Beach Blanket Santa

confidence. And Matt found that self-assurance intoxicating. He started to pour himself another glass of wine but then thought better of it. With Sarah sitting across from him in the candlelight, her dark eyes catching their glow, he was already feeling light-headed. No sense mixing his emotions up further by stirring in alcohol.
    She stood to clear the table, then turned toward the oceanfront window, which was streaked by heavy slogs of rain. “I doubt that they’re running the ferry.”
    “I’ll bet that ferry stopped running hours ago,” he said, standing and scooping up some plates as well. How he wished he had a clue as to what went wrong all that time ago. Perhaps if he got up the nerve tonight, he’d ask her. He clearly wasn’t going anywhere in this weather. Not only was the ferry bound to be cancelled, the beach road that led to the dock was sure to be knee-deep in water right now. Even if the squall magically stopped at this moment, it would take several hours for the storm surge to subside.
    Sarah walked to the kitchen and set some dishes in the sink. “It’s fine with me if you stay here,” she said, color dusting her cheeks.
    Matt set his plates on the counter and touched her arm.
    She turned toward him.
    “I really don’t have any other place to go.”
    She flushed more brilliantly now, slightly catching her breath. “Of course, I know that. I mean, it’s silly to think… What I mean is, naturally you should stay. There really are no two ways about it.”
    “No.”
    She nervously turned on the water and began scrubbing dishes with a furor, her dish brush circling around and around again in exactly the same spot. Water streamed from the tap, growing hotter, steaming her face, and adding spring to her tight curls.
    “Sarah?”
    “Huh?” She lifted her brow, appearing surprisingly domestic, standing there by the sink very nearly about to scald herself.
    Matt leaned forward and shut off the tap. “I think that one’s done.”
    She stared into the shiny white plate, vaguely spying her reflection. “Uh, yup.”
    “Tell you what,” he said kindly. “Why don’t you leave the rest of them for me.”
    “Really?” she asked, appearing relieved.
    He motioned to the plate she’d just finished drying. “After all, you’ve already done your share.”

    Sarah was glad to have the opportunity to move to the living area and get out of the kitchen. If you can’t stand the heat, indeed… Sitting across the table from Matt had proved dangerous enough. What with his easy demeanor and good-natured laughter, it was simple to recall why she’d developed that raging crush on him.
    “Can I fix you some tea?”
    “Tea would be great,” she said, settling on the sofa.
    “How about peppermint, in honor of the season?”
    “Perfect!” She didn’t know what it was about Matt being near that made her such a ball of nerves, but somehow, when he stood close, her heart pounded faster and all reason seemed to evaporate like a wafting soap bubble. Thank goodness he’d sent her out of the kitchen before she’d done some serious damage to herself or the tableware.
    Sarah tried to relax and tell herself she was getting all worked up over nothing. So what if she and Matt had a past and he was spending the night? They were two adults and certainly could handle it. It wasn’t like there weren’t two master bedrooms here.
    Sarah nabbed a magazine off the coffee table and casually tried to survey its contents, but her gaze kept traveling away from the copy and homing in on Matt’s muscled back. Even through his cable-knit sweater, she could make out its contours, broad shoulders holding steady as he went about his work. He opened a cabinet and stretched tall to grab a teapot off a high shelf, jeans taut across his athletic backside. Sarah recalled that same derriere rising from their cozy bed, clad in nothing but checkered boxers, and felt her temperature rise.
    “Doing all right?” he asked, turning toward her as she fanned herself with the magazine.
    “Just a little warm in here.”
    “Warm? I was about to say that it’s getting chilly. Suggest we build a fire.”
    “Great idea,” Sarah said, tugging off her too-warm sweater.

    Matt set the kettle on the stove, wondering what she was so hellfire nervous about. Okay, so maybe they’d had a bit of a history. But that was years ago. Surely she was over it by now. He was, wasn’t he? When they’d tumbled into bed, Matt had thought of nothing