The road stretched out before Ryan like a long black ribbon, the car slicing through the night with smooth precision as he drove towards home. Bexlin’s city lights shimmered in his peripheral vision, streetlamps, neon signs, the soft glow of passing buildings drifting like washed-out stars. He wasn’t thinking about work, or about Frenando’s, or even about the conversation earlier that had nearly soured into something ugly. His mind was somewhere else entirely.
On Eve.
And on the unexpected message glowing across his dashboard screen.
CITY GALA – VIP INVITATION:
Mr & Mrs Ryan Ashbrook.
Saturday, 8:00 PM.
He had received many invitations in his life, corporate events, charity balls, political fundraisers, but this one brought with it an unexpected flicker of warmth. Not because of the
