Page 127 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

That was true. Which now meant she felt even worse for not checking in – she wouldn’t have hesitated to call Carla if she’d needed a shoulder to cry on.

“Do you like Warren?” Anna asked.

Carla gave a slow nod. “Definitely prefer him to Hayden. Not that I ever had a problem with Hayden, but I think there are better perks to you dating Warren. The food thing. We’ll get well fed.”

Anna eyed her sister sadly. “That’s not what I meant, and I’m fairly sure you know that’s not what I meant.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carla said, but shifted in her seat, bringing her legs in front of her.

“You told me you only called Warren to help you with the spider because you couldn’t get hold of anyone else, but you didn’t actually try to call anyone else, did you?”

“Oh my god!” Carla’s eyes bulged. “You checked with Mum and Dad to see if I was telling the truth.”

“No. I made a joke about it to Mum, and she didn’t know what I was talking about.”

“I can’t believe you! Why would you talk to Mum about it?”

“I didn’t intend to, but I’m glad I did. Tell me what’s going on?”

“Nothing is going on,” Carla said wearily.

“The spider was just an excuse to get him to come over, wasn’t it?”

“I really don’t want to have this conversation.” Carla pressed her head back into the chair.

“If I’d known you had a thing for Warren…”

“What?” Carla’s eyes filled with tears. “You’d have stayed away from him?”

“Yes.” Anna’s heart squeezed. “Of course I would have.”

“That would have been stupid.”

“Why didn’t you talk to me about this before?”

“Because I knew things would get weird. And for the record, I don’t have a thing for him. I don’t have any issue with you getting together with Warren. I’m happy for you.”

“But I got together with Warren on Christmas Day, and since then you’ve barely left Mum and Dad’s couch. Is that really a coincidence?

“Sort of.” She wiped her fingers under her eyes to catch her tears.

“Carla!” Anna sat forward in her seat. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s so embarrassing,” she sniffed.

“What is?”

“That I called him that night.”

“You didn’t actually need him to get rid of the spider?”

“No. That was just an excuse.” She sat bolt upright. “But bear in mind, this was months ago. Maybe I had a bit of a crush on him, but I think mostly I was just lonely. It seemed like a good idea after a couple of glasses of wine, but he laughed at me, and I was mortified. And it’s not as though I really liked him or anything. I swear I have no problem with you dating him.”

“Then why are you so upset?”

“Because I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. You and Lewis have everything together, and I…”

“You what?” Anna asked, confused.