They’d reached her Honda, by which point she was eager to change the subject. Kissing him, allowing him to talk about kissing her—it was probably giving him the wrong message. She needed to remind him, and maybe even herself, why they couldn’t go out: Nothing had changed, not really. He was still the CEO of Break Up. Sure, she’d seen sparks of something deeper, something more to Hudson’s relationship with Break Up that he wasn’t divulging. But she still wasn’t sure what. Watching him get in, his long legs folding so he could fit, she remembered what he’d said at the Time interview—the way he’d looked at her, almost hurt, when she’d taken his comments as sarcasm. What did it all mean? “Anyway, um, thanks for the bottle of wine. You didn’t have to bring anything.”

Hudson set the wine in the back seat and buckled in. “I hate going to parties empty-handed. It makes me feel like a freeloader. Speaking of gifts, thank you for the book you got me for my housewarming. I hope you got my thank-you card?”

Annika laughed as she began to back out of the space. “Yes, and it was very proper of you.”

“What? That’s not proper. I’m not stuffy. I’m just…”

“Stuffy.” Annika gave him a sidelong glance as she pulled out of the garage and signaled right, the ticking filling the car. “It’s okay, Hudson, just own it. Really lean into that fussy, fancy side of yourself.”

He laughed. “Okay, I can be kind of fussy and fancy. But only when it comes to parties and thank-you notes. It’s a weird thing my parents drilled into me. I guess I just never got rid of it.” He adjusted the seat so it was lower and farther back. “Who was riding in here last, a kid?”

Annika snorted as she went around a BMW that was going ten miles under the speed limit. “That would be June. And she’s actually pretty tall, for your information.”

Hudson leaned back in his seat. “I’m happy for them,” he said thoughtfully. “Ziggy and June. They seem good together, don’t they?”

“Well, I don’t know if June would agree they’re ‘Ziggy and June.’ She’s kind of guarded when it comes to love. But I am glad she seems to have found … the Han to her Leia. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.” She could feel Hudson looking at her and glanced over at him. “What?”

“Do you ever wonder why some people get lucky in love and others don’t? What’s that about?”

Annika rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe I did something bad in another life.”

“Do you really think that? Do you believe in karma and all of that?”

“I believe in kindness coming back to you,” Annika replied carefully.