‘But Leo…’
He shook his head, unable to look her in the face because she might see too much.
‘Leave it, Anna.’
Slowly he left the room, conscious of the weight of each of the steps he took and when he closed the door, the thud vibrated through his body, echoing the dull pain running through every vein. He had no idea where he was going. He needed to get away. He scrolled through recent texts. There was one place he’d be welcome. Fuck it. Anna didn’t trust him anyway. What did he have to lose? He might as well go to Zdenka’s and prove Anna right. He was only useful for a good time and not much else.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Light snow had begun to fall and when he stepped out of the apartment, he felt like he was the only person in the world. His footsteps left black out of white patches on the pavement. By the time he’d walked a couple of blocks, his hands were numb and his feet stung from the cold.
When he buzzed the intercom, he almost sagged with relief when the door opened and he was able to step inside out of the biting cold.
‘Come in,’ said Zdenka, wearing a welcoming smile and a very sexy dressing gown. He smiled back. He might be pissed off and broken-hearted but he wasn’t dead.
‘Thanks for having me. I didn’t know where else to go.’
‘I could choose to be insulted by that.’ Zdenka gave him a teasing smile. ‘But instead, I’ll focus on the fact that you walked all the way here instead down a flight of stairs.’ She brushed at the snow in his hair, dislodging a few flakes.
‘I didn’t want to disturb Michaela and Jan,’ he said flinching at his own lie. He wanted to punish Anna, punish himself. It was a dick move.
‘But you knew I wouldn’t mind. Especially not now when you’re about to sign a contract and I’ll receive the commission.’
He lifted his shoulders in a hopeless shrug.
‘Take your coat off. I’ll get us a drink.’
Shimmying out of his coat, he noticed he hadn’t done the buttons up properly on his shirt and it was skew-whiff. No wonder he was so bloody cold, he hadn’t even put a sweater on. He followed her into the living area, with its vibrant red sofa and block coloured rugs on wooden floors. Although everything was tasteful and beautifully placed – that was what jarred, everything felt carefully arranged, too carefully – it didn’t have the cosiness of his and Anna’s flat.
He took a seat, perching on the edge of the sofa, tiredness rolling in. What was he doing here?
‘Here you go.’ Zdenka handed him a beer and sat down next to him. He couldn’t help noticing her silk robe was draped artfully to reveal a healthy amount of cleavage. Her skin was smooth with a faint tan and he could see the remnants of summer bikini lines.
He took a morose sip of his beer remembering his uncomplicated summer in Italy, with a stream of bikini-clad babes. ‘Thanks.’
‘Na zdraví.’ She lifted her bottle and tapped his, and then leaned back curling one slim leg underneath her and extending the other along the sofa. She looked as comfortable as a cat with a belly full of cream, confidence and self-assurance oozing from her. The type of woman who had no expectations. The type of woman Anna expected him to move on to.
‘So Leo, why are you here in the middle of the night?’
He gave her a rueful smile. ‘I knew you wouldn’t turn me away.’
She tutted. ‘You’re always welcome in my bed but I don’t think that’s why you came. You have the look of a man on a mission to blow everything apart. I take it Anna doesn’t know you’re here.’
‘It’s got nothing to do with Anna,’ he all but snarled.
‘Ah trouble in paradise. Poor Leo.’ She patted his arm and then leaned towards him, her assets clearly on display and pressed a kiss on his lips.
He stiffened and didn’t respond. Temptation didn’t even come into it. Beautiful and sexy as she was, he didn’t want her. He never had. She was good, straightforward fun and in a previous life he would have taken her to bed without a thought, for a carefree romp that meant nothing to either of them.
She pulled back with a minxy smile on her face.
‘Leo, Leo, Leo. You came to press the self-destruct button and now you can’t do it.’
He sighed and ran his hands through his damp hair. ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’
She relaxed back into the sofa, studying him, amusement ticking up the corners of her mouth, making him feel utterly stupid.
‘You’re trying to prove that Anna is right and you’re no good. Sorry, but the only thing you’re no good at is being bad.’
