Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
U sually, Anna couldn’t go for more than a few days without seeing her sister, but of course when she specifically wanted to speak to her, she seemed to be constantly busy. They’d exchanged a few messages over the week, but Anna was keen for a proper catch up.
On Thursday, she messaged Carla in the morning asking when she had time to meet. The response that came through was a list of her various jobs over the next three weeks.
Anna blinked slowly at her sister’s hectic work schedule, which suddenly made her own calendar seem very relaxed.
Carla always had multiple casual jobs, but the Christmas season was busy for her.
As well as her usual jobs – working at a local dog shelter and some pet sitting work – she’d also be playing the role of a Christmas elf at a couple of local attractions.
From the schedule she’d sent over, she’d mostly be at a local educational farm, donning her elf outfit at the Santa’s grotto.
You could always call in and visit Santa, Carla wrote. I’ll be there all day today, and it shouldn’t be too busy. I can take a coffee break, and you can tell me about the party. Say you’re my sister and they’ll let you in the farm for free .
I have work to do this morning, she replied, but maybe this afternoon.
It turned out that she struggled to concentrate anyway, so she gave up on packaging her soaps and candles after lunch and set off for the fifteen-minute drive to the farm.
Too embarrassed to talk her way in for free, she paid the entrance fee and accepted the map of the farm with its special Christmas events, including the Santa’s Grotto, a light trail, and a festive train ride.
Carla’s eyes lit up at the sight of Anna. “You made it!”
“I fancied visiting Santa,” she said, tipping her head towards the cabin behind Carla.
Her sister tilted her head, making the bell on her hat jangle. “Have you been good this year?”
“Very good,” Anna said, smothered by her sister’s hug. “But I actually just wanted to see you since I don’t think I’ll see you until Christmas Eve at this rate.”
“I took on too much work,” she said, stepping back and setting her hands on her shiny belt buckle. “Not that this really feels like work. It’s way too much fun.”
“Do you get coffee breaks?”
“Yes. But I’ll need to wait for the other elf to get back from his lunch break.”
“There’s a male elf?” Anna asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Is he cute?”
“All elves are cute,” Carla said. “It’s a requirement of the job. He’s not my type, though.” She smiled at the children in the line, then brought her attention back to Anna. “Why don’t you have a look around the farm, and I’ll come and find you soon.”
With the decorations and a smattering of snowflakes in the air, the atmosphere on the farm was wonderfully festive.
She’d visited the sheep and horses and was just walking out of the cowshed when Carla approached her with two takeaway cups in her hands.
A big black puffer coat covered most of her elf outfit.
Only her striped red and green tights and polished black shoes stuck out of the bottom of the long coat.
“I’ve got fifteen minutes,” she said, handing over a coffee. “Come with me.”
Anna walked briskly with Carla around the stables to a few empty picnic benches. “It’s always quiet round here,” Carla said, straddling the bench. “How’s everything with you?”
“Good. I thought I was busy until you sent me your schedule. Now I think I have a lot of time on my hands.”
Carla grinned. “I love this time of year.”
“I can see that,” Anna said, flicking the top of her hat to make the bell tinkle.
“How was the party?” Carla asked. “You didn’t say much in your messages.”
“It was great.”
“Yeah? How was it having Warren there?”
“Really good,” she said and felt her cheeks flush.
Carla leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Can you please be more descriptive in your answers! Remember, I only have fifteen minutes. Tell me the juicy details already. What did Hayden think of you having a date with you?”
“Warren reckons Hayden was jealous, but I’m not sure.” She wrapped her hands around the mug for warmth. “For once, Hayden didn’t have a date with him. He split up with Nicola.”
“I bet he really hated that you had a date then.”
“Who knows what goes through his head.” Anna pressed her lips together. “He said something weird though…”
“What?” Carla asked eagerly.
“That he wished we’d never broken up.”
Carla’s eyes went comically large. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “I thought it was just because he’d been drinking and was a bit jealous of seeing me with Warren, but I spoke to Frannie and Kylie, and they seem to think he’s had a thing for me this entire time. ”
“Why has he spent the last two years serial dating if he still has a thing for you?”
“Apparently, he tried to get back together with me, and I turned him down.”
“What?” Carla curled her lip. “When?”
“Ages ago. Remember, I met up with him, and he wanted us to be friends?” She paused long enough for Carla to nod. “It seems he was actually asking if we could get back together, but I misunderstood.”
“How could you possibly misunderstand that?”
“He said he missed me and wanted to fix things between us, but I thought he meant as friends. So I told him I didn’t want to even be friends with him.
” She blew out a breath. “It was so long ago that I barely remember the conversation, but from what I can gather, we got our wires more than a little crossed.”
“It sounds like it.” She threw her hands up. “So what does this mean? Are you going to get back together with him?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not? You’ve been desperate to get back together with him ever since you two broke up.”
“Yes. But now I’m not sure. Also, I’ve heard nothing from him since the party on Saturday, so I don’t even know if he wants to get back together.”
“He thinks you’re together with Warren, though, doesn’t he? Are you going to correct him on that matter?”
Slowly, she shook her head.
“I’m confused,” Carla said. “I thought you’d be excited about the possibility of working things out with Hayden.”
“Me too. But I’m not. I think I might finally be over him.”
“Right.” Carla’s brow was all rumpled. “I don’t really understand.”
Anna stared down at her coffee. “I had a really good time at the party, and for the first time in ages, I wasn’t missing Hayden or wishing we were still together.”
