Dakota waved a beckoning hand behind him aimed at Mariana. The narrow passage between compartments was just big enough for both of them and their suitcases to fit through. "Looks like he's already off, you're good to go," he told her.

A grin spread over her face. "You are a lifesaver." She squeezed his arm and moved quickly behind him as they exited the train. The knot in her stomach that had eased knowing the creep from earlier was gone reappeared when she saw the sea of people in the station. Without thinking, she tucked herself closer to Dakota's side and let him push through the crowd. She took a deep breath once they were outside. The smoggy air made her wrinkle her nose immediately.

A line of cars parked along the sidewalk, grabbing their passengers and taking off seconds later. Mariana pulled out her phone and scrolled through the apps until she found the familiar black square. Now that she was free of the trains she knew exactly what she was doing. The familiarity of calling a ride settled her in the unfamiliar surroundings.

Beside her, Dakota cleared his throat. "Getting pretty late, huh?"

Mariana glanced at the sun that was nowhere near setting. "It's not even three," she pointed out.

"This is my truly horrible way of asking if you need a ride, and dinner," he said. "Or just the ride and no dinner."

"I'm ok, but thank you." She held a hand out and he shook it firmly. "It was really nice to meet you."

Dakota pulled a rectangular green card out of his wallet and offered it to her. "If you have any free time while you're in town, I'd really love to see you." He shook her hand again and left. A few feet away he stopped and turned back to wave. Then he was gone, sat in the back of a sleek black car.

The home page of her app flashed green and Mariana turned her head side to side until she found her assigned driver. She double checked the license plate before sliding into the back seat. The drive took just over thirty minutes and she fell into the plush hotel bed as soon as she was in the room. A whoosh of fresh linen scent filled her nose and made her sneeze. Her phone went off in her back pocket. Mariana twisted her arm around to pull it out and answered with her face still buried in the puffy duvet. "Hello?" she said, her voice almost totally muffled.

"Mari!" The voice that came through was loud and overly peppy.

Mariana immediately sat up and pressed the phone more securely to her ear. She fixed her thick hair back in place. "Sawyer, I didn't think you were going to call. Did you need something?"

He laughed on the other side of the phone. "I was just checking to make sure you got to the hotel alright and to see if you wanted to get something to eat tonight. Maybe we could pick up some takeout and check out the restaurant. I have a copy of the keys already."

"I'd love to see the space," Mariana shouted excitedly. "Are you sure that's alright?" She started digging through her bag for clean clothes. At the bottom was a carefully folded set of her very best jeans and a pale yellow blouse. Beneath that was a stunning low cut black dress. The dress she was saving for their dinner with the investors but she was tempted to wear it then.

This would be the first time they'd been in the same room since their junior year of college. Sawyer had pulled out of school and stopped his psychology degree to become a chef. He'd left before she could work up the nerve to make a move, which was a complete joke. She was never going to make any sort of confession to him.

When Sawyer had reached out to her two months ago with a tentative business proposal, all of her old feelings had come flooding back. They were older now, they'd both had their fair share of romantic partners. Mariana felt ready. The confidence boost from Dakota casually asking her out hadn't hurt. Clearly, she had something to offer.

They made plans to meet at the empty building. Sawyer would pick up the food and she would bring her notebook to jot down any ideas they came up with. The proposal for the investors was already prepared, but there were always more questions to ask. Mariana put every hair into place and used surgical precision to do her makeup.

"No confessions tonight, Mari, not tonight. Just feel out the vibe," she muttered to herself as she headed for the building's double doors. She pulled her jacket tighter to herself and fluffed her hair so it wasn't stuck under her thick blue scarf. The double doors opened, and he walked out onto the sidewalk.

Sawyer Hearst was a slender man, standing at just about five feet and ten inches of carefully styled perfection. His dark brown hair was swept back into the perfect gentleman's cut reminiscent of Superman's classic style. Behind a set of black rectangular glasses were his green eyes with the blue flecks. Sawyer reached his long arms out and hugged her. His warm honey and vanilla scent clouded her mind.

"Glad you found the place. I realized once I got here I should have offered to pick you up," he said.

Mariana shook her head. "It's alright, I'm just around the corner. I wanted to break in my new boots anyway." A little voice in her head berated her for bringing up something to stupid and trivial. She still felt a small bit of excitement when he complimented the boots.

"Come inside, let me show you around," Sawyer said. He pressed his hand against her back to guide her inside.

The wide spacious room was completely empty except for the one foldable table open off to the left side. Their takeout food was waiting on it with a bottle of wine. They ignored the food as their excitement for the soon to be restaurant's future. The high ceilings would be perfect for large lights that could dangle high above the diners, illuminating the restaurant without blocking anyone's view or the space.

They pointed excitedly at the long wall that Mariana had suggested would be perfect for a mural.She'd already compiled a list of local artists to contact. Their footsteps echoed through the room while they wandered around.

The kitchens stunned them. They'd been gutted since the last owner left but it was easy to envision the space with a full brigade. A full line or ovens would go down one side, marble counters, the huge walk in.

By the time they sat down to eat the warm food, Mariana had filled four pages of sloppily scribbled notes. They settled into the two folding chairs and opened her binder between the takeout containers.

"It looks so much better in person," bubbled Mariana as she carefully chewed the edge of a mozzarella stick. "I'm glad they were able to fix that crack in the wall too."

Sawyer nodded while pressing two pieces of pizza together so the cheese melded them into one. "It was expensive but I got it done by someone who owed me a favor so it could have been a lot worse." He nudged the pizza box towards her with a big grin. "And now I can fill it with all of your perfect plans and I just... I can't thank you enough, Mari. This wouldn't be possible without you."

She couldn't hide the smile when he squeezed her hand.