Passion in Prague (Once Again Book 13)
Coming soon to Kindle Unlimited
Prague, the city of spires, music, and moonlight—and the most enchanting place to fall in love…
Elise never thought she’d find love again. Divorced for years, lonely, and carrying a secret that has kept her from ever finding love again, she arrives in the beautiful city of Prague for the final leg of what has been a whirlwind European trip. What she doesn’t expect is Kent—a widower with a tender heart, a passionate touch, and a family whose approval he desperately wants.
What begins as a spark in one of the world’s most romantic cities quickly blazes into something deeper. Days filled with historic castles, fascinating river cruises, charming cafes, and delicious dining on Czech cuisine give way to nights of breathtaking intimacy. Passion burns between them, slow and sultry as a waltz on the Vltava River. For the first time in decades, Elise feels truly cherished and desired.
But Kent’s daughter, still grieving her mother’s passing, doubts Elise’s place in his life. And worse, Elise’s secret past could cost her everything. For their love to last beyond the cobblestone streets and velvet nights of Prague, they’ll have to trust not only in each other, but in forgiveness and the future they’re daring to claim.
Set against the spellbinding backdrop of Prague’s winding streets and glittering river views, this later-in-life, sexy second chance romance will sweep you away—and prove that love is always worth the risk at any age.
Coming soon! (so these links don’t work yet!)
Excerpt
Passion in Prague
Once Again, Book 13
© 2025 Jennifer Skully
Chapter One
Elise Martin woke with the sunrise, the clock on the bedside reading six-thirty. She relished the early mornings. And even more so today, when she awoke to the sights and sounds of early September in Prague in the Czech Republic.
She stretched away all the kinks with which her fifty-five-year-old body awoke, then climbed out of bed, though not bounding the way she would have thirty-five years ago. But she considered herself in reasonably good shape. She weighed just about the same as she had when she was in college.
The boys would be up soon, demanding her attention. She nannied eight-year-old Marek, and six-year-old Luca, the young sons of renowned pianist Tomás Novak and his soon-to-be wife, Amanda Woodward. His three-month European concert tour over the summer ended here in Prague, his birthplace, though he and the family lived in San Francisco.
She stood still by the bed a moment, listening to the baby monitor on the bedside table. But there wasn’t a sound, not even a rustle or a laugh. Which meant she had a little more time to herself to get ready for the day.
She thought the boys were a bit too old for a baby monitor, but Amanda had insisted, saying that Luca suffered from nightmares. And indeed, he sometimes did.
Elise gathered clothing to take with her into the bathroom. The elegant bedroom, with its fourposter bed and thick duvet, also featured a seating area with two comfortable chairs that probably cost a fortune, a delicate dresser which looked like a French antique, and plush Persian rugs beneath her bare feet. The bathroom matched the bedroom in luxury, with a soaker tub, a separate shower, and gold-plated faucets and taps.
The Novaks traveled in style, staying at five-star hotels, but since they often visited Prague to see Tomás Novak’s family, they’d purchased this river-front row house near Old Town. Tomás and Amanda had remodeled, updating the kitchen and bathrooms, adding a beautiful veranda that overlooked the Vltava River and the famous Charles Bridge as well as a balcony to their bedroom suite upstairs. The house, with five bedrooms, had room enough for Amanda’s father who would be arriving today, and Sarah, Amanda’s childhood friend, flying in tomorrow.
After her shower, she heard the boys’ voices on the monitor and dressed quickly, though taking time for her body lotion and face creams. She was fifty-five, after all, and some things just couldn’t be neglected.
Luca barreled into her as she left her second-floor bedroom, which was across from the room the boys’ shared.
“Breakfast,” he said, his lips in a pout. “I’m hungry.”
She ruffled his blond hair. “Then you could have asked Cook to prepare your breakfast.”
Luca grimaced. “But I want you.”
The household included a cook, a driver, and a twice-weekly cleaning service. Elise didn’t even have to change her own sheets.
When the family arrived at the row house three days ago, Cook had insisted on using her title rather than her name, probably because it was hard for the boys to pronounce. Or perhaps it was simply pride in her work. She didn’t live in, but went home every night after all the dinner dishes were done and returned early in the morning to prepare breakfast.
Elise took the boy’s hand. “Let’s go down and see what Cook will make for us.”
