Page 2 of When Annika Met Thom

He was a good driver, which let Meesha relax. It also gave her time to realize that he was rock-hard, despite being in his thirties, when she was sure all men’s bodies went to pot. She ran her hands over him and he growled a warning that came through the headset loud and clear. “Don’t wrinkle the material.”

Meesha laughed and gave him a squeeze anyway. “Gotta love those rock-hard abs.”

“Comes with the territory.”

“Annika does that to you?” Meesha asked innocently.

“The job, Meesha, and you know it.”

“The job, the job. If there’s one great thing about F5F, it’s the eye candy.”

Thom grunted agreement as he drove into a parking garage. Meesha blinked at the sudden darkness but he was already pulling into a numbered spot. It really hadn’t been far, but still, she was glad she hadn’t walked it in the rain.

He held her hand as she got off, then swung off the bike himself, towering over her as he removed his helmet. She wiped the rainwater off her boots, admiring them again, then straightened to consider him.

“You seem taller here,” Meesha said with suspicion.

“Pretty sure I’m not.”

“It must be the leathers. They make you look more imposing.”

“Thought I had that covered at six foot six,” he said beneath his breath, then gestured toward the elevator. “Maybe you’re smaller in New Jersey.”

Meesha could believe that given her current mood.

Maybe she was smaller everywhere. Depressing thought.

“Why don’t they call you ‘Fridge’?” she asked when the elevator was rising to the seventh floor.

“I don’t like it.” He granted her a look that convinced Meesha not to give that nickname a try.

And that was it. The sum of conversation. Thom wasn’t chatty at the best of times and she knew he hadn’t been thrilled about doing this interview.

Still, she hadn’t expected it to be this tough.

They continued in silence down the corridor and Meesha thought about thirty minutes of dead airtime. That wouldn’t make for a compelling video. If he was going to be his usual taciturn self, getting the right interview would be like pulling teeth. Maybe Annika was more chatty and they had a yin-yang thing going on.

Meesha knew what she needed: a sparkly, positive piece about the first romance at the downtown fitness club, a story that made happily-ever-after seem not just possible but inescapable, a cameo of a happy couple whose adoration for each other would bring out new members in droves.

She stole a glance at Thom, who looked about as happy as her cat ever did, and felt a shadow of dread. Kyle had challenged Cassie over the creation of the most successful strategy to promote F5F’s relaunch and reopening. The two partners were each determined to win—not just for the good of the club—and Kyle had chosen Meesha for his team-mate. It was Meesha’s chance to prove that she could outshine Cassie’s marketing chops, and at first, she’d been sure of their triumph. Now, she was feeling like she’d drawn the short straw.

The story had seemed like such a gimme.

She sighed as Thom led her down the hall then stopped at a door. It wasn’t a bad apartment from the common areas. It smelled better than hers did, since someone was baking. Maybe chocolate chip cookies. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she’d skipped breakfast.

Thom gave her another of his trademark inscrutable glances, then turned his key in the lock. The barking began inside the apartment immediately. A big deep bark, like the dog responsible was going to gobble up everyone in the vicinity.

Meesha took a step back in alarm. “I don’t like dogs,” she said.

“Wrong place, then,” Thom said easily, so untroubled that she wanted to poke him. “How about ferrets?”

She’d forgotten the ferrets. How many did they have now?

Meesha had time to grimace, then Thom opened the door and the largest dog she’d ever seen in her life lunged forward. She squeaked and retreated until her back was against the wall on the other side of the hall, but the dog stopped cold on the line of the threshold.

Eying her and growling.

The dog had short fur of a bronze shade with darker stripes, kind of like a tiger, but not. The dog was huge, so big that its head was level with the girls. Its eyes were dark and it didn’t seem to blink as it stared at her. Meesha was sure the hair was standing up on the back of its neck.

---