Page 17 of Match Point in Crumbleton
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the leaning tower of boxes, and they chose that exact moment to give way.
‘Watch out!’ gasped Cath, leaping towards Andy and shoving him backwards, out of their path.
‘Hi!’ he said, blinking at her in surprise.
Cath was suddenly aware that she had him pinned at an odd angle against a table piled high with dusty lampshades.
‘Nice reflexes,’ he said. ‘Thanks for that!’
‘You’re… erm… you’re welcome,’ said Cath.
Her hands were resting on his chest… and she’d been right. He was solid underneath his soft tee shirt. And warm. And he smelled nice too.
Cath swallowed and pulled away from him.
‘Sorry,’ she muttered.
‘Don’t apologise for saving me from that lot,’ he said, straightening up and peering at the crumpled heap of cardboard, broken glass and random rubbish all over the floor. ‘I had no idea working in a museum could be so dangerous. Maybe I should have brought my hard hat!’
‘Maybe,’ said Cath vaguely. She blinked stupidly, trying to pull herself together and get her mind off Andy’s body and back onto the job. ‘Erm, I meant to ask… why do you have to wear a hard hat anyway?’
‘Health and safety gone a bit mad,’ said Andy with a shrug. ‘Mind you, I’ve been glad of it these last few weeks.’
‘Why’s that?’ said Cath, not meeting his eye as she nudged a couple of bits of glass with her foot.
‘Flying cola cubes,’ chuckled Andy.
‘Huh?’
‘Kids,’ said Andy.
‘Oh,’ said Cath.
‘So… anyway… where are we going to start?’ said Andy.
‘Well, this seems like as good a place as any,’ she said, pointing at the recent box-slide and still avoiding his eye. ‘Just watch out for any more avalanches!’
CHAPTER 8
ANDY
‘This?’ said Andy, striking a pose to catch Cath’s attention.
Cath turned and looked straight towards his empty hands.
‘What?’ she said, looking confused. Then she spotted the lampshade he’d put on his head and was now wearing as a fetching, tasselled hat.
‘As much as it suits you,’ she said, her face creasing with laughter, ‘it’s got a huge tear down the back, so I think that can go in the dispose pile.’
‘The dispose mountain, you mean?’ said Andy, removing the lampshade and tossing it towards the heap of stuff that would be off to the local tip the minute he could find someone to lend Cath a van for the job.
Andy had noticed that she’d become more decisive and a bit more ruthless with her decisions as they worked their way through box after box. The town had certainly been generous with their donations… but their historical value was rather lacking.
To be fair to Cath though, anything that could be rehomed or recycled had been added to a different pile. Andy had no doubt that she’d make sure it would all find the right homes eventually.
All in all, he was having far more fun than the task warranted. After her initial nervousness about getting stuck in “in case she got it wrong”, Cath had led the way with gusto.
There had been plenty of laughs along the way, especially when they’d come across a suitcase full of comedy sunglasses. They’d spent a good ten minutes trying the stars and heart-shaped frames on for size. That case had made its way into the “display” pile… even though Cath had admitted that she had no idea how she was ever going to use them.
