Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
W hen Warren called on Wednesday evening, Anna’s heart thundered. Sure he was going to cancel their trip, she contemplated not answering, but in the end her desire to talk to him won out. As she answered, she told herself she could talk him into it again if he tried to back out.
But he only asked if she was sure she was okay with joining him, and warned her again that his family could be difficult to spend time with. When she insisted she was happy to go, they chatted about the details of when they’d set off.
He also asked how her workshop had gone that afternoon. Touched that he remembered, she told him all about her chilled-out session at the care home and how much she enjoyed spending time with the elderly.
“They don’t make you nervous, then?” he asked, while she relaxed back on the couch.
“Not really. I had a few nerves before I arrived, but not like the other workshops I do. In my experience, old people are easy to please.”
“That’s true.” He paused, and the conversation felt like it was winding down. “What have you got planned for the rest of the week?”
“I have a craft fair on Saturday, so I need to make sure I have enough stock. And I might do some Christmas shopping on Friday.”
“I thought you wanted to go shopping in Bath?”
“I do, but I doubt I can get everything in one shopping trip.”
He made a hum of acknowledgement. “I suppose you also can’t buy my gift when I’m with you.”
She spluttered a laugh. “What makes you think I’m getting you a gift?”
“I think it’s the least I deserve after you keep insisting on me pretending to be your boyfriend.”
“You’re the one who wanted me to pretend to be your girlfriend for your family holiday.”
“Because you answered the phone to my mum!”
Her smile lingered. “If you’re expecting a gift from me, does that mean you’re getting me one?”
“If you want. Just send me a link with what you want. Maximum twenty quid.”
“That’s not how gift giving works.”
“It is in my family. But without the spending limit.”
“You’re supposed to put some thought into it. Get something special.”
He groaned. “Who has time for that?”
“I see you have no Christmas spirit. You realise it will be embarrassing when I give you a thoughtful gift and you have nothing for me in return.”
“I don’t really do embarrassment. I find it a waste of time.”
“Lucky you.”
“Hang on,” he said, at a noise in the background. She listened to half of a muffled conversation before his voice came clear again. “I have to get back to work. ”
“Okay.” She felt a rush of disappointment over ending the call.
“I’ll see you on Monday, if not before.”
“Yes.” Her stomach did a flip at the thought of it. “See you Monday.”
Arriving in Evesham for her shopping trip on Friday afternoon, Anna fired off a message to Frannie, suggesting they meet for a coffee when Frannie finished work. The primary school she taught at was nearby, so it wasn’t unusual for Anna to message her if she was in the area.
Not expecting an immediate reply, she set off wandering around the shops, trying to tick off items from her shopping list and looking for inspiration for a couple of gifts.
With less than two weeks until Christmas, the shopping left Anna feeling slightly frantic.
The familiar Christmas music had a somewhat calming effect as she strolled from shop to shop.
It slightly counteracted the discomfort of being inside heated buildings while dressed for the freezing weather outside.
That and the stress of shopping on a deadline.
At least she wasn’t under too much pressure. She still had time for more shopping trips. Including when she was in Bath with Warren. The thought made her stomach flutter, and she stopped outside Boots and checked her phone.
A message had come through from Frannie to say she’d love to meet, and asked Anna for a location. Realising the message had come through half an hour ago, she hit dial and they had a quick discussion about which coffee shop to meet in.
Half an hour later, they were tucked in the corner of a quaint little cafe with a pot of tea on the table between them. Here, the Christmas soundtrack was purely instrumental, and she barely noticed it as Frannie regaled her with tales of the rehearsals for the Christmas concert at her school.
“Christmas must be the best time to be a teacher,” Anna remarked when she could get a word in. “It sounds like so much fun.”
“It’s crazy at this time of year. I love it though. Plus, there’s the big payoff on the horizon.” She grinned wickedly. “Thirty-two Christmas presents – most of which will be wine or chocolates!”
Anna grinned.
“Speaking of Christmas presents.” Frannie’s gaze went to the selection of shopping bags beside Anna’s chair. “You look as though you were successful.”
