Page 25 of When Annika Met Thom

Just like that, Thom was wrapped around her little finger all over again. It hadn’t even taken tears. There was a reason he’d sworn off involvement with women after Rhea. He hated being manipulated. He hated the games and the tears.

And he really hated feeling like an asshole when he didn’t think he’d been wrong.

But Annika seemed to mean her apology.

He opened his mouth and closed it again, realizing he had nothing to say. “Okay.” He nodded crisply and opened the door. “Later, then. Have a good day.”

“You, too.”

He hesitated at the door, wondering how she’d fill the time. “There’s a movie rental place by the dollar store. They have a good selection. The account at the rental place is under the phone number.”

She smiled and the warmth in her eyes set him simmering in an increasingly familiar way. “Thanks, Thom.”

When her voice dropped low and warm like that, she owned him totally. Thom was like butter in the sun. He tried to hide it and suspected that he failed.

Thom patted Cerberus one last time and left. He waved to the dog when he crossed the street, seeing her big silhouette at the window, and he was startled to see that Annika was standing beside Cerberus. His heart jumped when she waved back.

Maybe hewasan asshole. How could he even think about seducing Leo’s fiancée? She was taken, or at least unaware that she’d been tossed back, which was kind of the same thing. And when she learned the truth, she’d be devastated. Women didn’t get over that in a hurry and Thom wasn’t going to be the consolation prize. He knew how romance on the rebound worked—it didn’t.

He should forget about her right now.

* * *

A whole day alone.

A whole day to feel guilty about making such a stupid comment to Thom. It had been the kind of thing she might say to one of her siblings, a joke or maybe wishful thinking, but it had fallen flat in a big way.

Even better, she’d insulted and offended the one person who’d been nice to her since she’d arrived in Manhattan. If that didn’t make her feel like an ass, Annika didn’t know what would. She shivered a little, recalling the sight of Thom infuriated and protective of his dog, and could believe that he was able to kick down the door.

Or tear someone apart with his bare hands.

What would it be like to have such a defender? Cerberus snored contentedly on the rug, confident of Thom’s protection, and Annika found herself feeling a little bit jealous.

Of a dog.

She gave her head a shake and made some breakfast, trying to figure out how she could make it up to Thom.

How could she make it up to him?

There was a time when Annika might have been glad of the solitude, but she’d planned for this to be a day with Leo.

Who was she kidding? She’d expected a day of sex, sex and more sex. She wanted sex, sex and more sex.

But here she was alone, with a ferret and a big dog.

She reviewed all the familiar arguments about her and Leo not even living together yet and found them all a bit thin. Leo was in med school. The program was demanding so he had to do it alone. They both had to make sacrifices for the sake of their shared future. Leo had argued his side a zillion times. Funny how she didn’t find any of them persuasive anymore.

The problem was that Thom’s skepticism had struck a chord.

No. The problem was that Thom was her every sexual fantasy in one big hot package and they were sharing the apartment togetherandshe was in desperate need of physical affection. If Leo didn’t turn up before Thom did, Annika was pretty sure of what she might do in an impulsive moment. And as much as she worried about the ramifications of seducing Thom, she couldn’t imagine she’d have any regrets.

She’d be cheating on Leo, but that was starting to seem less important than she believed it to be.

After all, he was apparently cheating on her, and not for the first time.

Annika struggled to give Leo the benefit of the doubt. (It was tougher than it should have been, in her view.) Leo and Thom didn’t get along. Maybe Thom was telling stories about Leo to get into her pants. But he didn’t seem to be that kind of a guy. She sensed that Thom told the truth, even when it wasn’t what anyone wanted to hear.

She admired and respected that, even if she wasn’t crazy about what he was telling her. Was it disloyal to give credit to Thom but doubt Leo? She’d known Thom about five minutes and Leo for a lifetime.

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