get caught.”
“Say it again for the people in the back,” she drawled. “Especially those named Craig who don’t realize that their lies will catch up with them.”
“Has he been bothering you?” he asked, abandoning the humor from moments ago.
Samiah shook her head. “He’s a coward. I haven’t heard from him since that night at the restaurant. Neither have Taylor or London, the other two women in the video.”
“Good. That guy doesn’t deserve a moment more of your time. Do me a favor; don’t waste any more of it on him.”
A peculiar sensation pressed against the walls of her chest. It took her a second to recognize it as gratitude.
Over these past couple of weeks, as their lighthearted banter and occasional flirting escalated, Samiah had cautioned herself not to take it too seriously. She would never admit it publicly, but her pride was still raw from the wounds the episode with Craig had inflicted. That vulnerability had the potential to color her perception, causing her to put too much stock into the slightest gesture.
But Daniel’s concern seemed genuine. Every morning, during their coffee bar encounters, he never once skipped the chance to inquire about how she was holding up under the weight of the viral video.
Interest in it had finally begun to wane, thank goodness. But it would still be a while before her life was back to normal. No one here had shown more interest in her mental well-being than Daniel. He cared. She didn’t realize just how much that would mean to her.
“Thank you for that,” Samiah said.
He gave a slight nod, his eyes filled with understanding. “It’s nothing you don’t already know, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to remind you. We tend to forget how special we really are after something like this happens.”
Did he have a guidebook to prep him with the exact words she needed to hear?
Samiah knew better than to play the if only game. Engaging in hypotheticals was the equivalent of buying a first-class ticket to Disappointmentville. But she couldn’t help thinking how different things would be if only she’d met him a few weeks earlier.
She’d heard the terms bandied about before—work spouse, office hubby, wusband. But she’d never found anyone at Trendsetters who fit the bill.
Until Daniel.
Although she wasn’t sure that label still applied. A typical work spouse shouldn’t trigger the chemical reaction she experienced whenever she was around him.
She’d all but given up on there being any guys like Daniel still out there—genuinely sweet, empathetic, and the kind of sexy that made you want to apologize to his mama for thinking such naughty thoughts about her son. Guys like that were all happily married and living lives that seemed to come directly out of a Subaru commercial. What were the chances she’d actually stumbled upon her ideal man just as she’d promised to give up men for a while?
Her timing was for shit.
Daniel returned to his ice cream. “So, how did you know exactly what I like on my ice cream sundaes?” he asked, breaking off a chunk of chocolate chip cookie and popping it in his mouth. “You haven’t been stalking me online, have you?”
“Do you make a habit of discussing your sundae preferences on social media?” she asked, giving his shoulder a playful nudge. “It wasn’t hard to figure it out. You make yourself at least one mocha a day, and if there’s a granola bar with chocolate chips in the bowl, that’s what you go for.”
The brow with a faint scar marring it arched. “So you have been paying attention to what I like, huh?”
Her face instantly grew hot. Oh, God. If he mentioned something about her blushing, she’d never be able to face him again.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Samiah retorted in an attempt to shift the focus back to him. “I only pay attention because I want to make sure I get my granola bar before you raid the kitchen.”
He shook his head. “Nope. That’s not the reason.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re not a chocolate fan. At least not when it comes to the granola bars. You like the ones with peanut butter.” He glanced up at her, his brown eyes glittering with irrepressible mischief. “Why do you think there’s always at least one waiting for you?”
Samiah’s heart clutched. “You put a granola bar in the bowl for me?”
He caught her gaze and held it, earnestness supplanting his amusement. “I don’t like seeing you disappointed. You’ve had enough of that in the past couple of weeks.”
The breath seeped