Gotta Get Next To You (19 page)

The doorbell rang and Gran darted out to the
foyer. “I’ll get it.”

“Okay,” Andrea said in a distracted tone. She
rummaged through a large box.

Gran bounced in and spread her arms with a
flourish. “Surprise!” she chirped. “He was so sweet to offer when I
told him we needed a pair of big male arms.”

Andrea froze for a split second, and then
turned around slowly. “Hi,” she stammered.

“Hi,” Jamal said, his voice rich and
deep.

Chapter 11

Andrea was speechless. She glanced from him
to Gran, then back at him. Jamal gazed at her with a twinkle in his
brown eyes. He was dressed in a plain white cotton T-shirt and
faded blue jeans. The soft T-shirt molded to the muscles of his
chest. Andrea was lost for a moment as she enjoyed the view. Her
gaze traveled down lower. Faded denim, not tight but fitting well,
covered his narrow hips and muscular thighs. Her sex-o- meter was
spiking off the scale. Andrea could feel the moisture forming
between her legs. Damn! All he had to do was walk into a room in
simple clothes and she quivered. A thrill went through her when she
realized Jamal was staring at her as well. He pressed his lips
together and took a deep breath.

“Uh, I’m here to help you move. Miss Mavis
said y’all couldn’t get anyone else. All your cousins had to

work.” Jamal wiped his top Up and looked
away. “Ahem, what do you want me to move first?”

“You ... I mean ... What?” Andrea felt
giddy.

“What do you want me to move first?” Jamal
asked, still avoiding her gaze.

Andrea collected her senses. “Right, right.
Those boxes can go. But I don’t think they’d fit in your
trunk.”

“No problem. I borrowed a friend’s truck.”
Jamal easily lifted a large box of books.

Gran peeked out from behind him, a wide grin
on her face. “My, my, such a strong young man.”

“If you can just get the front door,” he
said.

“Andrea, open the door for Jamal.” Gran left
the room. “I’ve got to check on something.”

“Don’t go far because I want to talk to you,”
Andrea said in a measured voice.

“Sure, cher.” Gran blinked at her with a mild
expression, then bustled off humming.

They were left alone and Andrea felt awkward
again. She smiled at him nervously. “Well, here we go,” she said
without moving.

“Uh, this box is starting to feel heavy.”
Jamal nodded toward the door to prompt her.

“Of course.” Andrea groaned inwardly. She was
des-tined to make a fool of herself in front of this man.

She scurried past him to the front door.
Jamal walked by, leaving behind a refreshing scent of soap and mint
aftershave lotion. Andrea swallowed hard. Somehow she had to get
out of this frame of mind.

“I put some old blankets down in the bed,”
Jamal called over his shoulder.

Andrea gasped at the vivid image she had of
them naked on a downy blanket in the back of his friend’s truck.
She fanned her face with one hand. Her red cotton shirt stuck to
her chest with perspiration.

“Good thinking,” she managed to stutter.

“Yeah, well, I’ve gotten good at moving. One
divorce and then a move across the country.” His full lips went up
into a dimpled smile.

“Me, too,” she murmured. Andrea inhaled fresh
air to clear her head. “I’ll get some of the smaller stuff.”

She rushed off; hoping busy work would act as
an antidote to him. An hour later they had the largest and heaviest
items loaded in the truck.

Gran came outside. “There are just a few odds
and ends left. I’ll bring them in my little car, later on.”

“I thought we’d pack my car and follow Jamal.
That way he could go on home.” Andrea glared daggers at her.

“I’ve gotta stop for groceries and get my
medicine. Wait, Rowena needed to come with me.” Gran looked at
Jamal. “My friend Rowena can’t drive right now ’cause of her
cataract surgery.”

Jamal’s lips twitched as he appeared to try
to fight off laughter. “Yes, ma’am.”

“So it might take me a while, two, maybe
three hours.” Gran raised her eyebrows at him.

“Yes, ma’am. I got ya.” Jamal wore a mock
serious expression. “I’ll take care of her for you.”

“I can’t believe this.” Andrea glanced at
Jamal from the comer of her eye.

“What?” Gran’s big, dark eyes widened with
innocence.

“Come on, Andrea. What about furniture?”
Jamal gently guided her to the open passenger door.

