Page 56 of Finding Love on the Slopes

After eating a quick breakfast together and sharing a comforting embrace, they went their separate ways. Leigh drove to her brother’s home to ensure everything was okay and ready for her to return before driving the hour to her grandmother’s.

She stopped and loaded up on groceries on the way just to be sure the pantry was stocked before she headed home. She wasn’t sure when Curtis was returning, and her grandmother didn’t venture out much in the winter. It wasn’t like she would starve. She had an entire cave room full of supplies, but hadlearned firsthand, eating nothing but dried processed food for a while got old really fast.

Now she was sitting on a ledge in the warmest hot spring in the cave, at least the part she had ventured into, pouring her heart out to her grandmother as they soaked in the healing minerals.

Her grandmother and Curtis were the only two people she would feel comfortable having this conversation with, well, and Gina. However, Curtis and Gina were together, off in the wild, so her grandmother got to hear all her romantic drama.

It was funny; she was thirty-two years old, and this was the first conversation she had had with her grandmother on this topic. Her grandmother had encouraged her to find love over the years and passed on her wisdom, but this was the first time Leighann was participating.

“It’s crazy to think I have barely known him nine days, and yet I know, beyond a doubt, that I’m in love with him,” Leighann continued, turning her head to face Stella. “I feel it every time we’re together, like a warm blanket wrapped around me. I didn’t know it was possible to fall in love with someone so quickly. Not really. I grew up hearing your love story and Mom and Dad’s, but I always thought it was a bit of a fantasy. Now, it’s real, and it’s happening to me.”

“Love doesn’t operate on anyone’s schedule, sweetheart,” Stella smiled softly at her. “Some people fall in love in moments, identifying their soulmate right away. Others it takes days, months, or even years. Some people never find it becausethey don’t want to, aren’t open when it comes, or throw the opportunity away. Regardless of if it’s slow or fast, do you feel deep down in your soul that it’s right, or do you have reservations?”

“I am at peace, but I’m also a little scared and nervous. I’ve never felt so sure about anything before, but I know it isn’t going to be easy. We’re different in many ways. His world and mine are miles apart, but yet we fit. I feel that God has a plan for us, and I want to trust and step into it, but at the same time, I want to ask, Why him? Why now?”

Stella smiled. “That’s usually the best form of connection, Leighann. You don’t have to be the same people to love each other. You’re a scientist; it’s the very force of nature. Like forces repel and unlike forces attract.”

“Well, this isn’t physics,” Leighann grumbled. “And if I had designed my future spouse, he would have had a little bit more in common with me and a lot less money. Living simply, on a budget, would have been no big deal to me. Living surrounded by expensive and extravagant things is. Asking him to give it all away isn’t realistic, but neither is thinking I can live the way he does. The more I think about it, the more I feel like a fish being asked to live in a tree.”

Stella smiled and cupped her precious granddaughter’s cheek in her hand. “No relationship is easy. Nothing in life is perfect. And God’s timing is not our own. Communication. Understanding. Compromise. You can’t move forward with your partner without those three things. Listen to understand. Speak to be understood. Make the decision to love and never lookback. Don’t let money ruin your relationship. That is the best advice I have to give.” Stella kissed Leighann’s forehead before resuming her position and relaxing with her head back.

Leighann’s head spun a little. Stella’s words reminded her of what Giulia and Mateo had said. Instead of worrying about how incompatible the money made them, she should just talk to him about it and see if there was a middle ground. He had said no compact cars and travel trailers. There was a lot of middle ground between that and a posh marble palace on a hill.

Leighann squeezed her grandmother’s hands. “He leaves tomorrow, grandma.”

“Well, today’s not over, is it? You did say he asked you to dinner tonight. In my opinion, that’s more than enough time to talk. But in case there is more to discuss- they did invent these noisy contraptions called phones. It’s amazing how great a distance they can cover. I have to come down here to my cave to get away from that thing sometimes. Nothing gets through these walls.”

Leighann still looked sad, and Stella’s smile widened.

“I’ve never seen you fuss over a man like this, and it fills my heart that you have found your soulmate. You’ve been alone for too long, and I’m so glad God has seen fit to give you a helpmate to share your burdens. You deserve happiness, sweetheart. You deserve joy and all the love and comfort the arms of the man God intended for you will bring. Be sure to invite me to the wedding.”

***

The bell over the door jingled as Enrique entered the high-end jewelry store later that morning. He had checked in with his team again to see if they had made any progress in tracking down the source of misused intelligence and then drove to Aspen to get the ring.

He knew he had only met Leighann nine days before, and they had barely scratched the surface of everything they needed to iron out to make this relationship work, but he knew if any woman was his one-in-a-million, it was her, and he wanted to make it official. On the drive over, he called his sister for advice.

“Hannah, I need…”

He didn’t even get to finish before she shouted, “You found her, didn’t you? You’re one in a million. You found her. I can tell from your voice—don’t deny it. Do I know her, or is she someone new? What do you need my help with?”

“You haven’t met her yet. I met her nine days ago, but I know she’s the one I have been waiting for. You are going to love her. Please don’t tell Anthony or any of the others. I want to keep this a secret for now.”

“Oh, Hun, you know I’m a vault. But I don’t keep secrets from my husband either. If he asks about you for some reason, I will tell him what he needs to know.”

“Understood. Thank you. I need advice on engagement rings. I’m really good with stones and settings, but I don’t wantto mess this up. I have no idea what style to get, and we haven’t exactly talked about this.”

“Engagement. Wow! You really are sure. It doesn’t surprise me. If Anthony could have proposed the week we met, he would have, and the age difference and work dynamic wouldn’t have mattered. As for rings, remember the ring is for her, not you. Don’t try to make a statement like stamping your name on her for ownership. It is a symbol of your love and commitment. Think about her style and get something that will go with that every day, not something she will feel comfortable wearing only to red-carpet events. You can get her something special for those events, like you got me the emeralds. Your niece is screaming, I gotta run. Good luck. I love you.” She hung up the phone before he could reply.

Now he stood looking down at a case full of glittering diamonds and felt the weight of this decision. He wasn’t doubting it, but feeling it settle on him like a cloak, he needed to get used to it. When Anthony suggested this two weeks ago, he knew he was destined to fail. But now he was about to ask a woman to marry him that he barely knew and yet… felt like he had known all his life.

A woman wearing a nametag that read Loraine approached and offered to assist him.

“Hello, sir. What can I assist you with today?”

“I’m looking for an engagement ring—nothing too big or too small. I spoke to your manager this morning, and he said he would pull some things for me to look at.”

“Ah, yes. Just a moment.” Loraine scurried to a back room and returned carrying a tray of preselected rings. These are our finest designs. I believe you said it needed to stay under five carats.”

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