Gotta Get Next To You (11 page)

“He’s gotta be friendly. Come on so he can
see this cute new outfit you got on up close.” Gran straightened
the collar of Andrea’s red and tan cotton knit shirt.

Andrea did not look at her clothes. She
gently guided Gran’s hand away. “Stop that. And I’m not going to
join his groupies.”

“For crying out loud, c’mon,” Gran said, and
yanked hard on her arm. She succeeded in moving Andrea a few steps,
despite her resistance. “You’ve been to every other booth twice.
Quit avoiding the man.”

“I’m not avoiding him,” Andrea insisted.

“I’ve been watching you for the last two
hours. You went to every display table and made a big circle around
him.”

“It’s got nothing to do with him,” Andrea
insisted. “My focus has been on the exhibits that are directly
health related.”

“And you’ve done your job. Time for fun.”
Gran pulled her forward again.

Andrea pulled in the other direction. “Katy
might need help with her booth on immunizations.”

Andrea’s body tingled at the thought of being
so close to him again. Her physical reaction to Jamal yards away
had been strong. She already knew what being close to him did to
her body. Watchful eyes would detect any sign that she was
attracted to him, and word that Andrea Noble had the hots for sexy
Jamal Turner would be all over Bayou Blue by morning.

“You scared of him or something?”

“Don’t be silly.” Andrea sniffed. “I work
with him every day. He does his job fairly well and that’s what
counts.”

“You’re trying a little too hard not to
notice him.” Gran squinted at her. “And if you ask me, he does
scare you.”

“Ridiculous,” Andrea said with force. Still,
she could not look Gran in the eyes.

“Then come on.” Gran issued her challenge
with a twinkle in her eyes. “Being close to rippling muscles and a
gorgeous smile shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Fine.” Andrea tossed out the word in what
she hoped was a careless tone. “Let’s go.”

They both strode across the dark green grass.
Andrea kept her head up and did not look away from where Jamal
stood. She was quite aware that Gran kept darting sideways glances
at her. The closer they got to him, the more obvious it became that
the space walk was not the main attraction for the mothers. A
pretty young thing rubbed her hand along Jamal’s arm. Andrea forced
a smile despite the unreasonable and strong urge to peel the hussy
off him. Denny stood several feet away. He watched the children
while talking with another young man. He waved at them and they
waved back.

“Hi there!” Jamal called as they approached.
“You ladies want to have a go? The crowd is thinning out.” He
nodded to the space walk where now only two kids jumped around
inside.

“Not out here, it isn’t,” Andrea said. She
kept smiling. “No indeed.”

“Excuse me while I talk to the boss,” Jamal
said to the young woman. “Gotta make sure she’s happy.” “Bye-bye,
Jamal,” the woman trilled.

She gave a perfunctory nod to Andrea and Gran
be-fore drifting off, hips swaying. She glanced back to make sure
Jamal watched. Three women lingered, pretending an interest in the
space walk while keeping an eye on Jamal. Andrea rolled her eyes.
Gran poked her side with an elbow, a sign for her to behave.

“You’re doing a wonderful job, son. Right,
Andrea?” Gran said in a bright voice.

“Thanks, ma’am. I’m doing my part for the
health of Lafourche Parish.”

“Making this health fair fun is an important
job, baby. These children might even wanna come to the doctor next
time. Right, Andrea?” Gran’s prompt this time was firmer as she
poked Andrea’s side again.

“Of course. The staff and I took that into
consideration when we were planning.” Andrea wore a staid
expression. Maybe she could be near him without having her senses
go haywire.

“Yes, we did,” Jamal said in a formal
tone.

Gran glanced from Jamal to Andrea and back
again. She pursed her lips for a moment before she spoke. “Oops, I
just remembered something. I’ll see y’all later.” She walked away
at a brisk pace.

Andrea blinked with surprise. Gran was fast
putting distance between them. “Where are you going?” she called
out.

“I see Father Viator. I need to tell him
something about the church bake sale,” Gran yelled back without
breaking her stride.

Andrea did not see the parish priest, and
this was the first she’d heard of a bake sale. She frowned at the
back of Gran’s flowered blouse as it disappeared into the
crowd.