“I guess that’s good.”
“Yeah. Having Warren there was great… and I had a good time with his parents the weekend before as well.”
“You said so in your messages. I hate to always take the credit, but wasn’t it my idea for you to take Warren to the party? I knew it would make Hayden jealous.”
“You can take the credit,” Anna said, smiling over her coffee. “It was a good idea to take him.”
Carla sipped her drink, apparently not reading between the lines.
“I had a really great time with him,” Anna said pointedly.
“You already said that.” Carla rolled her eyes. “Should I be worried about you repeating yourself?”
“No. I just wasn’t sure you heard.”
“I heard.” She slipped her fingers under her hat to scratch at her hairline, then her gaze whipped back to Anna. “Wait… what’s going on? Am I missing something…”
“Maybe. It was just really lovely pretending Warren was my boyfriend.”
Carla closed her eyes and shook her head in a way that made her look like a cartoon character. “Yes, because it made Hayden jealous, and you didn’t have to worry about your friends thinking you were still pining for him.”
“Partly because of that, but mostly just because it was fun… he was really sweet.”
“ Sweet seems an odd choice of word to describe Warren.”
“He was. ”
“Okay, I’m glad you had a good time.”
“I think maybe that’s why I feel suddenly so indifferent about Hayden.”
“How do you mean?”
Anna rolled her eyes. “I mean, I’m not thinking about Hayden because I’m thinking about Warren… I like Warren. ”
It seemed to take a moment for the words to sink in. “You like Warren?”
“Yes.”
“In the sense that you’d like him to be your actual boyfriend and not just a pretend one?”
“Exactly.”
For a second, her features remained void of emotion, then she snorted a laugh and slapped a hand over her face.
“What’s so funny?” Anna asked.
“The idea of you and Warren together is funny, that’s what.”
“Why is it?” Anna asked, irritation sharpening her tone. “And why do you seem so surprised – you used to tease me for having a crush on Warren.”
“I teased you because it annoyed you. I didn’t actually think you liked him.”
“I didn’t. Not really. But I’ve seen a different side of him recently.”
“And now you have a thing for him?” Carla asked, her laughter dissolving into a confused smile.
“Maybe.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Why is it?”
“Because…” She grimaced and bit down on her lip. “Sorry. You and Warren just seem like a very unlikely couple.”
“Why do we?”
“Because he’s so sure of himself – and grumpy. He growls at people. And you don’t like people who growl. You get nervous around people like Warren.”
“He’s not really grumpy.” She dipped her head towards her shoulder. “Not properly grumpy anyway. Not deep down.”
“So you suddenly know him on a deeper level?” Carla asked.
Anna gritted her teeth. “He’s not grumpy with me. Maybe that’s a side of him you bring out.”
Carla’s smile fell away completely. “Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to be negative. I just would never have put you and Warren together.” She rubbed her hands together to warm them. “ Are you together? What’s going on?”
“No, we’re not together. Nothing happened outside of us pretending to be together.”
“What did that entail?”
“How do you mean?”
“Did you kiss him?”
Anna’s stomach fluttered with butterflies. “Yes.”
“Oh.” Her hat moved down when she wrinkled her forehead. “I didn’t imagine you taking the pretend thing that far.”
“Do you have a problem with that?” Anna asked hesitantly.
She pulled her hat off and smoothed down her brown hair, a few shades lighter than Anna’s. “Why would I have a problem with it?”
“You just seem uncomfortable with the idea of me having feelings for Warren.”
“I’m surprised, that’s all. Do you think he likes you?”
“I don’t know. Frannie and Kylie think so. They said he was doing too good of a job of pretending. But I’m not so sure.” She paused. “You don’t have a crush on him, do you?”
“Oh, my god!” She stuck her tongue out. “Don’t be gross. Of course I don’t. He’s completely grumpy and annoying. Why would you even ask that?”
“I don’t know… I just…” She gave a jerky shake of her head. “Did you really call him one night to ask him to remove a spider from your flat?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Why did you call him? ”
“Because Lewis was away, Dad was already in bed, and Mum told me not to be so pathetic. You would have been next on my list, but I assumed you’d be asleep, what with it being ten o’clock at night.
” She grinned cheekily. Then her eyes widened.
“Oh my gosh, why did you think I called him? As some weird booty call? That’s not what he thought, is it? ”
“No. He didn’t think that. He was only laughing about how scared you are of spiders. It just sounded odd that you’d called him, but it makes more sense if you tried other people first.”
“Warren definitely wasn’t my first choice of exterminator,” she said, plucking her hat from the table as she stood abruptly. “Let’s walk while we finish our drinks. I said I wouldn’t be long.”
Anna smiled as she fell into step beside her. “You know it’s really pathetic that you had to call someone because of a daddy longlegs in your flat.”
“It wasn’t a daddy longlegs!” she insisted, slightly high-pitched. “It was a massive thing. Like maybe someone’s pet tarantula escaped.”
“Really?” Anna asked sceptically.
“No. Not really.” Carla gave her arm a shove. “But it was a nasty, black, hairy thing, and I was worried it might attack me in my sleep like that massive spider from The Hobbit. I didn’t want to end up cocooned in its web.”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?” Anna beamed, partly at her sister’s tendency to make a drama out of everything and partly because she was no longer concerned that Carla would have a problem with her pursuing Warren.
Now, all she was concerned about was when she’d see him next.