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

Where Milo and Tom Alan were now, an almost life-sized Santa—well, actual life-sized to itty-bitty Ben—sang “Jingle Bells” every time someone moved. Milo unplugged him about a minute in.


A bookshelf took up one entire wall. Tom Alan had seen it when he’d stayed over. Ben was a collector of action figures from cartoons and movies. Tom Alan gasped—”Hopefully I’ll have you making that sound for other reasons pretty soon,” Milo teased. Star Wars, Peanuts, The Grinch, Looney Tunes, they were all there among puffs of cotton batting tucked around to look like snow. What was new, what Tom Alan noticed right off, were Ben’s latest additions: Ani and Otouto, with one of Tom Alan’s books on a stand propped beside them.


“Hey, author, author,” Milo chimed in, noticing what Tom Alan was looking at, “got yourself a spot front and center.”


Chapter 80