“What a busy lady,” Jamal said.

“Yes, she’s always up to something,” Andrea
mum-bled to herself.

“I didn’t hear you,” Jamal said.

“Nothing.” Andrea recovered. She began the
start of a smooth exit. “Good job keeping the kids happy over
here.”

“It’s not hard. They love this thing.” Jamal
jerked a thumb at the inflated attraction. “You must be happy about
the way the fair has turned out. Good crowd.” “Yes, I’m already
thinking about what we’ll do next year.” Andrea’s brows came
together. “I’ll start lining up sponsors next week. You know, ride
on the success of this one while it’s still fresh in their
minds.”

“Great idea.” Jamal cleared his throat. “I
thought of a few things myself.”

Andrea made herself look at him. She gazed up
into his eyes, hoping to lessen the impact the sight of his body
had on her. It didn’t work. There was no way she could take in full
lips or dark eyes set against creamy milk chocolate skin and not
feel her pulse rate inch steadily up and up. Andrea swallowed hard.
The man was pure poison. Jamal looked at her as though he wanted to
speak but was searching for words. He seemed to lean forward,
inviting Andrea to come closer. Then, without warning, he took a
step back from her. His expression became tense, almost angry.

“Excuse me,” he said curtly. “I better make
sure the space walk is still anchored.”

Andrea was embarrassed. Here she stood
mooning over him. She behaved no different from the women she’d
only moments before held in such contempt. Even worse, he knew it
and was making a fast escape.

“I, uh, better go check on ... other things,”
Andrea stuttered. She wanted to kick herself for being so
trans-parent and clumsy.

Jamal walked off quickly. “Sure thing. I’ve
got this under control.”

Andrea frowned as he walked away. She was
more irritated at her own behavior than at him. She had showed
herself as just one more fawning female, and Jamal was not
interested, period. Still it rankled that he’d been so quick to
escape from her while he’d courted the attention of other women.
She turned sharply and marched in the opposite direction.

“You’re an idiot, Andrea,” she whispered
harshly. “He’s doing you a favor, so be grateful.” Her words did
not ease the sting of rejection, or loosen the knot of
disappointment in her chest.

The small sandwich shop was crowded as usual.
Lee told himself he was only here for lunch. Yet he scanned the
customers looking for one face in particular. Andrea and Katy ate
here almost every day. It was close to the clinic, fast, and had
great hamburgers.

Lee lingered over making a decision on what
he wanted. He would not go back to the clinic just yet. He would
relax and enjoy his lunch hour.

Two dueling voices sounded in his head. One
called him wise. The less time he spent near Andrea, the better.
What he needed was breathing room so he could stop thinking about
her as anything except another assignment. Things were adding up,
and the total did not look good for her or the clinic. Lee saw
discrepancies that pointed to serious problems. Andrea could be
involved. Hell, she had to be. She reviewed the inventory records,
signed purchase orders, and co-signed with the doctor on all
narcotic drugs that had to be tracked. Lee compared records on
drugs dispensed and suspected that some of the patients did not
exist. He shared receptionist duties with another clerk. Lee’s one
hasty search revealed names on the dispensary ledger of people who
never came in for appointments. Getting away from the clinic
allowed him to think objectively. If it looks too good to be true,
it is. Lee had been through enough in his life to not just know,
but feel, the truth of that saying.

The other voice nudged alive the part of him
that wanted to believe, to not be cynical and to trust appearances.
It whispered that Andrea was not faking it when it came to her
patients. Lee thought about the times he’d seen her easing the
fears of an elderly patient or taking extra time with a teen mom.
If she was acting, she could win awards, but everything inside him
told him that she did care about people. Her smile seemed to
inspire confidence in the most nervous patients and defuse angry,
resistant ones. It was the same smile that sent shock waves through
his body when she directed it at him. Pleasing her made him feel
extraordinary and proud. Which was a big problem.

