Hudson leaned forward, setting his elbows on the dark wood. A group of people behind Annika laughed uproariously at something, but his eyes didn’t so much as flicker toward them. He was intently focused on her. “You were right, Annika.” His voice was low, but full of emotion. “When was it ever going to be enough? When was I going to loosen my grip? When was I going to reconcile who I am with what I do for a living?” He pushed a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “You asked the tough questions, and at the time I couldn’t see that they were the right questions. I was losing myself to Break Up, and it took you pointing it out for me to see it clearly.”

Annika’s hands were trembling. She balled them into fists against her thighs. “What … what about Blaire and Ziggy? What will you do now?”

“I talked to them before I withdrew. I told them what it meant for me and that I was done. That I didn’t want to run a company like that; a company I didn’t believe in anymore. They were a hundred percent behind me. We’ve all had time to build our savings up with Break Up’s success, so money isn’t going to be an immediate issue.

“As for what I’m going to do next … I’m going back to the visual arts app I told you about in Vegas. Blaire and Ziggy want to come along with me.” He smiled faintly and took a sip of his drink. “And in my free time, I plan to work on a dream I had—my sculpting. I’m converting my second guest bedroom into a studio.” He reached forward, his fingers hovering above Annika’s hand. Her heart raced, her skin aching for the contact. But he curled his hand into a fist and placed it back on his side of the table. “Thank you. For being so honest with me. For seeing something that I didn’t see myself. You’ve changed my life.” There was that faint smile again. “But I suppose that’s par for the course for you.”

Annika’s throat felt painful and tight for reasons she couldn’t articulate. Swallowing a sip of ice-cold soda, she opened her mouth to say he was welcome. Instead, she found herself saying, her voice barely a whisper, “You didn’t call or visit. When you heard my dad was in the hospital.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for just a moment. “I wanted to. I thought about you constantly. I got updates from Ziggy, who got them from June. Thirdhand updates.” He shook his head. “It was torture. But I didn’t think … the way we left things, I thought I’d be the last person you’d want to hear from. I didn’t want to add to the nightmare.”