Page 5 of When Annika Met Thom

“Annika isn’t my fiancée. Not exactly.”

Thom rolled his eyes. He felt protective of this woman he didn’t even know, because he knew Leo’s slippery relationship with the truth. He was pretty sure Annika had no idea that Leo was acting as if he was a single guy. “I thought that was what you called the woman you planned to marry.”

“That’s so traditional.”

“Then what is she? Your pet cat?”

Leo laughed. His quick glance at Thom revealed that he was nervous, though. It was true that Thom could have easily snapped him in half. What he didn’t possess in luck and charm, Thom had in sheer size and power. Of course, he worked out hard to get his rock-hard abs.

Leo, in contrast, was tall and slender. He looked like a bookish nerd with his glasses, but on the road to romance—with someone other than his fiancée—he’d chosen to wear his contacts.

“We have an agreement. We’ll get marriedsomeday. It’s not the same thing.”

“I’m going to guess she’d disagree. Women are like that.”

“There’s no ring.”

“Still.”

“But men need some action in the intervals. She’d understand. Annika’s smart.”

“Uh huh.”

“This isn’t a thing,” Leo insisted, as if he was talking to a stupid child. He took that tone often with Thom. “It’s a hook-up. It’s temporary. It doesn’t have anything to do with Annika.”

“I can’t think of a single woman who would see it that way. They’re possessive like that.”

“Advice from the monk,” Leo said with a shake of his head. “Sorry I’m not going to take it. Trust me. I know Annika. It will befine.” He jammed a sweatshirt into his bag and forced the zipper to close.

“I have two sisters,” Thom said. “Maddy would cut your balls off. Tessa would go for another part of your anatomy, ensuring you could never repeat your crime.”

“Remind me never to date your sisters. Thank God Annika’s not like that.”

Thom remained skeptical. He stood in the middle of the main room of the one-bedroom apartment as Leo did a final survey. The apartment was on the third floor of an old building in the East Village and it faced a little park with a community garden. The much larger East River Park was half a dozen blocks away, and the subway was just a few blocks north. It wasn’t the greatest neighborhood, but it was cheap for Manhattan. Thom had answered an ad Leo had placed in the local paper and had been sleeping on the couch ever since. Leo had taken over a sub-let from another guy at med school and the furniture apparently stayed with the apartment. It wasn’t very big, but they made it work—mostly because their schedules often meant they were home at different times.

Thom could get to his part-time job at Flatiron Five Fitness in ten minutes or less, there was a space to park his motorcycle in comparative safety, and there was that park across the street for Cerberus. He’d even gotten a second part-time job at a parking garage nearby, detailing cars. It wasn’t all bad, although life would be simpler with just one good job.

Cerberus was sitting beside him now, watching, her ears cocked with curiosity.

“Annika knows me. She understands me. She loves me, just the way I am.”

Thom wondered who Leo was trying to convince and kept silent.

Leo kept talking. Fast. “That’s the secret to a happy partnership.” He surveyed the bedroom he’d occupied for as long as Thom had shared the apartment with him and picked up a stray charger cable. “Got it all. I’m out of here.”

“And you’ll be back before Annika arrives.” Thom had major doubts about that.

“Of course.” Leo shook his head. “These things burn hot, but not for long. Cerise and I will exhaust each other in less than forty-eight hours, then wake up and simultaneously wonder what the hell we’re doing together.” He laughed then loaded up with his gear, his anticipation obvious. He had his laptop bag, a big duffle bag and a smaller backpack. It took some effort for him to carry it all, but Thom wasn’t going to help.

“She’ll be here in two days,” he reminded Leo.

“And I’ll be back. Just chill.”

Thom didn’t feel in the least bit like chilling. “And if she shows up early?”

Leo paused on the threshold and grinned. “Call me.”

“And you’ll leave Cerise?”

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