Josh raised an eyebrow. “Just a little?”
“It’s been a long day, so I’ll just blame my mood on lack of sleep.”
“No worries. I should have thought about what I said before I said it. But as you stated, it’s been a long day.”
“Speaking of a long day, I was about to finish my food and go to bed. Is there anything I can help you with beforehand?”
Josh usually thought quickly on his feet, but there was something about Becca that made him pause and really think about the words he said next. “I don’t mind if you eat while we chat. I didn’t want to speak to you about anything in particular.”
She looked skeptical, but took another bite of her food. Josh liked the way her mouth moved. She was a slow chewer, which made the movement of her mouth downright hypnotizing.
“I’m being honest. I called you because I was exhausted, and for some reason you’re the only person I wanted to talk to. So if you need to hang up, it’s fine.”
If they hadn’t been on Skype, he wouldn’t have gotten a chance to see her almond-shaped eyes widen and her lips slightly open in surprise.
For a couple minutes, neither of them said anything. Josh welcomed the silence and took the moment to observe Becca more closely; she appeared to be observing him, as well. Staring into a woman’s eyes for more than a minute—especially one whom he’d just met—wasn’t a regular occurrence for Josh. As cocky as it sounded, when he set his sights on a woman, looking deeply into each other’s eyes for an extended period of time wasn’t a part of the deal. It tended to send women the wrong message and then they got attached too quickly. Yet Josh felt as though he could look into Becca’s light brown eyes all night.
Even though she was fatigued, her warm golden-mocha complexion glowed under the dim lighting of what he assumed was her bedroom. He could only see the edge of a white pillow propped behind her back and the corner of what appeared to be a nightstand where her plate of food was sitting. When Becca adjusted herself, displaying a little more of her clothing, Josh forgot about the pillow as his eyes dropped to her blouse, which was slightly open.
It wasn’t gentlemanlike to look down a woman’s shirt, but in his defense he hadn’t expected the top two buttons to be undone. He’d expected her blouse to be buttoned all the way to the neck, the way it had been in all the photos he’d seen of her.
He must have been staring too long, because Becca glanced down at her shirt and then proceeded to cover up her chest as if she was exposing too much skin. Josh hadn’t even seen a hint of cleavage, but he assumed it was still more than Becca wanted him to see. When she met his eyes, she shook her head at him.
“What?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“Nothing,” she said, taking another bite of her food. This time when she chewed, her food must have gone down the wrong pipe because it sent her into a coughing frenzy.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay,” she said, still coughing. “Sometimes, when I put something large in my mouth too fast, I choke. I should have done it slower.”
Does she have any idea how sexual that sounded? Amusement must have shown on his face because she choked even more.
“That came out wrong.”
“No, I think it came out right.”
“I didn’t mean to say that I’m always putting big things in my mouth. I meant to say that sometimes my throat has to get adjusted before I swallow.” Becca gasped and quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. Josh had already heard her and was unsuccessful at stifling his laughter.
“Okay, that came out wrong, too.” Becca placed her hands in front of her as if she were bracing herself before she continued speaking. “I’ve had issues with gagging if I don’t properly prepare myself.”
Josh chuckled even more than he had before. On one hand, he was actually surprised that there was reasoning behind why she was chewing so slowly. He should have asked her to explain to indicate that he was indeed listening. Yet the situation was much too amusing.
“This is by far the most amusing conversation I’ve had all day, Becca.” He wiped a few tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard. “Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.”
“I’m here all week.” Her smile was tight-lipped, causing him to laugh as hard as he had before. Eventually, she started laughing along with him. Josh liked the sound of her laughter. Instead of being high-pitched like he’d assumed it would be, her laugh was smooth as velvet.
They talked for a few more minutes before disconnecting their call. Josh didn’t bother to get up and head to his bedroom. Instead, he spent the next twenty minutes thinking about Becca before he drifted off to sleep on the sofa. He’d worry about why the buttoned-up PR director was on his mind later.
“Please tell me that you didn’t tell one of the sexiest men in Miami that you had a gag reflex problem?”
Becca looked up from her desk at Leanna Timmons—part-time program manager for The Aunt Penny Foundation. Leanna had been the first employee to join the foundation and had been an asset to Haley and Becca over the years. Leanna also owned her own hair and beauty salon down the street from the office. Today, her blond hair was cut in a chic bob and highlighted with pink and black streaks that matched her black tank and pink skirt. On any other person, the style might have looked crazy, but on Leanna it made her look like a rock star.
“That’s not how the conversation went.”
Leanna crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh really? When I talked to Haley this morning, she said you basically admitted that you suffer from a sensitive gag reflex when something large goes into your mouth.”
Becca sighed. She’d told Haley not to mention what had happened, but apparently her best friend hadn’t listened. She couldn’t even chastise Haley because she was on a business lunch.
“Okay, I may or may not have mentioned something like that to Josh, but I hadn’t cut my apple into small enough pieces and I was talking to him at the same time. You know I have to chew my food slowly and in small portions.”
“Couldn’t you have at least waited until after a few more meetings before you mentioned the word gag to Joshua DeLong?”
Becca had to admit that she’d come across pretty pathetic on the Skype call with Josh. However, he’d seemed amused and his laughter had been contagious. I’m still not even sure why he called me. True, he’d claimed that she’d just been on his mind and he had to call her, but come on. This was Joshua DeLong—the ultimate playboy. Why would he be thinking about Becca at all?
After their meeting on his yacht, she’d researched him a bit more, and in several photos he was pictured beside actresses, models, or women with high cheekbones and perfect figures who had probably never sucked in their stomach a day in their lives. Becca was hardly his type, which was why she had a hard time believing his admission.
“Becca,” Stacy said, knocking on the door. “There’s someone here to see you.”
The fact that Stacy had actually knocked was enough to shake Becca from her thoughts.
“Who is it?”
“Joshua DeLong.” Of course it’s him. That explained why Stacy was on her best behavior. “He wants to take you to lunch.”
Leanna squealed. “This is perfect! You can redeem yourself from your last conversation.”
“I’m not going to lunch with him. I have too much to do.” And I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one week.