Though she’d cared for the two boys over the last three months, Elise wasn’t their regular nanny. Back in the San Francisco Bay Area, her friend Cynthia had that honor. However, Cynthia had knee replacement surgery that kept her from accompanying the Novaks on the concert tour this year. There was no way she could run after the boys until she’d recovered. Elise had taken the job, and it hadn’t been a hard sell. An elementary school teacher, she’d retired two years ago. The chance to travel through Europe had been irresistible. Cynthia would be fine, but she needed a few months of rest and physical therapy after the surgery and would take over again once the family returned to the Bay Area at the end of September. The added benefit for Elise turned out to be the opportunity to travel in luxury and see so many major European cities, London, Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona, and more.
And now they were in Prague.
Approaching the kitchen, Elise heard Marek, Luca’s older brother, chattering away at Cook. He was the more outgoing of the two boys, a lively and spirited child, full of curiosity and energy. He also had a natural inclination for mischief, often pushing the boundaries set by his parents, and by her. His infectious grin endeared him, even when he was up to no good. Luca, on the other hand was a sweet-natured but shy boy with a gentle disposition. He had an appealing innocence and was often found clinging to his older brother. Cautious around new people, it had taken a couple of weeks for him to warm up to Elise. But after three months, his affectionate side shone through.
Cook—a plump, older woman with graying hair and a ready smile—was preparing a breakfast feast of cold cuts, cheese, sliced bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, and boiled eggs. Fried eggs, bacon, and hash browns weren’t part of a typical European breakfast. Although the boys sometimes insisted on some sweet American-style cereal.
The Novak family lacked the formality preferred by many wealthy people, and they ate at the kitchen table, which was large enough for all of them. The dining room was used only for dinner parties with the likes of symphony conductors, cabinet ministers, and patrons of the arts.
Cook set out all the breakfast offerings only moments before Tomás entered.
“Good morning, my poppets,” he said in a deep, brilliant voice before kissing both boys on the tops of their heads. His barely noticeable accent had a British cast to it.
Tomás’s artistry on the piano never failed to make Elise cry. She’d often taken the boys to his concerts and always felt herself carried away by the music. Though at times he played pieces that weren’t her taste, she loved when he played Rachmaninoff’s rhapsodies and Chopin’s nocturnes. And the orchestral pieces he accompanied on the piano were divine. Now that the concert tour was over—he played his last concert at Prague’s famous Rudolfinum—he pleased himself on the piano in the living room, filling the house with everything from classical to old standards like “Summertime” and “Fly Me to the Moon” and even “Over the Rainbow.”
Elise could sit quietly and listen to him all day.
“Good morning, Elise.” Before he took a seat, he added, “I hope you slept well.”
“I did, thank you, Tomás.” Here again, with names, they didn’t stand on ceremony. A handsome man on the shorter side—he was only five eight—Tomás Novak nevertheless had presence. His hair, the same russet color as Marek’s, was short, clipping away the curls both boys had. His long elegant fingers produced piano perfection, and in his mid-forties, he was at the pinnacle of his career.
“Tuck in, boys,” Tomás plopped bread, meats, and cheeses onto his plate. The boys did the same. So did Elise.
While Tomás had been born in Prague, he’d been educated at Cambridge. He still used some of the British colloquialisms, even though he’d lived in San Francisco for the last fifteen years.
He was also insistent that the boys be bilingual, learning the Czech language from a tutor. Neither Cynthia nor Elise spoke the language.
Before adding slices of hardboiled egg to her open-faced sandwich, Elise spread mayo on her bread, sprinkling it with paprika, something both the Czech and the Hungarian people loved. In only three days, she’d come to relish the taste as much as she enjoyed the European-style breakfast.
Amanda Woodward flew in, her elegant peignoir floating behind her, her long blond hair cascading gracefully to the middle of her back.. The boys squealed, jumping up for hugs and kisses.
Where Tomás was hardy, Amanda appeared much more fragile. Marek took after his father in both looks and demeanor, whereas Luca favored his mother with his delicate features and tousled blond curls.
She took a seat next to Tomás, who sat at the head of the table, and picked a half piece of bread off the plate, adding one slice of meat, one of cheese, and no condiments.
Amanda was terrified she wouldn’t fit into her wedding dress after all the scrumptious dinners she’d attended honoring Tomás while on tour. Always a bit high-strung, she’d become even more so as their big day approached.
Though having been together for ten years—and with two children—Amanda and Tomás’s wedding would take place in two days. They’d planned to be married shortly after Luca was born, but Amanda’s mother had been gravely ill, and cancer had taken her five years ago. Then there was the pandemic. Now they were using this visit to Prague, where all of Tomas’s family lived, to finally have the wedding. Especially as it was the end of Tomas’s European concert tour.
“I slept horribly last night,” Amanda said with great drama.
“I know.” Tomás brushed her cheek with a kiss. “You tossed and turned all night.”
