Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
W arren didn’t ring the bell on Friday, just messaged Anna to say he was outside.
As she put her coat on, she glanced around, sure she’d forgotten something.
She was about to open her bag to check when the impatient blare of a car horn stopped her.
Considering how many times she’d been through her bag, she probably hadn’t forgotten anything.
Nothing vital anyway. She was just stalling.
Warren’s car blocked one lane, and his hazard lights flashed, illuminating the layer of frost that covered the road.
Anna opened the back door and set her case on the seat before getting into the passenger seat.
“Did you really need to honk the horn? Couldn’t you just try being patient?”
His eyes sparkled. “I’m blocking the road – and I’m not blessed with patience. Besides, I knew it would annoy you, so I couldn’t resist.”
“Fairly sure it annoyed my neighbours too,” she told him.
He glanced into the back. “I thought you were only going for one night. Also, am I appropriately dressed? ”
She looked him over, realising she hadn’t mentioned a dress code, but happy to see the suit trousers and bright white shirt.
“I’ve got a tie and jacket if it’s really fancy…”
“No, I think you’re fine in the shirt.”
“So, are you staying for a week, or what?”
She beamed. “I might have packed too much, but I couldn’t decide which dress to wear.” The one she really wanted to wear was quite revealing and a little out of her comfort zone, so she might chicken out and opt for the more demure one instead.
“How are you going to get home tomorrow?”
“I’ll get a lift back with my friend Kylie.”
He nodded and pulled the car away, instructing her to put the address into the navigation system.
“Anything I need to know about your friends?” he asked when they were well on the way.
“Not really,” she mused. “We all went to school together. At secondary school, the six of us were really close. We did everything together. There’s Frannie, whose party it is, or her parents’ party, really.
Frannie’s together with Jake. Then there’s my ex, Hayden, and Dev and Kylie.
Kylie’s boyfriend will probably be at the party, too. He’s lovely.”
“So it’s only Hayden who we hate?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t hate him. I hate that he always brings his latest girlfriend anytime we all get together, and I hate everyone giving me pitying looks as though I must be insane with jealousy.”
“So you’re bringing me along to make him jealous?”
“No. I just didn’t want to deal with the pitying looks.” That was her primary reason for bringing him, anyway. She didn’t exactly hate the idea of making Hayden jealous.
“How long were you and Hayden together?” Warren asked after a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence.
“Three years. We both went to university in Cardiff. That’s when we got together.
We broke up a couple of years ago.” When she thought back, she suspected Warren would have met Hayden at some point, since they used to hang out at the hotel bar from time to time.
But Warren used to keep to himself back then, so she couldn’t say for sure.
“Why did you break up?”
She inhaled deeply, knowing this was the real reason she was always so self-conscious whenever she met up with her friends. The shame of him ending things still lingered. Because the breakup was very much one-sided. She’d adored Hayden and had been heartbroken when he’d split up with her.
And then he’d quickly started turning up at their get-togethers with a string of women who were everything Anna wasn’t – loud and fiery and full of confidence.
“Things just didn’t work out,” she said vaguely. “We kind of drifted apart.”
He let out a thoughtful hum. Clearly he had an opinion on that, but there was no way she was going to prolong the conversation by asking. He could keep his opinions to himself.
She sighed and leaned her head against the cold window. Maybe bringing Warren was a terrible idea. If he thought she’d brought him to make Hayden jealous, everyone else might think the same. She might be about to elevate the pitying looks to a whole new level.
“Are you nervous?” Warren asked, giving her leg a nudge.
“No.”
“Really? You’re quiet.”
“I’m always quiet,” she said.
“More than usual.”
“I probably shouldn’t have invited you. It’s kind of pathetic that I can’t hang out with my friends without obsessing about what they think of me.” She pushed her head back into the headrest. “If you want, you can just drop me off.”
“Tempting as that is, I got all dressed up. Besides, you didn’t let me back out when I got cold feet about bringing you to dinner with my parents.”
“True. Maybe we can take the same approach, and I’ll introduce you as my friend. It will save complicated conversations down the line.”
“One minor problem,” Warren said, casting her an amused glance. “You already told Frannie I’m your boyfriend, and you proved that by kissing me in the middle of a crowded room.”
Anna dropped her chin to her chest. “I’m an idiot.”
He laughed, and the sound brought an instant smile to her face.
“It’s a free bar, right?” He nudged her leg again. “We can get drunk and have a laugh.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk,” she said, eyes lingering on his profile while he concentrated on the road. She’d been around him at lots of parties, but she’d never seen him anything other than slightly tipsy.
“I don’t really drink much,” he said.
Her smile stretched wider. “Me neither. So I don’t suppose your plan is going to work out. Especially since you have to drive home tonight.”
“True. But we can enjoy the free food and one or two free drinks and pretend we’re party animals.”
Part of her wished she were the sort of person to get drunk and party the night away. It might be nice not to be hyperaware of every single moment.
“It’ll be fine,” he mused.
“Trying to convince me or yourself?”
He pouted dramatically. “What if your friends don’t like me?”
“I can’t imagine they will,” she said, unable to resist teasing him.
“What?” He slapped a hand against his chest. “With my wit and charm, how could they not? ”
She felt all the tension leave her.
“You don’t need to laugh quite so hard,” he said, grinning. “I can actually be quite charming when I want to be.”
“I imagine you probably can,” she said. “Can’t imagine you being witty, though.”
He mock-scowled. “Now you’re being mean!”
Shaking her head, she pointed out the turn, which he almost missed.
A few minutes later, they were crawling along the driveway to the Grange Hotel.
On either side of them, trees were draped with twinkling lights.
Up ahead, the glow from the windows of the imposing red brick building acted like a beacon, drawing them in.
A ripple of anticipation swept through Anna. After weeks of dreading the evening, she felt suddenly very calm about it.