The Savvy Sistahs by Brenda Jackson

help with the lunch traffic. Last week Amber had hired a part-time worker, a male student from one of the local high schools, to work three days a week, mostly to unload and help put away stock. Already she found that Keith was a hard worker and the money he earned was helping to prepare him for college.
    Amber looked up when she heard the bell that signaled that a customer had entered her shop. She arched her neck. From where she stood she could see the man but he couldn’t see her behind the planter and Humpty-Dumpty’s brick wall. His back was to her but then he slipped his hands into his pockets and slowly turned around as he studied his surroundings.
    The woman in her immediately liked what she saw as her gaze slid over his face and body in one fluid sweep, and then another for good measure. His coloring was dark—a deep dark chocolate, her favorite. He was dressed casually, in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and a pair of high-priced Nikes were on his feet, but from the way her body was reacting, he could have been stark naked.
    A slight frown tilted her lips. Boy, she had it bad. The last thing she needed was for sexual urges to consume her mind and lead her astray, no matter how good the brother looked. But still, she couldn’t help but continue to check him out, for the moment not able to control her body’s response to him.
    The tight fit of his jeans, the way his sweatshirt hung loosely over those jeans, not to mention the way that sweatshirt fit those muscled arms and shoulders were enough to give any woman, especially one who hadn’t had sex in a long time, a reason to feel intense heat between her legs. He was a man whose bones you’d want to jump any day of the week, any time of the day. A man who could make you forget all those principles of emotion and spirit fulfillment that were discussed at the sistah-circle meetings, especially the one that said, “Everything you need to be happy is inside of you.”
    At the moment, in her opinion, if the man standing across the room ever got inside of her she would be more than happy, she would be thrilled right out of her bones. Just the thought of those firm, molded thighs wrapped around her, holding her in place when he made love to her was enough to make her forget that she was a woman who didn’t need a man, a woman determined not to want one. But then, there was something about him that was so basic, yet at the same time so complementary. Everything about him made her think of sex, sex, and more sex.
    And that wasn’t good.
    Amber blew her bangs out of her eyes. The room suddenly felt unbearably hot. She had to take a minute to catch her breath and to regain control of her senses. Something, probably the sound of her heavy breathing, caught his attention and he glanced her way. Their gazes met, connected, and held. She felt her heart thump against her chest and then her pulse began acting weird. His deep, dark eyes were definitely doing things to her—more specifically, doing things to her body. There was no doubt about it. Her panties were completely drenched by now.
    Damn, I am simply pathetic.
    “I take it that you’re open.”
    That’s not all I am
, she was tempted to say. Instead she came from behind the huge planter and Humpty’s wall and smiled, mainly to hide her misery. “Yes, we’re open. Were you looking for anything in particular or did you come in to browse?”
    He smiled and her body went bonkers again. “I came in for a little bit of both. I want to read something for pleasure. Do you have anything to suggest other than those?” he said of the huge display of romance novels that stood in the middle of the floor. “They’re big sellers I assume?”
    Amber’s throat went dry and she swallowed hard as she closed the distance separating them. Only standing a few feet away, she could feel the warmth of his body and could smell the scent of his aftershave. It was a manly fragrance and she found herself inhaling deeply to let it