Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
I t was hard for Warren to decide whether Lewis not being at the hotel on Wednesday and Thursday was a blessing or a curse. On the one hand, putting off speaking to him about Anna felt like a relief. At the same time, it meant he hadn’t seen Anna since they got back from Bath.
He’d almost called her the night before, but with only a few days until Christmas, the restaurant had been extra busy and it had been late by the time things had calmed down at work. Plus, he was keen to have a conversation with Lewis first.
And that felt as though it should be a face-to-face conversation.
Thankfully, Lewis was in the office when Warren arrived at work on Friday morning. Otherwise, he’d probably have gone and tracked him down at home.
“Come in,” Lewis said, glancing up from the computer screen but not pausing in typing. “I just need to send this email, but I’ll only be a minute.”
Warren sat opposite him and waited for him to finish what he was doing.
“How are you doing?” Lewis asked when he switched his focus from the computer and pushed his keyboard aside.
“Fine.”
“How was the family trip?”
“It was okay. Easier having Anna there.”
Lewis merely nodded. “I guess you want to go over the menu for the next couple of weeks?”
Warren scratched his forehead. “We can go through it if you want.” It wasn’t as though Lewis ever gave much input – he was more of a sounding board.
“I talked it through with Liam and Sam. They had some good ideas.” He supposed it shouldn’t have been too surprising that chatting it through with the kitchen staff was more helpful than chatting everything over with Lewis, but they’d got used to doing things a certain way and had stuck with it.
“Right,” Lewis said, his eyebrows pulling together.
“I thought you wanted me to give the rest of the kitchen staff more responsibility and whatnot.”
“I did.” He tapped on the desk. “I do. It’s good. So you don’t need to go through it with me?”
“Not unless you want me to.”
Lewis shrugged. “I guess we don’t need to.”
“The kitchen and restaurant seemed to run smoothly while I was away,” Warren added. “I can’t say for sure if the staff agree, but I think we have a more harmonious atmosphere in the kitchen. I’ve been trying to make some changes anyway.”
“That’s great.”
“It’s all pretty calm for now. Let’s see if it stays that way. The restaurant is booked out every evening until the new year, and we have a lot of lunch reservations too.”
“You’ll need a break in January.”
“Yeah.” He’d also be in need of some time with Anna. At this rate, she’d have to visit him at work for them to get any time together. With thoughts of Anna swirling in his mind, he sat up straighter and gathered his courage. “There’s something I wanted to ask you. Not about work.”
“Okay.”
“I was wondering if you’d have any objection to me asking Anna out.” He shifted his weight and rubbed the stubble along his jaw. “On a date, I mean.”
Lewis stared at him as they fell into an uncomfortable silence. “You want to ask Anna out?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were just friends.”
“We were. I mean, we are… but we’ve been spending a lot of time together and things kind of changed.”
“Oh.” The way he winced wasn’t a brilliant sign.
“I wanted to run it by you because I don’t want things to be weird between us.”
“Right,” Lewis said. “Yeah.”
Warren waited for him to say more, but he seemed lost for words.
“It feels as though I’ve already made things weird,” Warren commented eventually.
Lewis released a heavy breath and covered his face with his hands. “This is awkward,” he muttered.
“You’re not okay with it?”
“It’s not really anything to do with me. Anna can date whoever she wants.”
“I get that, but you’re my best mate. If you have an issue with it, I’d like to know now.” It occurred to him that he wasn’t sure what he’d do if Lewis was against it. He hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“Here’s the problem–” Lewis’s phone rang, cutting him off. Looking at the phone screen, he swore softly. “I have to take this…”
“Seriously? You need to take a phone call now? You couldn’t just call them back? ”
His thumb hovered over the screen. “I’ve been waiting for this guy at the bank to call me back. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll come and find you in a bit.”
Warren stared at him impatiently, but Lewis swiped the screen and switched to a much more formal tone when he answered the call.
Irritated, Warren left the office. He hadn’t really thought it would be an issue for Lewis.
Back in the kitchen, he struggled to concentrate and didn’t make it ten minutes before snapping at someone. At least Liam looked surprised when Warren bit his head off – maybe that meant his attempts at creating a calmer working environment had been working.
With Liam fumbling to lower the heat on the sauce he was stirring, Warren caught sight of Ivy in the doorway, disappointment clear in her gaze.
“Sorry,” he said to Liam, not even sure what he’d shouted at him for. “I’m not having a great day. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“Okay,” Liam mumbled, returning to his task.
“What’s up?” Warren called to Ivy across the room.
“Nothing. I wanted to ask you something, but it can wait.”
“It’s fine.” He beckoned for her to come in and she joined him at the back of the room.
“How was your time off?” she asked.
“Pretty good.”
“I heard you took Anna to meet your parents?”
“Yeah.”
“Are the two of you still just friends?”
He pushed his hip against the countertop. “I don’t know,” he said honestly.
