“He’s more interested in Benjamin Franklin, unfortunately.” Hudson chuckled and flicked the water from his fingers. A drop landed in the hollow of Annika’s throat and rolled slowly down her chest and between her breasts, raising goose bumps and making her catch her breath. She adjusted herself on the lip of the fountain, feeling the hard stone pressing into her bottom and thighs, a wantonness taking over her that she hadn’t felt in forever.

“Th-that’s expensive,” she said, when she realized she hadn’t responded.

Hudson gave her a hooded look, as if he could tell where her mind had been. Annika forced herself to break eye contact and face forward, her breathing just a touch ragged.

They sat and listened to the water together, the wind rustling the leaves in the trees. Annika breathed in and out to still the thumping of her heart. It worked, somewhat. She glanced at Hudson, wondering about what he’d said just a few minutes before, about how being broken up with was better than being ghosted. What did he mean? She opened her mouth to try and bring the conversation back to it, but he spoke first.

“I didn’t steal your idea, you know,” he said quietly. The lights from the fountain were reflected in his eyes. “I wouldn’t do that.”

Annika studied his face for any signs of dishonesty or guilt, but saw nothing but openness. “So … it was all just a coincidence? I told you about my idea to bring exes together, which was kind of the kernel of what became Make Up. You talked about creating an app for visual artists.”

He rubbed his jaw and broke eye contact. “The visual artists app is something I’m still playing with. I haven’t given up on it. And you telling me about Make Up … that’s not what inspired Break Up.”

She spread her fingers flat on the cold stone of the fountain, pondering his words. “Okay. I believe you. I think.” She did, she found. Maybe this all really was just a coincidence, and he hadn’t thought about her at all when he founded his company.

But it didn’t completely absolve him of everything. He was still the founder of a company, an idea, that she found odious. “So, what did inspire Break Up?”

But he was shaking his head slowly, his eyes searching her face. “Do you remember Vegas at all? How we met?”

Annika dropped her gaze, her cheeks warming. “I remember.”

Annika was busy texting June as she walked into the hotel restaurant for breakfast, which was the only reason she slid into the chair nearest the door—only to realize, with extreme horror, that it wasn’t actually empty and that she was, in fact, sitting in someone’s lap.

That someone turned out to be a ridiculously gorgeous man with green eyes that evaporated all of Annika’s words. Every single one.