Page 72 of Play of Love
Chapter 16
Amy
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Josh couldn’t have been more sweet and caring towards me. He took me home and fixed up the guest room properly to make sure I was comfortable.
I was grateful to him and his kindness and appreciated that he took time out to make sure I was okay. Or as close to okay as possible. I was devastated about my dress, and really didn’t know what to do.
Since he gave me the day off I slept in till ten and couldn’t have been more surprised when he came in with a tray of breakfast.
“You brought me breakfast in bed?” I sat up and smiled at him. I’d never had breakfast in bed before.
“I did, and you’ll love this.” He looked proud of himself as he placed the tray before me. I looked down at it, narrowed my eyes, and smiled at the amusing display.
He’d made pancakes and created smiley faces on top of them with chocolate syrup. There were also little macaroons, like the ones I’d seen in those fancy European stores. These were in the shape of pink unicorns and teddy bears. He’d also made scrambled eggs and toast, which he cut up in triangles. It looked like something you’d give a child.
“Josh, this looks like a kid’s meal. A very cool kid’s meal.” I couldn’t believe I could laugh, despite my inner turmoil. “How old do you think I am?”
He gave me that wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look. “Um, is that a question I’m meant to answer?”
“You can if you want to.” Now I really wondered how old he thought I was.
He grimaced. “Please just tell me you’re legal because I’m at risk of going to prison if you aren’t.” He looked at my breasts and kept his gaze there. “You’re not wearing a bra are you?”
“Josh,” I chided him, pulling up the sheets to my chin. No I wasn’t wearing a bra and didn’t normally wear one to bed.
“I’m sorry. It’s that Italian blood thing again.”
I giggled. “Anyway, you thought I might not be legal?” There was no way I looked that young.
“Well you always get all squeamish when I talk about sex and you said you wanted to take things slow, so it occurred to me that maybe that was because you were waiting to turn eighteen. Either that or you escaped from the convent. I hope I’m wrong.”
I couldn’t believe I was laughing. “Josh, you thought I was either under eighteen, or a nun.”
He shrugged sheepishly. “Anything can happen these days.”
I laughed even more. Really laughed, and he did too. “And I’m not squeamish about sex.”
Mischief filled his eyes. “Have you done it before?”
Great, now he thought I was a virgin. “If you must know, yes I have. Not as much as you. Definitely not as much as you.”
“Hey, I can’t help that women crawl all over me. I swear to God some of them just land on me and we just end up doing the wild dance.”
“Joshua Mancini you better hope the good Lord didn’t hear you just lie through your pearly whites.”
He looked at me, studying me, and smiled. “You just sounded like Corey. His family is originally from Texas. His southern accent comes out when he’s well and truly annoyed with me.”
I blinked and looked down at the tray he’d set before me. I had lived in New York for so long that my southern drawl had diminished to some extent. Living in Atlanta where there was a good mix of accents meant that mine had never been as strong and pronounced as my mother’s, who was originally from Louisiana.
It didn’t surprise me to hear that Corey was from Texas. Aside from the hint of an accent I’d detected in his voice, he had the good manners of a southern gentleman.
Josh continued to observe me, and I knew why. Last night had opened the door to a lot of questions. The biggest of all was what I was doing in an apartment like that in downtown when I worked for him.
I held his gaze, pulled in a deep breath, and said, “I’m from Atlanta. I moved to New York after college.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know that weeks ago.” His eyes never left mine. “I feel really bad that I didn’t try to find out more about you when you helped me through such a tough time. It occurred to me that I don’t even know how old you are.”
