Chapter Two
“I’MNOTGOINGto be able to change this tire.”
Tamara snatched her eyes away from Andre’s ass a second before he pivoted to look at her from where he knelt beside her car. She hadn’t meant to stare at his ass. She didn’t typically ogle a guy as if he were a choice cut of beef at the butcher. As she’d watched him jack up her car and work the lug nuts, the play of muscles in his arms had caught her attention. From there her attention had wandered to his shoulders, then his back and ended at his ass.
Her face burned even though he didn’t give her the smirk she would have expected if he’d caught her in the act. She shifted her weight to one foot and cleared her throat. “What was that?”
He pointed back to her tire. “I can’t change this. The rim is bent. I won’t be able to get the spare tire on.”
His words burned through the lingering fog of awareness clouding her thoughts. Thank goodness. She wanted to slap herself for letting Andre reignite her sexual interest. She’d broken up with her ex-boyfriend, Thomas, over a month ago, stating that she needed time alone and hadn’t felt any need to “get back out there.” Yet here she was, drooling over Andre after just a few minutes with him.
She frowned at the tire. “Dammit! Really?”
“Really. How did your tire go flat?”
“A pothole one street over. I’ll be reporting that to the public works department first thing Monday morning.” She walked over and glared at the bent rim. “Now what?”
“I give you a ride home,” he said easily.
Tamara’s eyes snapped to his face. He had to be joking. Yeah, he’d apologized for being rude earlier, then tried to sweeten the apology with a played out come-hither smirk. Well, maybe not all the way played out. Her stomach had done a rebellious little flutter.
“That’s not necessary. I have Triple A. I can call them and get a ride and have my car towed.”
Andre was already shaking his head. He stood up and leaned against the side of her car. “Or, I can get the chain, hitch your car to my truck and tow it to your place right now.”
Tamara put a hand on her hip. “You drive around with a chain in your truck?”
“I work on construction sites. I don’t want to admit how often vehicles get stuck in mud, but it’s helpful to have a way to pull them out without having to call a tow company.”
“You don’t have to do that. Really. I’m sure you have plenty of other things to do, and it won’t take long to get someone out here to pull my car for me.”
He shrugged one broad shoulder and smiled. “It’s really not a big deal. I’m on my way home.”
“Home?” She pointed in the direction opposite of where they’d come. “Doesn’t your mom live on the other side of town?”
“She does, but I don’t live with my mom. I have a place here in Peachtree Cove.”
“I didn’t know you’d gotten a place. You left Peachtree Cove with one middle finger up and a promise to never return.”
He cringed and ran a hand over his jaw. “My plan wasn’t to ever move back, but since I won the contract on the revitalization project, I decided to get a place in town. That and...my mom isn’t getting any younger.”
Tamara’s brows drew together. When you worked for the town and the mayor and town manager made sure senior staff was at every event possible, it meant everyone in town knew her. Tamara had deliberately chosen to stay on the outskirts to avoid people dropping by under the pretense of visiting but actually trying to ask her to pull some type of favor for them with the town leaders. There weren’t many houses out her way that were up for rent. Except for the old brick house half a mile down the street from her home.
“You bought the Kestner place?” she asked.
“Yeah, how did you guess?”
“I’m your neighbor.” She tried not to sound annoyed by the discovery. Tried and failed based off the frown on his face.
When Mr. and Mrs. Kestner decided to move to Barcelona and told her they were selling the place, she’d expected another retired couple would move in to the place. Not Andre Kemp. Handsome bachelor and business mogul. Wasn’t living in the country too...well, country for him?
“You are?” His brows raised. “You live in the blue house down the street?”
“How did you know that?”
“It’s the only house on the street that looks like you.”
“Looks like me?” What the heck was that supposed to mean?
“Yeah. It’s the cutest house on the street.” The corner of his mouth lifted in that way that made her heart tumble a little.
This look didn’t seem practiced. Right after he said it, his eyes darted away as if embarrassed. He cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders.
“I’ll get the chain.”
Tamara nodded and watched as he walked toward the back of his truck. Sure enough, he returned with a thick, heavy chain with a hook. After a few minutes he had her car connected to his truck. Once that was settled, he went to the passenger door and opened it for her.
“Thank you,” she said, sliding past him. His truck was taller than her sedan. She reached for the handle near the inner door and placed her foot on the running board.
