Chapter 30

DYLAN

M y eyes open slowly, adjusting to the morning light. The sun filters in through a crack in the curtains, illuminating the light pink table lamp on the bedside to my right. Momentarily, in my sleepy haze, I've forgotten where I am and then all the memories of the previous night come flooding back.

Of Mackenzie's silky, sun-kissed skin moving against mine, the way my hands followed each curve as she clung to my broad shoulders. Without question, it had been the best night of my life.

She'd gone home with me to grab a change of clothes and feed Chance and then we'd worked our shifts together at the tavern. We'd barely been able to keep our hands off each other, almost getting busted by Corey in the office a couple of times. I'm pretty sure he could sense something was up between us. Something good.

Afterwards, we'd wound up right back in her room, repeating yesterday afternoon all over again.

I roll over as gently as I can to avoid waking Mackenzie. She's always gorgeous, but in this light, she is exquisite. A long, toned leg thrown over the covers, her hair streaming out behind her like spun gold. I tighten an arm around her waist, drawing her gently against me.

She begins to stir so I nuzzle into her, peppering light kisses down her neck. If I'm being honest, I'm a little anxious that she's going to wake up with regrets but as she murmurs softly, rolling onto her back, her lips meeting mine, my fears disintegrate. She had said she trusted me. More than that, she had shown me, and that had meant everything.

"Good morning," she says, her eyelids fluttering open to reveal those stormy blue-grey irises I love so much.

"Yes, it is," I agree.

She giggles, then Kristen's voice travels down the hallway. "Mackenzie! Are you awake?"

"Shit," I curse, glancing down at my almost naked body. "Will she come in here?"

Mackenzie laughs again. "Oh my. So prudish," she teases.

"I am not," I retaliate, making sure the comforter is covering every inch of my skin. "I'm just trying to be respectful."

"Such a gentleman," she mocks. "Don't you walk around mostly naked for like, half of every day?"

My mouth gapes open. "I'm a diving instructor, Kenz. You're making me sound like a stripper."

"Mackenzie." This time Kristen's voice is accompanied by a knock on the door.

I throw the covers over my head while Mackenzie chuckles at my attempt to hide. "Yeah," she calls back. "I'm awake."

The door creaks as Kristen swings it open. If she notices the giant blob under the comforter she doesn't let on.

"Hey," she says. "Liv and I are going into Little Beach today to check out the shops and get some lunch. We'd really love it if you came with us."

Mackenzie lets out a breath from beside me and I can already guess what her answer is going to be before she responds. "I can't."

I hear Kristen sigh. "Come on, Mackenzie. I really want to hang out with you. Besides I'm worried about how much time you've been spending alone."

"I don't know." Mackenzie hesitates. I take the opportunity to nudge her in the ribs with my elbow, urging her to accept her sister's invitation. "Ouch!" she cries out. "I mean, okay. Yeah. I'll come."

"Okay, great!" The excitement in Kristen's tone is undeniable. "We're leaving at nine. Liv's driving."

I wait until the door clicks shut to throw the covers back and spring into a sitting position. Mackenzie thumps me in the shoulder with a closed fist. "What was that?"

"You should go. It's important for you to spend time with your sister. And Liv's great too."

"Yeah. I know." She sighs, combing her hair back from her face, then she waves a frustrated hand in front of herself. "Fine. I'll go."

Without warning, the door swings wide open and I pull the covers up over my lap. "Oh, and good morning, Dylan!" Kristen throws her head over her shoulder, one hand still on the doorknob, a devious, smug grin spread across her face.

"Uh, hi, Kristen," I stutter, my eyes bugging out like a deer in the headlights. "You knew I was here the whole time, didn't you?"

"Your car is in the driveway," she says bluntly.

I nod stupidly. "Of course it is."

"Get dressed, Mackenzie." With that, she closes the door and leaves us alone.

Mackenzie eyes me sceptically and then her laughter fills the room as she slaps my knee and shoves me in the shoulder. It's the first time I've seen her so carefree. "Did you really forget your car was out front?"

"Yeah. I did," I tell her. "I think I forgot the whole world for a while, honestly."

"Me too."

The smile falls from her face, and I can tell that like me, she's remembering all the things that have taken up occupancy in our worlds. The issues I'm having with my father and the company. Her newfound grandmother, her mother's death and the letter explaining it all.

"Let's not do this," I say, tilting her chin up.

"Do what?"

"Allow our problems to get in the way of this. Us. Here. Right now." I pull her in close, planting a kiss on her forehead.

She responds by crushing her lips against mine, thrusting her hands into my hair. There's no better feeling than knowing that she doesn't feel the need to hesitate with me anymore.

A groan escapes me when I realise what I need to do today.

"What?" she says, pulling back from me, her fingertips dragging down my bare chest.

"I have to get to the boat," I grimace. "And I should have mentioned this earlier, but I'm not going to be around for a couple of days."

"Why?" She drops her hands back into her lap, retreating from me.

"My father agreed to hand Claire my position in the company," I explain. "But he's making a song and dance about having me come to the office and show her the ropes, which is ridiculous, because Claire could do that job and everyone else's with her eyes closed."

"You mean, your dad isn't on your back about working for him anymore? That's great," she says, the glow returning to her cheeks. "That's what you wanted, right? He'll finally leave you alone."

"Yeah. I just wish I didn't have to go into the city. I want to stay here with you."

