Florida Fling with the Single Dad, page 1
Katie tried to concentrate on Dylan’s words, on the anger she had felt earlier. But it was gone. All she could think about was his touch, his body so close to hers. She tried to respond. To protest that what she needed was her life back, but all the fight in her was gone. It wasn’t fighting that she was thinking about now. Instead, it was the desire that had become a hot fire in her lower belly.
What would he do if she moved closer? If she reached up with her lips and touched his?
Her hand went up and pressed against his chest before she could stop it. His heart beat a fast rhythm against her palm as hers did when he covered her hand with his own.
“Do you feel it?” she asked him.
What was she doing? This wasn’t her. She didn’t approach men. Not like this. Instead, she waited until they showed an interest in her before expressing her own.
“Katie, I... Yes, if you mean do I want to take you in my arms and kiss you, and more, right now? Yes.”
Dear Reader,
Have you ever met a stranger with whom you found yourself discussing things that you didn’t feel comfortable discussing with your family and friends? This recently happened to me and it is exactly what happens after registered nurse Katie McGee meets coworker and new neighbor paramedic Dylan Maddox.
After recovering from a gunshot wound she received while trying to save her patient, Katie is only too happy to leave New York City and her meddling brothers behind for a few weeks. But the peace and quiet that she expects to find isn’t possible as Dylan and his daughter, Violet, take it upon themselves to welcome her to the island of Key West.
While not a traditional friends to lovers story, I hope you will enjoy my new-friends to lovers story as these two share their devotion for their job on their helicopter crew while their mutual trust and attraction takes them on an adventurous journey to their happily-ever-after.
Best wishes,
Deanne
Florida Fling with the Single Dad
Deanne Anders
Deanne Anders was reading romance while her friends were still reading Nancy Drew, and she knew she’d hit the jackpot when she found a shelf of Harlequin Presents in her local library. Years later she discovered the fun of writing her own. Deanne lives in Florida, with her husband and their spoiled Pomeranian. During the day she works as a nursing supervisor. With her love of everything medical and romance, writing for Harlequin Medical Romance is a dream come true.
Books by Deanne Anders
Harlequin Medical Romance
From Midwife to Mommy
The Surgeon’s Baby Bombshell
Stolen Kiss with the Single Mom
Sarah and the Single Dad
The Neurosurgeon’s Unexpected Family
December Reunion in Central Park
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
This book is dedicated to all the courageous first responders, including our helicopter crews, who put themselves in danger daily as they work to save the lives of strangers.
Praise for Deanne Anders
“This story captivated me. I enjoyed every moment. This is a great example of a medical romance. Deanne Anders is an amazing writer!”
—Goodreads on The Surgeon’s Baby Bombshell
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM FALLING FOR HER OFF-LIMITS BOSS BY LUANA DAROSA
CHAPTER ONE
KATIE MCGEE STARED at the sign reading Flight Crew as she knocked on the door of the small modular building located beside a large helipad that contained a blue-and-gold medevac helicopter. Was she ready for this? Absolutely not. Did she have a choice? The answer to that was exactly the same. But she’d promised Alex that she would help him out and she always kept her promises.
Oh, she could have turned him down, and at first she had started to because she’d assumed it was just another of his ploys to get her to come to Key West, but he had sounded so stressed when he’d called that she had known immediately something was up and he really did need her.
So after four days of driving she was finally on the island her friend now called home. And after everything that had happened in the last six months, she was lucky she’d been given this opportunity to help her friend out. She could still be in the hospital recuperating from her injury. Or she could even be dead.
But she’d survived. And now, even though there were a lot of her coworkers who had insinuated she might not be ready to get back out on the job of flight nurse, she’d proven to both them and her family that she was just as capable now as she had been before the shooting.
So why did she feel so nervous? Maybe because it was the first time in her life that she was all alone this far away from home?
Giving up on someone coming to the door, she opened it. The smell of burnt popcorn filled her nose. It seemed at least one person was awake and moving around in the quiet building.
Stepping through the door, she noticed the oversize gray couch and the big screen TV hanging on the back wall of the large open room. It was the same in all of Heli-Care operations: the bigger the TV, the happier the crew.
She wasn’t surprised to see that the room was empty. Most flight crew shifts were twenty-four hours long, so it wouldn’t be unusual for the crew to be catching a nap in their rooms. If she was lucky, the assistant manager would be available to set up the required new location orientation this morning and she could be on her way. After the drive from New York, she just wanted to get moved into the rental Alex had procured for the next two months, unpack her bags and take a long, cool shower.