Andre’s fingers pressed lightly into her back for additional support as she pulled herself into the truck. A shock wave of awareness rippled through her, and she slapped his hand away. She did not want to feel anything related to Andre. They’d been friends as kids, and then in the blink of an eye, he’d turned on her. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve his sudden change of heart when they were younger and she no longer cared. She couldn’t trust him, and because of his project, she damn sure couldn’t afford to be attracted to him. He didn’t meet her eyes as he closed the door and strode to the driver’s side.
Since he knew her house, she didn’t bother giving directions. An awkward silence filled the cab. Andre had always been a guy of few words, so she wasn’t surprised when he didn’t fill the silence with idle chitchat.
“What happened to the side of your house?” Andre asked as he pulled in to her driveway.
Tamara’s eyes scanned her house until she saw what he referred to. “Oh, that. Some of the siding was blown off by a storm a few weeks ago.”
“And you haven’t fixed it? Didn’t you call the insurance company?”
“It’s not that bad, just one piece. My cousin Kenny is coming to fix it.”
“When?” Andre asked, jerking his truck into gear.
“I don’t know. When he gets to it. I’ve already gotten the replacement. It’s in the shed over there.” She pointed to the small storage shed in her backyard. “It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a big deal if that area keeps getting wet. It’ll damage the sheathing underneath and cause your walls to rot.”
He spoke to her as if she were foolish for not realizing the possible issues. She hadn’t, but that didn’t make her foolish. She figured the barrier between the siding and the wood, which was still visible by the way, was protection enough. She didn’t work in building construction, and the storm hadn’t been that long ago.
“Fine, I’ll call Kenny and see if he can come over this weekend.” She opened the door to the truck and got out before he could say more.
The silence that reigned as he unhooked her car and put the chain back in his truck was even more uncomfortable. This time her irritation filled the space. Irritation at his light scolding and the way his apology almost made her body melt. And why had he apologized anyway? The Andre she remembered wouldn’t bother to apologize for anything. Did he really feel bad, or was he just sucking up to the person who could make or break his project? Was he excited about the project? Was that also part of the reason he’d moved back? Was he happy about being back in town?
She shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. Andre had been her childhood friend, but that didn’t mean much of anything. He’d long stopped thinking of her as a friend, and honestly, she hadn’t thought about him in years. His sudden appearance in town didn’t mean anything other than he was there to do a job and she was there to help him. The unexpected attraction was just appreciation for a good-looking man. Nothing more.
He finished with her car and put the chain back in his truck before coming over to where she’d watched him from her open garage.
“You’re going to be able to get your tire fixed before Monday?” Again with the Tamara is too silly to get things repaired tone of voice.
“I’m perfectly capable of handling my vehicle. I have managed to make it to thirty-four with no mishaps.”
He grinned. Her testy tone doing nothing to deflate him. “I know that. I was going to say I can take you in to work if something goes wrong and you need a ride. Or I can tow your car into town for the rim and tire change.”
She eyed him warily. More questions popping in her head at this new, helpful, Andre in front of her. So different from the person she remembered. Well, not so different. They had become friends when the chain on her bike had broken at the playground in third grade and he’d helped her fix it. She’d shared her pack of Skittles with him and they’d talked about their favorite TV shows. She’d loved Rugrats and he’d been a fan of Pinky and the Brain.
He had been helpful, a little brash and sometimes moody, but still cool enough that she’d considered him a friend. Then everything changed. Boys can be fickle. Be grateful you’ve outgrown each other, her mom had said when Tamara complained about the change in Andre. But today there was a glimpse of the Andre she’d liked from the start. Was that Andre still there? The question made her want to know more about what his life had been like since he’d left Peachtree Cove.
“I appreciate that, but no thanks,” she said. “I’ll be fine.” She was already intrigued by Andre and him being back in town. Spending more time with him would only make this more awkward.
He nodded. Looked at the side of her house, then scanned her yard. “Well, see you around.” With that he turned and walked to his truck.
That was it? He was just going to be all helpful, then stroll off into the sunset? Which made the sudden urge to call him back instead of letting him go completely bananas. She was all over the place. This was why she never liked being around Andre. He took her from hot to cold to annoyed in milliseconds. She’d never been able to get a read on him. He liked her, then he didn’t. She was too old to let him play yo-yo with her feelings.
“See you around,” she said with a stiff wave. He lifted his chin, got in his truck and backed out of her driveway. “Judgy McJudgy,” she mumbled to herself. “I’ll fix my house when and however I like. I should just leave it like that for another month.”
She marched to her door and pressed the button to put down her garage door. Then pulled out her cell phone and called her cousin Kenny.