She’d decided to forgo any work on Just Friends when she’d agreed to work at Daniel’s, still reticent when it came to divulging her concept to someone with the knowledge to take the idea and make it their own. But she no longer had that fear. She trusted him.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Samiah asked.
He set the glass of milk on the coffee table, slight alarm in his eyes. “About?” he said, wiping the back of his hand across his lips.
“It’s nothing bad,” she said. “It’s actually pretty cool. At least I think it is.”
Sensing his confusion, Samiah reached into her bag and took out her personal iPad. She clicked onto the app design and handed it to him.
“What’s this?”
“A project I’ve been toying with off and on for a few years. About a month ago I decided to finally do something about it.”
He studied the screen for a moment, his forehead creasing in confusion. “Is this a dating app?”
“Not exactly. It’s an app for finding platonic relationships instead of romantic ones. I call it Just Friends.”
Fighting off the niggle of trepidation skirting along her spine, she gave him a more detailed explanation of the app’s features than she’d given to Taylor and London, knowing he would understand the technology behind the design.
“It also has its own social network,” Samiah added.
“And the vendors? This isn’t like the normal advertising you see on most platforms. Users will know about this upfront, right?”
She nodded. “It’s one of the reasons I’m hoping users will sign up for it, because they want those curated experiences.”
“This is genius, Samiah.” He continued staring at the iPad with unabashed awe. “Honestly, I’m blown away.”
She tried not to preentoomuch, but damn, it was hard. Humility had never been her strong suit. “Surprised no one has come up with something like this before, aren’t you?”
He studied her face for a moment then slowly shook his head. “Actually, I’m not. I’m not surprised at all that you were able to conceive something no one else has thought to do.” His eyes roamed her face, the brown orbs round with wonder. “I’ve witnessed how that brilliant brain of yours works. It’s an amazing tool, one that continues to enthrall me more and more every second I’m around you.”
Samiah would argue to the death that she didn’t need his validation. Owning her abilities, believing in herself when others didn’t—it was her thing. It was at the very heart of her identity.
But she couldn’t ignore the effect his words had on her. She just didn’t know what to do with it. Or how to respond without admitting that, deep down, his acknowledgment of her skills fed a part of her that was hungry for that kind of affirmation.
Instead, Samiah called upon a reliable standby. Humor.
With a sly grin, she said, “You’re trying to sweet-talk your way into my pants, aren’t you?”
His dimples became even more pronounced. “I’m forever trying to sweet-talk my way into your pants.” He kissed her on the nose. “But I meant every word. And if you need any help with the designs or figuring out the specs, I’m here.”
The trepidation she’d been fighting off meandered along her nerve endings, but before she could voice any objection, he added, “Although I understand if you want to do this on your own. You’ve taken it this far, you deserve to have all the glory when this app hits big.”
Gratitude engulfed her, amassing like a thick cloud within her chest and causing her throat to ache.
“Thank you,” Samiah said. “I appreciate the offer, but you’re right, I want to do this myself. It’s my baby. I want to be the one to bring it into the world.”
“And when you do, it will be amazing.”
He leaned forward again, this time kissing her on the lips.
Chapter Eighteen
Samiah angled her head back against the sofa’s sloped arm and inhaled a satisfying breath, filling her lungs with HEPA-filtered air, redolent with the pine-scented solution the cleaning service had used to polish her hardwood floors this morning. The moment she and Daniel returned from indulging in croissants and coffee at the café a couple of blocks over, she’d kicked her shoes off and immediately placed her feet in his lap, the move automatic.
At odd moments a reminder would pop into her head that this was not her normal. She’d become so comfortable with the routine they’d established these last few weeks, it took effort to remember a time when dating wasn’t this easy. Daniel had a way about him that made everything feel relaxed and uncomplicated. And natural. Something about this feltsonatural.
It also made her anxious to move beyond foot rubs. Their decision to take things slowly had been supplanted by her need to have those strong fingers massaging something other than her feet.