Ivy smiled. “I think I’ll get the gossip from Anna instead. ”
“Probably better. Is that what you came in here to ask me about?”
“No, but you seem busy, so I’ll leave you to it.”
He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. It’s only that Poppy was asking…”
He grimaced as he realised what she was going to say. “About baking Christmas cookies with me?”
“Yes. And I told her you’re busy at this time of year but she said you promised…”
“I did promise.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I should have arranged it with you before. My head has been all over the place.”
“It’s fine.”
“How about tomorrow morning? I’ll be here to set out a buffet for Anna’s wreath-making class, but there won’t be the usual lunch service, so things should be relatively quiet. I can definitely squeeze in cookie-making with my favourite sous-chef.”
“Thank you,” she said, then pressed her lips together. “I also wanted to ask you something else… but you can absolutely say no if it’s a problem… it’s only that I still have some Christmas shopping to do and usually I’d ask my mum to look after Poppy but she’s been stressed…”
“Go when Poppy is here with me,” he said, struggling to see what the problem was.
“Really? Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Why would I mind?”
“I just hate asking for help when it comes to Poppy.”
“When it comes to anything, ” he corrected. “It’s kind of rude though, because I enjoy hanging out with your daughter. I don’t know why you think she’s such a burden to put on people.”
“Thank you.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and left looking slightly emotional .
Five minutes later, Lewis strode in. “Sorry,” he said, tipping his head towards the food storage.
They lingered outside it, far enough from the rest of the staff not to be overheard.
“Do you really have a problem with me dating Anna?” Warren asked, folding his arms over his chest.
“No. That’s not my issue.”
“What’s the problem, then?”
He grimaced. “I’d really rather not get involved, but it feels weird not to say something.”
“Get to the point,” Warren grumbled.
“Anna went on a date with Hayden last night. I only heard it from Carla, so I don’t really know the situation, but I felt as though I should mention it.”
“Oh.” He hadn’t been expecting that, and he wasn’t sure how to respond.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t ask her out – but maybe you shouldn’t get your hopes up. From what Carla tells me, Anna never really got over Hayden.”
“Right.” Warren rubbed his eyebrow, dumbstruck.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Warren said, mostly because he didn’t really believe there was anything going on with Anna and her ex.
She wasn’t someone who played games, and she’d been very open about her feelings for Warren.
If she had gone out with Hayden, he was sure there was some explanation – one which didn’t involve her getting back together with him.
“Thanks for the warning. But just to get everything out in the open, you have no other objections to me making a move on your sister.”
“I don’t particularly like it when you put it like that.” Amusement flashed in Lewis’s eyes. “But no, of course I don’t have a problem with it.”
“Good.”
Lewis glanced around the kitchen before lowering his voice. “ Not to freak you out, but there’s a couple in the restaurant eyeing everything with scrutiny.”
Warren frowned. “What?”
“It’s probably nothing. These days, whenever I’m here in the evenings, I can’t help but loiter in the restaurant and speculate over whether any of the guests might be a Michelin reviewer, but I guess there’s nothing to say they wouldn’t come for lunch.
It also seems likely they’d send someone out over Christmas, don’t you think? ”
“I have no idea,” Warren said, his tone clipped. “It’s not something I think about.”
“Yeah, right.” Lewis gave his arm a friendly punch. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“It’s true,” Warren muttered. “Do you honestly think there’s a real chance we’ll get a Michelin star for this place?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“We won’t. ” Warren shook his head. “If that’s your goal, you may want to rethink it.” Lewis opened his mouth, but Warren spoke over him. “What does it even matter? The restaurant is doing well, and we get great reviews from the customers. That’s what you should be bothered about.”
“That is what I’m bothered about,” Lewis said, tilting his head. “A Michelin star wouldn’t hurt, though. And after the review they gave you, I don’t know why you think it’s not a possibility.”
“They didn’t review me, ” Warren said. “They reviewed the restaurant.”
“Yes, but you’re the head chef.” He frowned deeply. “What’s your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem. I just don’t think you should get your hopes up about the Michelin star.”
“Okay.” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I didn’t realise it was such a sensitive topic. ”
“It’s not,” he lied, then looked around the kitchen. “I have work to do.”
“I’ll leave you to it, but let’s get together for a drink sometime soon.” Lewis gave him an uncertain look and left the kitchen without another word.
Feeling the need to get his thoughts in order, Warren grabbed his coat and stepped out of the back door into the freezing cold air. A thin layer of snow covered the small car park behind the hotel, and Warren’s breath fogged in front of his face as he stood on the steps.
He got his phone out, acutely aware that he owed Anna a phone call.
His gaze lingered on the screen for a minute before he decided he had no clue what he’d say. While he really didn’t think he had anything to worry about regarding her and Hayden, there was a spark of doubt in his mind, which quickly ignited.
She’d probably be better off with someone like Hayden, anyway. He seemed like a straightforward guy.
He was probably honest too.
Which was something Warren definitely hadn’t been.