The Little Teashop in Tokyo by Julie Caplin Page 0,96

the carrots are carved into maple leaves.’

‘That’s incredible and these are just beautiful.’ She held a radish carved into the shape of a lotus flower between her fingers; knowing her, if she’d attempted it with chopsticks, she’d fire the vegetable at Gabe across the table.

‘I wish I had my phone. I’d have WhatsApped a picture to Sophie; she’s a food writer and she loves to try new things, and insists everyone else does too. Her motto is that it’s good for your food education.’

‘Eating in Japan is certainly an education in its own right. I still don’t know what half this stuff is.’

‘I know what these are.’ She poked with one end of her chopstick at the clumps of tiny white mushrooms that looked as if they belonged in a fairy glade. ‘Enoki. We had them at an amazing restaurant in Copenhagen. The food was to die for.’ She grinned at the memory. ‘We all thought Sophie was going to have an orgasm at the table.’

‘Now there’s an idea. Although wasn’t that done in When Harry Met Sally?’

She rolled her eyes. He was completely incorrigible and she couldn’t remember when she’d last had so much fun with someone.

After dinner they rose and Gabe held open her leather jacket for her.

‘Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?’

‘Soon.’ He tucked his arm through hers and they walked along a few streets, the cool evening breeze ruffling her hair.

***

‘So what exactly do you do in an onsen?’ she asked once the receptionist at the front desk had handed them the key without so much as batting an eyelid. Surprisingly, at nine o’clock in the evening the place was very busy with families and teenagers.

‘Relax. It’s a big thing in Japan. It’s basically bathing in spring water. The water comes from hot springs that contain natural minerals, so different onsens claim to have different properties. But they’re all supposed to be very good for the skin and it’s a nice thing to do. This one is renowned because it’s got a bath with a view. Come on, we’re on the top floor.’

On the fourth floor, the key opened a door which accessed a private outdoor roof terrace. ‘Oh, isn’t this lovely,’ said Fiona as she stared around the beautifully landscaped garden with its very own steaming mini lake which reflected the snow-covered top of Mount Fuji. The sun had gone down several hours ago and the little terrace was lit by tiny lights along the stone-paved paths and buried among the bamboo planting.

‘We have to shower first. Here you have to be clean before you get in the hot spring. And you’ll have to tie up all that lovely hair.’

As there’d been no mention of swimming costumes, she was guessing that the etiquette was to go naked and despite having seen Gabe up close and personal quite a lot in the last twenty-four hours, she couldn’t help the sudden wave of apprehension. It was one thing to strip off in the heat of passion, quite another to coolly undress and parade about in cold blood.

But with his usual sixth sense when it came to her lack of self-confidence Gabe rubbed at the tension in her shoulders. ‘Do you want to shower first and hop in. I’ll just take in the view.’ He nodded towards the wooden fencing at the far side of the terrace offering a perfect view of the mountain.

‘That … that would be great,’ she said and with embarrassing speed almost ran to the little changing area which she realised also housed a sauna. She couldn’t imagine going in there and lying naked.

She showered quickly, before Gabe changed his mind, taking care to wash thoroughly as per the rather authoritarian instructions on the wall. Feeling all kinds of fool for being such a Victorian prude, she edged out of the door. As promised, Gabe had his back to her and was staring out at the view.

‘I’m in,’ she called as the silky water enveloped her. She found she could sit on one of the underwater ledges and be submerged up to her neck.

‘And how is it?’ he asked.

‘Heaven,’ she sighed and leaned back, stretching her arms out on either side of her to gain some purchase and stop her floating up out of the water. It seemed more buoyant than she was used to.

‘All right if I join you?’

She nodded, her throat a little constricted. Why, oh why, couldn’t she be more casual about this? Trying her best to