Page 96 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas

“Central heating seems like the ultimate luxury at this moment,” he remarked idly. Though if he were honest, the lack of heating in the house felt as though it was currently working in his favour.

She shifted and propped her chin on his chest, her eyes adorably sleepy and her dark hair tumbling out from beneath her bobble hat. “I think I’ll make coffee,” she said, her voice slightly hoarse with sleep.

“I can go.” His hand moved automatically to tame a lock of her hair, which poked out of her hat at a funny angle. The softness had him twirling it over his finger. “Sorry,” he muttered, catching himself. But when his eyes met hers, she didn’t seem perturbed by him pawing at her. Then again, she was the one who’d initiated the physical contact.

She also wasn’t moving away from him, and his heart beat steadily faster as her eyes roamed over his face.

He should move.

If he shifted a little, she’d move off him. Except he didn’t quite have the willpower to put distance between them. The curves of her body fit perfectly against him, and the way she was gazing at him was intoxicating. His hand returned to that lock of her hair.

When he turned it over in his fingers, her eyes met his with an intensity that made his racing heart stop dead.

As she shifted her weight, he braced himself for her to break the contact between them, but she only moved along his body until her face was level with his.

After a momentary hesitation, she leaned closer and brushed her soft lips against his.

He should definitely put a stop to this. He should gently shift her off him and get the heck out of this bed.

He really should.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he trailed his fingers down her neck. When she drew back and looked at him searchingly, he pulled her closer, then breathed in the scent and taste of her while tilting her chin to deepen the kiss.

He should put a stop to it.

Kissing his best friend’s sister was a bad move.

Her nose pressed against his, and her hand caressed his cheek while her mouth devoured his.

With his hand on the tantalising curve of her spine, he closed his eyes and basked in the feeling of bliss that coursed through him.

A moment later, he forced his brain into gear.

He couldn’t kiss his best friend’s sister. His boss’s sister. What was he playing at?

In a move so speedy he wasn’t sure how he managed it, he put an end to their kiss, slid out from under Anna and exited the bed to scoop up his jeans on the way to the bathroom. He only breathed again once the door closed behind him.

In the mirror above the sink, he scowled at his reflection, then shook his head.

He was an idiot.

When he walked out of the bathroom with his jeans on, Anna was sitting up in bed, hugging her knees. He avoided eye contact as he pulled his hoodie over his head, but even from the corner of his eye, he could read her facial expression.

It was very similar to the way she’d looked at dinner the previous evening while announcing that his family were horrible people.

Which was probably fair enough. He felt pretty horrible.

But he’d feel more horrible when he had to face Lewis at work later.

“I’ll get some coffee going,” he said.

If she replied, he didn’t hear her as he strode out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Fuelled by anger, Anna muttered to herself as she dragged her clothes on. At least her annoyance distracted her from the cold. With extra layers on, she headed for the kitchen to find Selena speaking loudly on the phone – complaining about the lack of heating while a constant stream of Spanish poured out of Tamara, who was eating breakfast at the table with Josh.