Page 34 of When Annika Met Thom

To her surprise, she found sympathy there and something more. “You deserve better,” he said softly and with a conviction that touched her soul.

Annika’s tears welled.

Because she knew he was right.

And somewhere, deep in her heart, she was relieved—because she’d suspected for a long, long time. It was over.

She sniffed.

She felt a tear slip down her cheek. She saw Thom wince and knew he would turn away, but she couldn’t bear to be alone.

Not right now.

“Just one tear,” Annika said, catching her breath as she tried to change Thom’s mind. “I get one.”

“One,” Thom agreed warily. “You had it.”

Annika inhaled deeply and blinked back her tears, well aware that he was watching her struggle for control. She felt as if Thom was there to support her, which was just dumb. “I feel so stupid,” she said and wasn’t talking just about Leo.

“Why? It’s easy to make a mistake when someone is trying to trick you.”

Leo had lied.

Repeatedly.

And she’d been stupid enough to believe.

She spun away from Thom and went to the window, no longer able to ignore all the little signs that she’d dismissed since Leo had come to New York. She even admitted to herself, finally, that part of the reason she’d taken this assignment was to come east and see him, to check on him. It was a revolting thought. When two people are in love, there should be trust. She knew that.

But trusting Leo had been a mistake.

“I told him he had to call you himself,” Thom said.

Of course, he had. She already knew that Thom wasn’t the kind of person to avoid doing something just because it might not be pleasant or fun.

“Well, in a way, he did, even though it wasn’t on purpose.”

“I won’t count it as taking my advice,” he said wryly.

There was silence between them as she struggled with her mingled reactions. The worst part was that she didn’t want to cry because she’d lost Leo. She felt unbalanced because she’d lost the reassurance of having that part of her life sorted out. She liked solutions. She liked constants. She was shaken because a constant in her life, one that had been a foundation stone for most of it, had been a lie. It was gone, suddenly. It was no wonder she felt unsteady and a bit lost.

She also felt free.

How could she be sadandrelieved?

“So, what’s your comfort food of choice?” Thom asked and she realized he hadn’t left. When had she last met someone who could be so still?

“What do you mean?” She turned around to find him leaning against the counter, his gaze locked upon her. He looked concerned and also poised to move, like he would defend her at a moment’s notice.

It was a nice thought and one that warmed her heart.

“I was going to get a pizza tonight.” He was trying to sound offhand, like it was no big deal, but he was being nice again. Annika’s heart glowed, and she realized that was becoming a habit in this man’s presence. “If you want, I can get a bigger one and we can share. If you’d rather have Thai or ice cream or wine, I’ll pick it up for you while I’m out.”

“You’re being really nice to me.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Why?”

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