Page 11 of Finding Love on the Slopes

When she returned, she had a package of semi-custom insoles for his ski boots. “Trust me, your feet will thank me after a long day on the slopes with better support than the rental boots provide. Now, pull open the straps, pull up on the tongue, point your toe down, and push until your foot slides in. Good, now tap your heel on the ground until your heel slides back into the pocket. Okay, now we are going to tighten the straps. Listen carefully to this part. You always tighten the top first and make sure it is nice and firm. When you tighten the toe straps, you have to make sure it’s snug but not too tight, or you will limit circulation and have freezing feet. That makes for a very unpleasant experience.”

Enrique followed her directions then stood, “Now what?”

Leighann tried not to roll her eyes again. If he had really paid attention to the video, he would know what was next.

“You’re going to practice stepping into and out of your skis. This is much easier to learn when you aren’t sliding around on snow.”

“I saw how to do this in the video; it isn’t rocket science.” Enrique grabbed the skis she had placed on the bench beside him, slid them apart where they were hooked together, and dropped them on the floor in front of him. He quickly dipped his right toe into the front binding on the right ski and pressed his heel down until it clicked and locked into place. He then repeated the process with the left. “Easy, now what?”

“Now,you practice taking them off,” she said, handing him his poles.

He quickly used the bottom of his right pole to depress the lock on his right foot until it clicked, then pulled his heel up until his boot popped out of the binding. Before he could repeat the process with his left foot, Leigh stopped him.

“This time, use your boot to release the lock. In case you drop your pole, you need to be able to get yourself loose without them. You can also bend down and use your hand. Got it?”

“Got it,” he said, feeling like an advanced student stuck in a remedial class.

Next, she had him sit on the floor and practice getting up with the skis attached to his feet, simulating what it would be like if he fell. By the time they completed this exercise, his patience had run out, and he was done practicing indoors. When she told him they were headed to the simulation area, he balked.

“I’m done playing schoolboy. People learned to ski for years without indoor simulations, and I don’t need it either. It’s time to hit the slope. Grab your stuff; I’ll meet you in the car,”Enrique barked over his shoulder while marching toward the front of the store.

Leigh watched his broad shoulders as he walked away, weighing her options. She was done fighting with this man. If he wanted to learn the hard way, so be it. Some folks just didn’t feel accomplished if they didn’t attend the school of hard knocks, and apparently, Enrique was one of them. She would enjoy watching him fall on his behind.

Chapter Eight

Leighann looked out the window of Enrique’s SUV as they pulled into the parking lot of Avalanche Crest Ski Resort. Every time she returned to the slopes, she felt at peace, no matter where in the world, but here… it was like returning home. Her heart warmed at the sight of the familiar ski lodge and the pattern of the slopes heading down the mountain. She may have moved to Florida and spent most of her time in the water now, but the ski slopes would always be special, a place she loved and felt she truly belonged.

Enrique pushed the button to turn off the vehicle’s engine, and she sighed in relief. What an awkward drive. It was a good thing it only took twenty minutes to get here from Parker’s Outfitters, or she may have screamed. Much to her dismay, he had insisted on taking his SUV instead of her brother’s borrowed Jeep. When she said they could ride separately and meet up, he disagreed; something about wasted time trying to find eachother. She worried this sporty luxury ride wouldn’t be able to handle the rough, icy road up to the private resort, but to her surprise, it managed pretty well.

His car smelled like him, which struck her as odd, given it had to be a rental. The aroma wasn’t overwhelming; in fact, if she was honest with herself, it was quite alluring. It didn’t strike her as… wimpy with fruity, flowery, sweet notes, but it also wasn’t the rich, musky scent of nature and wood that exuded from her brother after a shower. So far, his pleasant scent was the only thing she appreciated about him. If she were looking for a man, which she was most definitely not…especiallynot this one, she could see herself getting used to burying her nose in his chest just to breathe in the fragrance that put her at ease and calmed her.

Giving herself a small shake, she opened the door and jumped down from the vehicle, circling the back and tapping the button for the automatic tailgate to lift. Enrique joined her just as she reached in to grab her gear bag, poles, and skis.

“Grab your stuff and follow me. If you’re lucky, you’ll have an hour to practice before the slope shuts down for the night.” She didn’t wait for him; she simply turned and marched resolutely towards the lodge.

She greeted several people who were surprised to see her as she made her way through the lodge to the rows of picnic tables covered in thick polyurethane finish, set before a wall of twenty-five-foot-tall windows.

Claiming an empty table closest to the glass double doors leading out to the slopes she dropped her bag on the tabletop and leaned her skis and poles against the table in a clever notch that had been cut into the wood for that very purpose.

“Grab a seat; let’s get geared up. Light is wasting, and the temperature is dropping.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Enrique responded sarcastically, saluting her like a soldier.Like I needed to be told what to do. I’m not a child.He silently ranted.

As soon as his gear was on, Leigh led the way to the bottom of the bunny slope, where he would practice. She had just instructed him to step into his skis when a woman rushed over and embraced her before launching into an interrogation on her visit to Colorado. Enrique, annoyed by the further delay, placed his gloved hands inside the pockets of his coat as he overlooked the skiers on the slopes. The sound of teens laughing hysterically caught his attention. When he spotted them, he saw a boy and a girl laughing as they tried to help their friend up from where they had just fallen and, in the process, slipped and were pulled down to the icy ground themselves.

He glanced back at Leigh, who had ended her conversation with a promise to catch up with the other woman and was lifting her hair up to tie it into a ponytail.

“Aren’t there other slopes around?”

Leighann looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“Why this one?” he asked, lifting a hand from his pocket and waving it to indicate the large area in front of him. Lightjazz music played in the background from the lodge’s outdoor speakers, and several groups of people huddled around firepits arranged on the outdoor patio area for folks who needed a rest but didn’t want to take off their gear and go inside. “It’s too crowded.”

“What do you mean, ‘Why this one?’ It’s the bunny slope; there is only one. It’s where every beginner learns how to ski before tackling the harder slopes that require the ski lift to get to. What? You want everyone to leave just becauseEnrique Rodriguezwants to learn how to ski?”

“Preferably,” he replied, and she scoffed, shaking her head. Leigh sucked in a large breath as realization lit up her brain and electrified her cells, rekindling the anger she had felt earlier with him.

“Oh my goodness! Is that what this was? You wasted the entire day,my entire day,just so you could make it to the slope at the end of the day when you thought everyone would be gone. You are a piece of work; you know that, Rodriguez?”

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