In Over Her Head: An Anchor Island Novel

by Terri Osburn

  He extended the trophy as the room erupted, the deafening applause making her ears ring.

  “I can’t,” she said, shaking her head. “You made the dish.”

  “But you created it,” Nick replied. “This belongs to you. The best chef here.”

  As tears filled her eyes, Lauren wrapped her arms around his middle and hid her face in his white jacket. The crowd started chanting, “Speech! Speech!”

  Wiping her face, she sniffled as he handed her the microphone. The audience grew quiet once more and she took a deep breath, stalling for time.

  “Hello,” she finally muttered. “I’m a bit speechless since I didn’t expect to be up here today. I guess I should say thank you to everyone who voted for the dish, though that feels weird since I’m not the one who made it.” Quiet laughter rippled through the crowd. “I’m not sure how I got lucky enough to land on this amazing little island, but I’m really happy that I did. And I’m looking forward to making food here for years to come.”

  More cheers filled the large tent as Lauren handed the microphone back to Will before dragging Nick to the side of the stage. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “You put my dish on your menu,” he reminded her. “Turnabout is fair play.” Sobering, he kissed her knuckles. “I entered this dish before you came back to me. I meant it when I said your food deserved to be represented here.”

  She couldn’t believe he would have done this even if she’d never come to her senses.

  “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much that means to me.”

  With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “You’ll have to show me then.”

  Her laughter danced around them. “Oh, yes. That I can do.”

  Epilogue

  Lauren couldn’t believe Pilar’s had been open for a full month and they had yet to see a drop in business. If anything, they’d gotten busier with every passing day to the point that a new patio section was currently under construction along the back of the building. The covered area would offer amazing views of the sound and the ocean beyond, and could be closed up in winter for year-round use.

  The staff worked like a dream, with or without her, and Lauren was enjoying a little extra time to explore her new home. The lighthouse was, in fact, as short and fat as Mia had painted it to be. The Blackbeard museum was both cheesy and educational—if you didn’t mind the swashbuckling tour guide calling you matey for an hour. And nearly every island local greeted her by name when they crossed paths, often stopping to chat about whatever dish at Pilar’s they’d most recently tried.

  Even when she had someplace to be, Lauren didn’t mind taking an extra few minutes for the brief encounters. As Nick once said, on Anchor Island, you really do have all the time in the world.

  To celebrate Pilar’s one-month milestone, the pre-launch dinner group had been invited back, only this time Lauren joined them for the meal. Everyone got to order their own favorite, and conversations around the table were boisterous in some cases, more moderate in others. The children were back, of course, and this time the twins were in attendance.

  Lauren couldn’t remember ever holding a baby so small.

  “Aren’t they precious?” Roxie said, staring into the chubby little face of baby Roxanne. Apparently, Roxie had taken care of Callie while she’d been on bed rest for weeks before giving birth, and her generosity had been rewarded by gaining her own namesake.

  “They’re beautiful,” Lauren agreed. She had the pleasure of holding baby Rachel, who squirmed and gurgled before settling to gnaw on one tiny knuckle.

  Mia leaned over Roxie’s shoulder and said, “They’re getting so big.”

  This was big? How small were they before?

  The women continued to coo over the infants until Henri said, “Let me hold my baby cousins before I go.”

  “Go?” Mia said.

  The blonde sat down beside Lauren, who reluctantly handed the baby over.

  “I’m leaving the island,” Henri said, smiling at the bundle in her arms. “It’s conference season. I have reader events throughout the summer.”

  Lauren didn’t have much time for reading, but she’d loaded several of Henri’s books onto her phone. Halfway through the first in a small town series, she couldn’t wait to find out how the brooding former soldier was going to win the heart of the single mom next door.

  “When will you be back?” Mia asked, taking the empty seat beside Roxie.

  Henri looked up. “Why?”

  An odd question. Lauren looked to Roxie to see if she’d also picked up on the unexpected tension, but the other woman was too focused on the baby to notice.

  Mia cast Lauren an uncomfortable glance before saying, “I’m just curious.”

  “I didn’t think you’d care,” the author replied.

  As if sensing his sister needed rescuing, Nick appeared out of nowhere. “Is this the baby section?” he asked.

  Baby Rachel began to fuss, which triggered the same reaction in her sister. Without another word, Henri took the baby back to her mother, and Roxie followed behind her.

