He had succeeded in taking her breath away. And the shock of it crackled through every cell. ‘I love you, too,’ she faltered, the words strange and new to voice aloud.

Tomas shot a hand heavenwards. ‘My God, she loves me,’ he cried. ‘What more can I ask of life?’

‘Even if I am a useful girlfriend from the West?’

He shot her a look. ‘Especially if you’re a girlfriend from the West.’

The poisoned blister festering in her heart was punctured. What did it matter if she was the useful girlfriend from the West? It was a risk she would take. What was love but risk?

Tomas added, ‘Listen, don’t worry about being followed. It gives you protection. There’re plenty of drunks and bandits around who would consider it their life’s work to rob a girl like you. Or worse. They won’t if there’s a goon around.’

They had emerged by the river over which were sliding the reflections from the setting sun. Tomas steered them into a street flanked by walls behind which were tall-ish buildings. Where two walls met, they opened into a garden furnished with tables and chairs. The place was run by Radek, an old friend of Tomas’s who, in return for Anatomie’s occasional appearance there, ensured that Tomas got his favourite beer.

‘What do you mean “a girl like me”?’ she asked when they were seated on the grass down by the river and the beer had been served.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t get it, my loved Laure, do you? Then, I must tell you.’ He leant over and rubbed a lock of her hair between his fingers. ‘Beautiful and well cared for. Shiny. The product of a good hairdresser and years of using a good shampoo.’

This was the most tender and seductive of love letters and she closed her eyes to listen.

Tomas’s fingers rested on her cheek. ‘Your skin is full of life. It tells me that you have been well fed. It tells me that you have eaten fruit and vegetables and good meat all your life.’ He took up one of her hands. ‘Look at your strong nails and soft skin.’

Enraptured, she smiled.

‘These little details tell the clever observer that you are worth robbing. They’re trained to spot the details.’

Her smile faded.

‘Let’s forget about them.’ He wrapped his arms around her. ‘Is it too hot for this?’

It was true that his body against hers felt like a radiator but she didn’t care.

‘I want to relish each moment,’ he said in her ear. ‘When you live with systems as they are here, it’s a requirement. Every cold beer, the sun on your back, every bar of music. Every mouthful of good food. The smell of summer.’ He nuzzled her ear and the increasingly familiar sensations smartly awoke. ‘And sex. Especially sex.’