Medal Up Read online

  Praise for USA Today bestselling author Nicole Flockton

  Tangled Vines

  “This book has a really strong plot with good bones.”—Confessions of a Serial Reader

  “I fell in love with these characters, and the author’s writing . . . can’t wait to read more from her.”—4 stars, Nerdy Dirty & Flirty

  “This book by Ms. Flockton was such a pleasure to read . . . a hero with a serious case of survivor’s guilt that makes him a Grinch at Christmas and a heroine determined to get her career back on track while helping the hero finally move forward from his past.”—5 stars, Harlequin Junkie

  Emerald Springs Legacy:

  Daniel’s Decision

  “This was a wonderful book of two people both following their dreams to the ends of the earth, and learning a valuable lesson along the way. I loved the character of Daniel so very much that the man had me in tears on a regular basis.”—5 stars, Contemporary Romance Reviews

  “Once again, Nicole Flockton has created a couple with a wonderful and immediate chemistry—one you can believe in. Another winner from the pen of Ms. Flockton!”—My Written Romance

  “If you want a fun and entertaining read, don’t miss Daniel’s Decision by Nicole Flockton”—4 stars, Harlequin Junkie

  Lovers Unmasked:

  Masquerade

  Rescuing Dawn

  Seducing Phoebe

  Praise for the Lovers Unmasked series:

  “I just loved this story . . . If you like a good, fun and oh so sexy read, make sure you don’t miss Seducing Phoebe.”—Harlequin Junkie

  “This was my first time reading a book by Nicole Flockton and it will not be my last. If you enjoy a true romance book then this is the one for you!”—Tiffany Talks Books

  “Flockton does a fabulous job of making Dawn’s pain real and developing her as a multi-dimensional character. I felt horrible for Dawn, but I didn’t pity her. I respected her for coming through such a devastating experience. There’s often a fine line between writing a character that annoys readers and a character readers feel for. Flockton does a fabulous job here.”—Shana Galen, RITA finalist and author of If You Give a Rake a Ruby

  “An extremely emotional and sweet romance that will break your heart, make you cry and make you smile.”—Harlequin Junkie

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  Contents

  Fighting Their Attraction

  Man of Ice

  ‘White Knight’ Excerpt

  Fighting Their Attraction

  Nicole Flockton

  Avon, Massachusetts

  To all who dream to win gold, whether it be in a sport or any other pursuit, believe because it will happen.

  Chapter 1

  Jetlag was a bitch, and the reporters who accosted everyone exiting immigration were no better.

  The last thing snowboarder Brady Thompson wanted was to smile and act happy. He’d rather be on the train heading to the PyeongChang Olympic Village than standing in a group containing a monolith of a Russian figure skater and his skating partner, Maybelle Li, and another female skater who was doing a great impression of a clinging vine crawling up Brady’s arm. Brady hadn’t seen Maybelle in years. He’d looked up from the magazine he’d been reading while sitting in his seat on the plane waiting for it to take off, had seen her heading down the aisle, and slouched in his seat. Thank goodness she’d sat a couple rows in front of him and not next to him. He’d taken the long way to the bathroom to avoid passing her row. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to stop from running into Maybelle at immigration.

  They’d been ice-skating partners once, and friends. But their past association was buried so deep in his psyche a snow plow wouldn’t be able to uncover it.

  At least the reporters seemed more interested in Maybelle and Bohdan than Brady, allowing him the opportunity to survey the airport. Another group of athletes—Canadian, from the bright red maple leaf emblazoned across the backs of their jackets—was walking through the immigration sliding doors into the arrivals terminal of the airport.

  He craned his neck to make out whether the guys in the group were ones he’d be competing against, only his gaze locked onto the diminutive woman standing next to a tall, muscular dude Brady recognized as the downhill skiing world champion. The woman’s dark, sable hair was caught up in a side ponytail. His body tightened.

  Shit.

  How could a simple hairstyle be so sexy? Her body was obscured by the unflattering team sweat suit she wore, but he bet beneath all that fabric, it packed a punch. Her size and physique indicated she had to be a figure skater. Which meant she was off-limits to him. If there was one type of woman he’d sworn off, it was figure skaters.

  “Brady Thompson?”

  Fuck. He recognized that tone in the reporter’s voice. This was going to be fun . . . not.

  “There was some talk about you not making the team after that incident in Alta when one of your teammates was hospitalized.”

  Of course, they’d bring up his and Jay’s incident, as the reporter called it. He’d already answered all the questions he wanted to on the subject. He and Jay weren’t at fault. They were skiing, minding their own business, when some guys recognized them as snowboarders. Snowboarding wasn’t permitted at the resort in Alta, and he and Jay had known that. They had been okay skiing and not snowboarding.

  Then two dickheads had come up and told him and Jay that their skiing was like their snowboarding—piss poor. The Australian Olympic Committee didn’t like scandals, so they’d ignored the jibes and continued on their way down the slope. Ignoring the idiots seemed to annoy them. When he and Jay stopped, the guys came from behind and started hitting. Such a cowardly move. He and Jay had defended themselves, and both had gotten hurt. Jay worse than him.

