“Hi, Megan.” She smiled at the Baptist church minister’s wife. “Lovely night for it. Have you met Matteo Della Bosca? Sarah Brown’s son.”
“No, I haven’t.” Megan’s voice was high pitched as she grabbed on to Matt’s hand and held it a few moments too long. “An absolute pleasure.”
Megan was only a few years older than her, and Hannah had often wondered if she regretted her marriage. Her husband was duller than toast without butter and Megan flirted with anyone and everyone whenever she got the chance.
“Please, call me Matt,” he replied with his usual grin.
“Well, have a good evening.” Hannah forgot her resolve not to touch him and grabbed on to his arm, tugging him slightly in her aim to rescue him from Megan.
“Thanks,” he whispered when they were out of earshot of the other woman. “She had a death grip on me.”
“You owe me one.”
“Happy to settle the score with kisses or hot sex. You just say the word.”
While her belly tumbled at the mention of hot sex, Hannah dug him in the side with her elbow. Possibly not the best plan, because slamming into hard muscle only made the resolve not to sleep with him all the more difficult. Shopping! She needed to start shopping and remember she was no longer a single woman free from care and responsibility. If she wanted to be a good mum, she had to sacrifice certain things—the needs of her libido, for starters.
“I’m sorry,” Matt said when she was silent for a few moments. “I’ll try to behave from now on.” He tucked his hands in his pockets as if to show he meant it.
“Thank you,” she said, “I’d appreciate that.” Secretly she was a little disappointed.
* * *
MATT HADN’T BEEN joking when he said he didn’t like shopping, but Hannah didn’t just make it bearable, she made it fun. And he supposed pottering from craft stall to quirky art tables wasn’t exactly the same as a day spent at a high-rise shopping center. The atmosphere tonight was more like a fair with the Christmas carols, bright lights, and kids dashing madly in every direction, high on sugar and the excitement of Santa’s imminent arrival. It was hard not to catch the disease.
“Here, hold these a second, will you?” She thrust the bags laden with knickknacks she’d bought at him.
“Sure.” He followed her to a stall selling bright, multicolored handmade garments. A number of people milled about oohing and ahhing over the gorgeous tie-dyed patterns on the various materials.
“Oh, look at these!” Hannah eyed a rack of tiny T-shirts, suitable only for babies or small children. “Have you ever seen anything so adorable?”
You, he thought but managed not to say this out loud. He’d promised to behave and planned to do so for at least half an hour, long enough to lull her into a false sense of security. But if she thought he was giving up, she had another think coming. “Cute, indeed. Do you know anyone small enough to buy one for?”
She was silent a moment and then screwed up her nose. “I suppose they might fit James and Sari.”
“Who?”
“My best friends’ kids. They’re around here somewhere tonight. Cute as pie.”
“Are they the kids you were with at the movie last night?” He wasn’t really into children, but even he had to admit those two had been adorable. All golden hair, chubby cheeks and mischievous grins.
“Yep.” She smiled but it looked forced.
For some reason the baby clothes seemed to have darkened her mood. He wanted to see her smile again, see her laugh. “Here, how’s this look?” he asked, grabbing a beautiful pink and purple silk scarf off a stand and quickly wrapping it around his neck.
He got the laughs. Not simply from Hannah, but also from the ten or so other people milling around the stall who obviously thought the fancy scarf and his board shorts were a hilarious combo. The elderly woman behind the counter looked quite worried.
“That scarf is for women. How about this T-shirt instead?” She held up a shirt, mostly navy blue but covered with orange, green and red splats. Not his style at all.
“No, no.” Hannah dug in her pocket for a wallet and then pulled out some cash. “We’ll take the scarf. Pink and purple are his favorite colors.”
His audience snickered and he glared at her, hoping to convey the message that he planned to get her back. Then, as he fought the urge to tear the whimsical garment off his neck, his gaze snagged on the stall next door—an absolute plethora of Christmas novelty hats. Hannah was still laughing at him when he stopped her in her stride.
“And this would look absolutely perfect on you.” He plucked the tallest hat he’d ever seen off a stand and plopped it on her head. It immediately fell down and over her eyes, but he hitched it up, resting it on the tops of her ears to balance it. “There, just right.”
Only she could look that adorable in a hat that looked like a snow-covered chimney with Santa’s fat legs poking out the top. He grabbed her shoulders and gently turned her so she copped a view of herself in the stall owner’s mirror. She burst out laughing and the hat fell over her eyes again.
“I have the same hat in a smaller size,” said the guy behind the counter. Within seconds he’d conjured it from a box beneath his table. “Here.”
“Perfect.” Matt took the oversized hat off a still-giggling Hannah and replaced it with the smaller one. “I dare you to wear this for the rest of the night.”
“Only if you wear the scarf,” she countered.
“I’ll be boiling.” He feared it was already causing a rash on his skin. Even though it was light, wearing such a thing in an Aussie summer was insane, but right now he’d do anything she said. Besides, he’d never been one to turn down a dare. “All right, deal.”
He offered his hand for her to shake.