“It was delivered yesterday afternoon,” she
said, still looking at Gran. “But—”

“Go on, cher. I’ll be along at some time or
other.” Gran waved gaily and went in the house.

When the door shut firmly, Andrea ground her
teeth in frustration. Jamal seemed not to notice. He went around
the front of the forest green Dodge Ram and got behind the
wheel.

“All set,” he said, and beckoned to her from
inside the cab.

“I’m taking my car,” Andrea burst out. She
could not sit so close to him for even a few miles. No amount of
air conditioning would keep her cool. “I’ve got to get it there
anyway.”

Was it her imagination, or was there
disappointment in his eyes? Yet he smiled immediately. “Sure thing.
I’ll meet you there.”

“But how do you know where it is?”

“Your grandmother gave me directions,” he
said with a grin.

Andrea groaned and shoved the truck door
shut. Mavis Ricard had some kind of nerve. Andrea fumed and
rehearsed the tongue lashing she’d give Gran before the day was
through. She drove behind the shiny truck down Highway 1 toward
town. Their eyes met as he stared into the rearview mirror. He
smiled and gave her a thumbs-up sign. Her irritation subsided as
the warm wind rushed through her open car window. Still she chafed
at Gran’s insistence on interfering in her love life. Jamal must
have cast some kind of spell over that woman. He certainly seemed
to have a knack for it, she mused, thinking of the way women lit up
when he was around. Jamal was handsome, sexy, and seemed to be a
caring man. She’d seen him be tender and funny with patients.
Andrea also admired the way he’d become as much a mentor to Denny
as a co-worker. The younger man looked more and more to Jamal for
guidance. Then there was the sexual chemistry between them whenever
Jamal got close to her. Just thinking about the way they’d touched
that night at the fund-raiser made Andrea’s heart pound. Andrea had
been unable to think straight when he put his muscular arms around
her. The sensation of resting against his rock-hard chest had left
her weak with desire.

All in all, Jamal Turner seemed to be Mr.
Right. So why fight it? She tried to think of the logical reasons
she had vowed to stay clear of a relationship. Those reasons were
pretty good. She needed time and space after the knockout punches
from Ellis. One of the social workers in the Chicago clinic where
she’d worked had advised her to take time to regroup. She needed to
feel good about herself again.

The truth was Andrea did not trust her
judgment in choosing men. Ellis had seemed to be a stable kind of
guy. A college professor who taught business, he talked endlessly
about management styles and corporate culture. He dressed
conservatively and talked about family values. Yet he’d turned out
to be a dog in geek’s clothing. Like mother, like daughter? No way!
She was not going to repeat Charlene’s pattern of hooking up with
chumps.

Andrea gazed ahead at the rearview mirror and
saw his lovely brown eyes again. She took a deep breath. As for
Jamal Turner, he was not even in disguise. He smiled and women
stumbled over each other to be near him. He was funny and a smart
aleck. Women loved being near him, and he knew it. He was
good-looking, a smooth talker. There was nothing conservative about
Jamal. The clothes he wore weren’t flashy, but didn’t hide his
fabulous body. There was nothing restrained about the animal way he
walked, like a graceful panther, or the way he spoke his mind.
Jamal Turner was definitely not the kind of man Andrea thought she
wanted or needed. In short, he was the kind of man Charlene was
drawn to. An excellent reason to run screaming in the opposite
direction.

He smiled at her in the rearview mirror again
and she automatically smiled back. On the other hand ... why not
accept that what you see is what you get? He’s a nice guy, go with
it! Andrea sighed. She’d left Chicago convinced that she had the
question of men and relationships settled.

“Gran, this is all your fault,” Andrea
grumbled out loud. She turned up the car radio. Maybe loud music
would clear her confused thoughts.

It was another hot day, typical for late June
in south Louisiana. The China blue sky was cloudless. Andrea
savored the heat, contrasting it to the bone deep cold she’d
endured during those long Chicago winters. The road stretched
ahead, with rich green grass on either side. Moss-draped oak trees
grew tall and wide, their massive branches curved down to the
ground. Egrets flew overhead, their snowy white bodies gleaming in
the sunshine. It was hard to be in a grumpy mood on a day like
today. They approached town and Jamal turned down the street
leading to her new home.

Andrea looked at herself in the car mirror
and nodded. “I’m in control. I’ll thank him and send him on his
way.”

