Page 18 of When Annika Met Thom

Thom stopped cold in the street outside Flatiron Five Fitness. “You’re not coming back at all, are you?”

“What’s the point? She’ll just cry. I can do without the drama.”

Thom grimaced and turned in place, not really seeing the busy street around himself. He looked back in the direction of the apartment and his chest squeezed at the prospect of those tears. Disappearing was a chicken-shit way to break up with someone in Thom’s opinion. “You should tell her,” he insisted.

“She’ll figure it out,” Leo said. “She’s not stupid.”

“It’d be better if you just told her.”

“Because honesty is the best policy?” Leo asked, his tone scathing. “She didn’t come to be with me. She came for work. She needs somewhere to stay for two weeks and I say she can stay in my apartment. If you disagree, move out. She’s still staying.”

Thom didn’t reply to that.

“Tell you what,” Leo offered. “You let her stay for two weeks and you can stay until July.”

July first? That was less than two months away. “Excuse me?”

“The guy I sublet from is coming back from California then. The party will be over as soon as he’s back in town.”

That was news. “When were you going to tell me that?” Thom demanded.

“Does it matter? You know now. And hey, Annika gets the bedroom.”

“My ass, she does,” Thom countered. “You told me that whoever has lived there longest gets the bedroom, and right now, that’s me.” He ended the call then, not in the least bit interested in whatever Leo might say to that.

Could things get any worse? He was going to end up living with Annika, her freckles and her ferret. It was just for two weeks. Fourteen days that might as well have been eternity. And if he managed to get through that without surrendering to temptation, he wouldn’t have to look for an apartment before the summer. It wasn’t easy to find a place where he could have Cerberus and he’d need all the time he could get.

He had to make this work.

But Thom knew the odds,hisodds. Of course, things were going to get worse. They always did. He could count on that. Either Leo would tell Annika the truth, which wasn’t likely, or she’d figure it out herself, which was infinitely more probable. Either way, she’d cry.

And he’d console her. Then everything would go straight to hell, just like it always did when he got involved with a woman, never mind one he knew he should leave alone.

Fuck.

Thom strode grimly into Flatiron Five Fitness, more than ready to work off some of his frustration in the weight room.

Two weeks. He had to get through it—for Cerberus.

* * *

There wasn’tone thing in the apartment that Annika recognized as belonging to Leo.

It was as if she was in the wrong place.

She wasn’t actively snooping, but it was impossible to ignore the obvious. She’d returned with her purchases to find Cerberus crashed out on the floor. The dog didn’t lift her head when Annika entered, but wagged her tail in greeting so that it thumped against the floor. Maybe that game of ball had worn her out.

“Some security system,” Annika told her and that tail wagged harder. She bent down and patted the dog’s head, amazed by the softness of her ears. Cerberus made a little growl of satisfaction, and Percival squeaked in outrage from his cage.

Annika put her jacket on the couch and unpacked her dinner on the kitchen table with anticipation, then looked for dishes. She hated eating take-out from the boxes.

In one cupboard, there was a set of plain dishes—four of everything. In one drawer, there was a set of cutlery—four of everything, except that one tablespoon was missing. Four plain white mugs and four cheap glasses were lined up in another cupboard with military precision.

Leo wasn’t neat. Did Thom clean up after him? He’d said they cleaned up after themselves. Funny but she could imagine that Thom was neat. Once again, she had the sense that Leo didn’t actually live here.

Then where did he live?

With the woman who had answered his phone?

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