Letting her offended nose lead her, she walked through an open doorway and entered a small galley kitchen. A tall man stood at a trash can, emptying out a burnt paper bag that was obviously the source of the smell now overwhelming the small room. Seeing a window over the sink, she hurried over to open it. It didn’t budge. Two strong hands joined hers and together they pushed up the heavy window. Light green eyes with flecks of gold met hers. Unable to look away, she stood frozen in place within the circle of this man’s arms.
“Hello,” the man said, “you must be Katie.”
His face close to hers, she studied the chiseled cheekbones and square jaw with just enough growth that there was no doubt it was intentional. His light brown curly hair framed a face that was meant for the magazines. But it was the eyes that mesmerized her. They seemed to look deep inside her.
And then it happened. The heat of his body behind her. The knowledge that she didn’t know this man. A sense of danger that she couldn’t control. A shiver ran up her body and breathing became more difficult.
When would this feeling of fear stop? She was safe now. This man clearly wasn’t a threat.
Or was he? Those mesmerizing green eyes seemed to see deep inside her and she couldn’t help but fear what he might find if he looked too close. And that flutter of attraction that had run through her right before her survival instincts kicked in and took control.
Yeah, this man could most definitely be a threat to the peace she hoped to find here on this tiny island.
As if realizing that they were standing too close, he moved back allowing her to take a deep breath. Squaring her shoulders, she forced her breathing to slow. This was not the first impression she wanted to make on someone who would be one of her new coworkers. Never show your weaknesses, her father had always said.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Yes, I’m Katie McGee. I’m here to set up my orientation.” She tried to smile as she turned toward the man, but it was all she could do to keep herself upright. She just needed a couple more minutes for her body to realize it was safe. She’d been through this so often now that she could almost time how long it took for her heart rate to return to normal and her stomach to settle. The fact that she was recovering from these little spells of hers faster than she was only a month ago had to mean that her total recovery was getting closer. Hopefully, a couple of months in more laid-back surroundings than New York City would help her get over this anxiety that came whenever she was in a situation that she didn’t feel she could control.
“Oh, sorry,” the man said as he grabbed a dish towel, wiped his hands and then held one out. “Dylan. Dylan Maddox. Flight paramedic, assistant manager and, as of four days ago, acting supervisor of the Key West flight crew. Sorry about the smell. I keep forgetting to set the timer.”
Katie backed away from the window and looked around the room. She wished Alex had told her more about the man he had left in charge and who would be her boss until he returned. He’d been so rushed the day he’d called and asked for her help that she’d only had time to ask just the most elementary of questions concerning the operation of the local Key West office.
Realizing he still held his hand out to her, she extended her own hand. Warm fingers grasped hers in a firm grip then released.
“It’s nice to
“I don’t really know. He seemed pretty shook up.”
“It’s not like him to leave like this. He’s always been so dependable.” A trait they had in common. But it had been over a year since she had seen him. Maybe the slower pace of the island life had changed him.
“Let’s go to the office. He left your paperwork with me.” He led her down a short hall off the kitchen, giving her a tour of the building as they walked.
“We have four bedrooms. They’re small, but no one has to share,” he said as they passed several closed doors, “There are two Jack-and-Jill bathrooms between the rooms. And of course you’ve already seen the kitchen and our lounge.”
He opened the door at the end of the hall where a small desk sat with a tall bookcase behind it. “Alex wanted me to tell you how much he appreciated you coming to help. With me taking over some of the office responsibilities and other members of the crews taking summer vacations we need the extra help.”
“He’s always been a good friend to me. Besides, I’m getting eight weeks in sunny Florida. My New York flight crew was jealous that I was offered the assignment.” And it couldn’t have come at a better time. With her family pressuring her to get back to living her life, this job gave her the distance she needed right now. “I just wish I knew he was okay.”
Alex’s only family as far as she knew was his mother, a well-known Broadway actress, but that wasn’t something that he shared with many people. She felt sure she would have heard something if his mother was ill. With her popularity as an actress on the Broadway circuit, the media would quickly have a story out if something had happened to her.
“He didn’t really share what the emergency was, but he did say he’d call when he could. And he left all the information you would need with me,” Dylan said as he started going through a file on his desk. “It looks like all the paperwork for your Florida nursing license is here along with all your education requirements. I see you’ve got quite a collection of certifications here too.”
“I take my job and my qualifications very seriously,” she said. She’d go head-to-head with any of the crew here as far as skills were concerned.
“I can see that,” he said as he leaned back in the chair across from her.
