Life Reconstructed: Chapter Twenty-Five

It was a little past seven-thirty by the time Cat and Amelia walked into the hardware store. Though her stomach knotted unconsciously —perhaps he wouldn’t be there again?—they’d no sooner stepped through the doorway when they saw him standing at the front register, his hands quickly shuffling through receipts as he organized the daily cash count.

Lifting his head automatically at the sound of their approach, Matt’s instinctive look of mingled curiosity and welcome eclipsed at the site of Cat and Amelia. Smiling gamely, he leaned across the counter. Folding his arms, he leaned his weight against them. “All right,” he drawled. “What did you break this time?”

“Hardy har har,” Cat returned, her lips pulling up into a larger smile then the comment probably deserved.

“You must be Matt,” Amelia said, stepping forward then. Stretching out her slim hand, she smiled with warmth at the hunky man in front of her sporting a plain black shirt, baseball cap, and jeans. Somehow, the outfit, which would have looked plain on a less appealing man, suited his craggy features.

“Nice to meet you…?” With more charm than he’d ever displayed for her, Cat watched him reach out to shake her hand.

“Amelia Kelley.” Laughing softly, she tossed her long wealth of hair over one shoulder. Cat watched enviously as Matt’s eyes followed the effortless motion. “And I’m very much afraid that the reason we’re here has to do with me.”

“I see.” Dropping his hand back down to the counter, Matt switched his gaze back to Cat. Unlike Amelia, she was still standing beside the doorway. “But I’m guessing our Cat had something to do with it.”

Amelia laughed. It had a tinkling effect. “Something all right.”

Blowing out her breath, Cat realized that this was the opening she’d been needing. She should have been grateful to Amelia for steering the conversation so easily to this tact. Letting her gaze settle over her friend—one hip leaning up against the counter, her arms folded elegantly over her slightly-arched back—Cat couldn’t bring herself to be grateful for much at the moment.

“Yes, actually…” at her voice, Matt’s eyes turned back to her. “Well, see, the thing is…” Her lips mashed together as the words clogged in her throat.

Matt’s eyebrows rose amusedly. He nodded. “Spit it out.”

“Well…then don’t get mad.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed. Standing upright again, he pursed his lips. “That’s hardly an inviting introduction.”

“I told you, you need to work on that,” Amelia said, turning her head toward Cat, too.

“Amelia is new to our town.”

“Welcome,” Matt said, glancing back down at Amelia. Immediately, Cat realized her mistake.

“And she just opened up a new photography studio.”

Matt nodded. Cat was pleased to see the indifference in his response. “Good for you.”

“But…but, well, she has this clunky old wardrobe that she uses for some of her equipment. But, well, you know how it is when you first start out. It’s very costly—”

Matt’s eyes zoomed back to Cat again. It was almost a relief, despite the overt suspicion staring back at her. “Yeah?”

“Well, she really needs a custom-made cabinet. Something that can hold all of her…stuff. See the current one doesn’t.” Her voice petered out. She wasn’t explaining this with much pomp and circumstance.

“Which means I have excess props currently cluttering my floor space,” Amelia admitted quietly. Cat couldn’t actually see her face, but she could almost hear the beseeching look in her large, almond-shaped eyes.

It was becoming clear to Cat that she should have left Amelia at the studio.

Matt’s lips twitched. “Well, I’ve got some great catalogs for custom woodworkers. I can grab them for you.”

“I saw what you did with Cat’s door.”

Matt stopped mid-motion. Cat’s eyes snapped wide at the words. It was a lie. Amelia hadn’t yet been able to see Cat’s newly-done kitchen.

Matt cleared his throat. “That was a one-time thing.”

“That’s a shame,” Amelia said, leaning forward. “It was beautiful craftsmanship.”

Matt made a sound in his throat. “Hardly.”

“Simple, elegant lines,” Amelia amended. Cat had to hand it to her, the woman could lie like a professional.

“Yeah, well, as I said to Cat, it was an easy design.”

