Page 48 of When Annika Met Thom

Was Annika following him?

Women and their need to know!

Thom felt his mouth settle into a grim line even as he tried to keep the past from shadowing the future. He’d had a girlfriend once who had followed him, determined to discover his secrets. Confronted, she’d confessed that she thought he was seeing someone else, that another woman was the reason he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—commit. Thom didn’t remember the girlfriend much, but he remembered his anger that she’d believed that he would be both unfaithful and lie about it.

He got off at the stop closest to Flatiron Five Fitness and didn’t look back until he was at the base of the stairs to the street. Sure enough, Annika was marching toward him, taking the same path, swinging that massive bag. It looked as if she was used to schlepping such a load. He considered the merit of offering her a hand but her expression hinted that she wouldn’t welcome it.

Thom wasn’t really surprised when he heard her steps on the sidewalk behind him. He glanced back when he stopped for a red light and saw her in the back of the pack of pedestrians waiting for the light to change. She switched the big briefcase to the other hand and tipped her head back, looking up at the buildings with an appreciative smile.

She was thirty feet behind him, every step of the way.

He held the door of Flatiron Five Fitness as Annika caught up with him. She hesitated and he saw that she was puzzled to find them in the same place.

She wasn’t following him, after all. No, she was going to work.

She glanced up at the sign then back at him with a slight frown. “You work here, at Flatiron Five Fitness?”

And then Thom knew.

“You’re A. March, consulting engineer for Radical Rock Wall Installations,” he guessed.

Her eyes lit as she made the connection, then she laughed. He loved the bright green sparkle of her eyes. “And you’re T. Foley, lead contact for Flatiron Five Fitness on the installation of the new custom rock wall.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he said, and shook her hand. He offered to take the briefcase, but she shook her head.

“Thanks, but I carry it myself. Principle, you know.”

“Fair enough.” They entered the lobby together and Thom felt his familiar rush of pleasure at the sight of the club. No detail had been overlooked and even the lobby was impressive.

It was going to be ten times more impressive when the rock wall was installed.

The glass wall had already been built on the exterior of the building, one that would expose the view of the climbing wall to passersby. The raw space extended eight floors from the lobby floor and it looked imposing even before the installation began.

Annika stopped and stared, her expression echoing Thom’s own awe. “It goes there,” she guessed softly, eying the construction space.

Thom just nodded.

“It’s so big,” she whispered. “I mean, I know the dimensions from the plans, but it looks so much bigger in real life.”

Thom nodded agreement. “It’s going to be awesome.”

“We called you Mr. More, you know,” she said finally, not looking at him.

“Why?”

“Because no matter what we presented or suggested, no matter how high it was or how complicated it was, T. Foley always wanted more.”

Thom always wanted more, but in that moment, he wasn’t thinking about the rock wall. He looked down at Annika and forcibly dragged his thoughts back to the moment. “Do you know why?”

“You like a challenge?”

“I’ll tell you a story.”

“Ooo,” she said, eyes dancing. “Lots of words in a row. I feel special.”

She was, but he wasn’t going to be the one to say it.

Thom cleared his throat. “When the partners decided to install this wall, they asked me to help to define the specs. They knew I liked to climb and they probably thought I’d just give them a dozen suggestions.”

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