Page 80 of The Version You Hide

I reach into my pocket and pull out my car keys, dangling them in the air between us. “You know how to drive, right?”

“Yeah,” she shrugs.

“I mean, you can drive? Like, legally?” I smirk. “As in, you have a licence?”

She rolls her eyes at me again, the hint of a smile on her face. “Knowing my background that’s a fair question, I suppose. Yes, Dylan. I have a driver’s licence.”

The smile falls from her face suddenly and I lower the keys, concerned by her change in demeanour. I hadn’t wanted to offend her. It had been a stupid joke.

“Sorry,” she says. “It’s just that Ethan used to control my every move. He didn’t want me to have a licence. It was the first thing I did when I got to Cliff Haven. That, and get an RSA to work in a bar. I had to rope Henley into giving me lessons.”

“Look, I’m only going to say this once.” My nostrils flare, my jaw clenching in anger. I feel my heart rate rising with every breath. “I don’t like to talk shit about people, but your ex is a fucking dick. He deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life. And not even God will be able to help him if he ever sets foot anywhere near either one of us.”

She blinks back at me, obviously surprised by my blatant honesty. “Wow.” Her lips curl up in a smile. “You’re kinda hot when you get all macho.”

My eyebrows shoot toward my forehead. “Kinda?”

“Kinda heaps.”

I turn her hand over in mine, dropping the car keys into her palm. “Here. You’ll get there a lot faster.”

“You sure you trust me with your car?” Her blue eyes glisten as a smirk twists her lips. “I know she’s your pride and joy and all.”

I scoff at her attempt at humour, then with a shrug I say, “Hey, she’s no Ferrari, but I do love her. Just come past the tavern and pick me up later.”

I don’t miss the glassiness in her gaze as she swallows, squeezing her fist tightly around the keys. “Thank you.”

I pull her into my chest, my arms enveloping her. I’m getting used to the way her body stiffens at my touch, but she allows herself to relax into me a little faster this time and I take that as a victory.

I know it isn’t personal. That it’s not me she’s reacting to. She isn’t used to being held or allowing herself to confide in others.

Her free hand fists the fabric of my t-shirt as she withdraws from me, blinking away a tear.

“You’ve got this,” I tell her, catching it with my thumb.

She nods and then releasing me from her grip, she turns and heads for the exit.

Chapter 25

MACKENZIE

The scent of coconut and vanilla surrounds me in the driver’s seat of Dylan’s car. It takes me back to this morning, when I’d wrapped my arms around him in his living room, my cheek pressed against his bare chest. It reminds me of the way he kissed me while we sat on his couch, the way he held me like his life depended on it.

It had been everything, but the memory still sends a wave of unease through me because I had torn away from him first.

Again.

I keep wondering what it will take for me to be able to truly let go of my past.

I stop at a set of traffic lights as I near the studio and fan my face with my hand. The air con still isn’t working and a quick glance over at the passenger side door determines the window winder is still broken.

I’ve spent the entire drive into Seabright Cove wondering if I’m doing the right thing. Just as Dylan said it would be, the journey to the studio by car has been a lot faster than by bus, which hasn’t left me with enough time to contemplate all the things I need to say. The questions that need to be asked.

I discover there’s a carpark behind the building the studio is located in with plenty of vacancy, so I pull into a corner spot. I smooth down my curls, take a deep breath and exhale.

“Come on, Mackenzie. You can do this,” I whisper, psyching myself up. “It’s no big deal. Just a little meeting with your long-lost grandmother. How bad can it be?”

With a racing heart and a mind riddled with the fear of all the things I might be about to learn, I slam the car door shut with a clunk. The gravel crunches underneath the soles of my boots as I stride toward the building.

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