Windswept Read online

  Windswept

  A Serendipity Adventure Romance

  (Book 3)

  by Anna Lowe

  Windswept

  Copyright 2015 by Anna Lowe

  [email protected]

  Editing by Lisa A. Hollett

  Cover art by Fiona Jayde Media

  www.FionaJaydeMedia.com

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.

  Serendipity Adventure Romances

  Off the Charts (the Prequel)

  Uncharted (Book 1)

  Entangled (Book 2)

  Windswept (Book 3)

  Adrift (Book 4)

  visit www.annalowebooks.com

  Free book

  Off the Charts

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  Sign up for my newsletter at annalowebooks.com to get your free copy of Off the Charts (the prequel to the Serendipity Adventure Romance series).

  All Julie Steffens wants is a quiet couple of days on a Caribbean beach. Just her, a good book, and the balmy sea breeze. But the minute she meets Seth Cooper, sparks start to fly, and all bets are off.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Serendipity Adventure Romances

  Free book

  Contents

  Windswept

  On location in Bonaire

  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

  Epilogue

  A note from the author

  Thank you

  Other books by Anna Lowe

  Sneak Peek: Adrift

  AnnaLoweBooks.com

  Windswept

  Scuba instructor Mia Whitman has traveled to Bonaire to forget, not forgive, the man who broke her heart. But trouble is brewing in this Caribbean island paradise — above and below the waterline. When Mia witnesses a crime, she becomes a target, and even she has to admit that having a Navy SEAL-turned-New-York-cop on her side has its perks. Ryan Hayes has a knack for saving her life and stealing her heart — a tricky combination for a woman on the run. Before Mia can stop herself, she finds herself in deep — in love and in trouble.

  On location in Bonaire

  Windswept is set on Bonaire, a small island in the southern Caribbean known as one of the premier dive locations in the world. It’s a tiny speck of land far, far away from its mother country, Holland (also known as the Netherlands), which claimed the island in colonial times and still governs Bonaire as a special municipality. It’s a great place to dive, relax, and soak in the Caribbean sun — for most people. For Mia and Ryan, however… Well, read on!

  Chapter One

  “Is everyone ready for another great adventure?” the gray-haired divemaster cried out.

  Mia grinned as eight enthusiastic guests replied, “Yes!”

  “Is everyone ready for the best dive here in Bonaire, scuba capital of the world?”

  “Yes!”

  Hans winked at Mia and went on with his trademark line. “Are you ready to rock and roll?”

  “Yes!”

  The dive launch motored out over the turquoise water, bumping gently over the afternoon ripples in the sheltered bay.

  “Okay, everybody, please welcome our crew today,” Hans continued. “We’ve got the lovely Mia, an experienced dive instructor from New York.”

  Mia pushed a few errant strands of sandy blond hair back from her face, gave a little wave, and went on checking gear without bothering to correct her boss. She’d only lived in New York for a short time before heading to the Caribbean, and that was a time she’d rather forget.

  “Not only is Mia a divemaster, she’s a sailor, too,” Hans went on. “She’s sailing her boat around the Caribbean!”

  Appreciative oohs and aahs went out from the guests, and Mia couldn’t resist a fond glance toward Serendipity, moored on the far side of the bay.

  “You have your own boat?” Brenda asked, her eyes big and wide. “Which one is it?”

  Mia blushed a little and covered up by brushing her hair into a ponytail. Good thing perfect hair wasn’t a prerequisite for the job because she was windswept as always, a mess even before her dive.

  She pointed to the graceful sloop anchored in the distance. “It was my grandfather’s boat,” she explained. “He left it to us.”

  “How long are you in the Caribbean for?” Marc leaned in.

  “Three months, maybe four.”

  An appreciative murmur went up from the guests.

  “Plenty of time,” Marc said.

  Mia nodded. She might not have covered a lot of ground on Serendipity yet, but she and her sister were off to a good start. Three months was plenty of time to explore the islands, live a few adventures, and soak in the sun. Plenty of time to forget Mister Tall, Dark, and Hunksome, who’d turned out to be a real jerk.

  “We’re lucky to have Mia filling in for us this week,” Hans finished.

  She felt like the lucky one. When Hans had offered her the use of one of the dive shop moorings in exchange for helping out with the occasional dive trip, she’d jumped at the chance.

  “And speaking of lucky, meet Lucky, our captain today,” Hans added.

  “Hi, Lucky!” eight guests sang on cue. Or maybe seven, because the last-minute addition to the trip, a man sitting near the stern, sat quietly withdrawn in the shade of his hoodie.

  “Hello, everyone!” Lucky turned from the wheel just long enough to smile broadly: a flash of ivory against his dark skin.

  “Lucky’s back on Bonaire after several years abroad. Lucky, what’s Bonaire’s best dive site?”

  “The one we’re heading to right now!”