Lee sighed and drank from his cup of cola. He
knew very well from his days as a cop in Los Angeles that the
prettiest package could be the most deadly. Nothing and no one
could be taken on face value, and life was cheap. His younger
brother’s death at fifteen in a barrage of automatic gunfire had
proven it. Nothing he’d done as a brother or cop had helped save
Chris. Indifference in the department when it came to minority
youth had long rankled. Chris’s death had sealed his decision. Lee
re-signed the day after his funeral. Five years as a private
investigator had served to confirm what he already knew. He saw the
worst in people, rich, poor, and in between. This reminded him of
another old saying; that looks can be deceiving. His cynicism about
life and human nature had been formed by life and reality, he
mused.

He just needed to keep his priorities
straight, he told himself firmly. If drugs were being taken, he’d
have to involve the cops. Lee decided to wrap this thing up quick,
report to the cops, and get the hell out of Dodge fast. And Andrea?
He gritted his teeth at the thought of her being involved. Despite
his hard, cynical outlook, Lee couldn’t see it. Or maybe he just
didn’t want to see it. A real big problem.

“Hi, Denise. Our order ready? I think it’s in
Katy’s name,” he heard a familiar voice say. He turned to see
Andrea standing at the end of the long counter under the PICK UP
sign.

She did not see him at the other end of the
dining room, seated in a booth. He watched her brush back a tendril
of hair from her face. Her thick brown locks were pulled back into
a French braid. As she smiled at other customers, his heart turned
over. It was a struggle to be such a hard nose. He could not think
of her as a criminal, not when she smiled like that. Her face
glowed. The smooth brown skin invited him to caress it. She wore
lipstick the color of wine—he swallowed hard, wanting desperately
to taste her lips. Lee drew in a deep breath and let it out. The
physical attraction hit him with force again, reminding him why he
needed to avoid her. Lately he’d begun to think of her kindness and
her sense of humor. Andrea was not all starched uniforms and stem
lectures. Lee frowned at a disturbing truth: he looked forward to
hearing her voice. The clinic seemed drab when she wasn’t
there.

Andrea turned her back to him and he studied
the delicate lines of her neck. He remembered massaging her there
until he was virtually stupefied with lust. Every nerve ending in
his body fired up whenever she was nearby. He’d made a fool of
himself once and that was enough. Better to fade into the woodwork
and let her leave without seeing him.

Andrea faced the man standing in line behind
her and laughed at something he said. The tall, dark man was
obviously flirting with her. Lee scowled. Who was this guy anyway?
Thoughts of slipping out quietly vanished. Lee slid out of the
booth and moved closer, keeping them in view as he listened to
their exchange.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Brian. Still
cracking jokes.” Andrea gave his arm a playful punch.

“Well, I can’t say the same for you. You’ve
changed, girl. You’re ten times prettier.” Brian gave her an
admiring full-body examination and let out a whistle.

“Still trying to sweet-talk me.” Andrea
smiled with pleasure.

Lee was at the counter before he knew it.
“Hello there,” he said, his tone filled with forced cheer.

Andrea faced him. “Oh, hi,” she said
hesitantly.

“Everybody seems to find this place for
lunch, huh?” Lee looked at the man, then at Andrea.

“This is Brian Scott. One of my old
classmates.” Andrea looped her arm through Brian’s. “Brian, Jamal
Turner. Jamal’s originally from Los Angeles.”

“Hey, stop saying old\ Nice to meet you.”
Brian stuck out his hand.

Lee grasped his hand and gave it a
perfunctory shake before letting go. “Hi. Old pals, huh?”

“Man, this lady has been breakin’ my heart
since the third grade.” Brian pulled a long face.

“Oh, quit. Brian is the most talented guy in
town. He acts, sings, and plays a mean blues guitar,” Andrea
said.

“You’re making me blush.” Brian grinned at
her. “And this one wasn’t too shabby singing those songs
either.”

“Really?” Lee was interested to find out more
about Andrea, but not this way. Not from a still-interested
ex-boyfriend.

“We used to put on variety shows,” Andrea
said to Lee.

“Those were the days. Me on guitar and you
singing along. We’ve gotta get together, Drea.” Brian pulled her
closer to him.

“I know. It’s just I’ve been so tied up with
work and all. Maybe this week,” Andrea said, anticipation in her
eyes.

“We have to set up the case management
system,” Lee broke in. He tried to keep his voice light, but the
effort made his jaws ache.