Chapter 34

DYLAN

"T hanks for today, Dylan." Harper beams as we reach the end of the jetty. "I had fun. It was just what I needed."

"You're welcome, Harps. Anytime." I wrap an arm around her, squeezing her in a friendly hug.

"I'm going to pay you back though." She slides her beach bag off her shoulder and dips into it to find her wallet.

"Seriously not necessary," I wave a hand at her generous gesture. "I get a staff discount anyway."

"Oh," she says. "Okay. Well, if you're sure."

"One hundred percent," I assure her.

"You need a ride home?" Mackenzie pipes up.

"No, that's okay. I can walk." Harper readjusts her bag on her shoulder, her smile inching wider as she readies herself to leave.

"You sure?" Mackenzie asks. "It's not like it's out of the way or anything."

"What do you mean?" she questions, her brows pulling in. "I live on the other side of town from you."

"Yeah. From me," Mackenzie replies. "But not from Dylan's."

Her eyes rake over me, letting me know that she doesn't intend to go home just yet. It puts a smile on my face and fills my chest with warmth. Nothing makes me happier than knowing she's found this level of comfort with me.

"Oh, I see." Harper's voice is lively as she winks at Mackenzie. "It's all good. I think I'd prefer to walk anyway. I can't wait to get back to Noah, but I also want to enjoy the silence for just a little longer."

I chuckle. "No problem. Say hi to him for us."

"Will do. Have fun, love birds." Harper raises two fingers up to the sky in a peace symbol and turns on her heel, walking down the road in the opposite direction, her skin a few shades darker and her soul seemingly nourished.

"So, my place?" I ask as we walk toward the car.

"Your place."

Mackenzie flips the door handle and climbs into the passenger seat. I round the car to the driver's side and do the same.

We're halfway down the boulevard when she starts fiddling with the dial on the dash, searching through the radio stations. We've never really listened to music in the car before, though it's always played at a low volume in the background of our conversations.

Static hums throughout the car until she finds a station that grabs her interest.

"Hey! I love this song." She spins the volume dial all the

way up and the sounds of Led Zeppelin's ‘Whole Lotta Love' fill the car.

I watch her from the corner of my eye, a lopsided grin spreading across my face. I try to keep my eyes mostly on the road but when I brake for the stop sign at the end of the main street, she has my full attention.

She is a sight to behold, gorgeous and wild. Lost in the music, her hands wind above her head as she sways in her seat. It's not until the end of the chorus hits that she notices me staring.

Her blue eyes are brighter when they finally meet mine.

Lighter.

It's as though a weight has lifted and I catch a glimpse of the other Mackenzie. The unbridle, unbound version of her. Not the one she openly displays, the one she wears like a shield, but the one she keeps hidden behind it.

It isn't the first time I've seen her. Like, really seen her.

I'd seen the fire in her the day she launched the water tap into that jerk's face in the bar. Her spark, the night we kissed on my boat in the warehouse. I'd been privileged enough to witness both her strength and her humility on so many occasions, including the day we spent at the aquarium.

She came into my life this sarcastic cynic, albeit a stunningly beautiful one with grey-blue eyes, both fierce like the eye of the storm and unwavering like the calm that comes before it.

I've always been drawn to Mackenzie. This woman that has waded through the depths of darkness, still learning to find the light in people.

I'd felt a connection to her when we had our first proper conversation around the bonfire at EJ and Liv's wedding. I'd believed then that we were kindred spirits.

I just didn't know how right I'd be.

She drops her arms into her lap, a shy smile creeping across her lips when she feels my stare on her. "What?"

"Nothing," I say, my voice low and thick.

Suddenly, I can't wait to get her home. I pull up the handbrake and tug her close, kissing her as the sounds of Jimmy Page's iconic guitar solo echo throughout the car. She twists herself around in her seat, wrapping her arms around my neck.

This is everything I've ever wanted. Just this.

She whimpers into my mouth as I take the kiss deeper, but when a car horn beeps behind us, disturbing the otherwise silent street, she pulls away unable to contain her amusement.

A loud laugh bursts from me too as we both straighten up in our seats. I release the handbrake and shift the car into drive, continuing on to my place.

Five minutes later we're slipping down the side of the house, rounding the back porch where Chance awaits us. I call out to him, happy to see him, but like the traitor he is, he bounds up to Mackenzie instead.

"Hey, boy!" She holds her arms out to the scruffy canine as he jumps up on her thighs. "Did you miss me, huh? Good boy!"

She giggles as he drops to the decking, rolling over onto his back, tongue hanging out of his mouth. I unlock the door and slide it open, then Chance is on his feet, bounding inside the house.

"Crazy mutt," I mutter affectionately as I step up to the back door. Mackenzie straightens, leaning against the railing, making no attempt to follow me. "You coming in?"

Her bottom lip slips between her teeth, her blonde waves swaying as she shakes her head. "Maybe later."

"Later?"

She shuffles down the steps, my eyes widening as she pulls her shirt over her head and slips out of the denim cut-offs she's wearing to reveal her red bikini.

"What are you doing?" I ask curiously, one eyebrow shooting upward.

She aims a devious grin at me in response, then I follow her as she struts over to the side of the house where my surfboards lean up against the external wall. "I'm gonna school you in the waves first."

"Oh, are you now?" I rasp as I pin her against the wall, my eyes trailing downward over her red bikini, appreciating the way it covers just the right amount of skin.

"Yep," she replies, her voice a whisper.

"You're on." I crush my mouth to hers as her hands lace around my neck and she allows her body to sag against the wall as she kisses me back.

The moment I attempt to wrap my arm around her, she slides out from under me, swiftly grabbing one of the boards and hoisting it up underneath her arm, her laughter carrying on the wind as she runs toward the surf.

My feet remain firmly planted on the sand as I drink her in, the woman I'm slowly but surely falling for, and all the things that make her her. The things she doesn't let anybody else see.

She glances back over her shoulder at me, her wild, blonde hair bouncing around her in long wavy ribbons, a smile that could light up the darkest night.

There she is.

There's the real Mackenzie Riley.