in a tizzy. Over figure skaters!


Chapter 32