The Kissing Season

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Terrific.” She actually clapped her hands and her tone was happier than it had been in a long while. “I hope the Two Cs are home by then. The Grinch used to be their favorite book.”

“Used to” being the operative phrase, but Matt refrained from mentioning that. If he had to sit through Christmas kid-movie hell, his little sisters could suck it up too.

* * *

IF HANNAH HAD to return to Wildwood Point with her tail between her legs, she couldn’t have picked a better time than Christmas to do it. Despite a brief lecture from her parents and another from Troy, her oldest brother, she’d gotten off relatively unscathed. Everyone in town (including her nearest and dearest) was too busy with Christmas and the influx of summer tourists to spend too much time harassing and lecturing her. With the hectic schedule of events leading up to the big day, it meant she could spend her days in the Elliot’s showroom and her nights out of the house, giving no one the chance to corner her for a “chat.”

Tonight Hannah and her two best friends from high school were taking her godchildren, James and Sari, to the hall to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It happened to be one of her favorite holiday movies and she couldn’t wait to snuggle up with James or Sari on her lap.

In the early evening breeze, Hannah waited on the front steps of the hall for Laura and Jayne to arrive with their children. Not sharing her dream of traveling, both Laura and Jayne had married their high school sweethearts and popped out two adorable babies within months of each other. At four years of age, James and Sari were already the best of friends and although her friends’ kids adored her, Hannah couldn’t help feeling the odd one out. But not for long—soon she’d have a little baby too. She rested her hand on her stomach and smiled. Motherhood hadn’t been on her immediate agenda, definitely not single motherhood, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t thrilled.

Laura and Jayne didn’t know about the baby yet, and it was awful keeping the secret from them, but she couldn’t risk her parents’ finding out from someone else. The plan was to go to her thirteen-week scan in Busselton on December 31, and once she knew everything was okay with the baby, then she’d spill the beans.

“Annah, Annah.” She turned, hearing Sari’s sweet voice, to see her friends holding the hands of their children as they approached the building.

Hannah waved and went to greet them. She hugged Laura and Jayne and then stole away James’s and Sari’s hands. “Who’s up for popcorn and candy?”

“Me! Me! Me!” the kids shouted in unison.

The five of them climbed the steps and went inside to the nearly full foyer. Laura and Jayne took the kids to find seats and Hannah, knowing how fidgety James and Sari could get waiting for anything, volunteered to fetch the snacks. She smiled and waved and made small talk with a few people as they waited it out in the queue. Just as she was almost at the counter, something made her glance sideways, back toward the entrance, and her heart stopped dead in her chest.

Never in her wildest imagination had she visualized seeing Matteo Della Bosca here tonight. He stood tall above the crowds and she couldn’t make out with whom he’d come, but there was the top of a blond head bobbing on either side of him. Something inside her twisted at the thought that he’d so easily found another date for the night, two if the plural blond heads were evidence. And brought them to the showing of a kids’ movie? Yeah, that surprised her.

“Evening, Hannah. What can I get for you?”

She tore her gaze away from the entrance and smiled at the guy who’d run the Christmas movies for as long as she could remember. “Oh, hi Jimbo.” She couldn’t for the life of her remember what she needed to order, so she went for variety. “Can I have one large box of popcorn, one bag of candy floss and five chocolate bars? Yes, that should cover it.”

When Jimbo handed her a box to carry her purchases, she turned away from the queue and found herself scanning the crowd, but the Italian was no longer in her sight. Ignoring the disappointment that churned through her stomach, she ventured into the hall and found her way to her friends, seated right in front. She tried to focus on the cherubs chatting in excitement as they waited for the movie to start, but it took all of her willpower to stop from craning her head around and looking for him.

No wonder she infuriated her family. This kind of behavior infuriated her. But the truth was, it was against Hannah’s nature to turn down the offer of a good time from a hot man. And Matteo Della Bosca wasn’t simply hot; he was on fire. Despite knowing it had been the right thing to do, she couldn’t stop remembering the feel of his lips on hers or fantasizing about what kind of night she’d be having right now if she’d said yes instead of no.

Thankfully, she’d seen the movie more times than she could count on her hands, because if this were her first viewing, she wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone if she liked it or not. The minute the lights came on again, the urge to turn around became almost unbearable. The mass exodus from the hall gave her no chance to locate anyone, and when they finally emerged, Sari needed to go to the bathroom and Jayne decided to take James as well. Hannah told them she’d wait in the foyer. Not because she might see the Italian and definitely not because she might catch a glimpse of which local women had been suckered into a date with him.

