Chapter 6
Chapter Six
T he community centre was busy from the moment the doors opened.
Some sellers travelled long distances to show their art and crafts at the popular fair.
It was a great place to shop for unique Christmas gifts, and the clientele it attracted were more than willing to part with their money.
Anna rode a rush of adrenaline until lunchtime, when she felt her energy levels drop.
She’d heard nothing from Warren, and wondered if they’d decided to give it a miss. Or possibly that they’d come in and been put off by the crowded room.
Glancing across the room after selling her eighth Christmas wreath of the morning, she spotted Warren watching her from near the entrance. He smiled at her, then rolled his eyes as his mum said something in his ear.
Catching Anna’s eye, Jen waved demurely and mouthed something which Anna had no hope of deciphering.
She nodded regardless and turned to greet a couple of old ladies admiring her Christmas cards.
They each bought half a dozen, and Anna had just given them their change when Warren arrived at her table .
“In case you didn’t catch it, Mum said she’s going to have a look around and she’ll come and see you after.”
He squeezed behind her table and parked himself on the chair amid her boxes of extra stock.
“You didn’t want to look around?” Anna asked.
A smirk teased the corners of his mouth. “It’s not really my thing.”
“So you’re just going to sit there and watch me?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. I guess not.” Aside from the fact that she felt incredibly self-conscious with him there.
“I’d like to point out that it’s your fault I’m here,” he said teasingly. “If you recall, you invited my parents.”
“I didn’t think it would entail you sitting there and watching me.”
“Any excuse for a break from my parents. I told Mum I was going to help you out for a while.”
“Good. I could use an assistant.” She caught his eye and grinned.
“You know I’m not good at customer service. That’s why your brother keeps me hidden away in the kitchen as much as possible.”
“That makes sense,” she said cheekily, before being drawn away from the conversation by an older gentleman asking about her Christmas cards. When he’d bought a packet of them, Anna turned to find Warren’s gaze on her.
“Why are you looking at me?”
He shrugged. “Is it always so busy?”
“Not always this busy, but it’s not unusual. People love craft fairs. Especially at this time of year, when they can get their Christmas goodies.” She moved to find more Christmas cards in a box on the back wall and replenished the display rack on the table.
With a steady stream of customers, she focused on them and told herself she was being paranoid and that Warren wasn’t staring at her the whole time. Except that every time she glanced behind her, his eyes were on her.
He didn’t even pretend not to be looking at her.
Finally, she turned all the way around and held his gaze until a grin stretched over his face.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“I wanted to see how long it would take for you to tell me to stop it.” He tilted his head. “How come you just let people annoy you and not say anything?”
“I don’t.”
“You do. I see it all the time. Even when it’s your siblings annoying you, you hardly ever say anything.”
“That’s not true. I tell Carla to stop annoying me all the time.” She was fairly sure she did anyway, but, come to think of it, there was a possibility she only thought it rather than saying it.
The amusement in his eyes said he knew she was doubting herself. “Stop annoying me,” she said pointedly and turned back to the room, but there was finally a lull in customers, so she had nothing to do.
“Stop it!” she said again, certain she could feel his eyes on her. “I’ve hardly eaten today, and I’m pretty hangry, so you really shouldn’t annoy me.”
“I don’t know,” he said mockingly. “I think it might be fun to see you snap.”
“It wouldn’t,” she said without looking back at him.
When he spoke again, he was right beside her. His breath sweeping over her ear made her jump. “Want me to grab you some food?”
“Would you?” Usually she’d bring a sandwich and snacks but in her rush that morning she’d forgotten to pack anything and had been hoping things would slow down enough that she could ask one of her neighbours to watch her stall while she nipped out to the food vans.
Having Warren go for her would be great.
“Any special requests?”
“Anything. Whichever queue is the shortest. I just want food.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Warren’s mum appeared on the other side of the table. “Your wreaths are gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” Anna said, while Jen admired her collection.
“The cards are beautiful, too.” She lifted one with a robin on a snowy postbox. “Did you draw this?”
“Yes,” Anna said meekly.
“What a talent,” she said, then twisted her lips. “I’ve seen them before.” Her eyes flicked to Warren. “You always send us one of Anna’s Christmas cards.”
“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “I’m just going to find some food for Anna. She hasn’t eaten.”