Before she took a bite of her open-faced sandwich, Amanda smiled at the boys and clapped her hands. “Are you excited to see Dědeček today?”
Elise had learned that Dědeček meant grandfather in Czech. Luca bounced in his seat, crying, “Děda, Děda, Děda.” Which was the shortened version the boys had used since they were very young.
Elise had to admit she was a bit intimidated about meeting Kent Woodward. An important architect in the Bay Area, as well as all over the country, he’d recently retired. She knew some of the buildings he designed, and his work was both brilliant and innovative.
What would he think of her? A nanny, a former schoolteacher. While he was a renowned architect, his works written up in magazines. He’d even had YouTube videos made about his unique structures. His work not only shaped cityscapes but also influenced architectural trends.
Of course, she’d wondered the same thing about Tomás, a world-famous classical pianist. But right from the beginning, he’d treated her almost like one of the family, never as a servant.
Mr. Woodward, however, was an unknown quantity.
With both Amanda’s and Tomás’s attention focused on wedding preparations, then the wedding itself, and finally the honeymoon—where Elise would be left alone with the children and Kent Woodward—who knew how it could turn out?
The man was not the type to ever have made an unforgivable mistake in his entire life, she could be sure of that. She, on the other hand… Her mistakes didn’t bear thinking about now.
He’d most likely leave right after the wedding, when Tomás and Amanda left for their honeymoon at a chalupa—which, Elise had been told, was a large holiday cottage—in the Krkonoše mountains outside Prague
But even more than that, the wedding in Prague meant the end of Elise’s European adventure. After the honeymoon, the Novaks would return to San Francisco, Cynthia would once again be the boys’ nanny, and Elise had no idea how she’d fit into the family’s lives now that she’d grown fond of them all.
The arrival of Amanda’s father seemed to signal the end of the fantasy life she’d been living for the past three months.
“Elise.” Amanda’s voice jerked her out of her thoughts. “Could you pick up Dědeček from the airport? And take the boys with you. He’ll love seeing them as soon as he walks out of customs. Jakub will drive you.” Jakub was the family’s driver while they were in town, with two cars for their use, the large sedan Jakub drove them around in and a smaller personal car that Tomás and Amanda took out when necessary.
Elise smiled. “Of course.”
But her insides felt tremulous. It was the last thing she wanted to do.
***
The flight had been long, and Kent was glad he’d booked a business class pod so he could sleep. Now the time change didn’t bother him. He made it through customs, and with his suitcase in tow, his computer bag slung over his shoulder, he stepped into the arrivals hall.
Searching for Amanda, he saw the boys first, just as they saw him and barreled across the lobby straight at him. They clung to his legs like limpets. He dropped his bags to kiss the tops of their heads. “Hey you two, boy, have I missed you.”
They were two bright spots in his world. Though he’d retired this year at sixty-five, which seemed to be a good age for it, he sometimes regretted the decision to keep working. He should have retired long ago, before Gail got sick, before the cancer took her from him. They’d often talked of all the trips they would take when he retired, all the cruises, all the new places they would see together. He was sure she would have loved Prague, but they’d never made it.
The only thing that had carried him through the last five years without Gail had been his work and his grandsons.
Amanda had pressed him to retire, wanting him to come on tour with them so he could spend time with the boys. He’d been too late to accompany them this year, but next year, he would make it a priority. His daughter was right, he needed time with the boys. And he believed they needed him.
Even though Tomás was an amazing father, and they saw their Czech grandparents one or twice a year, they needed an accessible grandparent. He often took them for a day out, a hike and a picnic or to the zoo or the Exploratorium or any of the lovely places to visit around the Bay Area.
He looked up then, hoping for Amanda, but expecting the chauffeur.
And he met the strikingly blue eyes and warm smile of the most stunning woman. Her blond hair, streaked with silver and cut short to frame her beautiful face, glittered in the sunbeams through the skylights.
She literally stole his breath.
She held out her hand in greeting. “I’m Elise, the boys’ nanny.”
For a moment, drinking in her perfection, he could neither open his mouth nor take her hand in his.
Until finally she dropped it back to her side.
He covered his misstep with a wide grin, his hands on the boys’ heads. “And I’m Kent Woodward.” He smiled, feeling idiotic since she already knew who he was.
She smiled in return, as if she hadn’t noticed his foolishness. “I’m so glad to meet you. The boys have been on tenterhooks, knowing you’d be coming today.”
Her voice was like a piece of music that Tomás might play, her tone soothing. He was sure it calmed the boys when they got too wild, which they definitely could.
As their gazes met and then clung, a spark shot through him. With the widening of her pupils, he was sure she felt the spark, too, even as the boys jabbered about everything they wanted to do while he was here.
