Page 32 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

“No,” he grumbled. “I don’t even have a drink, Frannie. Let me get a drink!”

Ignoring his protests, Frannie dragged him away.

“Speaking of drinks,” Hayden said.

“I’ll go.” Dev grinned. “My round!”

“Oh, my god!” Kylie glared at him. “You’re going to make that joke all night, aren’t you? It’s not even funny.” She cast Warren a weary glance. “It’s a free bar. Dev thinks he’s hilarious.” Her eyes widened, and she looked at Hayden. “This is Warren, by the way.”

“Hey.” Warren shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“We’ll go to the bar,” Kylie said, taking Dev’s arm. “Do you need another?” she asked Warren.

He held up his bottle, which was almost full. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“I think I’m going to have champagne,” Kylie said happily. “I’ll grab Anna one too. She should be here soon.”

As they wandered away, Warren took a swig of his beer.

“How do you know Kylie?” Hayden asked while his eyes scanned the room.

“I don’t. I only just met her.”

“Are you a friend of Frannie?”

“No. I’m here with Anna.”

The way he suddenly had Hayden’s attention was almost comical.

“How do you two know each other?”

The feeling of rivalry that overwhelmed Warren wasn’t exactly rational. This guy had hurt Anna, though, and that didn’t sit well with him. If he could annoy Hayden, he’d do it at every opportunity.

He opened his mouth to tell him they were dating, but stopped when he spotted Anna across the room and lost his ability to focus on anything other than her.

In the dark, sultry dress, she looked absolutely breathtaking. From the corner of his eye, he was vaguely aware of Hayden waiting for an answer, but he couldn’t drag his attention from Anna. His chest fluttered when her gaze collided with his. A smile touched her lips and brightened her eyes.

“Here she is,” Warren muttered as she made a beeline for them. He caught the way Hayden’s eyes widened when he laid eyes on Anna. The hunger in them was wolfish and not subtle in the slightest.

“Hi.” She greeted Hayden first, giving him a perfunctory hug while keeping her eyes on Warren and looking for all the world like she was entirely uninterested in Hayden.

Stepping close to Warren, she smiled shyly. “Do I look okay?”

He stifled a laugh at the world’s most absurd question.

“Stunning,” he said quietly, deciding this was a great opportunity to answer Hayden’s question about how he knew Anna without uttering a word to him. “I’m definitely the luckiest man in the room tonight,” he said, gazing into Anna’s eyes and watching the blush that brightened her cheeks.

He lifted her chin and swept his lips against hers in a kiss that was far too fleeting.

“I take it you two have already met?” she said, eyes flicking to Hayden.

“Yes,” Warren said. “Frannie spotted me and introduced me to your friends.”

Hayden’s jaw was tight as he stared at Anna. “I didn’t realise you were seeing someone.”

“Yes,” she said, a hand resting on Warren’s arm. “Where’s…” She appeared to be thinking, but Warren was certain it was just for show. “Nicola, isn’t it?”

“She’s not here,” Hayden said. “We broke up.”