Melissa stayed quiet for several breaths after that, still tucked against Phei's chest while the hanging bed moved lazily beneath the old tree. The night had settled into that rare softness Paradise almost never deserved, the ocean breathing below the cliff and moonlight slipping through the leaves in pale broken ribbons. Her smile remained, tired and warm from everything they had shared, yet Phei felt the change before she said a word.
Her fingers stopped playing with his.
The hand resting over his forearm tightened just slightly.
Then Melissa looked away from him and toward the distant coast.
Phei followed her gaze for a moment, though he already knew whatever had entered her mind was not waiting out there among the lights. Paradise glittered along the shoreline with enough beauty to make the island look innocent from a distance, which was perhaps its funniest lie.
