Page 118 of A Chef's Kiss for Christmas
“Stuff about my past.”
“Surely that’s why people date – to find out more about eachother.”
“Yes, but…”
“But what?”
His arms circled her waist. “I don’t know.”
“Well why don’t you just tell me, and we’ll go from there. Or better yet, let’s go to my place and we can talk properly.”
“Yeah, okay.” He looked so forlorn that she felt a pang of sympathy for him.
“Is it really such a big deal? Do you have some sort of criminal past you need to tell me about?”
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Nothing like that.”
“Good.” She licked her lips, then pressed them to his. All her earlier worries melted away as he brought his hand to the back of her head and deepened the kiss.
The way he winced as he broke away wasn’t a great sign.
“What now?” she complained.
“I can’t go to your place this evening.”
“Why not?”
His eyebrows inched upwards. “I have a date.”
Anna only just refrained from rolling her eyes. “Is this a weird thing where you try to make me jealous and then tell me the date is actually with me?”
“No.” He winced. “It’s not with you.”
“Are you trying to tell me you really have a date?”
He nodded and at least looked remorseful.
“You have a date with a woman?”
He nodded again.
Anna stared at him for a moment, then she really did roll her eyes. “Is it with an old lady?”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “I always spend Christmas Day evening with Edie. Her family will have been over for lunch, but they’ll have left by now. She saves me Christmas cake.”
“I suppose if I have to lose out on you to anyone, I can cope with it being Edie.”
Warren rested his forehead against hers. “She’ll be waiting for me. I’d feel terrible not going.”
“It’s okay.” Disappointing, but she’d get over it.
“Do you want to come?” he asked, eyeing her hopefully.
She didn’t even have to consider it. “I’d love to.”
“I should probably warn you that Edie may be slightly tipsy and she might crank the music up and insist on us dancing around the kitchen with her.”
“I think I can cope with that.” She reached around him for the gift bag. “I got you something.”
