“That’s half the reason I came up with Make Up.” She held his eyes to make sure he was listening. “The other half was you.”

Hudson’s face changed, a mixture of hope and confusion splashing across his features. “What do you mean?”

“After I … ghosted … you, I suppose, though it didn’t feel that way to me, I was heartsick. I convinced myself that I cared about you way more than you cared about me. I was always the hopeless romantic, falling in love too easily, getting my heart broken. The one who was perpetually alone.” She squeezed his big hand, feeling the dense bone under his skin, a sculpture all its own. “And you … you were so gorgeous and talented. I was sure you wouldn’t think of me again. But then I thought, What if I could bring people together? Not exes, as I’d originally imagined, but people who were on the cusp of losing each other and knew what they stood to lose, unlike me. Unlike us. What if I could help people realize what they were going to be giving up if they walked away? I wanted to prevent what happened to me from happening to other people.”

“Annika,” Hudson said, his voice barely controlled, its echo a rumble in her chest. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say I fell for you, too, Hudson Craft. I fell for you then and I fell for you now and I’m still falling.” She shook her head, her lip trembling, the tears starting to fall. “I’m in love with you.”

Suddenly he was on her side of the table, lifting her out of her chair, his hands cupping her cheeks. His mouth found hers, hungry, wanting. Annika sank into his arms, letting him dip her back, letting him in again, apologizing with her tongue, with her mouth, with her lips.

Finally, she pulled back, breathing hard. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking into his eyes. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve behaved, for the ways I’ve hurt you.”

He shook his head, the evening sunlight from the windows playing with his hair, turning it to burnished gold. “I’m sorry, too. For being a fool. For not realizing sooner that it’s you. You’re the one I love, Annika Dev. And I don’t want to be apart from you for a single minute more.”

The smile that burst out of her was like sunshine. She wouldn’t have to leave the lights on in her apartment anymore. Never again.

“I love you, too.” Laughing, she collapsed against Hudson’s chest. He held her there, his arms strong and firm around her, as if he’d never let go.

It was summer and their future was ahead of them, brilliant and shining, a sculpture as yet unformed. Annika couldn’t wait to see what they’d build together.

acknowledgments