Page 64 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

“You have Mondays off, don’t you?”

“Yep.”

“So why not take the Tuesday off and go for a couple of days. You could drive back on Wednesday morning and be back to work in the afternoon.”

“In theory, I could.”

“I think you should go. It obviously means a lot to your mum.”

“I’d regret it an hour after I arrived. Also, thanks to you, I’d be bombarded with questions about my girlfriend.”

“You can explain that I’m just your friend.”

“That’s not really the issue. The problem is it will be stressful.”

“I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think.”

“Easy for you to say. You won’t be there.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest she could join him, but a flood of nerves held her back. She could hardly invite herself on a family trip, no matter how appealing it was.

“I think you should go,” she murmured weakly.

He grinned at her over his tea. “AndIthink you should stop pestering me to go. It seems neither of us is getting what we want.” His eyes danced with amusement. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

He set his mug on the table and looked thoughtful. “I’ll go if you come and pretend to be my girlfriend.”

The look he gave her was full of challenge. If she was reading him correctly, he didn’t expect her to agree – it was his way of getting her to drop the subject.

“Okay,” she said idly.

His smile slipped, and his eyebrows drew swiftly together. “Okay, what?”

A buzz of excitement replaced her earlier nerves. “I’ll come with you and pretend to be your girlfriend.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Warren was on dangerous ground. Taking Anna along for his family getaway was madness. If he’d thought for a moment she’d agree to it, he’d never have suggested it. But hehadsuggested it – albeit jokingly – and she’d agreed so quickly she’d left him speechless.

She’d only offered to come along for moral support, though. They were friends who’d been helping each other out recently, that was all. It wasn’t a big deal.

It was hard to say whether he was relieved or frustrated that Lewis hadn’t come into work at all over the weekend. Maybe it would be good to get the conversation out of the way, but putting it off wasn’t so bad either. Especially as he kept thinking Anna might call and say she’d changed her mind about joining his family trip.

On Tuesday, when Lewis wandered into the hotel kitchen, Warren felt his guts twist at the sight of his best friend.

“Was everything okay here over the weekend?” Lewis asked.

“All good.” Warren wiped his hands on a cloth. “Got time for a chat?”

“Yeah. I was actually going to ask if you fancy grabbing a drink when you’ve finished here?”

“Great. I shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“Come and find me in the office when you’re ready.”

An hour later they were making idle conversation in the pub down the road, while Lewis’s border collie, Molly, snoozed by the fire in front of them.