She heard June murmur something, and then she called, “Yep!”

As they walked into the bathroom together, Annika couldn’t help but glance at Hudson. He was standing in the same spot, looking after her, his jaw hard, his expression a blend of frustration and dissatisfaction. That made two of them.

In the bathroom, June rounded on her as soon as the door shut behind them. “What is the deal between you two? Something happen last night?”

Annika went to the nearest sink and ran cool water over her wrists. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, so we haven’t had a chance to really talk since early in the party,” she said, when she was capable of speaking.

“Uh huh.” June hopped up on the counter beside her. “I left with Lucy and her friends at the end of the night, but you were long gone at that point.”

“Right. And we texted a little about how it was Hudson’s party and all that, but I didn’t tell you…”

June looked at her agog, as if she knew something juicy was coming.

Annika shut off the faucet and leaned against the sink, hanging her head. “I ended up in his bedroom and … we kissed.”

“Like, a kiss kiss?”

“Oh, it was a real kiss.”

June grinned, a wicked little thing. “How was it?”

Annika threw up her hands. “It was great! It was exactly what you’d want a kiss to be! He was decisive and teasing and he smelled good and he really knew what he was doing—”

“So what’s the problem?” June asked, ever the short-sighted optimist.

Annika gave her a look. “What’s the problem? June, we’ve talked about this. This is Hudson Craft. You know, the one in the business of bringing misery and loneliness to the world?”

“All I know is that you’re always talking about him, whether it’s to complain about him or plot against him,” June said, shrugging. She looked in the mirror and used her nail to get a smudge of lip gloss off the top bow of her lip. Turning back to Annika, she added, “Maybe you just need to see what’s there. Maybe y’all need to rekindle what happened in Vegas.” The wicked smile was back again.

Annika shook her head. “A hookup is never just a hookup to me. Make Up is who I am. And Break Up’s the exact opposite of that. And now … with the eviction hanging over our heads while they just keep ringing that stupid gong and accumulating more breakups? It all just feels wrong.” She took a deep breath as memories from the night before washed over her. “Plus, you know what he told me? His real love is sculpting.”

June blinked uncomprehendingly for a few moments. “Oh, right. A sculptor. Ugh … sculptors. Yuck?” She gave a theatric shudder.