Page 17 of Finding Love on the Slopes

“Fine, fine. I heard you,” she said. “I’m hanging up now, Curtis. I’m supposed to meet up with Angelo, Kate, and the rest of our ski friends. I’m already late.”

“Say hi for me, will ya?”

Leighann assured him she would, and they bade each other a good night before hanging up. She turned her head upside down and spritzed some hair spray around her head before flipping it back over to give her straight hair some semblance ofvolume, then applied a cherry lip gloss over her tinted lip balm to add a tiny extra splash of color.

She glanced at the time, murmuring under her breath as she quickly slipped her feet into a pair of brown, knee-high boots and pulled her long, puffy winter coat over her sweater and skirt before reaching for her purse. She slipped her phone into her coat pocket, locked the house, and made her way to Curtis’ lime green Jeep, waiting in the driveway. She missed her remote start hybrid on cold, snowy nights like this. Her car would already be warm and waiting for her. This drive was going to rattle her teeth.

Holiday lights still twinkled on the streets as she drove to the resort. All she could think about during the thirty-minute trek to Avalanche Crest was the conversation she just had with Curtis. Her mind tried to put all the pieces she had together to make a cohesive picture of the man her brother loved so much, but she struggled to like it at all. She parked in the lot and took three cleansing breaths before stepping down carefully onto the compacted, frozen snow and slamming the door shut.

She decided to let go of him tonight. She was about to see her friends and wanted to be fully present in the moment and have some much-needed fun. A few cups of hot chocolate and a good talk would do the trick.

That was the mantra that played in her head as she headed towards the main lodge, where Angelo and the rest of her friends excitedly waved her over. She grinned, her heart full at the sightof them, and she embraced each of them as they laughed and threw ‘Happy New Year’ greetings, left, right, and center.

She did forget about Enrique. As she sat there, basking in the warmth of her friend’s love, comforted by the closeness that the years had not dimmed, laughing as her fellow instructors recounted tales of their family holidays and dreamy or nightmarish clients that came to town this time of year, she did forget about her handsome, arrogant billionaire… for a moment.

Then, about thirty minutes into the most casual and enjoyable evening she’d had in a very long time, she caught sight of him walking out of the manager’s office, which was less than fifty feet away from where they sat.

At 6’3”, which she only knew because it was documented in his profile at the store, Enrique Rodriguez wasn’t someone who could easily fade into a crowd. He stood out, not only because of his height and his looks but also because of the confidence he exuded everywhere he went.

She sat up straighter, unsure whether she was hoping he would or wouldn’t see her. She assumed he had been in the manager’s office, probably signing paperwork and making his payment for the reservation of the mountain. He wasn’t looking in her direction, so she watched as Mr. Bailey - the owner - and Mr. Lawrence – the manager – followed him out, both with smiles on their faces as they took turns shaking his hand.

A single lock of hair on his forehead made him appear younger than he was, and he smiled curtly at them as he receivedtheir handshakes. He turned away after that, exiting the lodge, and Leighann finally relaxed into her seat.

She didn’t call out to him or invite him to join her and her friends because she couldn’t—not tonight. Another dose of his machismo would push her right over the edge of her tolerance. All she wanted was to relax and unwind with her friends as they caught up on all her years away.

Tomorrow, she would put on her armor and prepare herself to be strong against his arrogance and attitude. Tomorrow, she would be all his.

Chapter Thirteen

Enrique could tell there was something off with Leighann as she slipped on her gear the next morning. Silence stretched between them, the only sounds being the click of her boots in the bindings and the slight rustling of her clothes as she moved.

They were in the reserved portion of the mountain. The only protection from the elements was the operator’s shack at the bottom of the lift. The atmosphere was so different from the day before when they could hear the sounds of children’s laughter, the clicks of cameras, and the other skiers on the slopes. Here, it was completely quiet, save for the mechanical whirring of the lift chairs above them. He liked it, the privacy and the fact that he could practice without the fear of anyone laughing at his mistakes or any show of anxiety.

The mountain was covered with blinding white snow; tall evergreen trees bordered the vast, empty, and quiet slopes. He noticed Leighann was unusually quiet. Occasionally, henoticed a wrinkle form between her brows, like she was thinking about something, but then she seemed to take a deep breath and intentionally smooth the lines, returning to a neutral facial expression.

She barely spared him a glance as she clicked the strap on her helmet closed and lowered her goggles into place.

She retrieved the goggles from her coat pocket and held them out to him. “No arguing today. There is no one here to see your fashion sense, so looking cute in your aviators isn’t necessary. Goggles are not just to protect your eyes from going snow blind but also from the temperatures and drafts. Put them on, or we don’t leave this spot.”

Her tone told him she wasn’t going to take no for an answer, which was fine because he had come prepared today and worn contacts. He removed the aviator sunglasses from his face and slipped them into his breast pocket before putting the goggles over his helmet. Leigh helped him adjust the strap to the right amount of tension before sliding back a few feet.

Grabbing her poles from where she had stabbed them into the ground, she announced, “There are no greens on this side of the mountain. So, we’ll start slowly with the easiest blue slopes.” Her tone was curt as she approached the chair lift. He was right behind her. She explained how to get on and took the first chair, so she was in front of him. Ideally, they would have ridden together, but she was obviously upset about something, and he didn’t need any more emotion stirred up than he was already dealing with. He hadn’t realized how far up in the airthe chair lifts were, they rode close to the ground where you got on. By the time they reached the top of the slopes, his heart was pounding, and his breathing was faster than normal, too.

Leigh was planted right at the end of the chair lift to make sure he came off at the right time and didn’t go sailing right over the edge of the nearest slope, which was a blue-black diamond, way harder than he was prepared for. Compared to the gentle green they had practiced on yesterday, these slopes were much steeper and loftier. Side by side they “skated” to the first slope he was to traverse. He stood next to her, overlooking the slope, wearing his usual mask of indifference. But internally, he was a bundle of nerves and anxiety.

Leigh walked him through the turns on the slope, showing him a map of the terrain. She reminded him to never point his skis directly downhill as that would create a dangerous amount of speed, always zig-zag the mountain, she warned. She pointed out places he would need to start his wedge to ensure he maintained a safe speed, locations of ice build-up… She was still talking, but he had stopped listening as panic threatened to overwhelm him. As he took reconnaissance of the slopes, his heart sank slowly, all the way to his toes. His mind couldn’t take in any more information she had to offer because it had shut down in fear. Anxiety flooded his system, causing a bead of sweat to run down his temple even though it was twenty degrees outside.

His throat started constricting and he knew that if he let this go any further he would make a scene and Leighann wouldknow something was wrong with him. He couldn’t risk her finding out. He was tough as nails according to his brothers, always in control, and put together. He reminded himself that he was a fully grown man, self-made and successful in everything he did. Not to mention in the best shape of his life. He could do this!

He wasn’t a child anymore, and this wasn’t a life-or-death situation. This was an adventure. It was meant to be fun. He was going to fulfill this brotherhood pact, face this stupid childhood trauma, and have a good time learning a pastime that 1.5% of the population enjoyed.

Besides, he had a three-time Olympic gold medal skier as his instructor. What could go wrong? They may have gotten off on the wrong foot and disliked each other, but that wasn’t a criterion for a successful working relationship. He was certain she would ensure his safety. If children could do it, then what was stopping an adventure-loving thirty-two-year-old man like him?

His jaw set in determination, and his grip tightened on his poles. He was going to do this before his anxiety got the better of him, and he chickened out. He needed to prove to himself that he wasn’t a coward, and he was going to do it now.

His eyes narrowed as he analyzed the slope, as if he were taking the measure of an enemy, a challenge he needed to overcome. Taking a deep breath, he gave a mighty heave with his poles, not bothering to give a heads-up to the woman next to him beforehis skis tipped over the edge and he was taking off down the slope.

Leighann’s jaw dropped, her eyes widening as she was equally startled and dumbfounded by his abrupt departure. She watched him glide away on the snow-covered mountainside. ‘What in the world is wrong with him?’she thought as she quickly jumped into action to follow him. Had he been listening to her at all? Had he picked up onanyof the safety tips she had just gone over? She worried her bottom lip as she poured on speed to catch up with him. He wasn’t crisscrossing the mountain like she had instructed, and that worried her. Trying to wedge all the way down a mountain caused fatigue to set in quickly.

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