Page 11 of When Annika Met Thom

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Thom couldn’t standit when women cried and he was afraid this one would. She crumpled visibly when he repeated that Leo had promised to call her, maybe finally guessing what that had to mean. She didn’t look dumb, and even two months of acquaintance with Leo had shown Thom that his former roommate was a man-whore. Leo apparently couldn’t get enough and really wasn’t picky.

This Annika looked like she was nice, but she had to know how Leo was. Leo said they’d known each other since kindergarten. Thom had assumed she knew and didn’t care. Some women didn’t.

But her reaction made him doubt that. Was it possible she didn’t know? Her knees seemed to give out, because she sat down hard on her old-fashioned suitcase. She picked up the ferret cage and perched it on her lap.

A ferret.

A cute woman with freckles and a ferret, who had nowhere to stay in Manhattan and was totally off-limits.

Seemed like his usual bad luck had returned in spades.

She wasn’t crying, though. That was a bonus.

It meant Thom could retreat back into the apartment, leaving her in the hall, and not feel like a complete asshole.

Just a big one.

He retreated as planned, but couldn’t help from taking another look through the spyhole. He’d expected her to be wholesome. Maybe pretty, maybe not. Probably a serious granola, from Leo’s comments. But Annika was gorgeous. Her hair was long and red, wavy, and obviously had a mind of its own. She must have braided it when she’d started her day, and coiled the braids around her head, but tendrils had worked loose all over, creating a red-gold halo. She was tall and slim, wearing a print dress, boots and a leather jacket. Her scarf was bright and wrapped a couple of times around her neck, giving her an arty look. She had a shit-ton of freckles, which was his Kryptonite, and thickly-lashed eyes of clear green.

Fuck. Freckles. Freckles made Thom crazy. Helovedfreckles. It was dumb and he knew it—his sisters teased him about it mercilessly—but he thought freckles were the sexiest thing in the world.

Especially when a woman had them on her chest and shoulders, too.

Thighs.

Feet.

He struggled to pull his mind out of the gutter. Annika was Leo’s fiancée.

A woman couldn’t be more off-limits.

Bad, bad luck.

The thing was that she had exactly nothing in common with the women Leo brought home, except her gender. Thom couldn’t imagine her and Leo together at all.

He watched Annika through the spyhole, holding Cerberus’ snout shut with his hands. Cerberus was wiggling like a fish, so excited that Thom expected she’d trash something when he left for work. She loved ferrets, but Rhea’s ferrets had been used to her. Those four ferrets and Cerberus had grown up together. Cerberus and Percival were strangers and there was no telling what would happen if they were left alone together.

Odds were that the ferret would lose and then Annikawouldcry.

No. Just no.

If she stayed at the apartment and cried too, he knew what would happen—and then the shit would fly. Even if Leo didn’t want Annika, Thom knew he wouldn’t welcome her getting some action with his roommate.

He had to be sure Annika and Percival were gone before he went to work.

Tick tock.

He peered out the spyhole again. He watched as she squared her shoulders and dug her phone out of her purse. She looked up at the door, as if she knew he was watching her, and Thom realized she could probably see the shadow from his feet at the bottom of the door. He moved away, taking the dog with him, and put on his boots. He picked up the leash, which prompted Cerberus to bounce around him in anticipation.

Maybe by the time he got back, Annika would be gone, and he’d still be able to get to work on time. He clipped the leash onto Cerberus’ collar and she led him to the door, her tail swinging in anticipation. He opened the door and took another hit to the heart.

Because Annika was crying. It was the worst kind of crying, in Thom’s view. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Her face was soaked. There were no sobs, no moans, no drama or wailing. She just wept. He could face ugly-crying. He could deal with heart wrenching sobs. But silent weeping got him right where he lived.

It was official: he was a goner.

She pointed the phone at him, her tone accusing. “Awomananswered.”

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