“Yeah, you want to riddle them with nail holes, it’s your choice.” The pictures looked great—not that he was going to say so. Not just the arrangement of them, which was cohesive without being rigid, but the theme.

He could see her in several of them, as a child, a young girl, a woman. One of her sitting cross-legged on the floor, pounding shoes with a hammer, made him want to grin.

Instead he waved a finger toward it, casually. “I thought you were supposed to dance with those.”

“For your information toe shoes need to be broken in. That’s one method of doing so. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get my office finished. I have appointments here tomorrow afternoon.”

“Then that gives you plenty of time.” Particularly, he thought, since the office already looked perfect. He should have known she’d make it perfect.

“Let me put it this way.” She pounded in another nail. “I’m busy, and I have no desire to talk to you. I’m not paying you to stand around and chat in any case.”

“Don’t pull that on me.” He yanked the hammer out of her hand. “You writing checks for the job doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of it. I’ll be damned if you’ll put it on that level.”

He was right, of course, and it shamed her to have it pointed out. “True enough, but our personal business is done.”

“The hell it is.” He turned and shoved the pocket door closed.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting some privacy. It doesn’t seem to be in big supply around here.”

“Open that door—then walk through it. And keep walking.”

“Sit down and shut up.”

Her eyes widened, more in shock than temper. “I beg your pardon?”

To solve the problem, he set the hammer aside—well out of her reach—walked over and pushed her into a chair. “Now listen.”

She started to leap up, was pushed down firmly again. Temper heated, but it stayed at the bubble from the sheer surprise of seeing him so furious. “So, you’ve proved you’re big and strong,” she said derisively. “You don’t have to prove you’re stupid.”

“And you don’t have to prove you’re spoiled and snotty. You try to get up again before I’m done, I’m going to tie you in that chair. I was minding my own business when Jerry came in. He’s a friend. He and Beth have gone out of their way for me and Jack, so I owe him.”

“So naturally you need to pay him back by dating his sister.”

“Be quiet, Kate. I’m not dating his sister. I don’t intend to date his sister. He was running off at the mouth, and I was shimming cabinets. I wasn’t listening to him, and by the time I tuned back in…”

Brody raked a hand through his hair, took a restless turn around the room. “He caught me off guard, and I was trying to backtrack without stomping all over his feelings. He and Tiff have always been tight. He’s worried about her, I guess, and he trusts me. What was I supposed to say? I’m not interested in your sister?”