Chapter 10

MACKENZIE

I 'm totally out of my comfort zone here, bobbing around in the middle of the ocean participating in a water sport that I've never tried before, without the friend that actually booked it.

But I'm still glad I came.

The reef is beautiful, brimming with fish of all the colours of the rainbow and corals so articulate in their design. I make a mental note to thank Harper for pushing me to come out here. It has been exactly what I needed.

When we'd arrived at the reef, Jade had given us a thirty-minute guided tour, pointing out different species of fish and rattling off facts about turtles. She'd also shown us some interesting reef formations and explained how corals are actually animals and not plants, which was something I'd been unaware of until this point. After the tour, we'd been told we could explore freely until it was time to get back on the boat.

I dive down deeper and come face to face with another sea turtle. Behind it, two others float in the depths. I'm mesmerised by their grace and the way the rays of sunlight penetrate the water in silver streaks, highlighting the colours in their shells. I find myself thinking about the canvas and art supplies I retrieved from Pamela's loft. Maybe I've just found my next subject.

Further down, I can make out Dylan and the other scuba divers. I'm not sure I have any intentions of learning how to dive, but I am impressed by it. It must feel super-human to be able to walk along the ocean floor. Although I'm not sure I'd be prepared to face the many creatures that lurk out in all that deep blue.

I glide upwards, taking a deep breath as I break through the surface.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jade treads water next to me, her snorkel mask perched upon her forehead.

"Yeah," I agree, sliding my mask up onto my forehead in the same way. "It really is."

"Told you you'd like it," she says with a smile. "It's a shame Harper couldn't make it."

"Yeah," I say. I feel a pinch of guilt at being out here knowing it was my friend who really needed this escape. "It's too bad. She would have really liked it."

"Another time," she says.

"For sure. I'm definitely bringing her back out here once Noah feels better."

A moment later, four dark figures resurface near the boat, their excitable voices carrying across the water as they whoop and holler.

"Did you see that?" The young woman says to the rest of the group. "It was so cool!"

The man to her left responds by high fiving her. Whatever happened down there below the surface has no doubt gotten the adrenaline pumping through their veins. Dylan slides his mask up onto his forehead, his eyes finding mine across the turquoise ocean.

"Well, Dylan's back," Jade announces. "That's our cue. Morning teatime."

"Okay." I paddle to the boat while Jade collects the rest of the snorkellers.

By the time I've reached the boat ladder, all of the scuba divers have already climbed back aboard. Except Dylan. He hovers at the side of the boat. "How'd you go today, Jade?"

"Yeah, good. Heaps of turtles out to play," she answers as she hoists herself up the ladder.

"Awesome," he replies. Then he turns to me, his eyes warm like coffee flecked with gold. "What about you? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, I did," I tell him.

I reach for the ladder, but his hand comes up to stop me. I pause, glancing down to where his golden skin meets my own.

"Wait," he says. He smiles, exposing a brilliant flash of bright white teeth. "Come with me. I want to show you something." He slides the oxygen tank off his back and thrusts it up into the boat where Cameron collects it, then he begins to move toward the bow. "Over here."

I paddle over as quickly as I can. "What is it?"

"Something really special. Just come with me. You'll see," he says, sliding his mask back down over his eyes with the biggest grin I've ever seen. "Put your mask on. We're gonna dive down a few metres. Hold your breath, okay?"

I pull the mask back down over my eyes as instructed, then his palm is in mine, firm and reassuring. We glide downwards, tiny blue and yellow fish flying past, the underwater world breathtaking in its beauty. I feel freer than I ever have before, so grateful to be alongside Dylan for this adventure.

Then my heart slams against my ribs when I see a large grey mass a few metres below us. I panic at the sight of a dorsal fin, several rows of jagged teeth and the beady eyes that watch me from their peripheral.

I pull my hand frantically from Dylan's. He turns. Seeing the fear in my eyes, he realises I'm freaking out. Then grasping my hips with strong hands, he propels us both to the surface. He doesn't let go of me until I'm gripping the boat's ladder.

"Kenz, are you okay?"

His question maddens me. I clench my jaw, my body still trembling with fear.

"Am I okay?" I shout. "What the hell, Dylan? I need on this boat now!"