She slipped her soft fingers into his and he found his grip tightening of its own accord. She felt good and, dammit, he didn’t want to let go. Her gaze met his and then slipped to where their hands remained joined. Had she felt the same jolt of chemistry he had when they touched each other? If only the weather were cooler and he could make some silly excuse about wanting to keep her hands warm.
Reluctantly he loosened his grasp and she tugged her hand quickly from his. She looked away but not quickly enough to hide the blush that had crept up her neck and into her cheeks at their connection.
He couldn’t help a slightly victorious grin as he fished money out of his wallet and paid the stall owner for her hat. “Okay, girlfriend, where to next?”
“I’m not your girlfriend,” she said, although there was definite amusement in her tone.
“Figure of speech.” He scratched his neck where the scarf aggravated his skin and yanked at it to loosen it a little. He didn’t do girlfriends anyway, not long term.
“Okay.” She glanced toward the gaudy tree decorated with bright-colored decorations made by the kids from the local primary school. “Well, there are a couple of presents I still need to get, but maybe we should go find a seat. The carols are starting and Santa will arrive soon.”
She was right. He’d been too consumed with her to notice, but people were definitely filling the rows of plastic seats set up for the official part of the evening, and the air was brimming with out-of-tune Christmas carols.
“Good idea.” Not that he planned on singing any Christmas cheer.
They walked toward the middle of the park and were lucky to find a couple of free spots quite near the front. Matt dug out a packet of homemade Melting Moments from one of the bags—the only thing he’d purchased besides Hannah’s hat.
“Want one?” He offered the bag to his date.
“Sure. I know better than to turn down an offer of one of these.”
Yet she seemed quite determined to turn down the offer of him. He sighed and took a bite. As well as being a ball to hang out with, Hannah
Elliot confused the hell out of him. He thought he was pretty damn good at reading the signs of the opposite sex, but the signals coming off her were very conflicting. One minute he swore she was as hot for him as he was for her; the next minute she turned stone-cold.
“So I guess you haven’t seen the Christmas tree for a while?” she said, after a mouthful of cookie.
He swallowed. “Not since I was a kid and Santa gave me a fireman costume when I wanted a policeman one.”
She laughed. “So, why is it you hardly ever come home?”
While he turned over in his mind what to tell her, she added, “And don’t give me that old line about being too busy with work. People can always make time for things if they want to.”
“Busted,” he muttered.
“So?” she asked, showing what he’d already guessed about her—that she could be stubborn and determined when she wanted to be.
He found himself telling her things he never told anyone. “As you probably know, Sarah’s husband wasn’t my father. My dad, Leo, came to town while backpacking around Australia and swept Mum off her feet. She was only nineteen and neither of them was ready for commitment. My father was an excellent dad but he never did manage that committing-to-one-woman thing.”
“Past tense?”
“Yeah.” He swallowed the lump in his throat that formed whenever he thought of Leo. “He died five years ago. I lived with him in Melbourne when I was a teenager and we were close. I miss him.”
“I’m sorry.” Hannah reached over and took his hand in hers, the first time she’d made a move on him—except it wasn’t the kind of move he’d hoped for.
“Don’t be. I was lucky to have him for as long as I did. Even luckier that he gave me an out when Mum married a jerk.”
She flinched slightly and he realized he’d raised his voice. “Sorry,” he whispered, looking around in case his mum had heard him. “Tony and I didn’t get along. He never let Mum see it but he resented the hell out of me, hated the fact that he had to feed me and put a roof over my head when I wasn’t even his, and made sure to tell me every chance he got.”
“Bastard,” she all but hissed.
“That’s putting it nicely, trust me. But for some crazy reason Mum and the girls adored him. It was just easier if I paid for her to take the odd holiday to see me and made excuses about work.” Unlike Hannah, his mum had bought every excuse about being too busy negotiating deals to come home—at least she’d pretended to believe them. Maybe she was only keeping the peace.
“So we might see a bit more of you around Wildwood now?”
He thought he detected hopefulness in her tone but decided not to call her on it; he didn’t want to get her on the defensive again. “Maybe a bit more,” he said instead. “What about you? You said you’ve done a bit of traveling yourself?”
She nodded. “Unlike my brothers, I never really knew what I wanted to be or do when I left school, so I kind of drifted from city to city, taking whatever casual jobs were on offer. I’ve been to Europe and, recently, America.”
He nodded as if in understanding. He wanted to ask her about Vegas, but the local fire engine’s siren sounded loud and clear, signaling the imminent arrival of Santa Claus. The band halted the carol-playing and the chatter hushed around them.
Matt leaned back in his seat, resisting the urge to do the old yawn-and-stretch-his-arm-around-her-shoulders. In front of the Christmas tree, the local shire president stood and welcomed the town and tourists, making a big deal about the kids sitting on the grass in front of him.
