Beach Blanket Santa

off the water, thinking he’d heard a car door slam shut. But that didn’t make any sense. Not unless the cottage next door was rented for Christmas, which would be unusual since the house didn’t even have a fireplace. And a fireplace at the beach in winter was something renters insisted on, no matter the weather. Matt squinted up at the sun lowering itself behind the dunes and grabbed his towel off a nearby hook. He’d head upstairs, freezer-bag the fish, and pop himself a brewski. Yessirree , he thought, winding the towel around his waist and cinching it. He was feeling better already. He hadn’t thought about women all day.
    Matt hoisted his heavy cooler in one hand while gripping his fishing tackle in the other. He’d just climbed the third wooden step to the side door when a screen door creaked open. Matt stopped in his tracks, thinking he’d heard footsteps. The next thing he knew, some pretty brunette was bounding down the stairs. She stared at him and fell back in fright.
    “Oh!” she cried, dropping the flip-flops in her hand. One somersaulted down the steps, landing on Matt’s bare foot. He quickly set down his stuff to grip the towel that was sliding south.
    “Uh, hello,” he said, securing the towel around him.
    She stared at his waist, then quickly met his gaze. Matt caught his breath. He’d know those eyes anywhere. “Sarah?”
    Her cheeks colored brightly as she swallowed hard. “Matt?” she asked with a squeak. “What are you doing here?”
    He picked up her flip-flops and handed them to her, taking care with his towel the whole time. She wore snug jeans rolled up at the ankles and a fitted long-sleeve T-shirt. She was every bit as pretty as she’d been three years ago. Somehow, she looked even better. “Robert gave me the house for the week.”
    “Robert? But this is Elaine’s week, isn’t it?”
    “Yes, but she’s supposed to be on her honeymoon.”
    “She is.”
    “Then how…?”
    “Elaine gave me the house for the week too. She said nobody would be using it.”
    Matt had worked hard to push memories of Sarah out his mind, but they all came flooding back now. She’d been so much fun at Elaine and Robert’s wedding. He thought they’d really hit it off. Maybe even could start something. But then when the next morning came, she’d pushed him away. Naturally, he got over it. Matt knew better than to knock on doors where he wasn’t wanted. And he’d met Katya shortly afterward besides. Matt felt a pang in his chest when the raw truth hit. Katya wasn’t the first woman to let him down. It had really started with Sarah. “Then we’re in a predicament, aren’t we?”
    “Well, yes. No,” she said, backing up a step. “I should be the one to go. After all, you got here first.”
    “I don’t see how that’s fair. This really is Elaine’s week, not Robert’s.”

    He stared at her, and she stared back, her head and heart still grappling with the situation. Of all people to run into! Matt Salvatore with those unnerving blue eyes and that to-die-for statue-of-David body. It was bad enough that he had it; far worse that it was on such vivid display. The winds kicked up with a whistle, riffling his towel.
    “If you don’t mind,” he said, lifting an eyebrow, “I think we should continue this conversation inside. It’s getting a bit breezy out here.”
    “Of course,” she said, quickly turning away and heading upstairs. She held the screen door open so he could make his way through with his collected gear. It was all she could do to avert her eyes from his solidly muscled shoulders and stop herself from thinking about what might have been. He hadn’t changed at all. In some ways, he’d seemed to age in a way that made him appear even more handsome. And it was hard to top what he’d been before, which was absolutely devastating.
    She closed the door behind them, pressing it shut against the building winds. “Feels like that cold front’s coming.”
    Matt set down his gear by the center island in the kitchen. “Precisely why I should get dressed.”
    She blinked and bit her tongue to keep herself from saying something idiotic. Like, no, please, stay half naked for me. The sad truth was, this was the most action she’d had in months. In fact, it was the most action she’d had since Matt.
    He cocked his chin sideways and grinned. “I already put my things in the conch room, but we can work all that out later after we talk.”
    “Good plan.”
    He excused