Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
W arren didn’t release her hand until they reached the dining room, where quiches, pizzas, and salads were arranged in the centre of the table. His parents were chatting over wine and wearing far more casual attire than the previous evening, though still looking fairly smart for a family dinner.
“I had the best day ever!” Josh announced to his mum, who walked in while the rest of them were loading up their plates.
“That’s good,” she said, running a hand over his hair and settling herself on the chair beside him.
“Uncle Warren makes the best hot chocolate in the world. Even better than Rachel.”
Warren winced and looked over at the kitchen. “Sorry, Rachel.”
She smiled and waved her hand before continuing with tidying up the work surface.
“And he made chocolate chip cookies,” Josh said excitedly. “I helped, and they’re yummy. Do you want to try one after dinner, Mummy?”
“I’d love to,” Selena replied .
“I have to give one to Tamara,” Josh said. “But I think there’s enough for you, too.”
“There are plenty,” Warren said quickly, not quite covering the fact that Josh seemed to hold the nanny in higher esteem than his mum.
Josh’s childish chatter dominated the conversation over dinner, and Selena had to keep reminding him to eat. As soon as he was finished, he slid from his stool, insisting he needed to take Tamara a biscuit.
Warren had remained quiet while they ate, and there was a tension in the atmosphere which contrasted with their relaxed day with Josh.
When her phone vibrated in her pocket, Anna discreetly pulled it out under the table and checked the screen.
Why on earth was Hayden calling her?
Her heart rate sped up, and her mind flashed up an image of dancing with him at the Christmas party and him saying he wished they’d never split up.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Warren said, leaning close to her. “My family doesn’t care about people taking phone calls at the dinner table. You can answer it.”
“No. It’s fine.” Quickly, she pressed the button to ignore the call. “It’s not important.”
He lifted an eyebrow, but didn’t pry.
“I’m very surprised you never get Warren to cook for you,” Anna remarked, fumbling to push the phone back into her pocket and shove thoughts of Hayden from her mind.
“We wouldn’t want to do Rachel out of a job,” his mum said lightly.
“I just meant a meal or two.” Anna loaded her fork with quiche and salad. “It’d give Rachel a break too.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t want to cook when he’s taking time off,” Selena said.
When Anna opened her mouth to continue, Warren caught her eye and gave a small shake of his head, effectively telling her to drop the conversation.
She ignored his silent request. “You must be proud of him though,” she pressed. “Of his career.”
Selena shuffled her salad around her plate. “I don’t know if you can really call working in the kitchen of some country pub a career.”
“It’s not a pub,” Anna corrected her. “It’s a hotel.”
“Same difference,” Selena said, setting her knife and fork down on her plate.
“No,” Anna said, ignoring the warning look Warren gave her. “It’s not the same at all.”
His dad cleared his throat. “The problem is, he spends his days taking orders from someone else. Which is fine for some people, but he could do so much more. It’d be good to see him fulfil his potential.”
“But… I…” Anna’s brain struggled to comprehend the conversation.
“Don’t bother,” Warren said while he chewed. “It’s really not worth it.”
Anna stared at him as his eyes pleaded with her to drop the subject.
“But he’s the head chef,” she finally said, her voice coming out far louder than she’d intended. “You talk as though he has some lowly kitchen job, but he’s the one in charge. He gives the orders.”
“Really?” Selena said, a flicker of appreciation flashing in her features. “Is that true?”
Warren merely nodded.
“It’d be different if he owned the restaurant,” his dad said, swilling his wine in the glass. “But as things are, he’ll always have to answer to someone else. And he’ll always be on a fixed wage.”
“It’s also not as though he’s the head chef at an upmarket restaurant,” Selena added. “It’s some tiny place in the middle of nowhere. Hardly high-class dining.”
“It is, though!” Anna’s heart was galloping, and her hands had gone all clammy. She knew her cheeks were bright red. “Michelin even published a review of his cooking.”
“A good one?” Selena asked without a hint of mocking.
“Of course a good one!” Anna growled. “They don’t give bad reviews.”
His dad sat up straighter. “You got a Michelin star?”
“No.” Warren rubbed at his forehead.
“He probably will get one,” Anna argued.
“Restaurants get stars, not the chef,” Warren said, frowning at her. “And we won’t get one.”
She tried to read his features. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out how he could stay so calm while his family made derogatory comments about his career, but got angry when she praised him.
“It doesn’t even matter.” Anna’s eyes shifted between his sister and parents. “The restaurant gets booked up weeks in advance, thanks to Warren’s cooking. Have you even looked at his reviews? People love his food.”
“That’s fine,” his dad said, looking completely unfazed as he tucked into a slice of quiche. “But at some point he’ll realise that he wants the freedom that money buys, instead of being tethered to a dead-end job and being constantly in debt.”
“But it’s not a dead-end job. He’s the head chef. ” She couldn’t fathom the comment about debt, but the man seemed so far removed from reality that he probably assumed everyone who didn’t own their own business ended up in debt.
“Anyway,” Warren said cheerfully. “This quiche is lovely.”
“It’s delicious,” his mum said. “Rachel really is a godsend.”
“I don’t understand,” Anna murmured.
“Just drop it,” Warren said. “It’s not an issue.”
“But it is an issue.” She glared at Jen. “How can you be so complimentary about Rachel and so dismissive of Warren’s talent?”
Jen smiled condescendingly. “If you have kids one day, you’ll understand about wanting the best for them.”
“I’d want them to be happy,” she said, feeling suddenly choked up. “Do you even care about that?”
“Reaching his full potential would make him happy,” his dad said.
“Wow!” Anna was gripping her cutlery far too tightly. “I can’t believe this is an actual conversation.”
Warren’s hand on her leg got her to look at him. “Please, just drop it.”
She might have done just that if she hadn’t caught the vulnerability in his eyes.
“They’re horrible people,” she said, not taking her eyes off him and not lowering her voice at all. “They’re really horrible people.”
His sister made a noise that was somewhere between a screech and a burst of laughter. “How lovely of you to sit there and criticise us.”
“Well, you have no problem criticising Warren. At least I’m being truthful. You are horrible. All of you.” She plucked her napkin from her lap and threw it on the table as she stood. “I can’t sit here. I can’t even be in the same house as you.”
Warren called her name as she stormed out, but she didn’t stop. In the entrance hall, she pushed her feet into her boots and angrily pulled on her coat before striding outside.
The wind caught the door when she pulled it behind her, and it slammed so violently that she winced. It didn’t break her from her anger though, and she stomped the entire way to the end of the drive before calming down enough to realise she didn’t know where she was intending to go.