Page 82 of When Annika Met Thom

She turned to face him, her knee pressing against his thigh. Percival popped his head out of the front of her jacket, as if he wanted to know the answer too. “So, how do you tell? How do you know whether you’re just on the rebound or whether it’s kismet?”

“Easy. There is no kismet.”

“That means everyone who has ever had a relationship always has a good chance of being on the rebound.”

Thom nodded, thinking that might be true.

“I don’t buy it,” she said flatly, then stole a bite from his burrito. “Thinking makes me hungry,” she explained. “Because I’ve been thinking about your theory about women.”

“Not a theory. A fact.”

“No way,” she said. “It’s based on too small of a sample. How many women are we talking about? Six? Eight? Ten?” Thom didn’t answer. “Even if it’s a hundred women who have exhibited this behavior in your presence, it’s not a statistically relevant sample. There are billions of women in the world.” She flung out her hands to emphasize this point, then shook a finger at him. “But, the one common variable is you.”

“Excuse me?” Thom had no idea where she was going with this. He was both fascinated and concerned.

“Youhave created this theory that women always need to build emotional connections as a result ofyourexperience of women. What if there’s something about you that makes women think of forever?”

“I’m not that special,” Thom said and finished the burrito.

“I could argue that,” Annika said, her gaze holding his. She leaned against him, her eyes shining in a way that made his heart skip. “I think you’re amazing, and it’s not just due to technique.”

He smiled despite himself. “Technique,” he echoed, thinking of how responsive she was

“That thing you do with your fingers.” She shivered with delight and smiled at him. “Anybody would want to wake up to that every single day for the rest of her life.”

It was on the tip of Thom’s tongue to ask if she was volunteering, but he managed to stop himself in time. “You’re doing it, too,” he said gruffly.

“I know.” She didn’t seem to be troubled. “Fighting the impulse every step of the way, because the last thing I want to do is prove your so-called theory to be right and to have you crow that Iamjust like all other women. I’m not.” She sighed theatrically then smiled at him. “But I’m losing. Lucky for you I go home on Friday night.”

Thom stared into her eyes and didn’t feel very lucky at all. “Then you’re not moving to Manhattan?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

“I’m going home to think about it. I don’t want to make a decision I’ll regret, although I see that I could love it here.” She smiled again. “I’ll talk to my dad about it.”

Thom nodded. He felt tangled up, but had already learned that was typical of being in Annika’s presence. His impulses ran directly against what he knew he should do, and he was tempted to abandon his usual caution.

He wanted to convince her to stay.

“Tell me about Rhea,” she invited, as if she’d read his thoughts.

“Why?” Thom wondered what Tessa had said.

“Because I’m trying to understand this rebound thing, and Tessa called her Rebound Rhea.” She nudged him playfully. “It’s like a sample case. Study and learn.”

Thom considered that, then decided to throw caution to the winds. “We met at a party. I was looking for a place to live and so was she.”

“Lots of sexual attraction?”

“None,” Thom said flatly. “Well, a little.” He glanced at her and took a chance. “She had freckles.”

“You like freckles?”

Thom nodded. “Everyone has their Kryptonite.”

Annika laughed, then cupped her hands in front of herself, obviously thinking of Leo.

Thom smiled. “What’s yours?”

She sobered. “I thought it was smart nerds, but I had that wrong. Maybe I grew out of it.” Her gaze danced over him, a kind of wonder in her eyes that made it hard for Thom to look away. “Turns out I like guys who surprise me.”

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