No longer in the mood for small talk with anyone, she leaned against the wall near the bathrooms, which happened to give her a good vantage point of the crowds spilling out into the warm night air. She must have spotted half the town and a number of people she didn’t recognize, and was beginning to think she’d imagined seeing Matteo earlier, when someone sidled up beside her.

Even before she turned her head, she recognized his presence. Her belly did an undeniable flip of joy. He’d swapped the suit for khaki shorts and a plain black T-shirt that highlighted the perfection of his upper body.

“You turned me down for a Christmas movie?” He leaned against the wall, too, so his shoulder almost touched hers, and she wondered what he’d done with his dates.

Yeah, stupid, huh? She forced herself to take a step sideways and hoped he got the message. “Everyone loves a Christmas movie.”

“Sure.” His voice was low as he leaned toward her, so only she could hear him, and held a hint of amusement. “But I could offer you so much more fun than a Christmas movie.”

That joy in her belly fled south, igniting a warmth and need right between her legs. She pressed them together, fighting the desire as she forced nonchalance into her voice. “What are you doing here, then?”

“Mum wanted to come.”

Confused, Hannah furrowed her brow as she followed the direction his finger was pointing. Her gaze came to rest on Sarah Brown, her parents’ house cleaner. She would never have guessed this Italian stallion belonged to Sarah. Standing next to his mother were her daughters, who, with perfect blond bobs, didn’t look a thing like their brother. But that was likely due to the different father thing. Hannah couldn’t recall their names—although only a few years younger than her, they’d gone to school locally whereas she’d boarded in Perth and their mother only ever referred to them as the Two Cs.

“Sarah is your mum? I thought Matt stood for Matthew?” Sarah often talked about her son Matt but Hannah had never seen him, until now.

“Logical conclusion. But no.” He held out a hand. “Matteo Della Bosca, but most people call me Matt. You can too. Pleased to meet you.”

She couldn’t resist the opportunity to touch him although every sensible cell in her body told her to resist. “We’ve already met.”

“And don’t think I don’t remember—” he grinned, which only worked to amplify the heat within her “—but I didn’t get your name.”

“Hannah. Hannah Elliot.” It wasn’t a sin to give the man her name now, was it?

“Matteo.” Sarah, blonde like her daughters but not at all as svelte, landed beside them and glowered at her son. “It’s time to go home.”

Hannah didn’t know what that was all about but she smiled at Sarah anyway. “Hi Sarah. I met your son earlier when—”

Matt’s voice was loud, overriding her sentence. “In the bakery. Hannah was buying a gingerbread man.”

She looked at him, confused at his lie but kinda stoked he’d paid enough attention to notice what she’d been eating. “Yes, I must admit a weakness for them at this time of year.”

“Oh, if you like gingerbread, I’ll drop you round some of my Christmas cookies.” Sarah beamed. “I made a big batch this morning.”

“That would be lovely,” Hannah replied honestly. After all, she was eating for two, didn’t she deserve a bit of extra sugar?

“Anyway, we must be going now, come on, Matteo.” Sarah had a viselike grip on Matt’s arm and tried to pull him away. The use of his full name made Hannah wonder what he’d done to displease her.

“Nice seeing you again, Hannah.” Matt nodded and ran his gaze down her body, making her feel as if he had X-ray vision and could see right through the summer maxi dress she wore. Her knees swayed again. “Maybe I’ll see you soon.”

It was a statement, not a question, and Sarah didn’t appear to like the idea. “I doubt that, Matt. Hannah will be far too busy with the emporium this week.”

As Sarah practically dragged her son away, Hannah wondered if she should feel insulted. She got the impression Matt’s mum didn’t think Hannah was good enough for her boy, but instead of being offended, she thought it sweet. It probably wasn’t her—Matt was a good-looking man and she guessed he was quite successful in business as well. Like most mothers, Sarah probably didn’t think any woman would make the cut.

“Who was that?”

“Is that Sarah Brown’s prodigal son?”

Laura and Jayne, each carrying a sleepy child in her arms, spoke at the same time.

Hannah blinked a few times, her gaze still glued to Matt’s retreating behind. His butt looked tight and incredible in those shorts. Man, she was hopeless. Lost cause material. You’d think she’d learn from past mistakes.

“Earth to Hannah? Did that guy hit on you?”

“Yes, twice.” Hannah could never lie to her best friends.

“Then what the hell are you still doing here? Go after him,” Laura commanded.

“And be sure to take notes so you can tell us all about it in the morning,” Jayne added with a suggestive smile.

“You two, stop it.” Hannah tried to look stern. Fact was, Laura and Jayne—although totally happy in their marriages—had been living vicariously through her shenanigans for quite some time. She used to send them daily emails when she was circumnavigating the globe. “I told you, I’m sworn off men after Larry.”