The Kissing Season. Rachael Johns

wasn’t her—Matt was a good-looking man and she guessed he was quite successful in business as well. Like most mothers, Sarah probably didn’t think any woman would make the cut.

      “Who was that?”

      “Is that Sarah Brown’s prodigal son?”

      Laura and Jayne, each carrying a sleepy child in her arms, spoke at the same time.

      Hannah blinked a few times, her gaze still glued to Matt’s retreating behind. His butt looked tight and incredible in those shorts. Man, she was hopeless. Lost cause material. You’d think she’d learn from past mistakes.

      “Earth to Hannah? Did that guy hit on you?”

      “Yes, twice.” Hannah could never lie to her best friends.

      “Then what the hell are you still doing here? Go after him,” Laura commanded.

      “And be sure to take notes so you can tell us all about it in the morning,” Jayne added with a suggestive smile.

      “You two, stop it.” Hannah tried to look stern. Fact was, Laura and Jayne—although totally happy in their marriages—had been living vicariously through her shenanigans for quite some time. She used to send them daily emails when she was circumnavigating the globe. “I told you, I’m sworn off men after Larry.”

      Jayne’s eyes narrowed and she hissed like a wildcat. “I have conflicting feelings about that ex of yours. Half of me doesn’t want to meet him, but the other half of me would love to get him alone, naked, in the salon with a big pot of wax.”

      Hannah sniggered. Jayne owned the beauty salon in town and reckoned the best way to get revenge on a man would be to tie him up and then wax his nether regions.

      Recovering from her own giggles, Laura said, “Jayne’s right. You can’t let Larry the Loser ruin your life. You deserve good sex as much as the rest of us.”

      Why was Matt synonymous with good sex all of a sudden?

      “Hey, the blame can’t lie solely on Larry’s shoulders,” Hannah said defensively. Although if they knew the truth, they’d likely take a shotgun to her ex-husband’s head. “He was just the final nail in the coffin, but I think it’s high time I got the message. I’m not talented when it comes to picking men. I think the longest relationship I’ve ever managed besides Larry lasted a week.”

      “No, it was ten days,” Jayne said matter-of-factly. “With Tim just before the end of high school.”

      “Semantics.” Hannah shook her head. “Bottom line is the same.”

      Laura sighed. “Fair enough. I see where you’re coming from, but the way Sarah says it, her son won’t be around for long. Why not indulge in one last summer fling before you join the convent?”

      Because I’m pregnant. Hannah couldn’t bring herself to admit this just yet and she knew Laura and Jayne wouldn’t let the matter rest, so... “Look, I promise to give it some serious thought. Happy?”

      Her two friends nodded, big grins on their faces.

       CHAPTER THREE

      LAURA AND JAYNE would be pleased, because Hannah couldn’t stop thinking about Matt. Every time the door of Elliot’s Emporium opened the next day, she looked up, her heart skipping a beat at the thought that it might be Matt coming back for something he’d forgotten, and then sinking when she realized it wasn’t. Putting a smile on her face for the customers who weren’t him took serious effort. Luckily most of them were only after small things—a wooden ornament, a rocking horse or a coffee table for a Christmas present—and were on their way again pretty fast. That left Hannah with plenty of time to sit back in her chair, nibble more gingerbread and play the “What If?” game.

      What if she’d never gone to Vegas?

      What if she’d never come home?

      What if Larry hadn’t hated the idea of having a baby?

      Stuff Larry...she didn’t want to think along those lines. Granted, their conversation prior to marriage hadn’t been huge, but not wanting to have kids was one of those things most people let potential spouses know. Argh...she felt her blood rising to boiling point and resolved to put Larry the Loser (she liked the nickname Laura had coined) out of her mind and go back to fantasizing about Matt and what she’d do to him if things were different.

      She was a little disappointed he hadn’t found an excuse to pop in and see her, but then again she had pretty much turned him down twice. Most guys gave up after such brutal rejection.