  “You okay?” Nick asked Mia.

  His sister nodded. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” Arms crossed over her middle, she glanced around as if seeking an escape hatch. “I’m going to check on Grandma.”

  As Mia walked away, Nick moved her empty chair closer to Lauren and sat down, sliding an arm around her shoulders.

  “Do you want to tell me what that was?” she asked.

  Nick sighed. “I think it’s time I should, but this has to stay between us.”

  Concerned, she said, “Of course.”

  With a nod toward his sister’s retreating form, he said, “Mia is gay, but she doesn’t think Nota will approve so she keeps it a secret.”

  Putting two and two together, Lauren said, “And Henri…?”

  “Is interested,” he said, glancing over to the writer. “Mia won’t act on it though, at least not publicly. I have no idea what’s happened between them in private.”

  If that exchange was any indication, feelings are definitely involved.

  “What do you think Nota would say?” she asked.

  The older woman had been ecstatic to learn that Nick and Lauren were now a couple, and had not hesitated to toss out an I told you so to her grandson. But Lauren hadn’t spent much time with her and couldn’t begin to guess what her feelings might be about learning her granddaughter was a lesbian.

  Nick shrugged. “I honestly don’t think she’d care, but she also comes from another generation, when stuff like that was kept quiet if ever talked about at all. Seeing Mia happy is what’s important, so I have to think she’d come around. Eventually.”

  He was probably right, but eventually could be a week or it could be years. Poor Mia. Hiding such a big part of herself could not be easy.

  “I wish there was something we could do, but I guess with Henri leaving, there’s no point now.”

  “You never know,” Nick said, pressing a kiss against Lauren’s temple. “So long as Callie is here, Henri will be back. Maybe Mia will figure it out.”

  Leaning into him, she said, “I hope so. Now that I know what being in love feels like, I highly recommend it.”

  “You do, huh?”

  “I do,” Lauren replied, turning to face him. “I’m glad that Nota convinced you that you aren’t going to die anytime soon.” Nick had told her the full story about why he’d enacted his no relationships policy. If his grandmother hadn’t changed his mind, Lauren would still be as lonely as ever. “And that you didn’t give up on me.”

  Rubbing a thumb along her jaw, he whispered, “Never.”

  He sealed the vow with a kiss that curled her toes and Lauren knew she would never be lonely again.

  Thank you so much for reading In Over Her Head. I hope you enjoyed the story and that you might take the time to post a review on Amazon. I would be most grateful, but I’m also grateful that with so many books to choose from, you chose one of mine.


  If you like this one enough to try another, make sure you hop over to Amazon now and pre-order the next installment in the series, Christmas On Anchor Island, coming Oct 25, 2021. And if you want to go back to the beginning and read them all, you can find the full Anchor Island collection on the series page on Amazon.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to the fabulous writer Nicki Salcedo for sharing her team building experiences with me. She started the conversation by saying how awful it was, then shared all of the parts she enjoyed. That was exactly what I needed to create the scenes that brought Lauren and her team together. The park that I call Defying Gravity Adventure Park is based on the very real First Flight Adventure Park in Nags Head, NC. There are amazing videos and images on their website so if you want to see what Lauren and her team endured definitely check it out.

  Thank you to Kimberly Dawn Edits for being my lovely copyeditor once again. I couldn’t possibly do this without you. And a big shout out to Kim Law, who helped me brainstorm this story and even made it possible for us to do so while at the beach. That trip was the highlight of a really crappy year. (All covid precautions were taken so no worries there.)

  Anchor Island is affectionately based on the very real Ocracoke Island at the base of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I couldn’t possibly have known when I visited way back in 2007 that this island would change my life so drastically. If you’re wishing you could visit Anchor Island, definitely book a trip to Ocracoke. If you do, I hope you’ll send me pictures of your adventures!

  About the Author

  Terri Osburn writes contemporary romance with heart, hope, and lots of humor. After landing on the bestseller lists with her Anchor Island Series, she moved on to the Ardent Springs series, which earned her a Book Buyers Best award in 2016. Terri’s work has been translated into five languages, and has sold more than one and a half million copies worldwide. She resides in middle Tennessee with four frisky felines and two high-maintenance terrier mixes. Learn more about this author and her books at www.terriosburn.com. Or check out her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TerriOsburnAuthor.