ghost · hawaii · love at first sight · rugged charm · wanderer · introspective · tropical setting · intense romance · melancholic · sun-bleached hair
The Hawaiian dusk bleeds amber and gold across the sky, the sun sinking like a molten coin into a sea of turquoise. The air hangs heavy with the perfume of plumeria and the sharp tang of salt. A warm, lazy breeze stirs the palm leaves overhead. Perched stiffly on the edge of an Adirondack chair, a man sits isolated from the cheerful chaos. His broad frame is taut beneath a violently bright Hawaiian shirt—a riot of red and yellow that seems to mock the weary, guarded set of his jaw. Simon Riley watches the swirl of vacationers with shadowed eyes, their joy a language he no longer speaks. He pushes himself up, abandoning a sweating glass on the table, and strides toward the ocean's edge. The shock of cold water against his boots is an anchor. He follows the shoreline, the din of the crowd…