Relieved yet still unsettled, he raised a hand to rub the sleep from his eyes and bumped into something fuzzy. Startled, he looked down to find a ten-pound ball of gray fur rolled up on his chest.
Fricking cat!
He grabbed Mr. Doodles and tossed him off the side, the cat spouting out a complaint as it landed feetfirst on the floor. He held a hand to his ribs and took a deep breath, relief flooding through him when the air came in easily, no longer restrained by the weight of the animal.
Now he knew why he preferred dogs.
To his left, Carly slept soundly, her faced pressed against a pale blue pillow, long eyelashes fanned out over two rosy cheeks. Judging by the light from the window, he guessed it was early, the sun barely peeking over the hills to the east.
He propped up on his elbows and felt a thud at the base of the bed as Mr. Doodles jumped back up. The cat stopped near his feet and stared him down, obviously expecting Matt to lie back so he could return to his bare-chested bed.
Think again, Doodle dude.
The cat took a seat and waited. Matt lifted his lip and sneered. Doodles simply blinked.
Matt slipped back against the headboard and crossed his arms at his chest, letting the cat know the spot was gone.
Doodles licked a paw and waited, letting Matt know he had all day.
So much for sleeping in.
Dropping his feet to the floor, he went in search of his jeans, pulling them on and then finding his watch on the maple dresser. Seven-fourteen. Far too early for a Saturday morning, but he was awake now and intent on finding some strong, hot coffee. So he padded out of the bedroom with Doodles at his feet, quietly closing the door behind him so at least one of them could get some sleep.
He passed her living room, picking up the pizza box and empty bottle of wine from the coffee table as he made his way toward the kitchen. Aside from a short pause for dinner, they’d spent the better part of the evening in bed, getting acquainted with a number of sexual fantasies Carly had dreamed up. Matt had been all too willing to assist her in playing each one of them out.
By the time they’d hit exhaustion they hadn’t even tapped the list, leaving plenty more to get to. Maybe they’d do that today.
Stepping through the house and into the kitchen, he flicked on a light and began rummaging through the cupboards, tracking down coffee and filters, Doodle Dude making figure eights around his ankles every time he paused. Matt suspected the cat was after the half-empty can of cat food he’d seen in the refrigerator, and noting the empty dish near her tiny dinette, he popped it out and fed the cat his breakfast.
With the coffee brewing and Doodle Dude busy, Matt went to work cleaning up the mess from last night’s dinner. He remembered seeing garbage cans lined up against her garage, so, picking up the empty pizza box, he stepped out the front door and headed down the rose-lined walkway.
A neighbor across the street, a woman who appeared to be in her midsixties, looked up from a bed of purple flowers and waved. Her warm, friendly eyes a pleasant but unexpected sight this early in the morning.
The condominium complex where Matt lived had stairs leading to separate garages, and despite the tight-knit quarters they all shared, he rarely saw any of his neighbors. Each unit backing up to the water, there were no shared open spaces for residents to gather and meet, and though he’d lived there for more than three years now, he couldn’t name more than one or two of his neighbors.
By the looks of this short court, he guessed Carly knew everyone on the street. Each house was maintained with obvious care despite the age and modest size. This was a block that spoke of residents who took pride in their slice of America, and Matt knew that pride included looking out for each other.
He wondered how many of them would be chatting about him before the day was over.
Nodding, he smiled and returned a greeting before the woman went back to her flats of flowers and clumps of rich, fragrant dirt. After tossing the empty box, he stepped back inside to the luscious smell of fresh brewing coffee.
Carly’s kitchen faced the front walkway. While Matt savored his first cup he took in the view from the window over her sink, the neighbor’s flowers across the street, the Saab in the driveway next to it, a large play structure peeking from the backyard of the house to its right. Two homes had decorative flags attached to the garages, one of bright-colored flowers and the other a friendly Easter bunny, grinning well past his prime given they were heading toward June.
But still the sight warmed him, and he recalled a time he’d forgotten when he’d planned to someday have a family and a home of his own.
Back then his dreams included a house six times this size in a wealthy community like the ones a typical pro ballplayer lived in. When he made the big leagues and established himself as a regular, he was going to trade in his fetish for noncommittal women and look for a settling-down type. He hadn’t wanted to get serious about a family until he’d accomplished the first of his dreams. And when that dream ended in the nightmare of defeat, he’d swept away those thoughts in the aftermath, never coming back to the idea again until this very moment.
Once his baseball career ended, he’d been too absorbed in despair and self-pity. And once he overcame that, he’d become consumed by his new career. Thoughts of a wife and family had been distant echoes of his past.
At least they had been before Carly.
Now, ever since that survey, since seeing this quirky little house she so desperately wanted as a home, ideas of love and family and futures had come full circle. And as he clutched the mug in his hands and stared out over this little slice of Mayberry, he had trouble shirking them off.
Having finished his meal, Mr. Doodles hopped up on the counter at Matt’s side, the cat licked down a patch of fur, then came to rest near the sink. He stared up at Matt until Matt’s softer nature prompted him to reach out and give the thing a pet.
