Page 58 of When Annika Met Thom

His gaze swiveled back to lock with hers and she felt pinned to the spot. “Really?”

“Really. Honest and true. No tears.”

He was skeptical and she didn’t blame him, but she held his gaze until he relented. He ran a hand over his hair and looked resigned. “She works at a bar, at least she did. It’s the one on the corner to the west of the apartment. Los Chicos. That’s all I know.”

Annika winced. She had to approach Cerise in a bar? “I was hoping you’d have her number.”

“Me and Cerise? Not a chance.” Thom shook his head, then raised a finger. “It’s Thursday. She might be working tonight.” With that, he opened the door to the weight room again. “Good luck.”

Good luck. Annika was going to need it.

* * *

Even if I was madly,deeply in love with him, I could never trust him again.

Her words echoed in his thoughts all afternoon. Thom completely respected her point of view, and he couldn’t keep himself from wondering exactly why she’d chosen those words. Did she mean shewasn’tmadly, deeply in love with Leo?

If so, she’d get over him quickly and that could only be a good thing.

Leo wasn’t worth her tears.

Thom wasn’t going to think about how they had a common view about the value of trust in a relationship and the price of breaching that trust. He reminded himself that he and Annika had nothing in common. She was leaving town in nine days, not that he was counting.

But she had balls. Thom would give her that.

Most people would just disappear after learning that a partner had been unfaithful—especially given the way she had learned that truth. He admired that she wanted to have a final discussion with Leo, but he had a feeling it was going to go badly.

Worst luck, this was the only night that he was planning to be home. He made a couple of calls after his shift at the club, but struck out. No one wanted to switch a shift tonight.

He was going to have to accept the fact that she might cry, promise or no promise, and he would be there to witness it. They’d both have to deal with the consequences of that.

Thom chose to stay and do his own workout after his shift. It was a futile effort to exhaust himself so he could crash early. He was so wound up by the idea of spending the evening with a heartbroken Annika—worse, an Annika determined to be strong—that it was an exercise in futility.

He gave it his best shot, though.

By the time he finished and showered, the lobby was crowded with day patrons leaving and the first wave of evening patrons arriving from work. He spotted Ty, the partner who managed the club’s finances, in the foyer before the rock wall. Ty had obviously just arrived from his day job at the investment company as he was wearing his raincoat and had his briefcase. He was the only partner who didn’t work full time at the club.

The steel supports were in place for about two-thirds of the wall and it already looked impressive. There was a cherry-picker and a lot of scaffolding to facilitate the installation. The pile of steel beams was a lot smaller and the guys who’d been working all day were packing up.

Thom only had eyes for the redhead in the cherry-picker. Annika laughed from the basket of the cherry picker as it descended to the lobby floor. She was riding with Bruno, the installation guy, and they could have been on a date.

Albeit one with hard hats.

She was wearing black pants today and a green tweed jacket. The cut was similar to the ginger suit and he guessed she was doing that mix-and-match capsule wardrobe thing that Maddy was always talking about. Annika looked great and sleek, very professional, and the green did magic things to her eyes. He’d wanted to fall right into them earlier in the afternoon when she’d sought him out.

He wasn’t the only guy noticing either, but maybe that was working for her. She laughed at something Bruno said, then walked away from him, taking off her hard hat as she headed toward Ty. Bruno looked a bit surprised, but Thom guessed she was doing her job, talking to the client instead of socializing.

Thom found himself lingering to watch her, pretending that he was surveying the wall.

He was not eavesdropping. Nuh uh. He was admiring. And only the wall.

“Is it going as well as it appears to be?” Ty asked Annika.

“Not a hitch,” Annika said with satisfaction. They both turned to face the wall. “The beams were cut perfectly, exactly as specified.”

“You’re surprised?” Ty asked.

Annika shook her head. “Pleased. We haven’t built on the east coast before so this was a new supplier for us. They were highly recommended, but I always worry until I see results. I’m really impressed by their precision and we’ll be using them again.”

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