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

“I know it’s gonna be worth it,” Ben said. “He’s somewhere good for him.”


They’d spoken throughout the week. Ben had let him know he’d heard from Adam and that Adam was on his way, once more, to California. The relief in Ben’s voice was tinged with a bit of uncertainty Tom Alan was surprised he could sense, since the two had only known each other a short time. “I won’t really breathe normally again until I know he is all registered and settled. Hell, I won’t really breathe normally until he’s home,” he confessed. “I hope…” He let the word hang there a while. “I hope I can breathe normally then. I hope it doesn’t take…like…I hope I’m not always wondering, for a week, for six, for a year, when…if…he’s going to fall prey to it again.”


The doubt went away then, and Ben continued. “You know what, yeah, it’s been a while coming.” He sighed heavily. “But pretty soon, I’m gonna have all the best parts of Adam without all that scary stuff getting in the way.”


Chapter 51