Page 68 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

“I’ll see you on Monday, if not before.”

“Yes.” Her stomach did a flip at the thought of it. “See you Monday.”

Arriving in Evesham for her shopping trip on Friday afternoon, Anna fired off a message to Frannie, suggesting they meet for a coffee when Frannie finished work. The primary school she taught at was nearby, so it wasn’t unusual for Anna to message her if she was in the area.

Not expecting an immediate reply, she set off wandering around the shops, trying to tick off items from her shopping list and looking for inspiration for a couple of gifts.

With less than two weeks until Christmas, the shopping left Anna feeling slightly frantic. The familiar Christmas music had a somewhat calming effect as she strolled from shop to shop. It slightly counteracted the discomfort of being inside heated buildings while dressed for the freezing weather outside. That and the stress of shopping on a deadline.

At least she wasn’t under too much pressure. She still had time for more shopping trips. Including when she was in Bath with Warren. The thought made her stomach flutter, and she stopped outside Boots and checked her phone.

A message had come through from Frannie to say she’d love to meet, and asked Anna for a location. Realising the message had come through half an hour ago, she hit dial and they had a quick discussion about which coffee shop to meet in.

Half an hour later, they were tucked in the corner of a quaint little cafe with a pot of tea on the table between them. Here, the Christmas soundtrack was purely instrumental, andshe barely noticed it as Frannie regaled her with tales of the rehearsals for the Christmas concert at her school.

“Christmas must be the best time to be a teacher,” Anna remarked when she could get a word in. “It sounds like so much fun.”

“It’s crazy at this time of year. I love it though. Plus, there’s the big payoff on the horizon.” She grinned wickedly. “Thirty-two Christmas presents – most of which will be wine or chocolates!”

Anna grinned.

“Speaking of Christmas presents.” Frannie’s gaze went to the selection of shopping bags beside Anna’s chair. “You look as though you were successful.”

“I was.” Since it was playing on her mind, she reached into the brown paper bag and pulled out the ornately carved wooden tea box she’d found in the independent home decor shop. “What do you think of this?”

“It’s so cute.” Frannie took it and opened the glass lid to peer in at the many compartments. “This would be a perfect gift for my gran. Where did you get it?”

“The shop a couple of doors down.”

“Is it for your mum?” She frowned. “Does your mum like different teas? I imagine Fiona to be a PG Tips kind of woman. Probably stored in a tin she inherited from her grandmother.”

“That’s exactly right,” Anna said, chuckling as she took the gift back. “It’s for Warren. And I’m not sure if I should panic now, since you clearly think it’s a gift for an old woman!”

“Oh! I’m sure it’s a great gift for a twenty-something year old man, too.” She grimaced, making her scepticism clear.

“When we stayed at the hotel after the party, he got all excited about the tea selection. So I joked about him having something like this.” She stared at it in her hands. “It’s a stupid gift, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s a nice gift. Especially with the story behind it.” Shereached for the teapot and poured them each another cup. “Do you think he’ll give you a gift? Or is it just a case of getting something because you joked about it?”

“I don’t think he’ll get me anything. The other day he was joking about getting each other gifts. But he was joking…” Nerves crawled up her spine. “Maybe it’ll be awkward if I give him a gift. I might not give it to him after all.”

“I’m sure he’ll like it.” Her smile wasn’t exactly reassuring. “Have you managed to engineer ways to spend time with him?”

“Yeah.” Anna returned the box to the bag. “I had dinner at his place.”

“That’s great.”

Her stomach stirred with amusement in anticipation of Frannie’s reaction to the bigger news.

“I’m also going away with him and his family next week,” she said nonchalantly.

Frannie stopped with her teacup before her lips. “What?”

“Just for a couple of nights. His family is having a pre-Christmas break in a house near Bath. He asked me to go along and pretend to be his girlfriend.”

Returning the cup to the saucer, Frannie set her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her hand. “You’regood.Very good.”

“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” Anna laughed. “When he asked me, I think he was joking. There’s no way he expected me to agree, but I had a burst of courage.”