Although this wasn’t the kind of evening he’d have planned for their first date, he had to admit that watching a hundred-plus kids run up to Santa and receive their presents under the tree had a feel-good effect on everyone. He’d been living in the city for a long time, and in all his years away, all his time traveling, he’d never seen a Christmas tradition like this one. The local community center raised money throughout the year so that they could purchase a special present for each child who lived in the town. Santa always arrived on the fire engine and while the kids tore around the park playing with their presents, adults spent the rest of the night talking, singing and drinking Christmas cheer.
“Oh no, here comes another one.” Laughing, Hannah turned her head toward him and hid her face against his shoulder as a toddler screamed and kicked while his mother tried to press him onto Santa’s lap long enough for the obligatory photo.
Matt shook his head, looking on as the determined mother refused to give up. He and Hannah had taken to guessing which children would scream and which ones would smile nicely.
Finally, when all the presents had been distributed, the carols part of the evening officially kicked off. Matt couldn’t say he had a problem with carol-singing, but neither would he list it as one of his top one hundred ways to pass a night. Still, tonight he’d be quite happy if “Silent Night” and “The First Noel” went on forever. He had a feeling that as soon as the crowds started to disperse, Hannah would retreat back into herself, and he didn’t want that.
From the moment he’d arrived that evening, he’d been on the lookout, ready to pounce. Now the night was drawing to a close and he wasn’t ready to part with his special companion just yet.
But when the last lines of “Six White Boomers” rang out, people started to stand and gather their things. It was as if the magic had worn off and everyone suddenly realized how late it had become and decided they needed to get their rug rats home to bed. Matt wouldn’t mind being in bed right now either, only he wished Hannah would join him.
As if reading his mind, she jumped to stand and turned to face him as if he were an opponent she needed to battle. She picked her bags up and smiled, but it wasn’t the easy smile she’d offered him throughout the night. This time, he could almost see the shield she’d put up between them. “Thanks for a lovely evening, Matt. I’ll see you around.”
He took a step toward her and grinned, determined to override her sudden formalness. “I’m counting on it. How about we make plans for a second date right now?”
She raised one beautiful brow and he could tell she was covering a smirk. “This was not a first date.” From the tone of her voice, he didn’t know whom she was trying to convince more. Him or her.
“It felt like one. I bought you dinner, you asked me twenty questions—” He took another step.
She opened her mouth to object but he cut her off.
“Just so you know, I never sleep with a woman on the first date.”
“Those questions? I was merely being polite.” She raised her chin a little and looked him dead in the eyes. “And just so you know, I never sleep with charmers, so it looks like we’re both safe.”
In reply, he leaned forward and kissed her.
She moaned a little, the bags dropped to the ground, and he felt her body go soft against his. Placing his hands against her butt, he dragged her closer against him than was perhaps appropriate in public and deepened the pressure of his mouth against hers. One slide of his tongue and she opened up, every bit the participant. The kiss in the Elliot’s showroom had been good, but this one reminded him why he hadn’t given up when she told him she wasn’t interested. She tasted of chocolate and cookies and sweet-to-heaven goodness and he never wanted to pull back, but he could tell he was on borrowed time. It was only a matter of seconds before she realized what she was doing, remembered her declaration that she wasn’t interested and tore away from him, pretending to be offended or annoyed.
Summoning all the willpower in his body and ignoring the pounding pain at his groin, he broke contact first. “As I said, Hannah Elliot, I’ll be seeing you soon.”
With that promise, he turned and walked off to find his family without a backward glance.
CHAPTER FOUR
OH LORD, HANNAH couldn’t believe she’d fallen into
the trap of a date, because no matter what she’d said to Matt, tonight had been as date-like as if he’d whisked her off in a limousine to a candlelit dinner at a five-star restaurant. And she’d enjoyed it far more than she’d have enjoyed such a scenario. And oh, that kiss... If they weren’t in public, she would have yanked him closer to her and started ripping off his clothes.
Jeez. What kind of game was she playing?
Shaking her head as he strode off into the night, she bent to pick up her bags and the hat that fell off as she did so, and then tried to still the wild and inappropriate beating of her heart. She shoved the stupid hat under her arm and vowed to toss it in the first garbage bin she saw.
“Well, well, well, quite a show you put on there, sis.” At the approach of Luke and Nikki, her chance of escape evaporated.
Hannah closed her eyes and fought the urge to drop her head into her hands and wail. Of course it was too much to ask that none of her family had borne witness to her fall from grace. Not that she’d actually had very far to fall, but still.
“Evening, Luke. Hi, Nikki.” She forced a perfectly saccharine smile for her brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. “Enjoy the night?”
“Not as much as you, it seems.” Luke gave her a look as if he’d caught her rampaging through the houses of old ladies.
“Leave her alone,” Nikki said, giving him a stern look. “Hannah’s an adult. She can have some fun if she wants to.”
“Thank you, Nikki.” Hannah felt pleased she’d taken the time to choose Nikki a funky handbag for Christmas and not gone with a box of boring soaps.
“Hey, I think it’s great,” Luke said.
“You do?” asked Hannah and Nikki together. As the oldest sibling, Luke usually sided with their father. They both believed her too easily led astray by inappropriate men.
The Kissing Season Page 4