He sort of liked this little place, even wondering for a moment if the large wealthy community of his old dreams would have really been the life he sought. Like Carly, he’d never had a real home, and in the cold, closed community of mansions and private drives, he wondered how happy he really would have been.
Life has a way of fixing things for us.
It was another of Stu’s favorite phrases, and up until now Matt hadn’t really swallowed its meaning. But gazing out into the calm, quiet morning, the phrase came back to him in this odd way he hadn’t considered.
He stared down at the cat. “So what do you think, Doodle Dude? You like it here?”
The cat responded with a squeak, then rammed his head into Matt’s side, demanding more of that petting thing he’d started. The sound of shuffling feet caught his attention, and he looked up toward the hallway to see Carly stepping into the kitchen wrapped in a fluffy white robe so big it seemed to consume her. Her lids were heavy, a crinkled sheet mark still etched across her cheek and her hair hanging in tufts about her face.
“I smell coffee,” she said, lifting her chin to view the counter rather than open her eyes farther.
Matt pulled down a second mug. “What do you take in it?”
She shuffled to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk. “Just this,” she said.
With sleepy, robotic moves, she set down the milk, grabbed Mr. Doodles and plopped him to the floor as if this were a morning ritual they’d been sharing for some time now.
“I already fed him,” he said.
Her only reply was a nod.
He smiled. “Not quite awake yet?” She shook her head and he topped her coffee with a splash of milk, then placed it in her hands. “Here. Maybe this will help.”
She took a quick sip before setting the mug on the counter, choosing instead to wrap her fuzzy arms around his waist and bury her face in his chest. Taking a long, dragging breath, she hummed a sleepy groan of pleasure. “This is better.”
He held her against him and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, it is.”
“You don’
t have to leave, do you?”
He chuckled. “You want to continue what we started last night?”
“Yeah,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest. “You?”
He set his mug next to hers, pulled her close and soaked in the fluffy feel of her, the strawberry essence of her hair and the warm press of her lips against his skin.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, I do.”
“ARE WE GOING FOR our walk today?” Bev asked over the wall of Carly’s cubicle.
Carly scoffed. “No way,” she said. “It’s supposed to be in the nineties today.”
“You wimp.”
“I’m not a wimp. I just don’t think collapsing from heat exhaustion is a great way to spend my lunch hour.” She grabbed a sprig of her hair and pulled it toward her face. “Besides, I got good curl in my hair this morning. One lap around the park will flatten it like a pancake.”
“We’re supposed to be getting fit.”
Carly decided against reminding Bev that she was the one on the get-fit campaign. Carly had been getting enough exercise these last couple days between painting baseboards in her house and spending her evenings trying new acrobatics with Matt.
Instead she chose to state the obvious. “You can go without me, you know.”
Bev mocked a laugh. “Yeah, right. Like that’s going to happen.” She stepped around the cubicle wall and took a seat at Carly’s desk. “Okay, well, if I’m going to skip my exercise, I might as well go on a roll and have something bad for lunch. How about we go to Quimbly’s? I haven’t had a burger in weeks.”
Carly shook her head. “Let’s do something lighter. Matt’s taking me out to dinner tonight to celebrate releasing the beta version of the new Singles Inc. site.”
“Oh, fine. Ditch me so you can save yourself for your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“You’ve been inseparable ever since that weekend. I’d call that a boyfriend.”
Carly reached in her drawer and pulled out her purse. “How about Sub Shack? It’s two-for-one Friday.”
Bev shrugged her acceptance and the two women headed for the restaurant, Bev agreeing that Carly had been right about the walk once they stepped out into the hot air. It was a rare day where the humidity was high, so both women were sweating by the time they covered the two blocks to the Sub Shack and stepped into the air-conditioned restaurant.
They made their way past the counter, Carly ordering her favorite sandwich—a vegetarian with Swiss cheese on a whole-wheat roll, coupled with a bag of sour-cream-and-onion potato chips and a Diet Coke. Bev picked a turkey club, insisting on at least splurging with bacon since she’d decided to blow her diet today.
Opting for a table in the corner, they sat down with their meals.
“Speaking of your boyfriend…” Bev said. “He’s been the talk of the shop lately. Everyone’s noticed his turnaround since the infamous blowup in the conference room. People are actually beginning to like him.”
Carly rolled the paper off her sub and spread it out like a plate, ripping open her bag of chips and dumping them out next to her sandwich. “They should. He’s a great guy.”
Bev snorted. “It’s still weird hearing you say that. You hated him for so long.”
“I was wrong about him. We all were. Peel back the facade, and there was a pretty nice guy underneath. He just needed a little prodding.”
“He needed to be threatened with losing his job, you mean.”
Carly huffed. “Must you be so cynical?” She popped a chip in her mouth. “I mean, yes, he made some mistakes when it came to getting along. Although all he needed was some help understanding how much better working can be when he pops out of that lab once in a while and lends a hand.”
“Did you know he spent his entire afternoon yesterday in Fred’s cube, helping him smooth out that animation for the Codding Bank site? It’s actually pretty cool. Fred’s been raving about it ever since.”
