‘Would you like me to lay the table outside? It’s a nice evening.’
He saw her shoulders rise and fall and heard her exhale an exasperated breath.
‘You never give up, do you?’ she said, easing the pasta into the boiling water.
‘Not if something’s worth sticking around for, like your very excellent spaghetti bolognese. Can I get you a beer?’
She croaked out a laugh. ‘Go on then. And yes, you can lay the table. And you can grate some parmesan. You might as well make yourself useful.’
‘I’m always useful,’ he said shooting her a quick grin. ‘Adorable, too.’
‘I wouldn’t get carried away, now.’ She pursed her mouth. ‘Be grateful I’ve agreed to share dinner with you. I won’t be making a habit of it.’
‘Understood.’ He nodded solemnly but couldn’t help spoiling it by saluting her.
‘Parmesan, Leo,’ she said, pointing to the fridge. ‘Grater in there.’ She pulled open a drawer and then moved out of the way to let him remove a bowl from the cupboard by her knees. As soon as he was out of the way she ducked down to grab two plates from the same cupboard and swung around to pop them in the oven. Their syncopated moves could have been choreographed – or maybe, he wondered, it was muscle memory.
Ten minutes later they were sitting outside in the last of the sunshine. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon.
‘Cheers,’ said Leo.
‘Cheers,’ said Anna.
‘And thank you. I knew you wanted to eat dinner together, really.’
‘No, Leo, I really didn’t. Don’t waste your time trying to charm me. I’m immune. Save it for your new Czech lady friends. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.’
‘I’m making friends, meeting new people. I went out with someone from work for a drink,’ he protested. ‘She was showing me around.’
‘You can’t help yourself, can you?’ she said bitterly.
He held up both hands. ‘I’m a free agent. I’ve got nothing to apologise for.’ He was done with justifying himself to her all the time. She’d never listened then, when she had every reason to, so she certainly wouldn’t start now.
She raised one sceptical eyebrow.
‘Bloody hell, Anna,’ he exclaimed. ‘Why do you always have to think the worst?’
‘Perhaps it’s something to do with being proved right most of the time.’
‘No, you were always wrong.’ Leo threw down his fork, his appetite evaporating. ‘Thanks a lot for dinner but I’m not hungry anymore.’ He knew it was childish to storm off but he didn’t deserve this. He liked women, they liked him, but he’d never lied to anyone, and despite what she thought, he never cheated and never led anyone on.
ChapterFive
Anna’s phone rang as she boarded the tram on her way home at the end of her first week. The days had flown by, there was so much to learn and it was all so interesting, but the evenings, on her own in her bedroom watching Netflix, had dragged. She and Leo had avoided each other since dinner on Wednesday.
Finding a seat quickly, she answered to hear Jirí’s voice.
‘Anna, I have some good news. We have found you a new apartment.’
‘Oh, that’s wonderful.’ Anna sat a little straighter in her seat.
‘It’s in Praha 14.’ His tone didn’t sound celebratory in any way. She heard him suck in a breath and knew he was about to deliver less welcome news.
‘And is that bad? I’m guessing it will be much further out.’
‘It’s not bad, you would have a flat to yourself, but, yes, it would be further to travel every day, but it is on the metro. I must be honest with you. It has been empty for a while and I haven’t been able to view it. I can’t guarantee what it will be like.’
Given she’d already turned down one very nice flat, she was hardly in a position to complain.