  Brady’s knee had fully recovered from the slight sprain he’d suffered. But, as the reporter had alluded to, his position on the team had been in jeopardy. He couldn’t fail. Not this time. He’d worked too hard to fall before he’d crossed the finish line. He’d survived the inquiry into the incident by team officials, and his place on the team had been assured. His focus was now on the Games.

  “It was a minor injury.” He bent his leg, as if to prove it, his face expressionless. “I’m in peak condition.”

  The reporters finally spied the Canadian team and headed toward them.

  Thank fuck.

  He glanced after them, and his eye was once again drawn to the dark-haired girl. This time, their gazes met. For a split second, time froze all around him, like it did when he was airborne during one of his tricks. God knows why he was drawn to her. She so wasn’t his type. Regardless of the way his body leaped to attention, he dragged his focus away. No way was he going to talk to the mystery lady. He planned to avoid the skater hangouts so as not to run into Maybelle.

  • • •

  Brady opened the door to the room that was going to be his home with teammate and speed skater Nate Rogers for the next couple of weeks. It wasn’t fancy, but then again, it didn’t need to be. The small living room offered a two-seater couch, one armchair, a squat coffee table, and a flat-screen television on a wooden stand. The colors were neutral. No point in making it super fancy; most athletes didn’t spend their spare time hanging around the rooms. There was a small ki
tchen to the left, and to the right were two other doors. Brady opened one and found a bedroom set up with twin beds covered in generic blue bedspreads. A couple of dressers and wooden bedside tables completed the room. As bedrooms went, it was comfortable and would do for the length of time he’d be staying here.

  Brady set his bags in the corner and sat on the bed closest to the window. No matter how much he wanted to lie down and sleep, he would fight it to enable him to adjust to the time difference. Hitting the snow would be a surefire way to keep his energy levels high. There was nothing better than the sound of the snow crunching beneath his board, his body leaning to the right and then to the left, a fine powder of ice spraying up in his face. On the slope or the half pipe, flying through the air as he did his tricks, he experienced a freedom he’d never had when he used to skate on the ice. While some tricks were required in snowboarding, he had the ability to change things up on each run and not be penalized as he would be in the regimented world of figure skating.

  Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to get onto the slopes until the next day. He’d made a promise to Dirk, his coach, that he’d let his body get over the long-haul flight before putting it through the rigors of his routines.

  Hauling himself off the bed, he grabbed his case and began to unpack. A shower would revive him enough to walk around the village. Maybe he’d find some of the other guys from the X Games circuit he could hang with. Anything would be better than sitting in the room, staring at four walls until Nate turned up.

  Two hours later, a buzz of conversation greeted him in the athletes’ lounge. A burst of laughter made him turn to his left. Seated around a square black table was the Canadian crew he’d seen at the airport. Immediately, his attention zeroed in on the woman who’d piqued his interest earlier. As he’d suspected, the baggy uniform she’d traveled in had hid a petite body. She was sitting on the arm of the couch, a pink sweater molded to her upper body, accentuating the soft curve of her breasts. Her legs were encased in black leggings.

  “You gonna stare all day, or are you gonna make a move?”

  Tension straightened his spine as recognition fired through him.

  Simon Bryant.

  His one-time best friend.

  Part of the dynamic threesome: Brady, Maybelle, and Simon. The three of them had gone to high school together, practiced every day, and hung out with each other at competitions, until the rumors, innuendo, and blatant misrepresentation of their relationships, not to mention his dad getting in his ear, had pushed eighteen-year-old Brady over the edge. He’d given up skating and walked away from his friends. He couldn’t complain. It had turned out to be the best thing for him—careerwise. Personally, not so much. Yet, deep down, guilt and regret that he’d turned his back on a sport he’d once loved and hurt the two people he’d grown up with ate away at him, all because the outside pressures had made him question his ability to succeed. He hated failing at anything. Now it seemed like his past had decided the Olympic Games was the best time to rear its ugly head.

  Turning to look at the friend he hadn’t seen in more than eight years shouldn’t have been difficult, but it was proving to be. The last thing Brady Thompson let rule his life now was fear. Once, it had. Now, he couldn’t do half the tricks he did if fear controlled his world. Pasting on a smile, he faced his past.

  “Simon, been a long time.” Brady stuck his hand out, like he would when greeting a sponsor or official. The other man took his hand in a brief shake.

  “Yeah, it has. You’ve done well for yourself. Congrats on your recent X Games win.”

  Brady stuck his hands in his pockets. “Thanks.”

  An awkward silence fell between them.

  Fuck. I should’ve just stayed in my room.

  Brady couldn’t walk away, no matter how uncomfortable the situation he now found himself in was. Plus, they were getting the side-eye from the group to his left. It may have been a long time ago, but the skating world was small. Nearly everyone knew about how Brady and Maybelle had won the junior world championship in pairs skating and Simon had won his individual event. And how, the day after they returned to Australia, Brady had walked away from the partnership and friendship with both of them.

  “So, Arielle Baldwin, huh? Didn’t pick her as your type,” Simon broke into his thoughts.

  “Who?”

  Simon canted his head in toward the Canadian athletes. “Arielle Baldwin, the girl you’re checking out. She’s the current Canadian figure-skating champion.”

  Yep, a figure skater. Just like he’d thought. When he’d walked away from Maybelle and their partnership, he’d sworn off all things related to figure skating. He’d stepped onto the rink once in the last eight years, and that was only because his date had surprised him by driving there on their one and only date. He’d refused to do anything but a basic skate, which annoyed the shit out of her. She wanted him to spin and jump. Nope, no way. He’d even avoided it after losing a bet one night at the X Games and a couple of his fellow competitors dared him to ice skate or snowboard naked. Snowboarding in minus five degrees with a wind-chill factor of a twenty below pretty much guaranteed his balls had disappeared for a week. A small price to pay to stay far, far away from a rink.

  “I was seeing if any of the guys I know from X Games were here.”

  “Uh-huh, that totally explains why you’re drooling.”

  Brady couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from lifting in a smile. “I don’t drool, dude.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, but I’d be wiping the side of my mouth before I make any moves.” Simon went to slap him on the arm. Brady instinctively took a step back. Simon’s smile dropped away. Geez, might as well stab myself with a hot poker. It was what he deserved for insulting Simon like that. “Right. Well, I’ll see you around, Brady.”

  Simon walked off before Brady could apologize. “Fuck,” he muttered as he started to chase after his former friend, but damn, the speculation in their audience’s eyes had gone from curious to rabid intensity.

  With a shake of his head, he headed in the opposite direction Simon had gone. Pity there wasn’t a bar nearby. But this wasn’t the X Games. This was the Olympics. It would do him well to remember that reputations could be made or ruined over the next couple of weeks. He didn’t need to give the selectors any reason to wonder if they’d done the right thing by putting him on the team. Brady deserved his position.

  His goals hadn’t changed just because his past had shattered the glass box he’d placed those memories in. He’d come to win two gold medals, and he would do whatever he needed to do to make that happen. Failure was not an option.

  • • •

  Conversation swirled around Arielle Baldwin, but her attention was drawn to the retreating figure of the man she’d seen at the airport.

  “Girl, Brady Thompson is one fine specimen of a man, but he’s definitely a love ’em and leave ’em type.”

  “What are you talking about, Tina?”

  “That piece of ass you were watching walk out the door. That’s Brady Thompson, current X Games half pipe champion. Player and part-time bad boy

  And way out of your league.

  Tina didn’t say the words, but Arielle could tell her roommate was thinking them. Man, she hated that everyone thought that because her routine focused around skating and she didn’t have a life outside the rink. Tina probably thought she was still a virgin. Nope. Arielle had had boyfriends, and a couple had managed to get her out of her skating costumes. She may not have been super experienced, but she wasn’t a complete novice.

  “Right. Well, you don’t have to worry. I’m here to win gold, not flirt with every good-looking guy I see. If you haven’t noticed, there’s a heap of handsome guys here.”

  Although a bad boy might be fun to shake things up.

  Arielle mentally stomped on her inner voice. Her mom would be less than impressed if she did anything to tarnish the reputation Mom had worked hard to cultivate for her daughter.

>   Tina laughed. “Oh yeah, I’ve noticed.”

  Arielle rolled her eyes. Tina was one of the girls her mom cautioned her about hanging around with, the type of girl who looked for a good time rather than working to meet her goals. Sure, Tina displayed a carefree attitude to those around her. It made her competitors think she would be an easy mark. But Tina had proven time and time again she shouldn’t be underestimated. Yet Arielle’s Mom still believed Tina to be lazy.

  “I wonder why he walked out,” she mused out loud.

  This time Tina rolled her eyes. “Tell me you haven’t forgotten why Brady got out of figure skating? Why he didn’t compete in the 2010 Games? You’re a skater, for goodness sake. Even I heard the story, and I’m a skier.”

  “I heard some chatter, but I was sixteen at the time, Tina. You know what my parents were like back then, always doing their best to shield me from unnecessary drama that would take my focus away from skating. I was just starting to do well. Winning a couple of comps. So, no, I don’t know the full story. Guess I hadn’t wanted to until now.” She leaned closer to her friend. “So how about you enlighten me? I know you’re itching to.”

  For the first time in all the years she’d known Tina, her friend looked uncomfortable. Her gaze flicked up, and her lips tightened into a thin line.

  What the heck is up with her?

  “Hey, Arielle, how’s it going?”

  Arielle jumped from her perch on the couch and squealed in surprise. “Simon!” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “When did you get in? Is John with you?”

  Simon laughed. “Not yet. He’ll be arriving the day before the opening ceremony.”

  Arielle unlocked her arms from around his neck. “Fair enough. I bet he’s excited to see you compete at the Games.”

  “Yeah, he is.”

  Her fellow ice skater looked a little tired, and she didn’t mean the exhausted type. He looked emotionally tired, his shoulders hunched and his eyes lacking their usual twinkle. He reminded her of one of those inflatable snowmen deflating when the power was shut off. “Do you want to join us? We’re having some hot chocolate.”