In Over Her Head: An Anchor Island Novel by Terri Osburn (reading eggs books .TXT) 📗

between them and leaned against his side. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

Nick ignored the question. “As most of you probably know, this is Lauren Riley, the head chef of Pilar’s here on the island. Due to Will Navarro, the event coordinator, being the owner of that establishment, Lauren was shut out of the competition.”

“You don’t need to do this,” she said, tugging on his sleeve.

He kept going. “I knew I couldn’t change that, but what I could do was make sure her food was represented. The dish I made today—tuna steak in a red wine sauce with celery root-potato puree and Brussels sprouts in garlic—is the first dish she ever made for me, and this award belongs to her.”

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