The Kissing Season

“See anything you like?”

Oh yeah, something I like very much indeed. He shrugged. “A couple of things.”

“Run into anyone you know?” she asked as she started placing her Christmas cookies on a cooling rack. There was a hopeful tone in her voice—he knew she’d love him to settle back in Wildwood Point. Unfortunately that wish was never going to come true.

“Not this time.” Truth was he’d lost contact with all the boys he’d gone to school with long ago and he doubted many of them were still in town. He didn’t want to tell her why he’d gone into Elliot’s Emporium, but he wanted to quiz her about the saleswoman. “Although I looked in the window at Elliot’s Emporium. There looked to be some great stuff in there.” Stuff, woman...

“Oh, there is.” She wiped her hands on her apron and plonked down on a kitchen chair. “I’ve been cleaning for the Elliots a couple of years now and their house is gorgeous. It’s a historic homestead and Emily Elliot has decorated it accordingly. The decor is amazing and their furniture so beautifully handcrafted. I’m always saying they should open a tearoom there but they have their hands full with the emporium.”

“You clean for the Elliots?” He hated the thought of her having to clean for anyone and he wished like hell she’d accept some of his money. On the other hand, at least he knew she’d love the items he’d chosen.

“Yes.” Her smile glowed. “Lovely family.”

“Don’t suppose you know any of their salesgirls?”

“You wouldn’t be talking about Hannah, would you?”

“Maybe? This girl was pint-sized, had masses of brown, curly hair and a dimple in one cheek.”

“Yes, that’s Hannah Elliot. Emily and Ron’s only daughter.” A frown erased her smile. “Put her out of your mind, Matteo. She’s just returned home after a terrible ordeal and she doesn’t need the likes of you breaking her heart.”

“Mum! I’m insulted.” He didn’t break women’s hearts. He made sure that whoever he seduced knew the score, that he was with them for a wild time, not a long one. And he made sure he gave them a wild time, so he never had any complaints.

“Oh, sweet cakes, you know I love you, but you have your father’s Casanova ways and that girl needs someone stable in her life. The Elliots are very worried about her.”

“What kind of ordeal?” he found himself asking.

She sighed. “Now don’t you go spreading this around. You know how things are in small towns so I want—”

Holding his hands up, he interrupted. “Who am I going to tell?”

This seemed to be enough assurance for her, or perhaps she just wanted to tell him so he’d stay clear. Either way, he leaned back in his chair and settled back to listen to Hannah’s story.

“I thought people marrying strangers in Vegas was the thing of bad telemovies.” His mum finished her story after about half an hour. “But apparently it actually happens in real life too.”

“Wow.” Matt had met a lot of people on his travels but he couldn’t recall anyone who’d actually been married by an Elvis impersonator on a whim in Vegas. The Elliots and his mum believed it proved Hannah flighty and irresponsible. He thought she sounded adventurous—a girl who wanted to escape the constrictions of small-town life and just happened to get unlucky. “That accounts for her demeanor then.”

“Was she glum, poor girl?” His mum shook her head sadly. “When Cate and Claire arrive I’ll be sure to take them down to the shop and introduce them. Did I mention that the Elliots invited us over for Christmas lunch as well?”

“No, you didn’t.” Normally the idea of spending Christmas with someone else’s family wouldn’t have garnered any enthusiasm on his part, but this particular family had something more to offer than corny Christmas cheer. They had Hannah. Imagining her face when she found out he’d be spending Christmas day at her place, he chuckled.

“So you can see why I want you to stay away from her,” his mum warned.

“Yes. Sure.” But Matt was very careful not to make any promises. There were two ways to look at Hannah’s situation. Either she was the marrying kind and would be looking to hook another husband in the not too distant future, or the jerk in Vegas had turned her completely off men. Judging by the way she’d put him in his place, he figured the latter, and that meant seducing her would be all the more fun.

He had no qualms about being the rebound guy who helped sexy Hannah mend her broken and bitter heart.

“I was thinking we could go see the Christmas movie at the Memorial Hall tonight. There’s a different one on every night this week,” his mum announced, an obvious attempt at changing the subject. “Tourists from Yallingup and Dunsborough have been venturing in and I’ve heard it’s a fun night.”

He couldn’t hide his grimace. “What’s showing?”

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” She beamed and he thought maybe her grief had gone to her head. He could think of a zillion things he’d rather do than sit in the stifling hot town hall on plastic chairs, surrounded by overexcited kids watching a Dr. Seuss film—that date with Hannah topping the list. But he loved his Mum, and Hannah hadn’t agreed to her part of the bargain, so he didn’t have a better offer.

“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.”

Jayne’s eyes narrowed and she hissed like a wildcat. “I have conflicting feelings about that ex of yours. Half of me doesn’t want to meet him, but the other half of me would love to get him alone, naked, in the salon with a big pot of wax.”

Hannah sniggered. Jayne owned the beauty salon in town and reckoned the best way to get revenge on a man would be to tie him up and then wax his nether regions.

Recovering from her own giggles, Laura said, “Jayne’s right. You can’t let Larry the Loser ruin your life. You deserve good sex as much as the rest of us.”

Why was Matt synonymous with good sex all of a sudden?

“Hey, the blame can’t lie solely on Larry’s shoulders,” Hannah said defensively. Although if they knew the truth, they’d likely take a shotgun to her ex-husband’s head. “He was just the final nail in the coffin, but I think it’s high time I got the message. I’m not talented when it comes to picking men. I think the longest relationship I’ve ever managed besides Larry lasted a week.”

“No, it was ten days,” Jayne said matter-of-factly. “With Tim just before the end of high school.”

“Semantics.” Hannah shook her head. “Bottom line is the same.”

Laura sighed. “Fair enough. I see where you’re coming from, but the way Sarah says it, her son won’t be around for long. Why not indulge in one last summer fling before you join the convent?”

Because I’m pregnant. Hannah couldn’t bring herself to admit this just yet and she knew Laura and Jayne wouldn’t let the matter rest, so... “Look, I promise to give it some serious thought. Happy?”

Her two friends nodded, big grins on their faces.

CHAPTER THREE

LAURA AND JAYNE would be pleased, because Hannah couldn’t stop thinking about Matt. Every time the door of Elliot’s Emporium opened the next day, she looked up, her heart skipping a beat at the thought that it might be Matt coming back for something he’d forgotten, and then sinking when she realized it wasn’t. Putting a smile on her face for the customers who weren’t him took serious effort. Luckily most of them were only after small things—a wooden ornament, a rocking horse or a coffee table for a Christmas present—and were on their way again pretty fast. That left Hannah with plenty of time to sit back in her chair, nibble more gingerbread and play the “What If?” game.

What if she’d never gone to Vegas?

What if she’d never come home?

What if Larry hadn’t hated the idea of having a baby?

Stuff Larry...she didn’t want to think along those lines. Granted, their conversation prior to marriage hadn’t been huge, but not wanting to have kids was one of those things most people let potential spouses know. Argh...she felt her blood rising to boiling point and resolved to put Larry the Loser (she liked the nickname Laura had coined) out of her mind and go back to fantasizing about Matt and what she’d do to him if things were different.

She was a little disappointed he hadn’t found an excuse to pop in and see her, but then again she had pretty much turned him down twice. Most guys gave up after such brutal rejection.

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