The drive back to Marian’s hotel felt impossibly long, even with the empty Los Angeles roads stretching ahead of him like silent invitations. Morning light poured over the city in soft gold—gentle, forgiving—too gentle for the storm churning in Daniel’s chest. His fingers drummed against the steering wheel, the rhythm uneven, betraying nerves he hadn’t felt when he is rehearsing how to ask Marian out for the very first time.
Every minute mattered now.
Because arriving late felt disrespectful… and arriving early felt pathetic, like he had been circling the hotel hoping she’d see him waiting.
He checked the dashboard clock again.
10:58.
Fifty-eight minutes.
Close enough to an hour to keep his word.
Far enough that he didn’t look like a desperate man clinging to a memory.
Good.
He ex
