With his hand at the small of my back, he guides me in the direction I just came from. I peek over my shoulder and relax, noting the blonde left the desk.
“What’s the matter?” he asks.
Do I tell him what I overheard? Do I ask about it? Do I even want to know?
Joshua takes the decision from me when he stops us outside. Using his free hand, he grabs my chin and tilts my face toward his. “Please tell me what’s wrong. You’re worrying me.” The sincerity and concern I see on his face has me rolling to my toes and pressing my lips to his.
“Where should we sit?”
His brows pinch when I don’t answer his first question. “There’s a bench over here, away from the others.”
I wrap my arm around his waist, and his heavy arm rests around my shoulders. “When I came in, those two women were talking about you. I wasn’t sure at first, but after you stepped out, I knew.”
“Sabrina.” He sighs and shakes his head. “Erika is new, so I’m sure Sabrina was doing all the talking. You have nothing to worry about her.”
“Didn’t say I was worried… Well, not really…”
“What did they say?” he asks as we sit on the bench.
“Is Sabrina the blonde?”
“Yeah.”
“She warned the other one off, told her you were a player.” I pause and scan his face briefly before continuing. “Something about you breaking hearts and Erika should steer clear of you.”
“I’m not surprised.”
We sit in silence. I wait to see if he’ll elaborate on the matter, and when I think he won’t, he speaks. “Sabrina and I used to work nearly every shift together. One time we were talking about being starved, so I suggested we get a bite to eat. My intention was we’d go as two friends or coworkers, but I obviously failed somehow. I never meant to hurt her or make her feel rejected. I avoid dating coworkers. It always causes problems, and the blunder with Sabrina has caused me plenty of heartburn. She was a nice person to work with before this. Now… not so much.” He pauses and his nose flares with a deep breath “Well, enough about that. You’ve come all this way to surprise me with coffee when you should be warm in bed.”
“Did it work?” I ask.
“What?”
“Surprising you.”
He twists and faces me, searching my face, for what, I don’t know. “No one’s ever brought me coffee at work. Count me surprised.”
