Beach Blanket Santa

neck. He drew nearer still, enveloping her in his warmth, and every inch of her came alive. He smelled so good and manly standing so close, the sleeves of his sweatshirt just brushing hers as he positioned himself around her.
    He stepped a fraction of an inch closer, and Sarah feared she might faint from his proximity. It was intoxicating being enveloped in his arms, his solid chest pressing into her back as he steadied his hands around hers on the rolling pin. The “Love Lessons” song had ended, and a more provocative one had started to play. “Just like this,” he said, swaying forward. She moved with him, letting him lead as dough glided into a flat plane. “And like this…” he whispered in her ear, lifting the rolling pin and repeating the process again as the sexy music played on.
    Sarah felt breathless, as if she might faint at any moment, lost in the rhythm of Matt’s embrace.
    He held her more tightly in his arms and whispered, his voice husky. “What do you think of home cooking?”
    In many ways, this felt more intimate than dancing, almost as if they were in bed. But Sarah had never been with a man who moved with such grace and care for her comfort.
    “I think I like it,” she said, barely breathing the words.
    He stopped rolling, wrapping his fingers around hers.
    “These are going to be damn good cookies.”
    “Yes,” she agreed.
    The seconds ticked by like hours as Sarah’s heart beat furiously. Was it her imagination, or could she feel Matt’s heart beating in his chest behind her as well? All she could think of was Matt turning her in his arms and kissing her, just as wonderfully as he had on that dance floor all that time ago. But then the kitchen timer went off, indicating the previous batch of cookies had baked.
    Matt nestled his chin on her shoulder. “I think we’re done.”
    “What?” she asked, her knees on the verge of collapse. The timer beeped louder, intruding once more on their moment. He lightly squeezed her hands in his.
    “The dough, Sarah. It looks like it’s perfect.”
    And it did, a perfect quarter-inch slab. They were ready to cut.
    Matt broke his embrace and headed for the oven, which couldn’t have burned any hotter than she felt right now.

    Sarah excused herself for a moment and strode quickly to her bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face. Then, she dampened a washcloth to dab the front, sides, and back of her neck. That Matt Salvatore was one hot man in the kitchen. Look at the mess she was in, and all from one teeny little glass of wine. But inwardly Sarah knew it hadn’t just been the alcohol that had sent her head spinning and her heart racing. That had more to do with being deliciously wrapped up in the sexy Italian’s arms while moving to that sultry music. When he captured her in his deep blue gaze, liquor was beside the point. She was drunk on him, Matt Salvatore the man, and all the wonderful things he was.
    And one of those, Sarah reminded herself sternly, was someone who wanted to be a father. She swallowed hard, gathering her nerve to go back out there and face him. She needed to nix the wine and find a way to get through the rest of this day on more even footing. Perhaps she could offer to fix dinner and shoo Matt out of the kitchen for the next little while. There was clearly too much combustible heat in the room for the two of them. Then after dinner, maybe they could do something harmless like watch a holiday movie. One of those funny family films. Romance, right now, was a no-go. It was simple to see how quickly she could fall for Matt. The scary thing was, Sarah worried that she’d started falling already. She needed to stop herself before she got in deeper, in order to avoid a most certain and devastating outcome. Walking away from Matt with a broken heart.

    The second Sarah had cleared the room, Matt set the cookie tray on the stovetop and pulled an ice cube from the freezer, pressing it to the back of his flaming neck. It melted on contact, sending little dribbles racing down the line of his back. Sarah had set him virtually on fire. She’d been so subtle and giving in his arms, yielding to his every move. No wonder he’d wanted to take her to bed before. It wasn’t just the way she kissed, it was in the sexy way she carried herself, seemed to have complete control of her body. Well…except for that sickness thing. She was definitely out of control then. But everyone’s allowed a slipup now and again. He’d