She wanted so badly to look at him. It felt like an agony to have her hand in his, his arm around her – and yet she couldn’t see him . . . Then again, maybe it was better like this. It was easier talking to him if she didn’t have to look into those eyes.

‘So what about the film?’ he asked. ‘Do you still have one? Or did you give away all your best stuff saving me?’

A small sigh escaped her. Their only remaining ace was to film her talking about the fight outside the restaurant in Zell – hardly a clincher. ‘Pretty much. Johnny’s doing what he can, but we’ve effectively given away the punchline, so . . .’

Liam had pulled his offer again when word had reached him about her press conference and all its spoilers. It had been another compelling reason not to get off her sofa for two weeks.

Kit didn’t say anything immediately. ‘Sounds like you need an exclusive interview then.’

She waited for the ‘but’. A silence spooled instead.

‘. . . You’d do that?’

His grip tightened at her waist. ‘I reckon it’s the least I can do, all things considered. I might even behave this time.’

She gave a small smile as he led her round the rink, solid and sure, and she realized her fear of the ice was slipping away. It was beginning to feel normal through repetition, but she knew it was more than that – he made her feel safe.

‘I spoke to Mia,’ she said quietly. ‘She says you’ve all been back in touch recently.’

‘. . . Yeah.’

‘You might be going over there in the new year?’

‘That’s the plan.’

‘. . . She says Amy’s husband’s lawyers have come in with a pre-emptive settlement offer for damages. They just want this whole thing to go away.’

‘. . . Yeah.’

She dared to snatch a glimpse of him, catching a fleeting glance of his profile. His hold around her tightened as she immediately wobbled. But he didn’t. He was her penguin. ‘She also said you’re instructing your lawyers to have the entire sum put into a trust for the boys.’

‘. . . That’s supposed to be confidential,’ he said tersely.

‘Mia and I don’t have secrets.’

The ball of his jaw pulsed. ‘Clearly.’

‘So then, all’s well that ends well,’ she said lightly. ‘You’ve done right by Cory, setting up his family in their home, financially . . . You’ve got your gold and a new career. Success is happiness, right?’

There was a long pause. ‘I used to think so.’

She swallowed. ‘Not anymore?’

He didn’t speak for several moments as he manoeuvred her easily around a couple who’d just fallen, laughing hysterically, on their backsides. ‘. . . I’m retiring from snowboarding.’

She gasped. ‘But—’

His fingers gripped her waist more tightly. ‘My heart’s not in it. Tipper and Ari are going to work with Beau now.’