Page 1 of Christmas On Anchor Island

Chapter One

Mia Stamatis had paintedcountless murals around Anchor Island, but none that included dinosaurs and Lego characters. Until today.

“Conner is going to love this,” said Callie Edwards, the client who had commissioned the mural. “Thank you for doing this on such short notice. Sam and I couldn’t figure out how to get him away from the house before now.”

Conner was Callie and Sam’s four-year-old son, and the work in progress was his Christmas present. The youngster had gotten twin siblings earlier in the year, and recently let his parents know that he was feeling neglected. To rectify the situation, among other things, Sam had taken Conner with him to pick up his grandmother from the airport in Norfolk. While they spent the weekend visiting Navy ships, and presumably extending the boy’s Lego collection, Callie brought Mia in to give the youngster’s room a personalized feature wall.

“I’m happy to do it,” Mia said, stepping back to survey her work. “Does the stegosaurus look proportional to you?”

Callie laughed. “I don’t even know which one that is. Which proves Conner is right. I haven’t spent nearly enough time with him lately. My son loves these things, and I can’t even name them.”

Mia checked her reference drawing and said, “I’m sure you’re doing the best you can. Twins are a lot of work, especially when they’re still so dependent on you.” Dropping the paintbrush into a cup of water, she pulled a finer point brush from her bag. “Once they get a little older and he sees them as playmates instead of interlopers, things will even out.”

“Do you really think so?” she asked.

“I’m a younger sister, remember? From what I’ve heard, Nick wasn’t happy to have this chubby-cheeked little baby taking everyone’s attention when I first arrived. By the time I was two, he’d barely let anyone near me.” Mia dipped the brush in black paint. “I was his ligo delfi, which was his less-than-accurate way of saying little sister in Greek.”

“You two are close, aren’t you?”

Despite some changes in their relationship since Lauren Riley had entered her brother’s life, Mia still saw Nick as her best friend and closest ally. Though she’d found a few new allies lately, much to Mia’s surprise.

“We are. You don’t have any siblings, do you?” she asked.

“No, I’m an only child, but I have Henri. She’s more like a sister than a cousin, really.”

The mention of Callie’s cousin caused a small ping in Mia’s chest. In the spring, she and Henri Bloom, a successful romance author and one of the boldest, most interesting women she’d ever met, had gotten close. But factors in Mia’s life had driven a wedge between them. Henri lived her life loud and proud as a gay woman, while Mia was less open about her sexuality. Over the summer, she’d let a few friends in on her secret, including Callie, but knowing her grandmother wouldn’t approve kept her from being open publicly.

“How is Henri?” Mia asked.

When the writer had left the island back in June, she and Mia had not been on the best of terms. Not that she blamed her for being upset. Normally, Mia never crossed the line, since asking someone else to live as she did—shrouded in secrets—wasn’t a fair thing to do. Henri had been her one exception. The way things had ended between them was a key reason Mia had taken baby steps out of her comfort zone in the months since.

Not because she expected Henri to ever give her a second chance, but in the hopes of one day having the courage to truly be herself. In private and in public.

“She’s good,” Callie replied as she slowly rocked Roxanne, one of the twins, back to sleep. “I invited her for the holiday, but you know Henri. She never sits still for long. The last we talked her plans were still up in the air. I miss her when she stays away this long.” After gently kissing the sleeping baby’s forehead, she asked, “Have you heard from her?”

Mia shook her head. “Not since she left.”

“I really thought she’d give in by now.”

“What do you mean?” Though Callie knew Mia was gay, she’d never mentioned her relationship with Henri.

The mother slowly rose from the rocker, careful not to wake the little one. “Henri isn’t normally the type to stay mad this long. She cares about you, and if she had any sense, she’d have gotten over this pout months ago.”

The brush nearly fell from Mia’s fingers. “You know about us?”

Callie bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I should have said something when you opened up last month, but responding with ‘I know’ didn’t feel right.”

Of course, she knew. As she’d said, she and Henri were like sisters. Mia had been an idiot to think she wouldn’t know.

“Please don’t be mad,” Callie said. “I noticed how much time you two were spending together and nagged her until she told me.”

“I’m not angry,” she said, surprised by the truth of that statement. A year ago she’d been terrified of being found out, which was a ridiculous way to think of it. She hadn’t robbed a bank, for heaven’s sake. “I appreciate you keeping the knowledge to yourself.”

The blond blushed. “About that…”

The old fear crept back in. “About what?” Mia mumbled, her chest tightening.

“We all knew before you told us,” Callie blurted.

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