Jonah Hale keeps Brackenbay steady?raising his daughter, answering the lifeboat klaxon, and measuring love in practical tasks and lists. Ivy Hart arrives to help Maisie, a bright six-year-old whose voice went quiet after loss. She brings structure and gentleness: ear defenders, a fox puppet with a staff lanyard, and a rule they both can live by?answer in daylight, no theatre. Together they map exits, practice doorbells, and turn a noisy town into ground that can be trusted.

It should be simple?until a contract lands on the kitchen table with a single hard sentence stitched in the middle: no fraternization. The line between employer and something more is suddenly inked, public, and impossible to ignore. Ivy and Jonah choose patience: steady mornings, quiet victories, a fête navigated with a den of blankets and a thirty-second safety brief. But weather shifts?at sea and at home?and what begins as care becomes a way of seeing one another clearly.

When the town's noise swells?trumpets, gossip, a doorbell with opinions?they refuse performance and reach for presence: two squeezes of the hand, four-in-six-out breaths, and the courage to leave before something breaks. Love, here, is not a rescue; it's a routine. The question is whether they can honor the clause that protects them?and still cross the real line together, in daylight. For readers who crave slow-burn, consent-forward, emotionally intelligent romance with UK seaside warmth, found-family texture, and a quietly triumphant HEA.

E. D. Blackthorn writes literary dark erotic romance and fiction that explores the complexities of desire, power, and consent. His work delves into the emotional and psychological edges of erotic experience, combining lyrical prose with raw, unflinching honesty. With a deep respect for character-driven storytelling, E. D. Blackthorn creates intense, immersive narratives where vulnerability and connection are as vital as heat and tension. His stories are crafted for readers who crave eroticism with depth?and fiction that lingers long after the final page.