* * *
When Leo bounced into the apartment half an hour later clutching a couple of bottles of pale golden beer, she’d showered and changed and was sitting on the roof terrace with her phone, having finished a FaceTime call with Steve, who was looking forward to the river tour she’d promised to book.
‘Look what they gave me,’ he crowed through the open doorway. ‘Homework.’ He held up a couple of bottles of beer in one hand. ‘Want to try some?’
Anna, with plans for the evening, felt more relaxed, and she laughed at his gleeful expression, even though she didn’t want to. It was impossible to be around Leo and not succumb to his joie de vivre.
‘Why not?’ she replied with a tentative smile, not sure how to act around him. He seemed to have forgotten their last argument. And, after all, this was why she was in the Czech Republic, to learn as much as she could about Czech beer. She’d tell him later that Jirí had found her a new place.
‘I’ll get some glasses,’ he called, having already disappeared from view, and a minute later he stepped out onto the roof, beaming.
‘Isn’t this great?’ he said. ‘What a view to come home to with a beer. Life’s good. How was your day?’ He slid the bottle-opener keyring from his pocket. ‘I had an amazing week but tell me about yours. What did you do? Was it awesome? Are you loving it?’ Leo’s questions spilled out like champagne overflowing from a flute.
She stared at him for a minute, wondering if he was taking the piss. They hadn’t spoken a word for two days. A little bud of warmth lit up inside her. Typical Leo. Slow to anger, quick and generous to forgive. It would be churlish in the extreme to be rude to him, let alone resist this effervescent enthusiasm.
‘Yes, it was awesome, and yes, I’m going to love it,’ she said with a laugh. His interest, in comparison to her cousin Becs’s utter disinterest, was a boost and, like a flower warmed by the sun, she couldn’t help but open up.
‘Let’s try these bad boys,’ said Leo, flipping off the tops. ‘And then you can tell me all about it. The Crystal brewery is so cool. And Karel has some great ideas. He’s really experimental and not afraid of trying anything new.’
Anna laughed again. ‘Possibly the opposite of my day then. Jakub is a third-generation beer maker and he likes – no, loves – the tradition of it all.’
Leo, who’d poured the beers, lifted his glass. She took hers and chinked it against his.
‘Cheers.’
‘Na zdraví,’ said Anna.
‘Ah, yes, well done. When in Prague.Na zdraví.’
For the next half-hour, they chatted with relative ease about their day, Anna telling Leo all about the old cellars and the huge wooden mash tuns housed in the old stone building of Šilhov brewery, while Leo told her about the high-tech computerised pipework and stainless-steel finish of the Crystal brewery. Before long they were asking each other questions, fully immersed in the subject of beer, and suddenly it was seven o’clock.
Leo jumped to his feet, almost knocking his chair over. ‘I need to put on a clean T-shirt. Don’t want to go out stinking of beer before I even get to the pub.’
‘Another date?’ Anna tried to sound non-judgemental.
‘Not tonight.’ He smiled at her. ‘Michaela and Jan invited me to the pub. I thought you were coming, too?’
‘Yeah, right. Of course,’ said Anna. Why hadn’t it occurred to her that Leo would be included in the invitation? They’d probably invited him first. Everyone always wanted Leo’s company.
Still moving, he unselfconsciously stripped off his T-shirt, giving her another flash of that lean, muscular body and bringing with it a flush of awareness. Her whole body felt on edge, unsatisfied. What was wrong with her? The sooner she got out of here the better, even though it was such a lovely flat.
When they knocked on Michaela and Jan’s door, five minutes later, the couple were ready and waiting and the four of them descended the stairs in high spirits to walk to the pub, which was only a couple of streets away.
The lively pub was in a cellar, with lots of posters on the walls, and long trestle tables. Michaela and Jan, clearly a popular pair, waved to several people before heading to a table in the corner. No sooner had the four of them sat down than a waiter was at the table ready to take their order.
‘Georg, this is Leo and Anna, they’ve just moved in. They’re English.’
‘Ahoj,’ said Georg. ‘What would you like to drink?’
‘Beer,’ said Leo and Anna in unison, catching each other’s eyes and grinning.
‘In Czech Republic, you have to drink beer,’ said Jan. ‘We are the biggest consumers of beer in the world. We drink one-hundred and eighty litres per capita, although according to other reports its only one-hundred and twenty-eight litres. I’m not sure which is right but it is a lot.’
‘We know,’ said Anna. ‘I told you we’re on a placement scheme but the ultimate prize is brewery equipment.’
‘Which I’m going to win,’ said Leo, winking at Anna. ‘And have my beer at the Christmas Beer Festival.’
‘You think so, do you?’ said Anna, lifting her chin, not sure if he was teasing or being over-confident. The competitive Talbot side of her was suddenly fired up, perhaps fuelled by the fact that she really needed to win that equipment. WhydidLeo want it?