“Yeah, Matt’s doing a good job. Even Mr. Hall has commented about the difference in him. He’s made quite the turnaround.”
“Which means you’ve kept up your end of the bargain. So what has he done for you lately other than vastly improve your sex life?”
Carly frowned, not liking the sarcasm in Bev’s tone. “He’s done plenty,” she snipped.
Bev held up a hand. “I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just wondering if Hall has said anything to you about your performance. I recall your deal with Matt was to help each other out.”
“And he has.” Though she had to think for a moment to come up with an example. “He’s been making a big point to let Mr. Hall and Andy McGee know that I’ve done a lot of the design work. And he’s shown me plenty of tricks along the way.” She sipped her soda through a straw and set the large paper cup down. “He’s worked very hard.”
“Carly, I’m not saying he hasn’t. It’s just that I’m hearing a lot of buzz about Matt and not much about you. I worry how you might feel when he walks off with the management job.”
“That hasn’t been decided.”
“But what’s going to happen between you two when it is? I know you, Carly. You’ve got hearts in your eyes when it comes to him and you’ve conveniently forgotten that you two are competing for the same promotion. You’ve been spending a ton of time working with him, encouraging him to get to know the other designers, introducing him to the projects people are working on, insinuating him into the mix. You’ve done a great job helping him out.” Bev gently clasped Carly’s hand. “I just don’t want you hurt when all your hard work gets him promoted over you.”
“He hasn’t gotten the job.”
“But how would you feel if he did?”
Carly toyed with her paper napkin and pondered the question. “We agreed it would be a fair game. If he got promoted, I’d have no choice but to be happy for him.”
“And in the end you’d be satisfied Matt did everything he could to help you as much as you’ve helped him?”
“Of course. We’ve been working together very well. I’m sure if there’s more he could do for me, he would. There just hasn’t been as much opportunity, that’s all.”
Bev shrugged and took a big bite out of the corner of her sandwich, giving Carly a moment to decide whether or not there was more she’d like to add to her defense.
Carly came up empty. What she’d said was true. Matt’s problems on the job had been a lot easier to tackle than hers. She was charged with doing more to impress the client, and on a team project like Singles Inc. it was hard to express which one of them had done what. But as she’d said, on more than one occasion Matt had given her credit in front of the boss, making sure he’d played up her part in the design efforts.
“I’m only remembering that time after you read his survey—you’d walked away convinced he was a self-serving, egomaniacal jerk.” Carly opened her mouth to object, but Bev cut her off. “I know you think you’ve seen a better side of him and I’m not saying he’s not a good guy. I’m only wondering if you’ve considered the thought that he might be…” Bev shrugged rather than finishing the sentence.
Carly angrily filled in the blank. “He might be using me to get the job?”
“Weeks ago you would have been right here with me.”
“Weeks ago I didn’t know him the way I know him now.”
“So all those survey answers were just a lie? What, was he in a bad mood that day or something?”
“I don’t know. We’ve never discussed it.”
Bev took an extended breath and gave Carly a look she didn’t appreciate. It was a look that said she was being played the fool and was too infatuated to notice.
“We’ve never had to discuss it,” she clarified. “I’ve got better instincts than that.”
“Well, if I were you, I’d be asking him to explain all those answers. The man you’ve been describing lately doesn’t sound anything like the guy who filled out those survey questions.”
“Survey, sch
murvey. That was ages ago. It’s history.”
“It was supposed to be a glimpse inside his personality, and if you recall, you hadn’t liked what you’d seen.”
“The man I know isn’t the same man who filled out the survey.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
And she was. A woman didn’t spend practically every night with a man in the most intimate way possible without learning something about him. Around her, he was kind and caring, generous and tender. He’d helped her with her house and even put up with her cat. He had clothes at her house, she had clothes at his condo. That wasn’t the type of thing a man did with a woman he was just using to get a job.
Yet, still, she didn’t like the seed of doubt Bev had planted. Truth be told, Carly had completely forgotten about the survey. And, yes, maybe Matt was benefiting more from their pact than she was. And sure, she hadn’t been immune to the office speculation that Matt would be the man heading up Mr. Hall’s new design team.
She stared at her lunch, her interest in the sandwich dwindling by the minute.
“So if Matt does get that job, you won’t feel cheated?” Bev asked. “You spent a lot of time upset that Hall kept passing you over for him. You could really just smile and say your congratulations to Matt if Hall does it again?”
Carly shrugged. “I don’t have much choice, do I?”
“Not at this point in the game. You’ve already brought him up to speed on what he needed to do to land it. I’m only worried about how you’d take it if it happened.”
Waving off the thread of doubt and suspicion Bev had fed her, Carly stiffened her spine and jutted her chin. “I’ll feel he deserved it.”
Bev looked surprised and impressed. “Then he’s more special to you than I realized.” She smiled, but it seemed more forced than genuine. “I’m happy for you. And who knows? You could be the one walking away with the job. That’s highly possible, too.” Then she took a sip of her soda and winked. “Then you can worry how he’s going to take it.”
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