diff --git a/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/check-bare-real-process-waits.test.mjs b/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/check-bare-real-process-waits.test.mjs
index b16c74de80f..24eaf6f0c6a 100644
--- a/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/check-bare-real-process-waits.test.mjs
+++ b/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/check-bare-real-process-waits.test.mjs
@@ -194,6 +194,18 @@ test("rejects a vi.waitFor( that follows a regex literal with a quantifier's ope
   ]);
 });
 
+test("rejects a vi.waitFor( that follows an await-prefixed regex literal with a closing brace inside a template literal interpolation", () => {
+  const source = [
+    "async function example() {",
+    "  const message = `status: ${await /}/.test(x) ? await vi.waitFor(() => expect(x).toBe(1)) : false}`;",
+    "}",
+  ].join("\n");
+
+  assert.deepEqual(findBareRealProcessWaits(source), [
+    { line: 2, pattern: "vi.waitFor(" },
+  ]);
+});
+
 test("ignores a vi.waitFor( written inside a regex literal's own text, inside a template literal interpolation", () => {
   const source = [
     "async function example() {",
diff --git a/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/lib/bare-real-process-wait.mjs b/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/lib/bare-real-process-wait.mjs
index 62ecf21ce93..f76d8e15346 100644
--- a/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/lib/bare-real-process-wait.mjs
+++ b/packages/paperclip-runner/scripts/lib/bare-real-process-wait.mjs
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ async function collectSourceFiles(target) {
 // state; this heuristic only needs to hold for the code this guard scans.
 const REGEX_PRECEDING_KEYWORDS = new Set([
   "return", "typeof", "instanceof", "in", "of", "new", "delete", "void",
-  "yield", "case", "throw", "do", "else",
+  "yield", "case", "throw", "do", "else", "await",
 ]);
 
 function isRegexLiteralStart(source, index) {