Page 4 of When Annika Met Thom

Annika rolled her eyes and smiled. “Somebody has to drag you out of your cave once in a while.”

Thom smiled wickedly and Meesha didn’t want to even think about how Annika changed his mind about anything.

The brown possibly-rat appeared on top of the dog then, its eyes bright with curiosity. Definitely a ferret, but this one was on the loose. Meesha watched it warily. It moved down to settle between the dog’s paws though, staring straight back at her.

“To give the club more media attention for the reopening,” Annika said to him. “Thom, we talked about this. We both want the club to thrive again. If you and I can help, we need to do it.”

“No reporters,” Thom said.

“Just me,” Meesha agreed with a smile. She opened a new document, preparing to take notes. She kept an eye on both pets all the while.

“No names,” he stipulated.

“When Annika met Thom. That’s it,” she said.

He sat down on the couch beside Annika. The dog stretched out and put her head on his foot, then closed her eyes with a blissful sigh. The ferret scampered away when the dog moved, appearing on the arm of the couch beside Thom. “Hey, Soot.” He put it on his shoulder and it immediately vanished down the neck of his T-shirt. Meesha was silently horrified. “But we didn’t meet at F5F. Not really.”

“Do not shit me,” Meesha said sternly. “That’s thestory. It can’t be wrong.”

“Well, it isn’t. Not really,” Annika said to her relief. She put her hand on Thom’s thigh. The ferret appeared from behind his back and she laughed as she picked it up. She stroked the little creature, which settled in her lap, at least for the moment. “It was because of the club that we came together, but when we actually met, we didn’t know that.”

“Not until we got to F5F,” Thom agreed.

Meesha blinked. “Tell me that makes sense.”

“It does when you hear the story,” Annika said.

“I’m all ears.”

“You tell her,” Thom said to Annika. “You’re better with stories.”

Annika nodded agreement and Meesha murmured a prayer of thanks under her breath. Maybe she could save this yet.

So long as both dog and ferret stayed put.

“It all started ten years ago,” Annika said, settling back against Thom as she patted the ferret. His arm closed protectively around her and Meesha felt a little lonely at the sight. Was she the last hot single left on the planet? She bent over her computer and typed quickly as Annika continued.

“When I came to New York for the first time…”

One

April 2012—New York City

“You have to tell her,” Thom insisted as his roommate, Leo, packed. Thom wasn’t at all disappointed to see Leo move out, but he knew what was right.

Vanishing without explanation just before your fiancée arrived for a visit wasn’t right, no matter how he looked at it.

“No, I don’t,’ Leo insisted. “It won’t even matter. She never has to know.” He flashed a confident smile at Thom, obviously assuming—as usual—that everything would go his way.

That was the thing Thom found most annoying about Leo. Not that the other guy was tall, dark and handsome; not that he came from money or even that he was going to med school; not even that he’d be matching Thom’s annual salary every month in a year or two—if not exceeding it.

What bit the wall was Leo’s assumption that everyone in the world would do what he wanted, and that every single thing would go his way—and worse, it did. Like fucking clockwork.

That was what drove Thom nuts. He’d never met anyone so lucky who deserved it so little.

Nothing ever went Thom’s way and he knew better than to expect otherwise.

He folded his arms across his chest and glowered at Leo, his bad feeling about this particular situation meaning that he couldn’t let it go. “Your fiancée doesn’t have to know that you’re dating another woman,” he repeated, his voice heavy with skepticism. He’d never met Annika but he’d heard a lot about her in the two months that he’d shared quarters with Leo. She sounded like the most unlikely match for Leo, but maybe she was gorgeous. Maybe she had money. Maybe he was never going to understand Leo and that was just fine.

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