“Oh, no. Thank you. I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” she said quickly, looking up at the tall man standing over her. He was clearly Russian even without the strong jaw line and pronounced brow, his accent would give that away. He had high cheekbones and full lips, the bottom slightly more plump, that curled up into a smile. His blue eyes sparkled in amusement at her apology.
“No, was my fault. I not paying attention,” he released her from his grasp and looked around at all of her equipment. “You are not a tourist, are you?”
“Oh, uh, no. I’m a photographer,” she explained. “St. Bazil’s is my assignment for today.”
“You work for magazine?” he asked, a little surprised.
“No, it’s a book actually. I was supposed be in Russia for several more days.”
“Supposed to be?”
“My assistant had to go back to the States.” She didn’t know why she was telling him this. It was not a good idea to spread around that she was all alone in a foreign country. But he was not very threatening even though he was a big man. His smile seemed genuine and she let her guard down.
“You will not stay without assistant?”
“I’m not sure. I will have to make some arrangements. I don’t speak Russian well. You speak very good English, by the way.”
“I spend the winter time in States.”
She was distracted by a group of boys near the outer doors of the church. One of them was pointing in her direction. The man standing next to her raised his hand at them and they moved on with a wave.
“Friends of yours,” she asked.
“No, just fans.”
“Fans?”
A quick grin flashed at the corner of his mouth.
"I play hockey... in the NHL."She looked at him with surprise and slightly embarrassed.
"So, I should probably know who you are, shouldn't I?"
He smiled broadly and his eyes twinkled slightly.
"Some people do," he extended his hand to her and introduced himself. “I’m Alex.”
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