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.”