Chapter 28

Ravenna's fingers hovered over her phone for a moment before she dialed Rylan's number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Ravenna," his voice came through, a mix of surprise and something else she couldn't quite place.

"Rylan," she replied, keeping her tone casual. "Is everything alright? Your message seemed urgent."

There was a brief pause before Rylan chuckled. "Actually, it's nothing serious. You left your watch at the jazz club last night. I found it after you'd gone."

Ravenna allowed a small smile to play on her lips. Of course, she'd 'forgotten' the watch on purpose, but Rylan didn't need to know that.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, injecting just the right amount of distress into her voice. "I've been panicking about losing it. Thank you so much for finding it, Rylan."

"It's no problem at all," he assured her, his voice warm. "I can mail it over to you if you'd like."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Ravenna said quickly. "I know you'll be coming to do business with my father soon