The breath seeped from her lungs in a measured exhale, replaced with an emotion she would have to think long and hard about before she was willing to put a label on it. A heady, charged energy pulsed between them, pure and intense and unnerving.

Could she even trust this feeling, or was this her bruised ego searching for a salve to soothe the burn Craig’s cheating had wrought?

Snapping the connection before it sucked her in even deeper, Samiah deployed one of her most reliable tactics, sassiness. “Well, it’s the least you can do for not gifting me that massage,” she said.

He too must have been shaken by the potency of what passed between them. With feigned aggrievement, he slapped a hand over his heart. “Will I ever live that down?” His amusement slowly receded. Raw sincerity appeared in its place. “Why don’t you let me make it up to you by taking you to lunch?”

Samiah’s head reared back, a thrilling panic slamming against the walls of her chest.

Say yes!

No. Don’t say yes.

“I…uh…I just ate all that ice cream,” she sputtered.

Lamest. Response. Ever.

Daniel leaned forward, the sinful gleam in his eyes the kind of look fathers warned their daughters about.

“The ice cream was okay, but it isn’t enough to fill you up.” He gestured over his shoulder, toward his computer. “I need to give this code refactoring another hour or so. Once I’m done, why don’t you let me treat you to a late lunch?”

Okay, so maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe the guy was just really hungry. She’d had lunch with coworkers before. It had never been a big deal. Why did it have to be one this time?

Because none of your other coworkers compelled you to fling your panties off.

Stop!

She could have lunch without losing her damn panties. In fact, this lunch was the perfect opportunity to show herself that she absolutely could handle an office friendship without expecting it to grow into anything serious. For the next six months, a serious relationship was no longer her goal.

Daniel had been a bright spot in what could have been two extremely dark weeks. If she allowed herself to get in her own way, she would be depriving herself of what could become a genuine friendship.

Leaning in to retrieve his empty ice cream bowl, she smiled. “Meet you in an hour.”

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

What in the fuck are you doing?

The question ping-ponged around Daniel’s head as he strode down the open corridor toward Samiah’s office. He didn’t have to go through with this. He could plead temporary insanity; say he’d asked as a joke after the ribbing she’d given him over the massage.

No, he couldn’t do that. That would make him look like an asshole.