Page 35 of When Annika Met Thom

“I just can’t stand it when women cry. The possibility of tears makes me proactive.”

Dumb, my ass. Leo really had it wrong. “Do women often cry around you?”

“I do have two sisters. High school was all drama, all the time. And double chocolate chip caramel ice cream was the solution when things went sideways.”

“Did they go sideways a lot?”

“Weren’t you ever a teenager?” he asked with a slow smile. “Why do you think I work at a gym?”

Annika smiled despite herself. “Pizza would be great. I’ll give you some money.”

But he waved a hand. “My treat. What toppings do you love or hate?” He pulled a flyer from the drawer, red ink on a sheet of white paper, and crossed the room to give it to her.

Annika studied it, achingly aware of the strength of his outstretched hand, the feel of him looming over her. She was startled to realize that what she wanted right this minute couldn’t be ordered from a pizzeria. It would be a colossal mistake to seduce Thom, she knew that, but standing so close beside him made it impossible to remember why.

“I hate mushrooms,” she managed to say finally.

“Not my faves either.” He indicated the five circled toppings, obviously established choices, and she nodded agreement. “Leo’s a double cheese guy.”

Annika shook her head. “Not me. But could you get me some Ben & Jerry’s, please?”

He wasn’t surprised by this request at all. “Flavor?”

“I don’t care really. They’re all good.”

He gave her a playful glance and she stared at him. “If you had to choose…?”

“Cookie Dough.”

“Be glad my sister Tessa isn’t here. She’d fight you for it.” Then against every expectation, Thom smiled at her, touching her cheek with a fingertip. Shivers slid through Annika, weakening her knees. “It’ll be okay,” he said gruffly, looking into her eyes, and Annika’s heart melted into a puddle. Her tears rose at his kindness and Thom immediately looked alarmed.

He grabbed his jacket and strode out the door without a backward glance. “Back in twenty,” he said, stern again, and Annika knew she had to pull it together before he came back.

It wouldn’t be fair to scare him out of his own apartment.

Even if it was kind of funny that this great big guy bolted at the sight of tears. Some woman was going to use that against him one day.

Annika was setting the table when she wondered whether one already had.

* * *

That had been a near miss.

Thom had seen Annika’s tears welling and he knew his limits. If he gathered all the freckly cuteness that was Annika close, they’d be horizontal as soon as she leaned those breasts against his chest. He’d been alone for too long—and she was exactly the kind of temptation he couldn’t resist in his best moments.

It could be a long two weeks.

He ordered the pizza then went into the convenience store for ice cream while the pizza was being baked. They had a great display of Ben & Jerry’s. He scored the last tub of Cookie Dough, then considered the new Greek yogurt flavors. There was something wholesome about Annika and he had a feeling she might prefer the frozen yogurt, if she’d known it existed. Maybe he was making assumptions about west coast women. Maybe more ice cream couldn’t hurt. Raspberry Fudge Chunk sounded like just the thing. He grabbed one of those and some Cherry Garcia, his own fave. Both would work with brownies. The pizza was coming out of the oven when he returned to the pizzeria.

When he got back, Annika had set the table and found a smile. Thom exhaled in relief, then showed off his purchases.

It was only reasonable to be pleased that she was excited about the frozen yogurt. It didn’t mean that he was in any way invested in her happiness. Not at all.

They sat down to eat together and he knew it was only a matter of time before she tried to make conversation.

“You look resigned to a gruesome fate,” she said, eying him as she bit into a slice.

“Just waiting for it.”

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