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

He still didn’t answer. “Are we good?” he asked instead.


“God! I love you, too,” Erika said. Then she clicked off.


Tom Alan smiled. He checked his watch. He had just enough time to guzzle half a bottle of water and text Milo before break time was up.


Nothing else needed to be said, he decided. Keep the “L” word out of it—that little four-letter bugger Milo might blame on the pill next time they spoke. Butwhat’s my excuse? Tom Alan wondered. I guess on some level, part of me must have meant it.


He headed back in with an ear-to-ear grin, his priorities set, ready to skate. 15


Tom Alan managed a halfway-decent practice after that. Mrs. Mischen was as generous with her praise as she’d been with her scolding. The good words, her smile, sure were a lot nicer.


Chapter 42