Then she waved a hand. “Jakub has the car outside. Amanda is so anxious to see you.”
The boys ran ahead, turning to walk backwards, tourists and businesspeople and families skirting around them.
Elise hurried to catch up, taking both their hands and corralling them.
He was happy to walk behind, his gaze following her slim figure in a tunic sweater over black leggings and low-heeled boots. Definitely not the dress for a matronly nanny in her fifties. After hearing about her from Amanda, he was expecting someone ancient and dowdy.
She was anything but. And that the outfit suited her perfectly. Sexy, even tantalizing.
The boys peppered him with questions as Jakub, the driver, appeared and led them to the car. Kent found himself trying to manage their enthusiasm while at the same time keeping his composure in front of Elise. Every time their eyes met over the boys’ heads, a surprising spark jumped inside him.
Did she feel it too?
He couldn’t tell.
Jakub opened the back door, then turned to put Kent’s bags in the trunk. Elise ushered the boys inside, where the car’s wide back seat would easily fit the four of them. After the boys clambered in, Kent touched Elise’s elbow, politely helping her inside.
Tiny electric shocks seemed to go off in him at the contact.
Once the car was rolling, Elise said, “Amanda sends her regrets for not picking you up. She had the final dress fitting scheduled for today.”
He had the illogical desire to take her hand, raise it to his lips, and kiss the back of it. But he said only, “I figured she’d have a very busy schedule before the wedding.”
“Look at me, Děda!” Marek cried. The moment Kent’s eyes were on him, the boy made funny faces. Not to be outdone, Luca imitated him.
Both Kent and Elise laughed. She had a pretty laugh—sweet and light—that seemed to touch him on the inside.
When the boys finally settled down, Elise included them in the conversation. “We went to all of Papa’s matinee performances, didn’t we?”
Marek bounced in his seat with excitement. “And we went backstage, and they had all these yummy treats for us to eat.”
Next to him, Luca rubbed his stomach in agreement.
Elise chuckled. “Is that what you remember the most—the treats?”
Marek, with all the seriousness of a boy coached in advance, said, “Papa plays as if music is like magic.”
Elise’s voice softened. “Whatever Tomás played was the most beautiful music in the world. He just kept getting better and better.”
Kent was extremely fond of Tomás. Ten years older than Amanda, he’d helped her settle into motherhood and stood by her side while she grieved her mother’s passing. Caring for the boys had helped him too. Kent asked, “Are you two looking forward to your mama and papa’s wedding?”
They both shrieked in unison, “Yes, yes, yes!”
Elise smiled indulgently. “You’re very excited about being ring bearers, aren’t you?”
That sent the boys into another round of gleeful shrieks.
When their noise gave him cover, Kent leaned closer and asked, “How’s Amanda doing?”
Despite having Tomás to cling to through that awful time, Amanda had struggled to move on from her mother’s death.
A pang of guilt jolted through him as he thought of his late wife, Gail—especially because of that flutter of excitement in his belly over another woman, a sensation he hadn’t experienced in years. The unexpected meeting with a beautiful woman had made his heart leap. But thinking of Gail and Amanda turned that flutter of excitement into a quiver of guilt.
Gail had been diagnosed with cancer eight years ago, just after Amanda gave birth to Marek. Tomás and Amanda had put off their wedding plans, and Amanda had been at her mother’s side through her illness. Kent had taken as much leave as possible, but massive projects had demanded his input. That, too, was another source of guilt. Then, five years ago, they’d lost Gail. Along with his own grief, he’d had Amanda to think of. Even with her two boys to look after, she’d struggled with depression.
In the last couple of years, Amanda’s depression had kept him from pursuing any new relationships, though he felt he might be ready. He’d dated a few times but kept that from Amanda, knowing how deeply her mother’s loss still affected her. He could only hope that now, with her decision to finally go through with the wedding, it was a sign she was ready to move past her pain.
He still grieved for his lost wife, but he knew Gail would want him to go on. And now, at sixty-five, with only a limited number of years left, he didn’t want to spend them alone.
The thought made him glance at Elise again as she lovingly interacted with the boys. She made them laugh and squeal with delight, even coaxing more from Luca, who was naturally shy.
Yes, she was good with the boys. She was also beautiful and sweet.
Suddenly, he was torn—caught between the unexpected possibilities of this Prague visit and the complicated emotions surrounding his family’s grief. He had to focus on Amanda’s wedding, on the family, on Amanda herself.
As difficult as it felt, he had to put aside the tantalizing attraction he felt for his grandchildren’s captivating nanny.
