“Right. How much more can you do right now? Don’t overthink this. Just go out, give yourself a night off,” June said, as a very pale man in a Darth Vader hat walked by.

“That makes sense.” Annika sagged back against the chair and let out a breath. “I did already go over everything for the last few hours.”

June smiled. “There you g—” The sound of deafening cheers suddenly drowned her out.

Annika squinted and sat up straighter. “Where are you?”

“Oh, Ziggy and I are at a book signing for Timothy Zahn.” She grinned and panned the phone so Annika could see Ziggy, who waved. He was wearing what looked like a vintage Star Wars T-shirt. “I’m gonna get all fourteen of his Star Wars books signed.”

Annika laughed. “Okay, well, it sounds like the crowd’s really riled up, so I’m gonna let you go. Love ya.”

“You too! Remember: Just relax. Your dad and I will see you tomorrow.” June blew her a kiss and they ended the call.

Annika looked at herself in the mirror across from the chair, feeling pinpricks of doubt now that June’s reasonable voice was gone. “Just a casual dinner. You can handle this, Dev.”

Her pep talk almost worked.

She stepped off the elevators and into the marble-tiled lobby, which smelled of citrus water and expensive bouquets of lilac. She wiped her palms on her shorts. The gilded ceiling seemed miles above her. There was another harpist in the corner, nearly indistinguishable from the one who’d been there earlier. The music tinkling in the air should’ve calmed her nerves, but it didn’t. As she walked toward the seating area, Annika had a feeling that nothing would.

When she came closer, she caught sight of Hudson sitting in an overstuffed paisley armchair by a potted palm tree, his head bent over his phone screen. He looked far too big for the chair, his legs and arms and shoulders jutting out past its boundaries, as if he couldn’t be contained. He hadn’t seen her yet, so Annika took a few seconds to take him in and observe the way he seemed to command the space without even seeming to try, the way he looked utterly at ease in his surroundings, no matter where he was.

She began to walk again after a moment, clearing her throat. Hudson looked up, and as his face creased into a smile, she found herself feeling just a bit giddy. Her nerves softened and reshaped into something a little more fun, just for a moment, before snapping back into their old, tense shape.

“Hey,” he said, his voice soft and smooth as velvet as he stood to greet her. He’d changed into a dark-green button-down, paired with dark-rinse jeans that hung just right on his slim hips and long legs. “You look … really nice.”