Geri Krotow - Navy Orders

Falling in love is not an order

After a romantic betrayal, naval lieutenant commander Roanna Brandywine doesn’t trust anyone the way she used to. When a chance encounter brings chief warrant officer Miles Mikowski into her life, she’s intrigued. But Ro has spent so long focusing on her career, she resists the attraction.

Miles has had his own share of trauma, but it’s taught him that life is short and he has to go after what’s important to him. Then, unexpectedly, they’re ordered to investigate a sailor’s suicide. They must rely on each other as they discover that his death is not as straightforward as it seems. During their investigation, they acknowledge the chemistry between them, but the real question is whether there’s trust…and maybe even love.

Light-headedness wasn’t familiar to Ro…

But sitting next to Miles Mikowski made her feel as though the air had been sucked out of the truck’s cab. The leather interior of the huge vehicle was roomy even by American standards. Except with Miles in the driver’s seat. His long, lean yet muscular physique filled every inch of the driver’s side. He had to be at least six-four. Whenever she stood near him, which wasn’t often, he towered over her.

“You didn’t ask in so many words, but being out on this bridge in these winds is begging for help, Roanna. Then to see you stopped at the high point like that…” He slapped his hand on the dashboard.

Guilt licked up her stomach, and nausea threatened to overtake her anger. She’d really frightened him. Miles, the man who’d already been through hell and back in the war.

“I know you like to run in the mornings, Ro, but maybe you should check the weather report before you run on the bridge in near gale-force winds.”

His frequent use of her given name instead of her rank irked her. They were both officers, so of course it was okay to address each other by first name. Miles always called her “Lieutenant Commander Brandywine” in public. Privately he’d used her name—when he’d asked her out. And she’d refused.

It’s not that he uses your first name. It’s how he says it.

Dear Reader,

Navy Orders is only the second book in the Whidbey Island series and yet I feel I’ve lived with the characters forever! I hope they’ve become a positive part of your life, too. The romance between Miles and Ro in this story grew much hotter than I’d ever expected, and it was delightful to write about their journey.

Miles is a wounded warrior and exemplifies how veterans give back for all of us on a daily basis. Because of this, I wanted to give back in my own way and decided to come up with a great cause to support. Right around the time I started pondering this, I came across Delaware Head Huggers ( www.delawareheadhuggers.org)on Facebook. I’d been looking for a chemo cap pattern to knit for a friend. Robin Agar, who runs DEHH with her beloved dog Schnapps (rumor has it that Schnapps knits, too!), generously donated a hat knitting pattern that you’ll find at the end of the book. Please support Delaware Head Huggers by knitting a cap and mailing it to them. If you don’t knit, Robin accepts other hats and monetary donations, as well. As of this writing, Robin is nearing the 9,000 mark for donated caps! Cancer affects too many of us, young, old and in between. While we fight for a cure, let’s make those who are in the fight feel a little love with a hand-knit (or crocheted) cap.

Thanks as always for your support of my writing. I hope you enjoy spending time with Miles and Ro as much as I have. I’d love to hear from you via my Facebook page, website ( www.gerikrotow.com) or Twitter.

Peace,

Geri Krotow

Navy Orders

Geri Krotow

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former naval intelligence officer and U.S. Naval Academy graduate Geri Krotow draws inspiration from the global situations she’s experienced. Geri loves to hear from her readers. You can email her via her website and blog at www.gerikrotow.com.

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Just like wounded warriors, stepmoms and moms-in-law are not recognized or thanked enough. For this reason I dedicate this book with all my love and gratitude to two great ladies in my life, Grom and Sally.

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Navy Hug Hat

CHAPTER ONE

CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER Miles Mikowski was in no mood to save a life this morning. He’d driven across Deception Pass Bridge onto Whidbey Island countless times, and while it was common to see walkers or runners working their way across the pass, nearly gale-force winds usually kept the bridge clear.

Not this morning.

His hands gripped the steering wheel of his truck as the image of a lone figure clinging to the bridge’s side rail morphed into the all-too-familiar Roanna Brandywine.

No, no, no!

“Christ.”

Regret tasted metallic in his instantly dry mouth. Not another one, not another sailor lost to the aftereffects of the war. He never should have stopped asking her to go out with him.

How had he not seen the warning signs with her? He couldn’t bear the loss of another warrior-in-arms to the war. No matter if the cause was a bomb, rocket-propelled grenade, bullet or PTSD.

Not on his watch.

Instinct took over as he floored his gas pedal to get to her. He slammed on the brake, unclicked his seat belt and burst out of the truck’s cab in one practiced motion. He’d already checked his rearview mirror and knew he had a clear shot across Highway 20 to Ro.

* * *

WIND RIPPED AWAY any warmth from the early-morning sunlight as Lieutenant Commander Roanna Brandywine walked across Deception Pass Bridge. She’d run four miles and looked forward to the hot shower she’d get at the base gym. But first, she needed to complete a mission she’d planned for weeks. Poised nearly two hundred feet above the turbulent passage that connected the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Puget Sound, she fingered the engagement ring that lay in the palm of her gloved hand for the last time.

Her desolation loomed large and real as she paused at the bridge’s midspan. The grandeur of Deception Pass never failed to make Ro feel at once small and insignificant yet able to conquer the world.

The small diamond that cut into her palm had been her link to what she thought a real, normal family life meant. Proof that she had somewhere else to go outside of the navy. That the navy wasn’t the only thing she’d ever succeed at.

Her illusion of having a happy, fulfilling personal life was just that. An illusion she’d strung out over several years and half a dozen navy postings. Her relationship with Dick had been part of her fantasy life away from the military.