Finally, just when her voice was getting hoarse from all the talking she’d done all night—and when the three margaritas she’d had were starting to tire her out—the party began to wind down. People started trickling out in twos and threes, most of them having called Lyfts, thanks to the potent drinks. She’d lost track of June at some point, though she assumed she was still at the party somewhere.

Hudson found her once the businessman she’d been talking to bid his goodbyes. “Rosemary Lotts just said goodbye to me. Apparently, she was really impressed by your pitch.”

“Who?” Annika placed her empty margarita glass on a table. “Oh, the realtor with the blond hair? Yeah, I guess so.” She added begrudgingly, “Thank you for setting all this up. I have to say, it was a success.”

Hudson raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You just complimented and thanked me in the same breath. How much did you have to drink, again?”

Annika scoffed. “All right, all right, don’t make me regret it.”

The corner of Hudson’s mouth twitched. Quietly, he said, “You have a killer energy about you when you talk about Make Up. People dig that.”

“Really?” Annika asked, surprised at his sincerity.

“There are a few things about you that stick out very clearly in my mind from Vegas.” Hudson’s eyes were serious as he leaned against the rooftop railing. “And one of them was your passion for your idea. It was like an energy field around you. It was electric.”

They gazed at each other for what felt like a full minute, Annika’s knees going weak with the memories that were creeping back into her mind. What was he thinking about?

She took a deep breath to get her bearings, but caught a whiff of Hudson’s cologne again, faint and masculine, and put a hand against the railing to steady herself. Turning away, she said, “I—”

And stopped when she felt an arm around her waist.

Her heart did a couple of high-energy flips in her chest. Adrenaline flooded her veins. What was he doing? Did she want him to be doing it?

Annika turned, her mind spinning with thoughts of what she might say.

June stood next to her, grinning. “Oh.” Annika blinked. “Hey.”

“Hey.” June kissed her on the cheek. “I’m taking off.”

“You’re going home? Alone?”

Ziggy appeared at June’s side, smiling. “No,” she replied. “Ziggy’s taking me out to eat.”

“Out to eat?” Annika frowned. This was another unheard-of move in June’s playbook. She went to bars with her hookups, not out to dinner. “Um, okay. Have fun. Will you text me later at some point, just to let me know you’re okay?”

“Of course.” Her blond hair blowing in the breeze, June hugged her and simultaneously whispered in her ear, “What’s going on with you and Hot Hudson?”