I pictured her lying down on that tiny bed under a pile of covers that were pulled up to her chin. Or maybe she was sitting on her back deck looking at their perfect Colorado view. I could even see her at her desk, back hunched over her laptop, editing her podcasts. Her long blonde hair dripping into her face and sticking to her ChapStick-covered lips, and she would get irritated and huff as she kept pulling the strands away. I could picture her every movement.

What I didn’t picture was her in an adorable layered ski outfit heading my way with two coffee cups in her hand.

Which was exactly what she was doing.

I rubbed my eyes with a gloved hand and refocused my gaze. But it didn’t change. The mirage of a beautiful, shapely blonde with both of her hands full was moving toward me. It was like seeing a giant pond in the middle of the desert. Her small smile lit up the view, cheeks rosy and hair twisted into two long braids that I wanted to wrap my hands around. She was a dream. My dream.

I put down the flags I was holding and met her halfway. She paused in front of me, with a big grin on her face, and I was giddy like a child on Christmas morning.

I took a cup from her to free her hands. “What are you doing here?”

Olive nodded to the coffee in my hands. “I figured I couldn’t let you die from lack of caffeine. And since you’ve been treating me all week, it was my turn.”

I happily put my arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “Thanks, Olive. That’s very un-Grinchy of you.”

She laughed and hugged me back. “I was trying to make up for you doing so much for me since we got here.”

The Olive in front of me was entirely different from the one I met on the plane. She was light and airy, like warm sunshine after all the clouds had gone away.

“Well, I’m very grateful. Come on, let’s go inside. I have thirty minutes before my next group gets here.” I nodded my head to the resort behind her.

“I didn’t mean to take you away from work,” she said, pointing at the flags I had dropped like they were on fire when I saw her. “I just wanted to stop and say hi while I was out.”

“Come on, I’ve always got time for you.” I grabbed her free hand in mine and walked us into the resort lounge area.

I sat us on an uncomfortably modern leather couch.

She breathed in loudly through her nose and leaned back into the cushions. “It’s so relaxing here.”