Page 15 of At First Flight (Coral Bell Cove #1)

The house is stunning. A place I’d seen a few times when playing in the neighborhood with friends but never seen inside.

Of course, its beauty doesn’t compare to the man sitting in the oversized playroom with the two kids building a tower out of Legos.

While the kids ate earlier, I skimmed through the document Mom sent over the night before, listing the details of the nanny service and the terms. It already lined out a day off of my choosing every week and a salary that was frankly ridiculously high.

When I first met Dean on the plane, I hadn’t given a single thought to whether he was rich or broke. He was just… kind. Someone who stepped in when I was falling apart, offering comfort without strings, a warm jacket, and a steady hand when I couldn’t find my own footing.

But standing here now, in front of this sprawling estate that looks like it was ripped from a magazine spread, reality hits me square in the chest.

Dean Harrington isn’t just a good guy with a charming smirk. He’s someone with power. Money. Influence. The kind of man whose name probably carries weight in places I’ve never even stepped foot in.

And suddenly, all my carefully patched-up composure feels flimsy again.

I wrap my arms tighter around myself, unsure if the sudden chill is from the wind or the storm brewing inside me.

I’m supposed to be here to consider a job as a nanny. Live-in, no less.

But can I really work for the man who once saw me at my weakest, who offered me comfort on what was arguably the worst day of my life? Who looked at me like I was more than just a mess in a wedding dress?

The thought terrifies me.

Because I’m not sure if I’m more afraid of saying yes… or walking away.

Last night, I had been tinkering around in my notebooks and had a breakthrough regarding a chemical mixture that could combat the body’s response to an allergic reaction.

Almost like an epinephrine pen, but before the reaction begins.

It made that urgency of finding a new research team reach a new height.

“Dean, can I speak with you for a moment?” The kids barely bat an eye in our direction as he joins me on the bench under the window, looking out to the waterway behind the house.

Of course, Dean leaves very little space between us as he sits, my body straightening as his leg brushes against mine. My reaction to him is another reason I should turn down the job and find a replacement. My sister, Hadley, is just as suited for the job as I am.

“Dean, I want to talk about the job. I’m not sure—” I begin, but he cuts me off.

“You know, when I ran into your mom at the grocery store this morning, I never would have imagined that you’d be the one showing up on my doorstep.”

“I know this must be a shock to you.”

“No, actually. If anything, it’s a huge relief.”

“How so?” I ask, twisting my body to look at him directly, but his eyes never leave the kids playing in the middle of the room. In a moment of weakness, I find myself admiring that about him. These two kids are his world, even though he never once mentioned them during our flight.

“Because I know you. It won’t feel like a stranger living in this house with me.”

“We only knew each other for six or seven hours, Dean. That hardly makes us friends.”

Twisting his smirking face toward me, Dean says, “No, but you’re going to marry me, so we’re just hurrying things along a bit.”

“Dean!” I reply in shock, smacking his arm playfully. The teasing reaction is one I haven’t had toward a man in years, not even my ex-fiancé.

Thinking of Prescott immediately sours my mood. When I woke this morning, I had three missed calls from his number and one from his father. They all said the same thing: demands to come “home” and that I couldn’t hide away forever.

The former made me laugh because Connecticut had never felt like home to me, but the latter left me feeling anxious. Like I was playing a stupid game of cat and mouse with a family that was all too keen to trap me again.

“What just happened? You were laughing, and suddenly, your face squished up like you’d eaten something rotten.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” I say, not wanting to explain the drama going on in my life.

“Hmm…” he hums just as Evelyn walks over and rests her body against Dean’s leg, yawning widely.

“I think someone needs a nap. Is this around the time she normally takes one? You probably want to make sure she stays on her schedule.”

“I… I don’t know.”

As he gently rubs a hand over her soft tuft of brown hair, I watch his entire body sag. It’s immediately clear that there is more to the story than just their mother passing away recently.

“Well, we can always start a new routine, but I’m guessing she’ll probably need to take a nap after lunch. That’s how the preschool in town usually has their schedule.”

“Yes, okay. I need to sign her up for that in the fall.”

