“Ah.” He nodded. “Guess that makes sense. I know that restaurant. I haven’t been there, but I’ve seen it while out running.”

“Oh, do you live nearby?”

Daniel realized he’d just outed himself.

No, he hadn’t outed himself; he’d just given himself a credible reason for being in her neighborhood. Not that he planned to run into her. He’d decided to never put himself in that predicament again.

But it didn’t hurt to establish the story. Just in case.

“No, I live near the Triangle,” he said. “It’s nice up there, but I like running along the river and sometimes through downtown.”

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Her eyes lit up. “The moment I moved to Austin I knew this area was where I wanted to live.”

“You’re not from here?”

She shook her head. “Houston. The Third Ward. Or, as the rest of the world knows it, the place where Beyoncé grew up.”

He tipped his head in acknowledgment. “Living among royalty, huh?”

“She is the Queen Bee.” Samiah laughed. “And she still does a ton for her community. Much more than you see in the news.”

“Does your family still live there?”

“Mom and Dad do. My older sister moved here last year. She and her husband both teach middle school math with the Austin ISD. Independent School District,” she tacked on.

He took a sip from his bottle of ramune. “Must be nice to have family here with you. I haven’t lived near mine for a while. My mom said she’ll disown me if I’m not home for Thanksgiving.”

“You’d better buy that plane ticket now.” Her sly grin was so lovely it hurt. “Angry mamas are to be avoided at all cost. Especially around the holidays.”

“Speaking from experience, huh?” Daniel chuckled.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve gotten ‘the look’ on more than one occasion.”

“If it’s anything like the look from a Korean grandma, you have my sympathies.”

“Oh, your grandma is in Philadelphia too?”

“Philadelphia?” His brow rose. “How did you know that? You’ve been checking me out?” Her cheeks immediately darkened with her blush. It was the most beautiful thing he’d seen in years. Everything about her was the most. The most enchanting smile, the most engaging laugh, the most captivating eyes, the most intriguing mind. With every additional moment he spent with her, he became more entranced by her.

He was within an inch of falling over the edge. He needed to take a step back. Shit, make that several steps back. He had to walk a fine line between playing a role in a casual, lighthearted office flirtation that he could possibly convince his supervisor back at FinCEN was necessary for pulling off this undercover job, and plunging head first into lust with this woman.

The first would get him a reprimand, but it was survivable. The second would be career self-sabotage.