Page 79 of When Annika Met Thom

She liked Thom.

She was falling in love with Thom.

In two days? That was crazy. As Annika inhaled a piece of pizza, she tried to talk herself out of such sentimental nonsense. They had nothing in common. At least, she didn’t know what they had in common, and trying to find out would only make her seem like all the other women he’d known.

Well, that wasn’t quite true. She knew some things about him, besides how great the sex was. They both thought relationships required give-and-take, compromise and work. That was some common ground.

Thom didn’t believe in kismet or happily-ever-after, though, while she did. Annika wasn’t even sure he believed in true love.

She liked to plan everything out and he seemed to prefer going with the flow.

She sighed and faced the fact that in a corner of her heart, she was starting to wonder whether Leo had unwittingly facilitated kismet and that she and Thom were meant to be together.

He’d lose it if she told him that. Better not to even think it.

Thom was thoughtful and perceptive, not nearly as dumb as Leo had believed. She admired that he’d let Leo believe whatever he wanted to, and how confident he was. She’d never been able to let anyone cling to their mistaken thinking. She had to set people straight.

But Thom had the amazing ability to just leave it alone and walk away.

She could use some of that.

Thom was responsible and had a sense of honor, and was protective. Responsible. Nice. But he didn’t want a relationship, and she really did. Opposites again. He thought it took a decade to know whether two people belonged together. Annika thought her heart would tell her sooner than that—but then, she had been wrong quite recently.

Thom intrigued her. Not only was he sexy as hell, but he was a bit of a mystery. He surprised her—not many people did that—and she liked his mix of power and gentleness. That was incredibly attractive.

She watched Percival run in his wheel and realized her thoughts were spinning just the same way, and with just as much futility.

She was falling hard and fast, and that was inescapable.

The question was what she was going to do about it.

She could just shut up, enjoy the next week and head home Friday night as planned.

She could tell him the truth and instantly become a platonic roommate.

It wasn’t Annika’s tendency to hide the truth, but in this case, she was seriously tempted to keep quiet.

* * *

When Thom camehome at midnight, the apartment was dark. There was no sign of Annika and he felt a moment’s panic that she’d moved out without saying goodbye.

But that was dumb. He was the one who didn’t want a connection. He was the one who insisted on the here and now.

All the same, he was getting used to Annika and liked her a little more every single day. He was definitely in trouble.

He just had to hide it from her for a week.

He wondered what Tessa had told her and felt a frisson of concern as he walked Cerberus in the park.

When he got back, Annika had turned on the lamp beside the bed, though she was still burrowed beneath the covers. When she smiled, his heart turned over.

“Good day?”

Thom nodded as he got undressed. He tried not to look like he was rushing. “You?”

“Very good. Lots of interesting stuff.”

Thom stifled his dread. “Like?”

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