‘Sorry, I was miles away,’ he apologised.
‘Somewhere nice, I think,’ she said in a throaty murmur.
Leo took a hasty gulp of wine, willing the image of Anna’s smooth skin and small, pert breasts out of his head. That way lay madness – plus, she had a boyfriend. He was much better off focusing on the here and now, rather than the past. Zdenka was gorgeous and available and also secure enough in herself to trust him.
‘How long have you been an influencer and how does it work?’ he asked, regaining his equilibrium and resorting to tried and tested small talk. Thankfully it was a subject that Zdenka was only too happy to expand upon and he was able to listen and nod, while corralling his wayward brain away from the sort of thoughts that could only lead him into trouble.
ChapterTwelve
It would have been impossible to miss the woman with bright blue hair and an equally bright smile who was standing waiting at 38 Dlouhá, the meeting point for the Best of Prague food tour.
The morning air was chillier than of late but that was only to be expected now they were moving into early October. Leo had bought firewood so he could light the wood burner in the lounge, an idea that had definite appeal. Although Leo, being Leo, hadn’t actually got round to buying the kindling or firelighters, so they’d yet to enjoy its cosy warmth.
‘Hi, I’m Agáta,’ said the woman with the blue hair, looking up from her clipboard. ‘And you are?’
‘I’m Anna and?—’
He, of course, stepped forward to say, ‘Leo. Nice to meet you. I’m really looking forward to this tour. Although four hours of eating is going some.’
Agáta laughed and responded to his open, friendly smile – just like everyone did, Anna thought.
‘Ah, you’re fromSdílená Kultura. Very nice to meet you. Jirí says I have to look after you well.’ She grinned, her bright red lipstick widening her smile. ‘It will be my pleasure. And it is not all eating, there is quite a lot of walking, too.’
She could almost see the sparks of energy radiating from the woman. For a moment she wished she had that kind of presence that made people notice you straight away. Anna tended to fade into the background and people didn’t see her. Sometimes she felt invisible, especially next to her loud and overachieving second family, who were all brilliant at sport and outdoor things.
The wonderful thing about Leo was that hehadseen her. Made her feel beautiful, special and a person in her own right. But then again, she’d learned over the months they were married that he had that magical gift of makingeveryonehe spoke to feel that they were important. If he was charismatic, she was the opposite – was there even a word for it? Uncharismatic?
‘We’re waiting for some other British tourists and then we can go.’
Anna nodded and gazed around her, looking at the worn cobbles lining the narrow street, filled with quiet, solid buildings which looked as if they’d been sheltering their residents for hundreds of years. Everywhere she looked, the city was layered with history that gave it an atmosphere all of its own. She didn’t think she’d been to another European city quite like it.
‘Amazing, isn’t it,’ Leo said and she glanced round to find that he’d gravitated to her side rather than Agáta’s. ‘The city. I think you could stay here for a year and still find something new to see. I love exploring new places, don’t you?’
Anna hadn’t ever really thought about it, and now it was like the sun coming out inside her as the realisation dawned: yes, she did like exploring new places. Her second family tended to prefer the gravitational pull of their own home and village, and none of them had moved away, so she’d tended to frame her life in their terms. This sudden observation made her realise she had set quite a lot of limits upon her habits and routines.
‘Do you know what?’ she said with sudden vigour that clearly took Leo aback, because his eyes widened. ‘I do. It’s not something I’ve done enough of. I’m going to pick a new place to visit every weekend while I’m here.’ Steve had now booked flights for the following weekend but she felt she’d wasted time already waiting for him before exploring.
‘That’s a great idea,’ said Leo. ‘We should make a list. And top of it has to be Prague Castle because we still haven’t done that.’
Anna’s heart jumped a little at his use of ‘we’ but if she was honest she rather liked the idea of having someone else to explore with, other than Steve. Someone to get lost with, someone to share the highs and the lows with. ‘There’s a bar that overlooks the Old Town square that’s a must do. That’s going on the list.’
She pulled out the paper diary that she still carried and opened it at a notes page where she began to scribble a couple of ideas.
‘You do know you could use the notes app on your phone.’ Leo nudged her, bringing her back to the present.
Agáta gathered everyone round and gave them a brief introduction to the tour. ‘Prague is a food hotspot. Czechs have been rediscovering a taste for food which has exploded within the last ten years. You may know that until 1989, we were under communist rule. During that time all the restaurants had to have the same menu with the same food and the same prices.’
‘No!’ breathed Anna and Leo in unison and caught each other’s eyes.
‘God, that sounds miserable,’ said Leo, as Agáta handed out some black-and-white photographs that captured examples of bygone menus.
‘Not so now,’ said Agáta enthusiastically. ‘Now we have artisan food all over the city, all over the country. And I’m going to take you to our most famous product. Anyone guess what that is?’
‘Beer,’ said Leo and Anna in unison again.
‘That’s right,’ she said as the two of them smiled at each other.
Marshalling them along the pavement and keeping up a steady stream of chat, Agáta steered them into a stone-built pub on the corner of the next street. Although it was only eleven o’clock in the morning, the place was already filling up with early lunchers. She sat them down at a long trestle table that had been reserved for them and explained about the different beer styles, while Leo and Anna exchanged slightly smug grins because they knew this stuff already.
