Page 36 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

“That’s settled then.” Warren shuffled his chair closer to Anna’s and draped his arm along the back of it. “I’ll stay a little longer.”

Goosebumps rippled over Anna’s skin when his fingers rested lightly on the exposed skin at her shoulder.

She hoped the dessert didn’t come too quickly.

Chapter Fifteen

“Is it annoying to eat out as a chef?” Dev asked Warren when they were tucking into the desserts. “Are you constantly thinking about how you’d have cooked it better?”

“Only if the food’s really bad,” Warren replied, making them all chuckle. He shook his head. “Most of the time I’m just happy I didn’t have to cook.”

“You like your job, though?” Kylie asked.

“Yes.” He glanced at Anna. “Not that I’d dare say anything else. She might tell my boss.”

Again, they all chuckled while Anna gave his arm a playful shove. “Youdolike your job, though,” she said, with a questioning lilt to her voice. She’d always assumed he did, but maybe he wasn’t actually that fond of it. Which could explain why he lost his temper so much with the kitchen staff.

“I love it,” he said, looking directly at her. His gaze flicked to the table at large. “It feels like a privilege to do what I love for a living.”

He swiped his fork over his dessert plate, scooping up the last piece of rich chocolate cake with the final smear of cream. While she waited for him to polish it off, he aimed itin her direction instead. The hush that descended over the table told her that all eyes were on them as he fed her the last of his dessert. Warren wiggled his eyebrows at her, easing her nerves as her lips closed around the fork.

She didn’t dare look at her friends and had just moved her hand to wipe the crumbs from her lips when Warren brought his hand to her face. His thumb dragging over her lower lip made her breath catch in her throat, and she completely forgot to breathe when he moved in and laid a gentle kiss on her mouth.

“I really wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow,” he said, eyes locking with hers as he pulled away.

“Can’t you call in sick?” Kylie piped up beside him.

His acting skills were impressive. For a moment, even Anna believed he was considering it.

“I can’t,” he finally said, looking genuinely pained.

Standing, he shook hands with the guys around the table. Kylie and Frannie both stood to hug him, which was a sure sign he had their approval.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he said when he bent to Anna. His hand rested on her shoulder again, sending a shiver up the back of her neck. Her heart rate soared as he leaned in to kiss her.

Again, it was only a soft brush of lips, but it sent a buzz of excitement all the way to her toes.

“It was really great to meet you all,” he said when he straightened up, fingers still caressing her shoulder. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”

Through the cheerful goodbyes from her friends, Anna inhaled deeply. He was supposed to be her boyfriend, so it wasn’t as though it was a bad thing that her friends noticed how much a couple of kisses affected her.

And they definitely noticed.

That much was clear from the way Kylie and Frannie beamed at her.

“He’s so lovely,” Kylie said, reaching over and squeezing her hand. “He definitely gets my seal of approval.”

Frannie looked a touch emotional. “You’re absolutely smitten, aren’t you?”

“No,” she said weakly, forgetting that’s exactly what she’d wanted them to believe and instead focusing on convincing herself that she didn’t have actual feelings for him.

As far as fake boyfriends went, it turned out he was quite a good one.

It was all for show – she reminded herself – nothing more.

“Oh, no,” Frannie muttered. “Aunt Margaret is looking over here. Shall we all hit the dance floor? It’ll save me from having to make small talk with more elderly relatives.”

While Dev protested half-heartedly against dancing, Anna turned in her seat – her eyes finding Warren as he neared the door at the far side of the room.