“I really can’t,” Samiah said. The light in his eyes dimmed and his smile faded by several degrees. “I’m so bogged down right now, and then I have a meeting out in Wells Branch in less than—” She glanced at the time on her computer. “Shit, in less than an hour.”

“Wells Branch? That’s even further up than where I live. What’s going on all the way out there?”

“I’m meeting with the directors of a foster care center. Trendsetters offers technical support to nonprofits that can’t afford IT staffs. It’s one of the projects I spearhead.”

He nodded. “Owen mentioned something about that during my orientation. I guess it’s not just lip service like most of the companies I’ve worked for. They really take giving back to the community seriously around here.”

“I make sure they do, even if I have to do it myself,” Samiah said. “And that’s, unfortunately, why I can’t have lunch with you today,” she lied. “Sorry.”

“You will have something to eat, right? Even if you have to eat it at your desk?”

“I was planning to grab a granola bar. Just an FYI. You know, in case you want to make sure there’s a peanut butter one in there.”

That slow, easy smile reappeared. She wasn’t 100 percent sure, but there was a pretty good chance the sensation she felt below was her panties melting.

“Will you pencil me in for lunch tomorrow?” Daniel asked. “I’m not sure how you’re ever supposed to get comfortable with me if we don’t do this lunch thing.”

He wasn’t even trying to be adorable right now and it still took everything she had not to give in to his irresistibleness.

“I’ll try to make myself available.” She would have to come up with a list of excuses she could use if she planned to stick to this pact she’d made. Her phone rang. “It’s the foster care center’s director,” Samiah said. “I need to take this. Hello?”

Sorry, Samiah mouthed.

He lifted his shoulders in an it is what it is shrug before shoving his hands in his pockets and backing out of her office, resignation evident in the rueful slant of his lips.

She stared at his retreating back as he walked down the hallway, not tearing her eyes away until he turned the corner.

It took a second to remember there was someone on the other end of the phone call. She returned her attention to the center’s director, who asked if their meeting could be postponed by an hour. The moment Samiah ended the call, she clicked into her messaging app to tell Daniel that she was free for lunch. But then she stopped herself. She could have made lunch work even if the director hadn’t pushed the meeting back. That wasn’t the reason she’d turned down his invitation.