He gathers Evelyn in his arms, and together, we head down the stairs to their new room with her brother in tow. Oliver tries to mask his yawn but makes no argument when I guide him toward his own bed.

It only takes a few minutes before both kids are passed out, and I find myself alone, standing next to the door with Dean. We’re close enough that I can smell his woodsy cologne and something that seems to be just him. I recognize it from our close confines two weeks ago.

“Can I help you bring in your things?” he asks, and I jump. “You can have any room you want,” he adds with that smirk I am becoming way too fond of.

“I…um…didn’t bring anything with me.”

“You didn’t?”

“I wasn’t sure I was going to stay. I’m still not sure, to be honest. I’m a scientist, Dean. This is just a favor for my mom.”

“Please, Lila. Those kids need you. I need you. I don’t want to screw this up for them.

They deserve so much more than they’ve been handed.

” Normally, I’d say someone begging and pleading like this is a great actor and really laying it on thick.

But with Dean, I can’t ignore the desperation in his eyes.

It makes my chest ache in a way I’ve never experienced.

“Look…I can’t promise it will be long-term, but I can help for a while.

Maybe until the start of school.” My voice barely sounds convincing to my own ears, but Dean’s elation is electric, and as he leans forward, pressing his lips to my cheek, I find myself sparking with awareness.

The kind that wants to wrap my arms around his waist and seal our lips together.

“You can’t do things like that. It will confuse the kids.” And my girly bits that haven’t seen action in quite a while.

“Sure. Okay.”

As the kids snooze, the usual hum of activity is absent, and the weight of the silence is almost suffocating. I’m not sure what I expected when we finally had a moment to talk, but this, the tension between us, certainly wasn’t it.

Dean leans against the wall, arms crossed, his posture casual but his expression thoughtful.

His gaze flickers to me, then to the floor, then back to my eyes.

There’s an air of uncertainty in him, something I hadn’t expected from a guy who usually exudes such confidence.

On the other hand, I’m struggling to keep my own anxiety in check.

"Alright," Dean says, breaking the silence with a deep breath. "We need to lay down some ground rules. For both of us."

I raise an eyebrow, my arms instinctively crossing over my chest. "Ground rules?"

"Yeah," he says, his voice low, almost sheepish. "Look, I know I’m your employer here, and you’re the nanny, and that’s how it has to stay. But I’m also aware of how… well, how I can be. Let’s just agree on some boundaries, so neither of us feels uncomfortable."

I tilt my head, watching him carefully. I can tell he’s serious, but there's that same playful twinkle in his eyes, and I can’t help but feel a little lighter despite the situation. I need him to clarify, though. This doesn’t make sense yet.

He shifts his weight, pushing off the wall and stepping closer.

"I’m allowed to flirt," he says, his lips quirking into that damn smile. "That’s the deal. I mean, I can't help it. But if I do, you’re allowed to roll your eyes. Or tell me to cut it out. No hard feelings. But…" He looks me straight in the eyes, his voice taking on a seriousness I’m not expecting. "But nothing goes further unless you want it to. You’re in control here, Lila. You get to decide what’s okay. I’ll follow your lead. No pressure."

I blink, trying to process what he just said. The words hang in the air like a challenge, but there’s a tenderness beneath it. I thought Dean was all about the teasing and the jokes, but now he’s laying it all out by asking me for permission, for space. It catches me off guard.

"You don’t have to flirt at all," I find myself saying, my voice quiet but steady. "But if you do, I’ll roll my eyes and ignore you."

He laughs, the tension easing between us, though his eyes don’t leave mine. "Fair enough," he says with a wink. "But in all seriousness, Lila, I’m not doing this to make you feel uncomfortable. I just want you to feel safe and… well, at ease. You deserve to feel that way here."

Something in his tone softens the knot that’s been sitting in my stomach since this whole conversation started.

I hadn’t realized until now how much I needed someone to acknowledge how this situation might feel for me.

How much I need to feel in control. And maybe, just maybe, I needed to hear that Dean understood that.

"Okay," I say, a little breathless. "I think I can handle that."

He smiles, his gaze a little too intense for my comfort, but I don’t mind. "Good. We’ll make this work. I’ll respect the boundaries, Lila. I promise."