“So is mine.” Another lie. On the drive over, Amelia had admitted to Cat she didn’t even know what she wanted in a wardrobe/closet. Standing a little back, watching them, Cat felt almost unnecessary.

Sure it had been her idea, but…

“I don’t know what Cat told you, but I don’t actually—”

“No, no, Cat was very clear about that. That you’d done her a special favor, that it wasn’t something you were interested in doing professionally. I was just hoping…” sighing a bit dramatically for Cat’s taste, Amelia stepped backward, a sign of clear defeat. She dropped her eyes for effect. “Well, it was worth asking, anyway. You really are very talented. And, as a photog, I have an eye for art.”

Matt’s eyes drifted toward Cat. “Laying it on thick, there,” he mused. “Wonder where she got that from?”

Cat’s cheeks felt stiff. “Oh, fooey.”

“Fooey?”

“Stand there and glower at me for all our worth,” Cat snapped, tilting her head at a royal angle. “But you liked working on my cabinet door. I know you did.” Thrusting a finger at his skepticism, she nodded. “I saw you. You were having fun.”

“So, this was actually your idea then,” Matt said, his fingers gesturing between the two of them.

Amelia grimaced.

Cat only stood up straighter. “Of course it was my idea!”

Matt shook his head. “I knew you and Birdie were spending too much time together.”

“Oh shove it, Matt. You know you love this kind of stuff.”

“I never denied that.”

“Actions over words, bud.”

“I’m not even sure what that means,” Matt assured her. Rounding the counter, he advanced slowly towards her.

Cat refused to back down. If she’d thought she’d look half as hot doing it, she’d have whipped her own head of hair over her shoulder. Instead, she smiled icily. “If you love it, then why say no?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amelia looking at her—her head cocked a little confusedly to the side, her eyes wary.

Okay, sure. Cat was kind of being an ass. It probably wasn’t a recommended negotiating tactic—especially when you’re on the wrong side of the power exchange.

“For one thing, because I already have a full-time job. No, scratch that,” Matt said, taking another step towards her. “I own this place. Full-time hardly covers the eighty-odd hours that I work.”

Cat let out a weary breath. “I know, I know.”

“And I’ve already told you, I’m not a professional.”

“Amelia knows that. She’s still here—”

“Yeah, to commission a piece for her very professional business,” Matt returned.

“Oh, please,” Cat said because she couldn’t think of anything wittier to say at that moment. “You’re just looking for excuses now.”

“And as for your free time,” Amelia said, her voice piping in at last. Startled, Matt stopped to look back at her. “I don’t have any set deadline for completing this.” She smiled gamely, shrugging at his expression. “I already have one right now. It works for the interim. You could complete it on your time.”

“Aha!” Cat cried, mostly because she wanted Matt’s eyes back on her. Or more aptly, she just wanted them off of Amelia. Part of her hated the jealous pit that had opened in her stomach, chewing away at all the rational parts of her brain, which were assuring her that Amelia would never try to catch Matt’s eye, that she knew how Cat felt…but the insecure voice in her head kept noticing how Amelia’s eyes flirted with Matt, how her body seemed to be ever-leaning in his direction, catching the husky note of her laugh. Amelia had laughed an awful damn lot since walking into the hardware store.

Turning back to her, Matt raised his eyebrow.

“So, what’s stopping you now?”

With a sigh, Matt seemed about to admit defeat. Cat could see it in the clench of the muscles in his jaw. Angling his body back toward Amelia, he lifted his hands and then dropped them back down to his sides. “You have a design in mind?”

“Well, I’m sure I’d love your input on that,” she returned breezily.

“And if you hate the finished product?” he challenged her.

Cat’s eyelids flinched at the words. An eruption of irritation bite at her. Why was he always so damned concerned about that question? She knew him well enough to know that that was what really held him back.

“I sincerely doubt things will come to that,” Amelia assured him. “But if it does, I’ll buy it anyway.”

Matt nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” This came from Cat.

