What was that supposed to mean? Annika frowned as they passed a narrow alley, where a cat was rummaging through a dumpster. “I saw that woman in the parking garage. She was in complete shock. She had no idea what was even going on.”

Hudson shrugged. “Better than some other alternatives.”

Annika looked at him in disbelief. “Like what? Death?”

“Like being in a dead-end relationship that both parties know isn’t going anywhere. Or being completely abandoned.” He stopped to turn to her. “Or like being ghosted, having no closure, no definitive moment that felt like the end.”

Annika paused, trying to read the flicker of … something … she saw in his eyes. “Hudson—I—” She stepped closer to him, and his body heat wrapped around her. “I didn’t—I mean—what, um…” She wasn’t really sure what she was trying to ask. The vibrant color of his eyes was messing with her mind again; they could be used in war zones against the enemy.

Hudson looked over her shoulder. “Come with me.” And then he walked past her, his arm brushing against hers, his skin hot against her flesh.

Ignoring the jolt she felt, Annika hurried after him, through a pair of wrought iron gates in front of what looked like a hotel. “Where are we going? I still haven’t called my Lyft. You’re not taking me back here to mug me or something, are you? I only carry small bills.”

He rolled his eyes at her over his shoulder as they walked. “Are you always so suspicious? Call your Lyft after—there’s something I want to show you.”

He led her around the side, away from the front of the hotel, to a stone-paved courtyard in the back. In the middle stood a fountain about twice Annika’s height, the base lit with multicolored lights. Ivy crept along the ground and the iron fence around them.

“Oh.” Annika took a moment to listen to the rushing water, which sounded like the meditation she used to calm herself. “This is … beautiful.”

Hudson looked up at the zenith of the fountain, the purple, blue, and pink lights playing across his chiseled face. “Yeah. I like to come here sometimes, just to sit and think at night. It’s usually empty, like it is now.”

“And the hotel staff doesn’t mind?”

Hudson tossed her an impish grin and sat on the lip of the fountain to dip his fingers in the water. “The manager enjoys certain … perks … from letting me come here.”

Annika brushed her skirt under her and sat beside him. “Ah. Gummy bears?”