“Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked, squinting critically. “We could always do this tomorrow. You look like you need some rest.”

She shook her head rapidly. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. Just need some coffee.”

“I’ll go ask Ethel—no, better yet, I’ll pop over to a little café down the street. I’ll call Stuart and come back for you in half an hour. What do you want to drink?”

“Double espresso. Thanks, Jai.”

A quick, scorching shower made things better. It already seemed strange to wear her casual clothing again, and with the limited time she’d been given, she once again had to settle for very light makeup. She could hardly remember the last time she’d gone out in public like this before recently, and she’d done so more than once here in Colorado. It helped, perhaps, that so few people she’d seen here seemed to wear much makeup themselves. And Maddie had seemed to like her this way, too.

She frowned at her reflection. She’d studiously kept her mind away from Maddie ever since her conversation with Ted in the pub. She didn’t want to think about the implications of her actions yet. They were too overwhelming. After all, she’d basically flown back here for her. Sure, she was here for Stuart, too, but she’d come back early for her primarily—there was no denying that. And she didn’t know what to make of it, even now, standing in this silly hotel room half a world away from that decision. It was too much to absorb, and much better to ignore, at least for now. She made herself dismiss that whole train of thought. She’d worry about Maddie tomorrow and try to enjoy Stuart’s surprise.

Jai knocked soon after, and she chugged her espresso after he handed it to her. He raised his eyebrows and did the same with his hot cocoa, sending both of them into pealing shrieks of giggles and laughter. Eventually he took her arm, leading her downstairs past the exuberant Ethel, who insisted each of them take Stuart a muffin.

“Shall we walk?” he asked her when they were outside. “It’s just a few blocks.”

“Sure. I could use the fresh air.”

It was strangely warm out for a February evening, and the sunset was brilliantly pink, almost hard to look at. She’d never seen anything like the skies here.

“Supposed to snow again tomorrow,” Jai said.

“Really?”

“You can always tell. When it gets weirdly warm, it’s often a sign a storm’s coming—at least this time of year.”

“Hard to believe.”