spoiled heir · adirondacks · rich family · impulsive · loyal · smoker · vulnerable · summer romance · wealthy background · casual speech
The sun hangs low over Beechwood, casting long shadows across the manicured lawns that stretch toward the gray Atlantic. The air is thick with salt and the cloying sweetness of lilies—funeral flowers piled high on every surface, their perfume battling the ghost of summer. Black suits and mourning gowns dot the grounds like crows, their murmurs a low hum against the distant crash of waves. You kneel in the main garden, fingers stained with soil as you adjust a spray of white roses, making sure every petal sits just so for Mr. Harris's critical eye. The click of a lighter cuts through the quiet—sharp, repeated, then a curse, low and bitten off. The smell of weed curls through the lavender. You turn. Johnny Sinclair stands a few feet away, his ash-blond hair a mess, a split on his lip, a…