Hudson stood there, one hand braced on his nightstand. Frustration flashed across his face; his jaw was clenched. “We were friends. We spent an entire week together in Vegas. I’m not even sure why that week ended, because I sure as hell had a good time. More than a good time.”

“Me too.” Annika bent to scoop up her purse and looked at him. “But I think we both know why it ended. Vegas was a bubble. It was unsustainable. That’s not how things work in the real world.” She gestured between them. “Look at us now. This is the real world, Hudson. And in the real world, the CEO of Make Up and the CEO of Break Up don’t belong together. I should go,” she added, slinging the purse over her shoulder. “I’ve got to wake up early for work anyway.”

“Annika.” Hudson stepped forward, though he still kept a few feet between them. The soft lights of the room cast shadows under his eyes. “I’m more than just the CEO of Break Up.”

She shrugged. “Maybe. But Break Up’s obscuring what I suspect are the best parts of you. I can’t see anything else.” And then she strode to the door and let herself out.

chapter twelve

The next day was such a blur Annika could barely make time to blink, let alone tell June about kissing Hudson or stew about why exactly she’d kissed him.

After three consecutive phone calls with beta testers—the first two punctuated by gong sounds she had to scramble to explain—Annika stood and stretched. She glanced over at June, who was rolling her wrists around, taking a break from squashing bugs in the app.

“Hey,” Annika said. “Want to take a quick stretch-your-legs break?”

June grinned and pushed her chair back. “Thought you’d never ask.”

They walked out into the hallway, and Annika glanced toward the Break Up office. The gong sounds from earlier this morning had thankfully stopped, but the lights were still on. She could hear faint laughter floating their way. June headed down the hallway, but Annika grabbed her elbow. “Hey, uh—do you want to go the long way around to the bathroom?”

“What?”

“You know, around the elevators,” Annika said, feeling sweat prickle under her arms. She was a terrible liar on her best days, and this wasn’t her best day. Images of kissing Hudson Craft kept playing in her head, but right now in the hallway was not the time to tell June what had happened. And she really didn’t feel like continuing her conversation from the previous night with Hudson. She forced a happy smile. “It’ll be good exercise, okay?”

“O … kay.” June frowned, but she followed Annika nonetheless. Bless her. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” Annika began, dying to tell June what was going on, now that they had a moment. “I—”

“Annika?”