I tug at her t-shirt, snaking my arms around her waist, then I fall back into the pillows, pulling her down with me. We share another kiss and when she pulls back there's a silent message in her gaze.

Whatever this is between us, she feels it too.

But just as quickly, the spell is broken as Kristen's voice echoes through the door again. "Mackenzie! Are you dressed yet?"

She sighs, but there's a hint of a smile on her lips. "It's like living with a military officer."

I chuckle. "She's not that bad. I have to go anyway, but I'll call you when I get to the city this afternoon."

"Okay."

I pull her in again and kiss her, deeper this time, knowing it will be the last time I get to have her this close for a few days. I don't say out loud what I'm thinking. That I'm going to miss her like hell.

I pull on yesterday's jeans and t-shirt and hurry down the hall. Kristen is folding clothes in the living room at the front of the house.

"See you, Kris." I offer her an awkward wave.

"Bye, Dylan." She gives me a smile and a knowing look.

I close the front door behind me, then skip down the porch steps and climb into the RAV4. The engine splutters as I start the ignition. It's starting to sound unhealthy again, but there isn't much I can do about it right now. I can only hope and pray that it gets me to the city and back without any dramas. I make a mental note to take a look under the hood later.

When I make it to the boat, Jade is busy hosing down the deck on the port side. "Hey," she calls out. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I reply. "Why?"

"You look a little dishevelled there," she answers with a smirk.

I glance down at my wrinkled clothing, raking a hand through my hair that I didn't have time to run a comb through. "I guess I am. In a good way."

Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Good night last night, then?"

"Yeah. The best." I'm unable to hide the smile that overtakes my face as I climb on board, and I don't even care.

"Wouldn't have had something to do with a feisty blonde, would it?" Jade questions.

My sheepish grin is all she needs in answer.

"'Bout time," she scoffs. "You're totally smitten."

"Who's smitten and with what?" Cameron emerges from below deck, his arms loaded with diving supplies.

"Dylan is in love with Mackenzie," Jade teases. "He's gone all gaga."

"'Bout time." Cameron's reply earns a dead stare from me.

"Oh, come on, dude," I say. "You only met her that one time."

"Yep," he agrees. "And I was lucky to not get burnt by all those sparks flying between the two of you."

"Anyway," I say. "I think I might book Mackenzie and her friend, Harper in for a tour at the end of the week if there's space. Harper missed out last time. I'll pay, of course."

"No problem," Cameron replies as he sorts the dive masks from the fins. "Just check the guest register and add them in."

"Thanks." I rub the base of my neck, preparing myself for the next favour I need to ask. "Uh, there's also something else I need to tell you guys." I steady my hands on my hips, staring at the boat deck between us. I hate that I have to ask for time off and with such little notice. "I need to take a few days off from tomorrow. I have some loose ends to tie up in the city."

"Loose ends, huh?" Jade muses. "Wouldn't have anything to do with a certain hotel conglomerate, would it?"

My jaw practically unhinges, my mouth gaping open like a cod as I swivel in her direction. When I turn back to Cameron, I expect to find confusion in his expression, but he doesn't look surprised by Jade's question at all.

"You guys know?

"Oh sweetie," she teases, laying a hand on my shoulder. "You're smooth, but you're not that smooth."

"Have you known this whole time?"

"Not the whole time. We probably figured it out about a month after you started working on the boat. I mean, Abbott is a common name but it's not that common." Cameron begins casually unpacking a slab of bottled water as though blowing this secret out of the water is the least exciting thing he's ever done.

That would have been around the time my parents cut me off. When news of my leaving had hit the papers. "Why didn't you guys say anything?"

Jade offers a small shrug. "I guess we figured that if you needed to keep it a secret, it must be a secret worth keeping. That you had your reasons."

"Wow," I say, letting out a long breath. "Thanks, I guess."

"You might want to prepare yourself for the rest of the town though," she suggests.

"What do you mean?"

"Here," Cameron says. "See for yourself." He tosses today's edition of the Cliff Haven Chronicle at me. The headline screams at me from the front page.

"IT'S A WOMAN'S WORLD. CLAIRE ABBOTT TO REPLACE HER brOTHER AT THE ABBOTT GROUP."

Below that, there's an old photo of me and Claire linked arm in arm at a red-carpet event. I think it was some movie premiere we'd been invited to attend. Claire looks elegant in a red floor length gown, a string of chunky diamonds adorning her neckline. I look bored, like I'd rather be anywhere else.

"Shit," I curse. "I knew it was only a matter of time."

I scan the article quickly. It appears to be written in a flattering light for Claire, all about the empowerment of women taking on the business world. There are a few lines in there about my so-called incompetency, but I can live with that. I couldn't have handled it if it had been Claire they were tearing to shreds. Not that she wouldn't be able to handle it. And I'm sure in the future at some point she will have to. That's just life. Well, our lives anyway.

"So, Mr. Abbott," Jade says. "Care to fill us in on the rest of the details? Your sister's hot, by the way."

"Jade!" Cameron exclaims.

"Well, she is." Jade places a hand on her hip defiantly.

Cameron pulls the newspaper out of my hand and glances down again at the photo. He looks up at me, his eyebrows raised, head tilted to the side. "She makes a fair point."

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I shake my head. Then I give them the cliff notes of my life before our guests board the boat for today's tour.