Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
T he words on the computer screen had blurred in front of Lewis. A knock came at the door and broke him from his trance.
“How come you’re hiding away in here?” Warren asked, wandering in without waiting for a response to his knock.
“Had a bit of work to do.” Lewis pointed at the computer screen at the exact moment that it went into standby, the email inbox disappearing into darkness.
“Why are you doing office work on Christmas Day?”
Lewis shrugged, not wanting to admit that he was hiding. After Erin had made a comment about his long working hours, he felt self-conscious. Not that it should matter if he came across as a workaholic, but he found himself caring about her opinion of him far too much. Also, he didn’t want her to feel as though he was constantly there every time she turned around.
“Your friend is having breakfast,” Warren said as he dropped into the chair across from Lewis. Given the time of day, it was odd for him to sit.
“Which friend?”
“You know. ”
“I’m going to need a clue…”
Warren sank down on the chair, an amused glint in his eyes. “How long are you going to pretend you don’t know who I’m referring to?”
“I could keep going for a while,” Lewis said, stifling a smile. “But I assume you mean Erin?”
“Yep.”
“And you felt the need to tell me that because…?”
“Just in case you were wondering.” Warren gave a small shake of his head. “Happy Christmas, by the way.”
“Happy Christmas!” Lewis replied, while ignoring the urge to go and find something to do in the dining room.
“I got you something.” Warren shifted in the chair to get a hand in his pocket, then threw a small, wrapped package unceremoniously onto the desk.
“Did you wrap this yourself?” Lewis joked as he looked at the scrunched red paper with what appeared to be one long piece of tape holding it together.
Warren’s mouth twitched to a lopsided grin. “My skills are endless.”
“Should I open it now?” Lewis asked. Given the way Warren had encouraged him to pursue Erin and his tendency towards joke gifts, Lewis was hesitant. Especially since it was approximately the size of a condom wrapper.
“You can open it,” Warren said, with an encouraging dip of his head.
He pulled at the tape until the gaudy red paper fell away, leaving a keyring in his hand. Underneath the plastic cover was a photo of Lewis and Warren from the previous New Year’s party at the hotel. It had been the first time Lewis had seen Warren tipsy, and he’d been surprised to find his friend was sentimental when inebriated. In the photo, he was attempting to plant a sloppy kiss on Lewis’s cheek, but had ended up with Lewis’s hand smothering his face .
“Cute, aren’t we?” Warren remarked. “Turn it over.”
The picture on the other side was a hand drawn pink love heart with the words ‘best friends forever’ in the centre.
“Everything about this makes me want to vomit,” Lewis said cheerfully.
Warren nodded approvingly. “Exactly the vibe I was going for.” He held out his hand in a beckoning gesture. “What did you get me?”
Lewis grimaced. “We don’t usually exchange gifts.”
“I know, but I told you I was getting you something. That was a hint that you should get me something so this wouldn’t be awkward. Now stop messing around and give me my present.”
Tempting as it was to wind him up further, Lewis leaned down to open the bottom drawer of the desk and took out a square box, which was wrapped much more artfully than Warren’s gift.
“It’s not actually something good, is it?” Warren’s eyes flashed with panic. “I assumed you knew I’d get you something daft.”
“Yeah. It’s just a silly thing, too.” So he wasn’t sure why he felt a stab of nerves when he handed it over. They hadn’t ever exchanged Christmas gifts before and it felt a little intense to watch Warren unwrap his present. “Just a mug,” he stated dumbly, while Warren turned it over in his hand. On the side were the words ‘World’s Best Chef’ – like the wording you might find on a novelty item, except this mug was handmade by a local potter who’d charged him way over the odds since he hadn’t given her much notice.
While Warren continued to scrutinise it, Lewis wished he’d just gone for the novelty variety.
“That’s really nice, mate.” Warren’s Adam’s apple bobbed and it took him a moment to peel his eyes from the mug. “Thanks. ”
“You’re welcome,” Lewis muttered. He definitely should have gone with a novelty gift.
“I should get back to work.” Warren cleared his throat as he stood. Then he stopped and held up his index finger as though he’d just remembered something. “I meant to tell you… Hopefully it won’t be a big deal, but some geezer came into the kitchen yesterday…”
“Asking for your mince pie recipe?”
He winced. “Yeah. Did he make a complaint?”
“He told me you were rude to him. Couldn’t you just have politely declined?”
“I did, but the stupid old––” He cut himself off and looked thoughtful. “He started saying all this stuff about giving the recipe to his wife and about how her place was in the kitchen. That’s when I not-so-politely told him to get out of my kitchen.”
“Right.” Lewis sighed. “Maybe you could just nod and smile the next time a guest annoys you.”
“I know. Sorry.” He was almost at the door when he turned back. “He reminds me a bit of my dad. That’s probably why he got my back up.”
Lewis gave him a sympathetic smile. He didn’t know much about Warren’s family, but he knew he’d always rather work over Christmas than spend time with them.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told him. “I think I smoothed things over.”
“Thanks.”
“No worries.” He spun his new keyring around his index finger. “Thanks for this. I’ll treasure it.”
His tone was jokey, but when Warren closed the door behind him, he stared at the gift and the words on the back. Warren had arrived at a weird time in Lewis’s life, and he hadn’t anticipated back then, how close they’d become. Possibly that was a sad reflection on how much time he spent at work, but Lewis also knew he was way better off with Warren as a friend than the group he’d spent his time with before he’d taken over the running of the hotel.
That felt like a different lifetime now.
He sucked in a deep breath and dragged his thoughts back to the present.
Erin.
That was where his mind went, and he couldn’t bear to hide away in the office a moment longer.