Page 88 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

It wasn’t long before Tamara arrived in the doorway, babbling in Spanish and gesticulating wildly.

“Dinner’s ready,” Josh told them, jumping up and dashing from the room.

Warren hauled himself up and reached a hand to help Anna up. “I guess that means the fun is over,” he quipped. “Let’s see what drama the family dinner brings today.”

There was a reassuring reply on the tip of Anna’s tongue, but her attention was on her hand, which Warren hadn’t released. Glancing up at him in the hallway, she caught the vulnerability in his eyes and tightened her grip on his fingers.

“It’s only dinner,” she murmured. “I’m sure you’ll survive.”

The skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “That’s about all I ever hope for with my family dinners.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Warren didn’t release her hand until they reached the dining room, where quiches, pizzas, and salads were arranged in the centre of the table. His parents were chatting over wine and wearing far more casual attire than the previous evening, though still looking fairly smart for a family dinner.

“I had the best day ever!” Josh announced to his mum, who walked in while the rest of them were loading up their plates.

“That’s good,” she said, running a hand over his hair and settling herself on the chair beside him.

“Uncle Warren makes the best hot chocolate in the world. Even better than Rachel.”

Warren winced and looked over at the kitchen. “Sorry, Rachel.”

She smiled and waved her hand before continuing with tidying up the work surface.

“And he made chocolate chip cookies,” Josh said excitedly. “I helped, and they’re yummy. Do you want to try one after dinner, Mummy?”

“I’d love to,” Selena replied.

“I have to give one to Tamara,” Josh said. “But I think there’s enough for you, too.”

“There are plenty,” Warren said quickly, not quite covering the fact that Josh seemed to hold the nanny in higher esteem than his mum.

Josh’s childish chatter dominated the conversation over dinner, and Selena had to keep reminding him to eat. As soon as he was finished, he slid from his stool, insisting he needed to take Tamara a biscuit.

Warren had remained quiet while they ate, and there was a tension in the atmosphere which contrasted with their relaxed day with Josh.

When her phone vibrated in her pocket, Anna discreetly pulled it out under the table and checked the screen.

Why on earth was Hayden calling her?

Her heart rate sped up, and her mind flashed up an image of dancing with him at the Christmas party and him saying he wished they’d never split up.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Warren said, leaning close to her. “My family doesn’t care about people taking phone calls at the dinner table. You can answer it.”

“No. It’s fine.” Quickly, she pressed the button to ignore the call. “It’s not important.”

He lifted an eyebrow, but didn’t pry.

“I’m very surprised you never get Warren to cook for you,” Anna remarked, fumbling to push the phone back into her pocket and shove thoughts of Hayden from her mind.

“We wouldn’t want to do Rachel out of a job,” his mum said lightly.

“I just meant a meal or two.” Anna loaded her fork with quiche and salad. “It’d give Rachel a break too.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t want to cook when he’s taking time off,” Selena said.

When Anna opened her mouth to continue, Warrencaught her eye and gave a small shake of his head, effectively telling her to drop the conversation.