“Six thirty for me.” Sam frowned as Finn walked ahead of them.
Maya didn’t seem to notice anything was going on. She linked her arm with Sam’s and together they trudged toward their hotel, waving at Finn as he diverted toward his own hotel just down the street from theirs, which was where Coach Harrington and the skiing team were based.
“Jammy,” Maya said as she took in the glamour of Finn’s hotel: a large three-story modern-style chalet with a huge front porch and a swish-looking bar. “I wish we’d gotten that hotel—ours is gorgeous but it’s not a patch on this one. You could be in there, you know, in a real bed, with a kitchen—like Finn has. How did he manage to pull that one—get a suite—while we got a room that’s on their website as The Classic Double?”
“You forgot the hot tub.” Sam laughed. “He got the suite with the hot tub.”
“There’s a hot tub?” Maya squeaked. “You’re kidding me.”
“I’m not.” Sam nudged her. “He even has two floors, and the hot tub is on the top deck—and it has a mountain view.”
“Dear Lord, will you stop tormenting me!” Maya shook her head. “Listen, I know you’re trying to be Miss Independent, and I know that you have beef with your dad and don’t want to be in the same space as him—but we could be in that hot tub right now!”
“It’s not worth it,” Sam said. She considered telling Maya about the lost sponsorship but decided against it. “He’d think that I’ve forgiven him for leaving us, and I haven’t. It’s hard enough that he’s still my coach … I don’t think I could share a hotel with him.”
Maya blew a curl from her eyes. “I know … but seriously forget about the hot tub. Think about the bed! Finn said his bed is enormous—that it’s the most comfortable bed he’s ever slept in.”
“Gah!” Sam snorted. “I’m sure—and he’d be the expert there—he’s slept in a lot of beds.”
Chuckling, Maya pulled the card key to their room from her mitten as they kicked the snow from their boots outside their hotel. “I’ve heard tales about how good he is in bed.”
Sam covered her ears. “I don’t want to know! Argh! Maya! He’s like a brother to me! Stop!”
Maya laughed as they went inside, pulling off their snow jackets as they made their way to the mirrored lift at the end of the warm and cozy lobby. Sam was more than happy with their hotel. It wasn’t as plush as Finn’s, true, but it was a step up from the accommodation she knew some of the athletes had suffered through at other events. She missed Finn being close by, but their room allocations were out of their control, and they were going to be together during the day, so it really didn’t matter that much.
Up in their room, Sam watched as Maya filled the tiny kettle for their hot water bottles. It was such a novelty, having an electric kettle in their room, and being able to have a complimentary hot chocolate really did help her relax. She slipped into her pjs and sat on the bed as Maya, ever the diva, swanned into the bathroom to do her ritual double cleanse and skin routine. Picking at the fluff on the comforter Sam bit her bottom lip. What she’d said to Maya about Finn outside the hotel rankled:he’s like a brother to me… It wasn’t even true. He wasmorethan a brother to her, but in what sense? He was her best friend, her confidant, the first person she wanted to share good, and bad, news with.
Even if he hadn’t been there when Harper had let the news of the Valestré sponsorship slip, he’d have been the first person she’d have gone running to. He made her laugh like no one else did and he knew all of her favorite things. Hecould tell from the tone of her texts that things were getting to her and that she was about to ask him to run away on a weekend break with her. And he always madeSamwichesfor their watch parties, even when they weren’t together. Freakily, he always knew when she wanted a Starbucks hot chocolate, and when she wanted a peach iced tea. He said he could tell by the way she walked! Stomping meant hot chocolate because she needed sweetening and warming up, a light walk meant she was in a good mood that could only be made better by the addition of anything peachy. And occasionally hot cider because the season demanded it, and she needed to try new things every once in a while.
New things every once in a while. Did that have anything to do with what he’d said earlier? She mulled over it; he’d said he wondered what they’d do after this. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. Well, she’d lied. She had thought about it, but she never expected anything to come of it and had pushed those dreams aside. Feeling silly that she hadn’t ever realized time was passing and they weren’t going to be able to compete forever, Sam filled her hot water bottle and sat back against her headboard. She needed something to cuddle.