Matt shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Yeah, okay.”

“Well, hot damn.”

“Thank you,” Amelia said. Stepping forward, she held out her hand again. “Thank you! I really appreciate this.”

“Yeah, no sweat.”

Amelia pursed her lips. “If you say so.”

Taking his right hand out of his pocket, Matt flicked his eyes to the wristwatch he wore there. “Okay. Let me lock the doors and we can discuss some details.”

“Lock the…” Cat ate the words at Matt’s sarcastic look. Walking past her, he took out a key and turned the crash-bar on the door, locking customers out.

“We’re closed.”

“Right. Of course.”

“Listen,” Amelia said, shooting Cat a warning glance. “We don’t have to do this now. We never meant to keep you…”

Matt lifted an eyebrow, his gaze shifting from Amelia to Cat. “I was planning to do some paperwork, anyway. So it’s no bother.”

“Great,” Cat said, overriding Amelia’s obvious anxiety at the newfound situation. “Now is good for us, too.” With an empathic look, Cat silenced Amelia.

“Okay. Let’s go…” Sharing slightly bemused glances the women followed behind him to the back warehouse. Amelia’s fingernails clawed viciously into Cat’s arms. “We don’t have a design, Cat,” she hissed into her ear as they exited the front of the hardware store.

“Thank you, I’m well aware.”

“Matt’s going to back out if we bumble around like idiots.”

“Umm, when have we stopped doing that?” Cat returned. Prying Amelia’s fingers out of her skin, Cat smiled. “Listen, it’s all good. We’ll wing it.”

“You mean I’ll wing it?”

“What was that?” Half turning in their direction, Matt looked over at them.

Amelia. “Nothing!”

Cat. “Actually,” she sighed. “Amelia’s having a design meltdown over here.”

“I am not!”

“Changing your mind?” Matt’s voice was silky, carefully disguised to show no trace of emotion.

“Not about hiring you,” Amelia assured him. “I just, I want to make sure the design is perfect.” She pouted prettily up at him. “I’m one of those obnoxious people who can never make up their mind.”

Cat’s eyes narrowed. She had to give it to her. Amelia was good on her feet.

“That’s where we come in,” Cat said with an edge in her voice. Her eyes raked over Matt’s expression. It was unbelievable that he wouldn’t respond to beautiful, playful Amelia. In comparison, Cat felt like a wet blanket.

“Okay, tell me what you’re thinking,” Matt said, leading a curious Amelia and a scowling Cat into the back of the loading dock where his small woodworking space came to life. Going to lean up against the utility sink against the back wall, Cat crossed her arms over her chest, listening as Amelia obliged him, her voice quick and impulsive as she pretended to know a list of demands.

It was really a terrible thing she’d asked Amelia to do—and yet she didn’t feel particularly apologetic.

Narrowing her eyes, she watched as the other woman talked— her long, elegant fingers at once splaying wide and then shifting to show parallel lines, and then fluttering out to her sides with indecision and guile. Her full lips, a natural red color which Cat had never thought to envy before, were on full display: they pouted, smirked, and laughed up at Matthew’s absorbed face.

And he was absorbed. Standing beside his table saw, he was writing down keywords from Amelia’s description, his head nodding every now and then, his voice interrupting her occasionally for clarification purposes or to laugh at something particularly funny she’d said.

He chuckled a lot actually.

“…and I have a couple of large, bulky props,” Amelia was saying, worrying her lip with her perfect teeth. She glanced over at Cat. “About how large are those?”

Cat shrugged indifferently. She pretended not to notice Matt’s arched eyebrows at her response.

Amelia, however, hadn’t seemed to notice. Tapping a finger against her chin, she seemed to be settling into her wide-legged stance. Then her hands spread apart. “The block is about this wide and this tall…”

Cat zoned out again. This time, however, her eyes moved to Matt. With his ballcap pulled low over his eyes, she couldn’t quite gauge his expression. Standing just a little to one side of her, his attention was focused on Amelia.

Fucking Amelia.