Page 15 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

She eyed him sceptically, thinking of Lewis’s claims that Warren hardly ever took time off, and how she was sure she’d never gone a week without seeing him around the hotel.

“You take a week off?”

He smiled. “Maybe four or five days.”

“And you spend that time with your parents?”

He bobbed his head from side to side in an ambiguous gesture. “I don’t stay with them or anything. But I usually have dinner with them once or twice. I see my sister, too.”

“That’s all you see of them throughout an entire year?” She couldn’t quite hide her shock.

“I usually do a quick visit for my nephew’s birthday, too.”

“So you see them twice a year?”

“For the last few years, yeah.”

Her curiosity was well and truly piqued. “You saw more of them before that?”

“Yeah.” His voice rang with mocking. “For quite a long time, I had to live with them and see them every day.”

“Obviously!” She glared at him but had the impression he was purposefully making jokes to avoid a serious conversation.

“I already told you,” he said resignedly. “My family isn’t like yours. Seeing each other once or twice a year works fine for us.”

“Is there a reason they’re visiting you now, when they’ve never been before?”

He was about to bite into his burger, but paused and looked thoughtful, as though he wasn’t sure of the answer.

“I don’t know. There’s probably a reason. I can’t imagine they just decided they wanted to see where I live.” He shrugged. “That’s what Mum claimed.”

Certain that he wouldn’t appreciate a sympathetic response, Anna kept her thoughts to herself and concentrated on the rest of her burger and the rich hot chocolate.

“Feel better for that?” Warren asked when she polished it off and wiped her lips with a napkin.

“Much,” she said. “It was delicious. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Do you want to have a look around?”

She gave a small shake of the head. “I think I’ll just get back. I’d feel guilty about leaving your parents for too long.”

They were about to go back inside when Anna spotted a familiar face. Grabbing Warren’s arm, she dodged behind him.

“Who are you hiding from?” he asked, looking around.

“Frannie. The one whose party we’re going to. Well, it’s not her party. Her parents own the hotel. She invited me to the party.”

“And you’re avoiding her, because?”

“Because if I see her now, I’ll have to introduce you.”

“She’s going to meet me next weekend anyway, isn’t she?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to introduce you now. I’m not mentally prepared.” She took his arm and set off back inside. “I don’t even know what I’m going to tell them about you.”

“I thought you were going to tell them I’m your boyfriend.”

“I was,” she muttered, stopping in the foyer of the community centre. “Now I think it might be a stupid idea. I thought it would be easier if Hayden thought I was seeing someone, but that means lying to my friends, which I’m not keen on.”