Chapter 4 #3
Hell, yeah they’d make the perfect couple and I want to see exactly what their #MeltingPoint is! Hehehe! Bet it’s hawt!
Imagine their babies! Too cute #MeltingPoint
The way she’s leaning against him makes me think that there’s something in the air in Italy #MeltingPoint #FinnandSam
I’d melt too if he looked at me the way he looks at her #MeltingPoint #FinnandSam
“Oh God.” Sam handed the phone back to Maya. “That’s crazy.”
“No, it’s not, and so what. Let them think it.” Maya was busy liking each comment. “It can’t do any harm. It’s a good thing really—look what happened when Becky started posting photos of her and Leo.”
“What happened?” Sam said sulkily, annoyed that people were calling her and Finn a gorgeous couple. They couldn’t be a couple; they’d promised that they wouldn’t ever be.
Maya didn’t look up. “It increased her exposure, and it’s only a matter of time before she gets a big deal.
” Sam winced but Maya didn’t notice. Maya continued, “And everyone loves a love story. And being with Leo too—he’s handsome and he’s still supporting her even though he can’t ski anymore.
It’s like a love conquers all story. Beautiful. ”
Sam stared out of the window as the snow swirled down. “True. But I have my suspicions.”
“Don’t we all.” Maya tapped away on her phone. “But at the end of the day, Sam, it must be really hard for him not being able to be out there.”
“And one of the reasons he hates me so much.” Sam sighed. “But it wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t driving that day, and I can’t change what happened.”
“I’m not saying that.” Maya looked up at her. “Just try to see it from a different perspective.”
“I don’t have your sunny outlook,” Sam said. “But I’ll try.”
Maya glanced at her phone as it pinged. She squealed. “Wah! Oh, you won’t believe who’s just liked … and commented on the post! Only Salvaro AND Montalier.”
Sam sat up, almost spilling her hot chocolate. “What!”
Salvaro and Montalier! Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined two of the biggest and most prestigious names in sportswear noticing her Instagram, let alone reply to any of the posts.
“Yes … Salvaro said: ‘Looks like Finn and Sam are already a perfect team on and off the slopes! We’d love to see what magic they create—both in sport and in life. Maybe it’s time for a #MeltingPoint partnership? #SponsorshipGoals #WinterOlympics2026’.”
Sam gasped. “No way.”
“Yes.” Maya giggled. “And Montalier replied: ‘Well, it looks like the perfect match just found its jacket! Finn and Sam, are you ready to take your partnership to the next level? We think you’d look very good in Montalier. #MeltingPoint #MontalierXFinnAndSam #WinterOlympics2026’.”
“Leo is going to hate this.” Sam smoothed the comforter with her free hand. “Dad is going to hate it.”
Maya waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. “Snaps to Salvaro and Montalier for not telling you to shut up though! This is brilliant, Sam. You need to reply to them!”
She carried on commenting and liking replies to the post. Sam twisted her almost empty mug in her hands.
Maybe it was time to stop caring about what her dad and Leo thought.
After all, she was almost twenty-four. It was time to grow up, and Finn was right, it was time to think beyond the Olympics, whether she liked it or not.
Sam allowed her thoughts to wander back to the night that had changed everything, the night that an elk had run into the car Leo had been driving, forcing him to drive off the road and down into the ditch.
It hadn’t seemed to be a bad accident, not at first sight, but the car had rolled a few times before smashing into a boulder where it stopped.
Sam had been the only passenger to walk away without a scratch.
Leo had been black and blue for months, and he’d broken both of his legs in more than one place.
Remarkably, her mom hadn’t sustained any obvious injuries, at least that’s what they thought at first. It was only when they took her mom from the wreck that they’d discovered she couldn’t move her legs.
She’d been too worried about her son to even register that she was in pain.
Sam pushed the memory away. Leo shouldn’t have been driving that night, but their dad had stayed back at the ski center to talk to some big-deal suits.
Leo would hate that she’d gotten the attention from that post, but that was another thing she wasn’t responsible for.
Maya was only doing her job. He’d just have to get over it, and so would Dad.
“I think I’ll go to sleep. Don’t stay up too late.
” Sam got up and took Maya’s empty mug as her friend worked away on the team socials.
Sam rinsed their mugs in the bathroom handbasin before going to close the curtains.
She paused and looked out of the window.
Finn had been right about the snow. It was falling steadily and would be perfect for tomorrow’s qualie.
Tomorrow she’d get out there and win a gold medal—not just for herself, but for every other girl and woman who’d been told they couldn’t win.