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

“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.