Jen tutted and eyed Anna sympathetically. “Why don’t I keep an eye on things here while you have a break? Get something to eat with Warren and have a look around.”
“Umm…” Anna glanced around the room, which was quietening down. “Are you sure?”
“Of course.” Jen looked at her husband as he ambled over. “We can play shop for a while, can’t we?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Anna scanned her table. “Everything has price tags on,” she said, then pointed at her money tin. “There’s cash in here, and I have a card reader if anyone wants to pay by card… which you probably won’t know how to use…” She frowned.
“We’ll encourage people to pay with cash,” Jen said. “Or ask them to come back in a little while.”
“Thank you.” Anna grabbed her coat and followed Warren out from behind the table. “If there’s a problem, just call Warren. ”
“Will do,” Jen said, and looked quite entertained by the idea of looking after things.
Wandering through the hall, Anna had a quick look at the other stalls, but her rumbling stomach led her out to the food trucks pretty quickly.
“That was nice of your parents,” she said, once they had burgers and hot chocolates and stood by a high table at the edge of the car park.
“Yeah.”
She covered her mouth with her hand while she chewed her burger. “Do you buy my Christmas cards?”
“Yeah.” Warren took a large bite of his burger and spoke with an amused glint in his eyes. “They sell them at the reception desk at the hotel. Way more convenient than having to go shopping.”
She rocked sideways to knock her shoulder against his.
“I’m only joking. I buy them because they’re really good.”
“Thank you,” she said shyly. “How’s it going with your parents?”
“Surprisingly painless so far.”
“How often do you see them usually?”
“I usually take a week off in January and go down to London.”
She eyed him sceptically, thinking of Lewis’s claims that Warren hardly ever took time off, and how she was sure she’d never gone a week without seeing him around the hotel.
“You take a week off?”
He smiled. “Maybe four or five days.”
“And you spend that time with your parents?”
He bobbed his head from side to side in an ambiguous gesture. “I don’t stay with them or anything. But I usually have dinner with them once or twice. I see my sister, too.”
“That’s all you see of them throughout an entire year?” She couldn’t quite hide her shock .
“I usually do a quick visit for my nephew’s birthday, too.”
“So you see them twice a year?”
“For the last few years, yeah.”
Her curiosity was well and truly piqued. “You saw more of them before that?”
“Yeah.” His voice rang with mocking. “For quite a long time, I had to live with them and see them every day.”
“Obviously!” She glared at him but had the impression he was purposefully making jokes to avoid a serious conversation.
“I already told you,” he said resignedly. “My family isn’t like yours. Seeing each other once or twice a year works fine for us.”
“Is there a reason they’re visiting you now, when they’ve never been before?”
He was about to bite into his burger, but paused and looked thoughtful, as though he wasn’t sure of the answer.
“I don’t know. There’s probably a reason. I can’t imagine they just decided they wanted to see where I live.” He shrugged. “That’s what Mum claimed.”
Certain that he wouldn’t appreciate a sympathetic response, Anna kept her thoughts to herself and concentrated on the rest of her burger and the rich hot chocolate.
“Feel better for that?” Warren asked when she polished it off and wiped her lips with a napkin.
“Much,” she said. “It was delicious. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want to have a look around?”
She gave a small shake of the head. “I think I’ll just get back. I’d feel guilty about leaving your parents for too long.”
They were about to go back inside when Anna spotted a familiar face. Grabbing Warren’s arm, she dodged behind him.
“Who are you hiding from?” he asked, looking around.
“Frannie. The one whose party we’re going to. Well, it’s not her party. Her parents own the hotel. She invited me to the party.”
“And you’re avoiding her, because? ”
“Because if I see her now, I’ll have to introduce you.”
“She’s going to meet me next weekend anyway, isn’t she?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to introduce you now. I’m not mentally prepared.” She took his arm and set off back inside. “I don’t even know what I’m going to tell them about you.”
“I thought you were going to tell them I’m your boyfriend.”
“I was,” she muttered, stopping in the foyer of the community centre. “Now I think it might be a stupid idea. I thought it would be easier if Hayden thought I was seeing someone, but that means lying to my friends, which I’m not keen on.”
“You could just say I’m a friend,” he suggested. “But I’ll flirt with you all night to annoy your ex.”
“It’s not even about annoying him. I just don’t want everyone to see me as an object of pity.”