Free Taming Her Navy Doc by Amy Ruttan

This time she wasn’t going to be caught unawares. This time she’d be ready for whatever Captain Wilder had for her. Erica planned to keep this commission. She wasn’t going to be run out of another one. Not this time. Since her Rhode Island posting, when her reputation had been left in tatters,she’d worked damned hard to get it back. It was her prize intangible possession. Her reputation was at stake and that was all she had left.
    “You can sit, Commander.”
    “I still prefer to stand, Captain.”
    “I’d prefer it if you’d sit.”
    “Why?” she asked.
    “I never sit in the presence of a lady who remains standing. It’s how I was raised. So if you would sit, then I could sit—and I’d really like to sit because my leg has been bothering me something fierce today.”
    Erica could see the discomfort etched in his face, the barely controlled pain. His knuckles were white as he was gripping the back of his chair and there was a fine sheen of sweat across his brow. It wasn’t about nicety; he was suffering.
    “I’m sorry, Captain.”
    He shook his head. “Don’t be sorry, please just have a seat.”
    She nodded and sat down on the other side of his desk. Even though he told her she wasn’t being reprimanded, she was still ill at ease. She had no idea why Thorne wanted to see her.
    Performance review?
    One could only hope. She’d been at the job for a month now.
    “Commander, I called you up here because I want to apologize.”
    What?
“I’m sorry…what, Captain?”
    “Apologize, Commander. It’s not an easy thing for me to say, but that’s why I called you up here.”
    “I’m not sure I quite understand.”
    “For making you feel uncomfortable at the bar two weeks ago and on the beach. I know the corporal’s death affected you and it looked like you needed a friend. I’m sorry if my actions were out of line.”
    “Thank you, Captain.” Erica was stunned. She’d never had a superior apologize to her before. It surprised her. There were many things she’d been expecting him to say, but an apology had not been one of them. “I’m sorry too.”
    Thorne cocked an eyebrow. “For what?”
    “For avoiding you.”
    A smile broke out on his face, his eyes twinkling. “I knew you were.”
    “You did.”
    “You’re not that aloof, Erica. May I call you Erica now?”
    She nodded. “Yes. I think we’ve established that when we’re alone that’s acceptable.”
    “So, why have you been avoiding me?”
    “I thought it was for the best. I’m here to prove myself. I’m not here to make friends.”
    “Everyone needs a friend.”
    “Not me.” And she meant it.
    “Really? I’m intrigued—you have no friends?”
    Erica rolled her eyes. “I have friends, just not here. At home and not in the service.” Well, except for Regina, but he didn’t need to know that.
    “I’m talking about friends here. You need a friend.”
    “And what about you?”
    Thorne leaned back in his chair, tenting his fingers. “What about me?”
    “Who are your friends, if you don’t mind me asking? You work just as much as I do, if not more. I’ve been to Scooby’s bar a couple of times and two weeks ago was the first time I saw you there.”
    “Scooby knows English, by the way.”
    “What?” she asked.
    “I was pulling your leg, but he warned me that I should tell you the truth.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why I fell for that. I knew he knew English. He’s been living around the base his whole life.”
    Thorne shrugged. “It’s a bit of an initiation.”
    “I thought my crazy shifts at the beginning were that.”
    “Partly.” He grinned. “It’s true, I don’t have many friends here, being the commanding officer of the trauma department and beinginvolved in Special Ops training. Well, as much as I can be with my prosthetic. I can’t do much in the way of water training.”
    “We can be friends.” Erica was stunned when the words slipped out of her mouth and she could tell