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"Now I feel like your dirty secret."
"I know." She wiggled her brows. "Naughty, isn't it?"
They watched Marco and Jean, who, as expected, skied flawlessly. They were first and second after their scores were put up.
Lisa finally made her way back through the crowds and up the stairs. When she met up with them, she threw her arms around Amber. "Wasn't Blake amazing?"
"Totally amazing," Amber said.
"Of course, Jean and Marco skied better so that puts Blake in third after his first run."
"Yeah, but he still has a shot at beating them," Will said. "Their times were all close."
Lisa looked up the slope. "This just makes me more nervous."
"He'll do fine, honey," Amber said.
The second runs began, all based on first-run scores, which meant Blake would ski third to last again. As every skier came down the hill, the scores--and standings--changed. This was expected, but it left Blake in limbo, because many of the second runs were better than the firsts. Which put Blake's standing in jeopardy.
"He's going to have to have a good run," Lisa said. "Hans's second time down was excellent and now he's in third place."
"Trust me," Will said. "He's fully aware of what he's got to do to secure a spot on the podium. He'll get it done."
Amber hoped so.
Blake was up next. With two skiers behind him, and this being the last run, he had to do it now to secure a medal.
They were all leaning forward as Blake shot out of the gate. Not only could they see him come down the slope, but there were also big-screen TVs set up at the bottom of the slope to show the action up close.
Amber's nerves were shot. She wasn't even this nervous when she skated. Then again, she knew her own skill set and what she was capable of. With someone else, she had no idea, and now that she knew how close Lisa was to Blake, she wanted him to succeed.
He blitzed down the slope, seemingly faster than his last run. Amber wanted to watch the clock, but she wanted to keep her eyes on Blake, too. He slid his skis past the finish line three one hundredths of a second faster than the athlete currently holding first place.
They all erupted in cheers. Amber hugged Lisa.
"He's going to medal," Lisa said. "No matter what happens with Marco and Jean, he'll be on the podium. He'll be stoked about that."
"I'm so happy for him," Amber said.
"Now we have to watch these last two guys and see what medal he'll end up with," Will said.
Marco came down next, and his run was flawless, putting him ahead of Blake, which wasn't unexpected. He'd won gold in many competitions, from the international games to world competitions.
Lisa stood. "I'm heading down to be there with Blake at the end."
"Okay," Amber said.
After Lisa left, Will leaned over toward her. "I like seeing her this excited for a guy."
Amber smiled. "Me, too."
Jean was the one to beat, and the crowd cheered wildly for him. He was incredibly popular--and ridiculously talented. But he wavered on one of the turns and missed a gate. It cost him time and points. Amber's heart was in her throat as she waited for him to finish.
He finished in third place, a shocking finish for the previous gold-medal winner.
Which meant Blake would take the silver medal.
"Oh, my God," Amber said. "Lisa is going to go crazy."
Will grinned. "Blake's going to go crazy."
Amber scanned the waiting area. Will was right. Blake was pumping his fists and hugging both Jean and Marco. Then he walked over to the fence where his parents were waiting to give him a hug, before finding Lisa to kiss her.
"Aww. That's sweet."
"Yeah. Makes me wish my parents were going to be here."
She looped her arm in his. "I'm sure it does. I'm sorry they can't be."
He shrugged as they followed the rest of the spectators down the stairs to exit the venue. "I'm used to it. And their business is more important than this. They'll have it on TV in the bar and draw a huge crowd, which will be great for the business."
"You're so . . . understanding."
He laughed. "About what?"
"About doing this on your own, without a support system."
"I have plenty of support here. My coaches, my friends, my teammates. Trust me, I'm not alone."
Amber supposed that was true, though she didn't know from experience. She'd had her mother at every event from the very beginning, from the time she was a child skating at her first amateur event. Her father had attended as well, but only the major competitions. She couldn't imagine her mother missing even one. Despite being at odds with her mother, despite her mom's constant criticisms, she'd never been alone. She'd always felt a sense of comfort knowing she was sitting in the stands.
Clearly, she and her mother had a twisted relationship.
"Hungry?" he asked.
She shook off thoughts of her mother and smiled up at him. "Yes. What did you have in mind?"
They'd arrived at the village. Suddenly they were surrounded by a bunch of Will's teammates.
"Hey," Drew said. "Where've you been?"
"Alpine skiing."
"Observing, and not participating, I assume," Adrian said.
Will laughed. "Yeah, a friend of ours was competing."
"He medal?" Drew asked.
"Silver medal," Amber said, still feeling the thrill of watching Blake compete. She barely knew him, and yet it had filled her with anticipation for her own competition.
"Awesome," Drew said.
"What about you?" Will asked. "What have you guys been up to?"
"We watched bobsledding," Eddie Gannon said. "Now we're hungry. You all hungry?"
Will looked at Amber. "Are you up for eating with the guys?"
"Of course." Lisa hadn't rejoined them yet. It was possible she'd decided to hang out with Blake and his family, but Amber sent her a text message letting her know they were headed to the dining hall to eat, in case she wanted to catch up with them.
Lisa texted her back a short time later to tell her she was going to hang out with Blake and his family for the medal ceremony, and she'd catch up with them later.
The dining hall was busy, but then again now that the games had started it would stay that way until the end.
They found a table that would fit them all. Amber wandered around, checking out all the amazing international foods. She decided on chicken curry and coconut rice, along with a cabbage salad, mangoes, watermelon and papaya.
Since the dining
hall was ridiculously huge, she almost lost sight of their table. Will must have seen her wandering, because he stood up and waved his arms.
She slid into the spot next to him. "I swear, I get lost every time I'm in here."
"I'm the same way," Drew said. "I swear, it's like first day of high school all over again."
She laughed. "Thank you for making me feel better about looking like a moron."
"Honey, you could never look like a moron," Drew said.
She decided right then that she would like Drew forever. "Thank you for that."
"Quit hitting on my lady," Will said in between bites of his chicken.
Drew laughed. "Not hitting on your woman. Just being friendly. Besides, you've met my wife, right?"
"I haven't. Is she here?"
Drew shook his head. "No. Unfortunately she couldn't make it because she has fashion week."
Amber perked up at the mention of fashion week. "Oh, she's a designer?"
"Yeah. Carolina Preston."
Amber's eyes widened. "I know her line. I love her clothes. And your wife is gorgeous, Drew. You're a very lucky man."
"Thank you. And yeah, I'm really lucky."
"I'm sorry she couldn't make it."
"Me, too. So is she. But it's just the timing. Fashion week keeps her busy twenty-four hours a day for several months. And then the week before and the entire month of February? I barely see her at all."
"Must be rough on both of you."
"It's actually okay. It's her work and it's important. Plus, she's damn good at it, so I want her to put her attention where it belongs. So yeah, she felt awful, but I told her that was her job, and this was mine, and she needed to focus on doing hers. Besides, she'll have the TV on at the design house whenever I'm playing."
Amber felt the love--and pride in his wife--with every word Drew spoke. It was so sweet. "So when you're in New York during fashion week, do you go watch her show?"
"As long as I'm in town I do. I've only missed one so far."
Will leaned over. "He told us that one year, when they were first dating, Carolina got him to walk in one of her shows."
Amber's brows rose. "Like a fashion model?"
Drew laughed. "I'm no fashion model, but yeah, I walked in one of her shows."
"Oh my God. That must have been so exciting."
"More like terrifying. But I got through it."
"And after she made him do it he still married her," Will said.
Amber laughed. "I would hardly call walking the runway in a fashion show a form of torture, Will."
