“I’m very happy,” she replied, then pointed along the hallway. “I should get back.”
“Yeah. Sure.” He gestured to the gents and continued in that direction.
In the foyer, Anna paused at the doorway to the bar area, checking to see if Warren was still getting her a drink.
She spotted him immediately, leaning against the end of the bar, chatting with a waitress. The slender blonde woman beamed at him, clearly enthralled by whatever he was saying.
Heat rushed over Anna’s skin, and she clenched her jaw. Since they weren’t actually together, she had no right to be jealous. Maybe he’d been playing the part of her boyfriend a little too well, given how prickly she felt about him flirting with someone else.
It wasn’t jealousy, though – it was annoyance that he was being so open about it. If her friends noticed him flirting with the waitress, it would make things very awkward.
Pinned to the spot, all she could do was stare as he continued joking with the pretty blonde.
Eventually, Hayden’s voice broke her from her trance.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes.” Hopefully, he didn’t notice the manic edge to her smile as she moved away from the door, trying to block his view of Warren. Ironically, it was probably her odd reaction that made him look.
“How come you’re loitering out here?” he asked, giving no sign he’d seen anything untoward.
“Warren’s getting me a drink. I was waiting for him.”
“Right,” he said, one eyebrow twitching. “I’ll see you back inside.”
He’d only just wandered back to the ballroom when Warren arrived beside her.
“One glass of wine,” he said, holding it out to her.
“Thank you.” She took a sip to calm her nerves. “I don’t want to sound annoying and whiny,” she whispered. “But can you please not flirt with the waitress where all my friends can see.”
His features crumpled. “What?”
“I could see you from here.”
His lips twitched in amusement before his smile fell away. “Oh, you’re serious?”
“Yes.” She took a step away. “If my friends see, they’ll wonder what on earth is going on.”
“I wasn’t flirting. I was asking her about the food.”
“Yeah, sure. I could see her eyelashes fluttering from here.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Are you jealous?”
“No!” Her hands felt suddenly clammy, and she felt a jolt of irritation at the smirk that played at his lips. “I’m not!” She glared at him, but it only seemed to amuse him further.
“Come on.” He tipped his head towards the ballroom. “I promise not to flirt with anyone except you.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but decided she’d probably only make things worse.
Sitting back at the table, Warren checked his watch.
“You can go if you want,” Anna said quietly. “I guess you have to be up early tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” He dragged his teeth along his lower lip. “I don’t really want to leave before dessert, though.”
“That’s a wise decision,” Frannie said, leaning onto the table and catching Warren’s eye. “The chef makes the most amazing desserts.”