  Everyone cheered. Everyone but the last-minute guest, who remained hidden away, quietly tapping one foot. Maybe he was nervous. Hans said the man had aced the obligatory check-out dive that morning, but you never knew. Mia made a mental note to keep a close eye on him when the dive began. Which wouldn’t be hard given that steely physique.

  “Mia, why don’t you introduce everyone for Stanley while we motor to the dive site?” Hans asked.

  “Yes, Mia, please!” Stanley said, swinging his video camera her way.

  She stuck on a smile. Anything for a paying guest, right?

  “Sure,” she started. “We’ve got Stanley and Brenda, happy honeymooners from Detroit.”

  Stanley swung the camera toward his curvy wife. “Love you, honey!”

  “Love you, too!” Brenda blew a kiss into the lens.

  Love. Mia used to believe in it, too.

  She shuffled between the gear that cluttered the center of the launch and motioned toward the next two guests.

  “And we have Dirk and Anna from the Netherlands,” she continued, “on their twelfth trip to Bonaire.”

  “Thirteenth,” Anna and Dirk said at the same time.

  Mia sighed a little inside. There’d been a time when she’d kidded herself into thinking she might have been headed into that kind of relationship. But it hadn’t exactly worked out that way.

  “They’re on home territory.” Hans smiled. “This island does belong to Holland, after all.”

  Mia nodded. That’s what she loved about Bonaire: the European flavor sprinkled over the lush Caribbean flair. The island had a culture all its own.

  “Thirteen times?” Stanley whistled.

  “Lucky number thirteen,” the next guest joked.

  Mia introduced him for the camera. “Bruno from Switzerland…”

  Bruno waved.

  “…and his partner, Marc.”

  Marc threw a thin arm over Bruno’s wide shoulders and squeezed into the shot. “Hi, Stanley!”

  “Then we have Pete, also from the Netherlands, who’s just completed his dive course with Hans.”

  Hans gave the young man a hearty thumbs-up. “Never had a student learn so fast.”

  He said that about all his students, but he meant it every time.

  “Which brings me to Hans,” she said, “chief diver and owner of Calypso Dives on Bonaire for the past twenty-six years.”

  He winked. “Which makes my business how much older than you, Mia?”

  “Younger, Hans. Your business is younger than me by two years.”

  Hans always seemed to get a kick out of that.

  “Why don’t you introduce yourself for the camera, Hans?” she prompted.

  “Well…” Hans winked. “I was born in Holland a long, long time ago, but I swear I’ll die on Bonaire. Just not anytime soon, I hope!”

  Everyone laughed. Even Mia, who’d heard the joke before. His good humor just did that to a person.

  “And our last guest today—” she nodded toward the late arrival “—is…”

&nb
sp; She watched as he lifted his hands toward the hood. Strong, tough, tanned hands that suggested he spent a lot of time outdoors chopping wood or scoring touchdowns or wrestling Bengal tigers or some such thing. He was bare-chested under that hoodie, as a stack of perfectly sculpted abs showed. Too bad Mia had sworn off men, because this one could have featured in a pinup calendar: Scorching Hot Divers of the World.

  Then he threw the hood back, and everything in her screeched to a halt. The kind of stop that comes when you slam into a brick wall after roaring along at full speed. Her breath, her circulation, her thoughts — all on pause.

  God, please. No. Not him.

  Because she knew those piercing green eyes. The ruffled brown hair. The strong, square jaw. She knew every curve of his face, every contour of that hard body just as well as he knew hers.

  In other words, intimately.

  A little sigh went up from the female guests at the sight of that face.

  “Hello, Mia,” he said in a voice so low, it might have been a whisper.

  “You…you…you…” She scrambled for something to say.

  Stanley leaned in with the camera. Mia wasn’t sure who she was closer to punching, Stanley or her ex-lover.

  Probably her ex-lover. Her Navy-SEAL-turned-New-York-City-cop ex-lover. The one who hadn’t bothered sharing those minor details of his life in the four weeks they’d been together.

  Four sizzling weeks. Four fun weeks. Possibly the best weeks of her life. He’d swept her right off her feet without even trying, and she’d fallen for him from day one.

  Right now, though, her hand squeezed into a fist. The tiny bump where his nose had once been broken — the only imperfection on that striking face — made a handy target.

  “Ryan,” she managed.

  “Mia,” he replied, equally tight-lipped.

  The camera swung between them, and she might just have swatted it away if Mother Nature hadn’t intervened.

  “Dolphins!” someone cried, and everyone jumped up to look the other way.

  Everyone but Mia, who kept up her death stare, and Ryan, who maintained his unwavering gaze.

  “Have you come all the way to Bonaire to embarrass me some more?” she muttered above the noise of the outboard.

  Ryan jerked his head from side to side. “I’ve come all the way to Bonaire to apologize.”

  She barked a humorless laugh and leaned over him. Good thing she was standing and he was sitting; it was easier to pretend she was imposing that way.

  “Right. Apologize. Do it,” she dared him.

  “I’m sorry, Mia.”

  He said the words solemnly, but she just scoffed.

