Page 121 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Tora giggled softly and touched her forehead to Alisa’s.

“Good luck at the opening. Don’t slip on the ice out there.”

“Missed your pretty sarcastic face.” Tora smiled, gave a small wave, and disappeared behind the stands.

“Missed you too, baby…” She whispered almost to herself now. As soon as Tora was out of sight, the smile faded from Alisa’s face. She returned to the athletes’ box.

The others were no longer fully focused on the performance below. They were discussing their upcoming routines, analyzing rivals, and sipping drinks from the snack table.

The hours of the opening ceremony passed unbelievably fast. Alisa barely noticed how much time had gone by.

Soon the parade of nations began. Countries entered in alphabetical order, each delegation carrying its flag. Everyone was dressed beautifully, in winter outfits styled with unmistakable Italian elegance. After all, this was Italy, the capital of world fashion. Everything had to be perfect.

And it was.

The advantage of the parade was that it allowed the athletes to see the faces of their competitors clearly, to observe who would be skating in the coming days. Some faces were familiar from past championships, but this year there were many debutantes.

That realization eased something inside Alisa.

She was not the only one stepping into the unknown.

The parade had already reached the letter N in the alphabetical order, which meant Norway was about to enter the stadium.

As soon as the announcer’s voice echoed through the arena, a wave of athletes poured out onto the stage. It felt like an entire army. Alisa tried to count—sixty, seventy… maybe eighty—but her thoughts were too restless to keep track. Anxiety distorted everything. Still, a quiet pride swelled inside her.

Somewhere in that sea of red, white, and blue was her girlfriend.

First came a woman in a futuristic silver down jacket, carrying a sign that looked as though it had been carved from a single block of ice: Norvegia. The sign shimmered under the lights. Behind her marched the flag bearer, holding the Norwegian flag high, and then the rest of the delegation followed.

They were smiling broadly, waving at cameras from every direction. Some danced to the music blasting through the stadium. A DJ with neon-green hair was mixing upbeat tracks from a raised platform, and the entire arena seemed to pulse to the rhythm.

“There are so many of them…” Alisa murmured under her breath.

“Yeah,” Ivan muttered in agreement. “They say there are about a hundred of them here. That’s insane. Not fair.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at the spectacle.

“There’s definitely a whole hockey team in there—look!” Alisa uttered to Anfisa specifically and pointed toward a group of large, broad-shouldered athletes bouncing and shouting with infectious enthusiasm. Even from a distance, they radiated unmistakable hockey energy. Their voices were swallowed by the roar of the crowd. Anfisa just snorted with displeasure, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Of course they brought everyone,” Ivan said bitterly. “They can compete under their flag. Ours can’t. And no one’s going to show up here just to march without it.”

He shook his head, still watching the Norwegians.

Alisa, however, had already found Tora in the crowd. It took her only a second. Even among dozens of athletes, her eyes locked onto her immediately.

She smiled without realizing it.

Ivan noticed.

“Why are you grinning like that?” He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sleeping with someone from there?”

Alisa flushed instantly. Heat rushed to her cheeks, tiny prickles spreading across her skin.

“No! Of course not. Why would you even say that?” she protested too quickly.

Ivan narrowed his eyes. “You smiled like you just saw the love of your life.”

Anfisa coughed to defuse the situation, but Ivan did not let Alisa go that easily… and what did he need from her so badly? Why is he prying so much into my private life?