She’d left her phone on the locker to charge when they’d gotten in, and it lit up as she settled back. It was Leo. His fifth WhatsApp message. Sam read all five with a rapidly sinking heart.
Hey, where are you? Dad is here. We want a family photo to mark the moment.
Hey, seriously, Sam. Where are you?
We’re heading to the club after dinner.
Can’t you just answer me! Come on, Sam.
Thanks for sticking around to celebrate, sis. I thought you’d at least have been happy for me.
Sam put the phone down. It wasn’t that she didn’t wish Leo and Becky well, it was just all too much right now. The Valestré deal. She couldn’t stop thinking about how it should have been hers. It really hurt, and what was worse, clearly Becky, Leo and her dad all had known about it before tonight—and not one of them had bothered to talk to her about it.
The Valestré deal had been talked about for months. Becky had been lined up for another less lucrative deal, so what had happened to make Valestré choose her over Sam? Sam groaned. Her dad had always said that Becky had the “media polish that brands were after”, which Sam interpreted as a warning for the way she spoke up about the inequality within their sport.
Time and again she’d rowed with her dad about the unfairness of it all. Although it was true that the bigger and more well-known events were pushing for equality in prize money, there were many smaller competitions—ones that everyone had to start from—where the guys’ prize money was substantially more than the women’s. One prize she’d won in her time competing had been particularly insulting: five hundred dollars and a gift bag. A freaking gift bag!? Her male counterpart had been awarded almost ten thousanddollars. It had felt like a slap in the face and had been the moment that had made her speak up. But speaking up was costing her now.
No matter how much her dad told her to keep her mouth shut, she couldn’t stay quiet about how women in sport were treated badly. She just couldn’t! It was hard enough being a woman without having more odds stacked against you. But her outspokenness and her agenda seemed to be going against her. She’d lost two smaller contracts after that last interview where she’d been very clear on how she felt about it all, and now she was feeling the pinch. Competing at this level didn’t come cheap. Her dad was footing the bill—and he never let her forget it.
Her big hope now was to take home a medal—gold preferably. The National Olympics Committee had paid a bonus to the summer Olympic gold medal recipients, almost forty thousand dollars for their win, and there was no reason to think they wouldn’t pay similar bonuses to the Winter Olympic medalists. Then there was the fact that any endorsement that followed a win would be priceless. That kind of money wasn’t just about the paycheck, though. For Sam, it was an opportunity to stand out on her own, to break free from her dad’s shadow. But it hurt like hell knowing that he’d spoken up for Becky over her, especially as whatever medal Becky won, her National Olympics Committee bonus would be topped up by Valestré as per the contract. It was like he wanted to keep her under his control.
And Sam knew her brother well. Leo wasn’t going to enjoy being second to Becky who was clearly being seen asfirst in many eyes on the circuit. He’d once been the golden child; she supposed they had that much in common. Her heart softened a little as she remembered the dark time after the car accident that had left Leo, and her mother, forever changed. While her mother had somewhat adapted to her injuries, Leo had fallen apart. His left leg had been shattered, and no amount of operating had changed the fact that his leg was now noticeably shorter than the other. His recovery was painful, but the physical pain had been nothing compared to the mental and emotional turmoil he’d gone through. He’d refused to ski since then, said that he couldn’t. He’d been so angry about that, for so long. Skiing had been his whole life—he, unlike her, had made a five-anda ten-year plan—and it was all about his career. Now he didn’t have that anymore.
Sam grasped her hot water bottle tightly. She was glad he had Becky. She’d somehow managed to get through to Leo in a way that no one else in the family had. And he did love Becky, Sam acknowledged, and she loved him. These days he was mostly fine, but sometimes his bitterness and anger raised its ugly head again. Sam sighed. These Games were proving to be a challenge to Leo as much as they were to her.
Sam’s phone lit up again. An Instagram notification from the team’s Insta account. Intrigued, she opened the app to see a photo of her and Finn standing staring up at the mountain with their arms around each other. Maya must’ve taken it before they’d realized she was behind them. It was a gorgeous photo. Maya had really captured the tension and the hope that Sam was feeling inside, and the snowymountains looked amazing. Like a challenge to be overcome. The caption read:
