‘I’ll leave her homeless; she’s …

The wedding planning moved just as quickly. Ryan had opinions about everything, from the venue to the guest list. He wanted something small and elegant, just close family and friends.

Looking back, I realized he was trying to limit the number of people who might ask inconvenient questions about his background or finances. Smart man. I will give him that.

My business mentor, Sarah, was the only person who voiced concerns about the speed of our relationship. During lunch one afternoon, she casually asked if I had done any kind of background check on Ryan. “Background check?” I laughed.

“What do you think this is? A business merger?”

“In some ways, marriage is exactly that,” Sarah said gently. “You’re combining lives, assets, legal responsibilities.

You wouldn’t enter a business partnership without due diligence.”