Following him into the lot, Andrea parked in
the space next to the truck.

Jamal got out of the truck and stood with
both hands on his hips, looking around. “Nice place.”

Andrea joined him. “Yeah, I really like the
way it’s designed.”

The exterior’s wood walls were stained a dark
reddish brown that blended with the surroundings. Palms and compact
shrubs had been planted along the sidewalks. A cozy courtyard
featured a fountain in the middle of a pond. The complex was
deliberately small, only sixteen flats. Each building had two
floors.

“It’s nice and quiet. My apartment is over
here.” She got the keys out of her purse and led the way to her
ground-floor flat.

“Hmm, you think this is a good idea?” Jamal
walked around the comer of the building. “A second-floor apartment
would be better for a woman living alone. But at least these
windows look secure.”

“Sure they are. I checked it out,” Andrea
said. “And the landlord has a security system installed, see?” She
pointed to the control pad.

“Good idea,” he said, but continued to look
around. “Not that I’ll need all the protection. But thanks for
worrying about me, Dad.”

He grinned. “I get the point. Just wanted to
make sure you were secure.”

“Thank you, sir.” Andrea made a playful
curtsy. “You’ve saved me twice so far. Guess I’m lucky to have a
knight in shining armor.”

“Yeah, guess so,” Jamal said softly.

They gazed at each other for a few moments.
He took a step toward her and Andrea panicked. She unlocked the
front door. Without looking back, she went inside the
apartment.

“Okay, let’s start the fun stuff. I’ll turn
on the air conditioner,” she said, and hurried ahead of him.

“It is pretty hot in here.”

Andrea turned around to find him only inches
away. “Yeah, I’ll put it on high to cool things off.”

His lips parted slowly. “I like a hot
climate,” he said.

“I do, too. But not this hot. Let’s lower the
temperature so I can think straight,” Andrea murmured.

Jamal lifted a hand as though to brush her
hair, then held back. He blinked like a man waking from a trance
and took a couple of steps back. “I’ll, uh, start unloading.”

“Yeah, right, unload.”

She watched him walk away with a mixture of
excitement and relief. There was no mistaking it; she’d seen desire
in his eyes. Andrea found a tissue in her purse and dabbed at the
sweat on her forehead. The next two hours or so would be a test,
but she was determined to pass it.

It did not take long before the living room
of her apartment was filled with boxes and bags. Andrea once again
marveled at how much she’d accumulated. They unpacked the kitchen
items first, and then tackled the living room. In no time they’d
set up her compact disc player and arranged most of the books on a
comer bookcase.

“Nice furniture. I like the colors,” Jamal
said as he continued to unpack a box of CDs and cassette tapes.

“Thanks.” Andrea once again admired the sofa
set. The fabric had an abstract pattern of cool blue, mauve, and
green that matched the green carpet. “I find it soothing.”

“Yeah. You’ve got a really nice place
here.”

“Once I get all this junk organized.” Andrea
pushed back a tendril of hair from her eyes. “It could take months
with the hours I put in at the clinic.”

“I’ll help,” Jamal said promptly.

Andrea cleared her throat. “I’m sure you’ve
got enough to do in your time off.”

“Not really. I know how it is to live out of
boxes. I’ve done it twice.” Jamal spoke matter-of-factly.

“So you live somewhere in Bayou Blue?”

Jamal did not answer immediately. “No, in
Harahan.” “You drive a long way. Why not work closer to home?”
Andrea kept her tone conversational. Still, she was fascinated to
finally find out more about him.

“Because I found a job in Bayou Blue. This is
beautiful.” Jamal had unwrapped a small wooden sculpture of a woman
and child. It was carved from mahogany.

“I found it in a small shop on the island of
Saint Maarten.” Andrea walked over to where he stood. “That started
my collection.”

“I love going to the Caribbean. Brazil is
another favorite.” He carefully placed the piece on the shelf of
an-other bookcase. Then he unwrapped other figurines and arranged
them artfully.

“You’re a world traveler, huh? Lucky you.”
Andrea watched him take care with the position of each piece. “And
an artist at heart, it seems.”

Jamal smiled at her over his shoulder before
turning his attention back to his task. “I’ve got my own modest
collection of Haitian and African art. There you go.” He put the
last piece on the third of four shelves.