“I was.” Since it was playing on her mind, she reached into the brown paper bag and pulled out the ornately carved wooden tea box she’d found in the independent home decor shop. “What do you think of this?”
“It’s so cute.” Frannie took it and opened the glass lid to peer in at the many compartments. “This would be a perfect gift for my gran. Where did you get it?”
“The shop a couple of doors down.”
“Is it for your mum?” She frowned. “Does your mum like different teas? I imagine Fiona to be a PG Tips kind of woman. Probably stored in a tin she inherited from her grandmother.”
“That’s exactly right,” Anna said, chuckling as she took the gift back. “It’s for Warren. And I’m not sure if I should panic now, since you clearly think it’s a gift for an old woman!”
“Oh! I’m sure it’s a great gift for a twenty-something year old man, too.” She grimaced, making her scepticism clear.
“When we stayed at the hotel after the party, he got all excited about the tea selection. So I joked about him having something like this.” She stared at it in her hands. “It’s a stupid gift, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s a nice gift. Especially with the story behind it.” She reached for the teapot and poured them each another cup. “Do you think he’ll give you a gift? Or is it just a case of getting something because you joked about it?”
“I don’t think he’ll get me anything. The other day he was joking about getting each other gifts. But he was joking…” Nerves crawled up her spine. “Maybe it’ll be awkward if I give him a gift. I might not give it to him after all.”
“I’m sure he’ll like it.” Her smile wasn’t exactly reassuring. “Have you managed to engineer ways to spend time with him?”
“Yeah.” Anna returned the box to the bag. “I had dinner at his place.”
“That’s great.”
Her stomach stirred with amusement in anticipation of Frannie’s reaction to the bigger news.
“I’m also going away with him and his family next week,” she said nonchalantly.
Frannie stopped with her teacup before her lips. “What?”
“Just for a couple of nights. His family is having a pre-Christmas break in a house near Bath. He asked me to go along and pretend to be his girlfriend.”
Returning the cup to the saucer, Frannie set her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her hand. “You’re good. Very good.”
“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” Anna laughed. “When he asked me, I think he was joking. There’s no way he expected me to agree, but I had a burst of courage.”
“He must want you to go, though. And if he’s keen for you to go away with his family, he must really like you. I bet you’ll get together with him while you’re there.”
“Stop it! I’m nervous enough without you saying things like that.”
“Don’t be nervous. It’s exciting.” She went to pick her cup up again, but paused. “What are the sleeping arrangements? If his family thinks you’re a couple, I assume that means you’ll be sharing a room.”
“I wondered the same, but he called me earlier in the week to check I hadn’t changed my mind. He said not to worry about the sleeping arrangements because he always takes a room up in the attic.”
“How do you mean, always? ”
“They stay in the same holiday house every year. Apparently, they’ve been going since he was a kid.”
“That’s nice.”
“Yeah. Anyway, there are two bedrooms up in the attic, so he said we won’t need to share, but everyone will assume we’re sharing. No one else goes up in the attic.”
“That’s annoying.”
“Yeah,” Anna agreed before the two of them burst into laughter.
“I assume you haven’t heard from Hayden?” Frannie asked when they calmed down again.
“No. Nothing. Which is a good thing, I think.”
“He thinks you’re with someone else, so it would be shady of him to make a move now.”
“Yeah.” Her shoulders sagged. “It’s so good to finally feel I’m moving on.”
“I still can’t believe you were pining for him for all that time. I honestly had no idea.”
“I should probably have talked to you about it, but with hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t. I think things work out as they should. Hayden and I weren’t right for each other.”
“And you think Warren is right for you?”
“It feels different. When I’m with him, I can be myself.”
“And you couldn’t with Hayden?”
“I’m not sure I could, no.” She dragged a hand through her hair. “I hope I’m not getting ahead of myself. Maybe Warren only sees me as a friend. ”
“A couple of nights away with him should make things clearer. When do you go?”
“Monday morning. And I have a stall at a Christmas market tomorrow, so I won’t have too much time to think about it over the weekend.”
“You’re looking forward to it, though?”
“Yeah. I am.”
She wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.
But she was definitely excited about spending more time with Warren.