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I left school, made a few wise money choices and, yeah, I do all right now.” He leaned in a little closer and wiped away the sauce she wasn’t even sure she had off the top of her lip. His thumb inched tantalizingly slowly along her skin, causing her breath to hitch and her knees to tremble. “Does that make you more interested?”
    Just when she thought he might kiss her and she might be so weak as to kiss him back, he lifted his thumb and popped it into his mouth, sucking off the sauce that had apparently been on her lip.
    She snorted. “No. You’d have more luck if you said you owned a chocolate factory.”
    “Sweetheart, for you, I’d buy one.”
    He was so smooth. Had an answer for everything. He made her hormones sing every time he spoke, but he also had the power to make her laugh. He was definitely flirting, but it was a game, one she wished more than anything she could join in with. Conscious she was nearing dangerous territory, she finished the rest of her drink, stood up and tossed her rubbish in the bin.
    “I’m going to check out the stalls before Santa arrives.” She didn’t invite him along but couldn’t summon any disappointment when he stood beside her and made to follow.
    “Sensational. I love shopping.”
    She looked at him skeptically.
    He held up his hands as if in surrender. “Okay, okay, you already know me so well. I can’t stand shopping. But many of these stalls sell homemade cakes, and for that, I’m willing to make an exception.”
    Hannah shoved her hands in the pockets of her denim shorts so he couldn’t try to hold one of them as they started strolling through the crowds. She couldn’t help but notice the curious glances thrown their way, and she guessed many people were wondering who her tall, dark and most certainly handsome stranger was. Forced to stop and talk to a few locals, she found her voice wobbled every time she introduced Matt.
    “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.
    * * *
    M ATT 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