Page 112 of The Version You Hide

Harper lies her head on my shoulder, and I rest mine on hers. “I’m glad I met you, Mackenzie Riley.”

“I’m glad I met you too, Harper Conway.”

I mean these words with my whole being. I’ve never had a friendship like the one I have with Harper, and I doubt I ever will again.

“Hey.” Harper lifts her head, squinting at the ocean in the distance. “Is that Dylan?”

I follow her gaze to the figure surfacing from the small waves. He no longer has his dive tank on, or his wetsuit for that matter, but it’s definitely Dylan.

He removes his snorkel mask as he wades out of the water, his favourite pair of light blue boardies hung low on his hips. The grin he aims at me as he drops down onto the sand beside me is enough to make me melt.

“Hello, ladies.” He presses a kiss to the side of my head.

“See anything exciting down there, dive master?” Harper asks.

His muscular shoulders jump in a shrug. “Not today. Just a whole heap of sea turtles.”

“Sea turtles!” Harper squeals. Surprisingly, we hadn’t seen any on our way over to the island. “Where are they?”

“They were over on that side of the boat,” Dylan says, outstretching an arm to point into the distance.

Harper picks up her snorkel mask and rises to her feet. “Well, lovebirds. This is where I leave you. There are sea turtles to be found.”

We both laugh as she pulls her mask down and starts wading back into the ocean. “Have fun!” I call out.

“What about you, Kenz?” Dylan says as he gently tugs my chin to him, drawing me into his warm, whiskey stare. “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah.” I press a kiss to his cheek, trailing my lips along his jaw before I nuzzle into the crook of his neck. My fingers find the tattooed script that runs across his ribcage. “I am now.”

He threads his fingers through my hair, planting a kiss on my forehead. “Do you wanna come up to the lookout?”

“Sure.”

He springs up onto his feet then holds his hands out to help me to mine. I follow him along the winding trail that leads to the top of the hill. Once we’ve reached the lookout, we step up onto the edge of a small, decked platform.

From here we can see the entire coastline, the coves that make up Cliff Haven and Little Bay and some of the other uninhabited neighbouring islands that I’m yet to learn the names of. Below us, the white sand stretches out underneath us, melting into a crystal blue ocean.

Dylan rests an elbow on the protective fencing, his gaze stuck on something out in the distance. “Hey, look. Dolphins.”

“Cool.” I slide into the space beside him in time to see a pod of dolphins surfacing off the shore, looping playfully through the water. I curl my arms around Dylan’s waist, leaning into his warmth, the scent of coconut and vanilla infiltrating my senses. “You never ended up telling me what happened when you went to the city.”

“That’s because nothing happened,” he replies. “My dad was only using me. He was just hoping I’d get snapped by the paparazzi going into the building so the newspapers would have something new to print.”

“That sucks. I’m sorry.”

“I spent the whole time doing simple, boring tasks for my sister, while my dad ignored me to take calls about his new boutique hotel project.”

“Boutique hotel?” I ask. “That’s what your ex had been talking about at the party that night.”

“She was? Oh, well. It doesn’t concern me anymore. Honestly, I don’t even want to go back there.” He brushes my hair behind my shoulder, and I shiver as his fingers drag along my neck.

“Do you have to?” I selfishly wish I could keep him here all to myself.

“Honestly, I don’t think it matters whether I do or not, but I need to go for Claire’s sake. I promised her we’d have drinks to celebrate her new role so I kind of owe that to her.”

“Fair enough.” The love and respect he has for his sister is admirable.

“I’m going to miss you every second that I’m gone though.” He cups my cheek in his palm and kisses me again. Despite the warm weather, a trail of goosebumps descends across my skin.

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