She felt like a small ant under a microscope while he studied her. She started to make a comment, but decided she wasn’t in the position to get on the wrong side of the man who would be in charge of her till Alex returned. What was it about this man that rattled her so?
She took a moment to study the man herself. He was of average height, but his muscular built was anything but average. His light brown hair was interwoven with blond highlights that no doubt came from time spent in the Florida sun. The man could have made a million bucks as a model in New York. Not that she’d tell him that. Men with looks like his got more attention than was good for them already. She knew that from her own experience. She’d grown up with four very handsome brothers.
She straightened in the chair when he got up and closed the door behind her.
“Look, Katie,” he said, sitting back down in his chair, “I’m going to be honest with you. When Alex spoke to me about bringing someone new down here, I had my misgivings. Our flight team is very tight. We work well together because we’ve been doing it so long. I know each one of the crew’s strengths and weaknesses, and they know mine. We have each other’s backs every time we go out on a flight together. Not knowing how someone is going to handle themselves out there can put us all at risk.”
Was this supposed to be the welcoming speech? Because so far, she was feeling everything but welcomed. Instead, she was thinking that maybe she needed to load back into her brother’s old Jeep that she’d borrowed for the trip and head back up north. But she wouldn’t. She needed this time alone to get herself together. Just a little bit of time to deal with what she’d been through in the last few months. Her jaw tightened and her chin tipped up. McGees didn’t run home when things got tough. McGees stayed till the job was done.
“But looking at this folder, I understand why Alex wanted you here. And it shows how much your friends mean to you that you’d leave your home to come all the way down here to help Alex out. I think that’s something we can work with,” Dylan said as he leaned back in the chair again.
“Alex told you about the shooting?” she asked. It wasn’t as if the incident in New York hadn’t made the national news. There had to be cable news stations even this far into the swamps.
“He did. He was very happy that you recovered so quickly. Something like what happened to you can change a person for life,” he said.
“And the rest of the team? Do they know?” she asked. She knew as the new kid on the crew there’d be a lot of curiosity about her even if they didn’t know about the shooting.
“If they do, they didn’t hear it from me. I do know that they’ll be happy to have some extra help. We help cover our second local office in Marathon and their staff covers ours when needed.”
“I’m happy to be of use wherever you need me. I can start tomorrow,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as anxious as she felt. Work had become her security blanket. It was something she was good at. It felt normal, right, when everything else felt off.
An alarm, long and shrill, sounded on a phone. Standing, he pulled his phone from his belt. She heard the doors open down the hall before he opened the door.
“Be safe,” Dylan called as she watched the back of three dark blue flight suits rush down the hall.
“Always,” one of the crew shouted back at him.
“What’s the flight?” she asked as she joined Dylan in the doorway, her heart beating wildly with the adrenaline from the sound of the dispatcher she could hear over the crew’s radios as they headed off.
“Pedestrian versus scooter in the historical district. It’s too tight an area to land in, but the EMTs called it out as a head injury so we’ll meet them at the airport and fly the patient into Miami where there’s a neurosurgeon available.”
She’d done some studying of the area’s available health care before she’d started the trip down and had learned that some specialties weren’t provided by the local hospital, which was why it was so important for a helicopter crew to be available in the Keys.
“Like I was saying, I can start tomorrow,” she said.
The phone rang on the desk and he walked back over to answer it then put the caller on hold before handing her a large envelope on the table. “Let’s discuss when you start after you get settled. The code to the keypad of your rental and a map to its location are in here. I’ll get in contact with you later today and we’ll set up your orientation then.”
He picked up his phone and punched something into it. Her phone immediately dinged and she pulled it out of her pocket.
“My number in case you need to get lost or need anything,” Dylan said.
“Thanks.” She stood.
She took the envelope, then left the office and found her way back to the front entrance. The humidity that had greeted her the moment she’d driven into Miami enveloped her as she stepped outside and she remembered the promise she’d made to herself of a long shower the minute she got settled into her new place. She took out the map and studied it, surprised to find that it had been hand drawn in bright colored crayons with illustrations that appeared to be fancy stick people and squares that represented buildings. Fortunately, someone had written over the roads in ink with street names and numbers and had also labeled some of the buildings. But it was the words written in bright red crayons that made her smile. Welcome to Key West was printed in large letters across the top of the paper. Not wanting to take any chances, though, she entered the address into her phone. She’d have to ask Alex when he returned for the name of the artist responsible for such a unique map. She just hoped he didn’t say it was him.
* * *
“Is she nice?” Violet asked as they climbed the steps to the little cottage that was rented out to Katie.