I try to hoist myself up, but the fins I'm still wearing keep getting caught in the rungs of the ladder, making me slip and slide all over the place. I cry out in frustration, slamming my fist into the side of the boat in anger. "These fucking things!"

Dylan watches me patiently from the water with an amused glint in his eye. After a moment, he sighs. "Can I help?"

I turn myself around stubbornly, managing to seat myself on the bottom rung of the ladder, awkwardly holding my feet above the surface. With the patience of a saint, he gently slips my fins off one at a time. I give him a defiant look, my nostrils flaring, chin jutting out, before I turn and climb aboard. He follows closely behind me with way more grace than I'd been capable of.

"I'm sorry, Mackenzie," he offers. "I thought you'd like it."

"Like what?" I cry. "Being lured to the depths of hell straight into the jaws of… Jaws!"

He raises an eyebrow, rolling his lips together. I can tell this is him attempting not to laugh, which only infuriates me more. "It was just a grey nurse shark, Kenz. They're actually really peaceful. And they're endangered."

"Endangered? I was just endangered!" I shout, not caring that we now have the attention of the rest of the boat.

"No, you weren't. I'd never put you in harm's way." Another sigh escapes him as he swipes a hand through his wet hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't peg you as someone who'd be scared of…"

"You didn't think I'd be afraid of a shark?" I cut him off. "Most people on this planet are afraid of sharks, Dylan!"

"Sharks are actually really misunderstood creatures," he says calmly and matter-of-factly.

" I was just a misunderstood creature! As in, you misunderstood that I would want to be fed to a shark."

At this point I realise I may be overdoing it with the dramatics, but adrenaline is coursing through my veins after our close encounter with The Meg and I'm not in the mood.

He clamps his lips together, his eyes crinkling at the corners as the laugh he tries to contain bursts free in the form of a snort.

"I would never feed you to a shark, Kenz."

"It's Mackenzie," I tell him, for the four hundredth time as I thump a fist into his chest.

And damn it, his pecs are firm.

"Okay. I'm gonna let you calm down a little while I go get these lovely people some refreshments. I'll bring you something in a minute, okay?"

"Whatever," I mutter as I make my way across the boat to my bag.

I grab my towel and begin drying off, then I throw on the shorts and crop top I'd worn here back over my bikini. The boat is set in motion as I take a seat on the same bench I sat on for the journey out to the reef.

A short while later, Dylan is standing in front of me, his wetsuit pulled down to the waist so low it reveals his eight pack and a scripted tattoo across his right rib cage.

Great. Now he's decided to use his hot body to distract me from being angry at him.

"How's it going, Kenz?" he asks as he holds out a selection of sandwiches on a small plate to me.

I swear he's just going along with this annoying nickname to piss me of now.

"As good as it can be after a near death experience." I answer stiffly, plucking a cheese and ham portion. He doesn't say anything. Just stands there grinning at me, one hand on his hips, the other balancing the plate of sandwiches. It's irritating. "Stop smiling at me!"

God, I wish he'd put a shirt on. I also wish he'd never put a shirt on. I don't know what it means that I can't stop gawking at him, but I really hope it isn't obvious.

"Okay, okay," he says, raising his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry I scared you. You hate sharks. Duly noted. Friends?" He holds out his hand in a peace offering.

I'm not usually the type to overreact and I'm starting to realise that's exactly what I've done. Although I don't know Dylan well enough to trust him – I don't think I'll ever know anyone well enough to trust them – I know he'd never put me in immediate danger.

He's a dive instructor who is clearly passionate about his work. The grin that he's worn this entire boat tour is a testament to that. He just wanted to show me something that he thought was special to him and I freaked out about it.

I huff out a breath. "Fine. I'm sorry too. For overreacting." I accept his handshake and then he sits down beside me, placing the plate of sandwiches on the bench in between us. "But I am gonna get my revenge on you for that stunt you pulled."

"I'll sleep with one eye open." He chuckles. "Any word from Harper?"

I reach into my bag with my free hand and pull out my phone, casually scrolling through the notifications. "Not yet. I'll send her a text."

I type out a quick message asking Harper how Noah is doing.

"I meant what I said before, you know." He shifts his body towards mine on the bench seat.

"Which part? That sharks are misunderstood and endangered?"