  “Great. A quiet apology, so nobody notices. Try it loud sometime, Ryan, so everyone can hear. Lay yourself bare. Embarrass yourself as badly as you can, and you still won’t know what it was like for me. How humiliating.”

  She’d never considered heaving a guest overboard, but she sure as hell was tempted now. And with all the adrenaline rushing through her system, she probably could lift his hundred and eighty pounds of muscle over the rail.

  “I never meant to hurt you,” he murmured, and damn it if his voice didn’t stir something inside.

  “My humiliation was public, Ryan.” She tried to control the shake in her voice, because he didn’t deserve to affect her like that. “Out there for everyone to see. To laugh at.” Her gut lurched just at the memory.

  His eyes flashed and the lines on his brow drew tight. “Believe me, they stopped laughing real quick.”

  “Oh, yes? When was that? I didn’t hear you protesting at the time.”

  “Mia, I—”

  She put a hand up. “I’m not listening to this. I’m finished with your games.” She smacked her hands together right in front of his face. “Finished.”

  “I don’t play games.”

  “Sure. Except with my heart.”

  His lips tightened, and his back went ramrod straight. Good. Maybe the man had feelings, after all. Maybe he could be made to suffer just a little bit, like her.

  “Mia, I—”

  She turned her back and started checking dive tanks while the others squealed at the cavorting dolphins.

  “Look!” Brenda cried. “The dolphins are going right over to that ship!”

  “What is that funny boat?” Marc asked.

  Mia kept her eyes down, fighting tears. Who cared what that funny boat was?

  “That’s Neptune’s Revenge,” Hans said, gesturing toward the rust-streaked ship. “It’s the flagship of one of those extreme environmental groups, The Knights of Neptune.”

  “The kind that stop whalers?” Brenda asked.

  “Whalers, oil rigs, you name it,” Hans said.

  Mia took another step forward. Another step away from the last man she ever expected to see here. But damn it, her legs were slow to obey, like they were still trapped in his magic spell. Being around Ryan always seem to turn off the thinking part of her mind. Her body was hot all over, her nostrils flaring as if to capture his scent and possess that little bit of him one more time.

  Maybe she could sic Neptune’s Revenge on Ryan. Maybe that would do the trick.

  She moved in short, jerky steps that had nothing to do with the gentle motion of the boat until she finally reached Lucky at the bow.

  “Everything good, Mia?” As usual, Lucky hadn’t missed a thing.

  “Peachy.”

  Situation normal, she decided. All fucked up.

  Chapter Two

  Sorry.

  So easy to say, so difficult to convince somebody of.

  Ryan pulled in a deep breath, just as he had the last time Mia turned her back on him, a month earlier in New York. Every muscle in her lean body was stiff, her fists clenched. He’d been hoping four weeks would wear the edges off her anger, but maybe she needed a little more time.

  Say, another sixty or seventy years.

  The anger was just the surface part, though. Under that was pain, and that’s the part he couldn’t live with. He hadn’t just pissed Mia off, he’d hurt her. It didn’t matter that the terrible words she’d overheard weren’t meant the way she took them, because the damage was done.

  He raked his fingers through his hair, watching Mia hurry away. With the bounce gone from her step, her blond ponytail barely swayed. Her finely chiseled swimmer’s shoulders were stiff, but even so, he couldn’t rip his eyes away. She walked the way she swam: smooth and silent, toned arms and long legs gliding gracefully along. A class of their own: that was Mia.

  A good thing those dolphins had come along; he’d come close to knocking the video camera out of Stanley’s hand.

  “You can hear them talking!” someone cried out, delighting in the dolphins’ antics.

  Sure enough, he could just hear the high-pitched squeaks and clicks. A joyous sound that ought to bring a smile to a person’s face, but Mia barely seemed to notice.

  Mia. Upbeat, optimistic Mia, frowning. Christ, was he the one responsible for that?

  “Dolphins have a complex system of communication,” Hans said and launched into a long explanation that had Stanley swinging the camera between him and the dolphins. “They’re very empathetic, for starters.”

  Mia shot a pointed glare in Ryan’s direction, then went back to checking equipment.

  Yeah, he could probably learn a thing or two from dolphins. Maybe if he squeaked at Mia long enough, she’d squeak back. But she was buttoned up tight as a winter coat, so it was all up to him. Which pretty much meant he was doomed, because the only kind of communications the Navy had taught him were things like A was for Alpha, B was for Bravo, C was for Charlie and F… F was all fucked up.

  A little like him.

  A little like Mia, too.

  She hid it so well, he’d had no clue there was an old wound there until he’d managed to reopen it and set off this whole drama. A drama that wasn’t supposed to happen, because that was pretty much the only thing they’d both made clear from the start.

  I’m only in New York short-term, Mia had said, right after their second or third kiss.

  Too bad, he’d said before diving straight into the next kiss, because a couple of touches of those amazing lips were never going to be enough. But short-term probably works better for me, too.