‘Leo!’ Anna ran up the stairs, dying to tell him about her day.
He had his back to her and his mobile to his ear when she went rushing into the kitchen. He waved and carried on talking, an unfamiliar grave expression on his face.
She studied him. He’d seemed a little preoccupied his week – or at least preoccupied by Leo standards. Occasionally his face suggested he was thinking deeply about something.
‘Thanks, Raph. Appreciate it. Speak later.’
He ended the call. ‘Hey Anna, love.’ He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the mouth, just like he did every time she arrived home from work.
‘Hey, Leo Knight. Everything okay with the family?’ Leo had spoken with his brother nearly every day in the last week, with Raph ringing him several times. Did they know about Anna and Leo getting back together? Leo hadn’t said anything. Maybe they didn’t approve.
‘All fine,’ said Leo. ‘How did it go? No one killed each other?’
‘It was amazing! Honestly, Jakub was like a dog with two tails and Karel lapped it up.’ Today, Karel had come to the Šilhov brewery to spend the day with Jakub. As the day had progressed, Anna had repeatedly noticed the family resemblance between them, especially when they took a sip of beer and savoured the flavour, their identically shaped eyes half closed in reflection and contemplation.
‘That’s great. A good way to round off the week.’
‘Yes. They left the brewery together and were going to dinner with Karel and his sister. I’m so pleased for Jakub, it would be wonderful if they could be a family again.’ For a moment her smile slipped. Her family had been very quiet. Since she’d made it clear she and Steve were done, there’d been very little communication. In fact she couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard from her aunt or Rebecca. The former didn’t matter but she and Becs had always supported each other, especially when they were younger when things had been tense at home.
‘Talking of which, our adopted family, Jan and Michaela, said to knock for them at seven.’
‘Great. Are we going to tell them about us?’ Anna smiled at the thought, remembering Michaela’s avid curiosity. She’d dropped by twice this week on made-up pretexts.
‘Not straight away. Let’s tease Michaela a bit longer.’
‘I think she might have guessed on Saturday night.’
‘Yeah, the “can I borrow some milk?” ploy was rather obvious on Monday evening. Shall we play it cool and then I’ll kiss you when the beer arrives. That’ll surprise Little Miss Matchmaker.’
‘I think I’ll go have a shower.’
‘Okay. I’ve got a couple of calls to make.’
Anna went downstairs wondering about the many calls he’d been making all week.
‘Hey, Zdenka,’ she heard him say. ‘Yeah, what time? I can make it a bit later. I need to make sure Anna is…’
She’d moved out of range and couldn’t hear the rest. She gritted her teeth, dying to know what was going on, but she refused to ask. It would look as if she didn’t trust him. And that’s where everything had gone wrong last time.
A quick shower revived her and she decided that, so long as she wore plenty of layers, she was all set for a Friday night out with Jan and Michaela. They had booked a table at a rooftop bar in the Old Town Square, promising that they wouldn’t be cold.
Leo was equally bundled up, his blonde curls peeping from beneath his black beanie. He kissed her thoroughly at the front door before they set off. Anna clutched the lapels of his coat to steady herself. ‘Maybe we should stay home,’ she said, with a breathless laugh. Kissing Leo would never get old.
‘That was to tide us over until the big reveal.’ He gave her one last kiss and then they closed the front door and took the stairs down to Michaela and Jan’s apartment.
* * *
Although the air was crisp, the location was spectacular and well worth the expensive menu. Anna had been amused by the laborious journey to the rooftop floor, which had involved several staircases and a lift. Despite the chilly weather, which had everyone huddling under blankets with heaters blasting out above them, the terrace was busy. It was definitely a tourist hot-spot and Anna appreciated Jan and Michaela bringing them there. The panoramic view took in the nearby square tower of the astronomical clock and, beyond, the twin Gothic towers of the church of Our Lady before Tyn – as well as a bird’s eye view of the terracotta-tiled roofs stretching away on all four sides.
‘This is fab,’ said Leo, his head turning this way and that like a curious owl. ‘You can see everything.’
‘Not quite everything,’ said Jan, with an amused smile. ‘But it is good to come once. It is very touristy.’
‘Are we still tourists?’ asked Anna.
‘No,’ said Michaela. ‘You’re family. Our family.’
‘That’s a lovely thing to say,’ said Anna, exchanging a quick glance with Leo, who grinned back at her.