"No." He shakes his head, laughing quietly.

"Oh, so you made that part up?" I quirk an eyebrow as I take a small bite of my sandwich.

"I didn't. Those things are true," he replies earnestly.

"Oh. What then?"

His eyes soften and he lifts his right shoulder subtly in a small shrug. "I'm glad you came out today."

"Yeah. Me too," I admit.

Despite the last five minutes of the snorkelling trip sending me into a panic, I have really enjoyed today. And whether I care to admit it or not, Dylan's company hasn't been all that bad either. My phone chimes with an incoming text from Harper, and I break my gaze away from his to steal a glance at the screen.

HARPER: Noah's fever has broken. I think he's on the mend.

"Noah's starting to feel better," I relay to Dylan.

"That's good," he replies, taking a bite of one of the sandwiches. "He's such a cute kid."

"Yeah." I can't help my mind shifting back to yesterday, to the way he'd calmed Noah down so effortlessly, which in turn reminds me of Harper's comments. My phone chimes with another text.

HARPER: So tell me... On a scale of 1 to 10... How hot are the instructors? :P

HARPER: Can't believe you still haven't sent me a pic.

I almost laugh out loud. Her timing is impeccable. If only she knew. Before I've even had a chance to slide my phone into my pocket, it chimes again. Twice.

"Must be important," Dylan says gesturing to the phone in my back pocket.

"Hardly," I scoff.

He arches an eyebrow in question.

"It's just Harper being… Harper," I say, rolling my eyes and retrieving the phone again as a third notification comes through.

HARPER: Remember I'm living vicariously through you.

HARPER: Selfie!!

HARPER: Mama needs her eye candy!

"Is everything okay? Is it Noah? What's she saying?"

"Nothing. He's fine," I tell him, barely stifling a soft laugh.

Harper's texts, as outrageous as they may be, seem to be lifting me from my sullen mood and I don't think I'm doing a very good job of masking the smirk that seems intent on blowing my cover here.

"Then what is it?" He leans into me, analysing my face. "Wait. Are you smiling?"

"No," I lie. "It's nothing."

And then he's swiping the phone from my grip. I try to reclaim it, my fingers grasping at his muscular forearms to no avail. I surrender, squeezing my eyes shut in embarrassment as he skims over Harper's words. When I open them, he's still reading, the corners of his mouth downturned, his eyebrows arched in surprise.

"Hmm," he murmurs, his expression unreadable. "Well, we better give the woman what she wants."

My jaw drops. This is the last thing I expected him to say. "What? No."

"You heard her. Mama needs her eye candy." Dylan grins deviously as I shake my head in mortification. At this point, I'm wishing that a strong wind would force me overboard, but he's already opened the camera app, positioning the phone to capture a selfie of the two of us. "Smile."

I grimace, then lean into the shot and put on a cheesy grin for Harper's benefit. He sends the pic and hands me back my phone.

"She's gonna freak out," I tell him.

I glance down at it. It's actually a pretty decent pic of Dylan, his perfect white teeth a stark contrast to his suntanned skin, his right hand forming a peace sign. My eyes catch on the ink adorning his rib cage and I can't help myself seeking it out in real life.

"What's this?" I ask, my hand trailing the script as I read the words aloud. "Fortune favours the brave."

When my gaze drifts upward I find his eyes locked on mine and its then I notice the goosebumps that have formed beneath my fingertips. "It's just an old saying. You've heard of it, right?"

"Yeah," I say. "But I mean, what does it mean to you?"

He pauses, still looking at me, seemingly contemplating his answer. He opens his mouth to say something, but Cameron's voice echoes across the boat.

"Dylan!" he calls impatiently. "You wanna come help me out here or what?"

His eyes snap to Cameron somewhere behind me and I draw my hand back, suddenly aware of the heat traveling through my core.

"Duty calls," he says in a low voice, then with a wink he adds, "You're gonna get me into trouble, Kenz."

"Oh, you don't even know what trouble is yet," I hit back.

"I take it I still need to sleep with one eye open then?"

I lean back in my seat, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm plotting my revenge as we speak."

There's a gleam in his eye when he replies. "I'll bet you are. I can't wait."

As he strides away from me, my phone chimes again.

HARPER: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!! *Sweat emoji* *Fire emoji*