Page 30 of Christmas On Anchor Island

“You didn’t—”

“Maybe if I—”

Mia ran out of patience. “Jeremy, for heaven’s sake, I’m gay.”

The room went deadly silent and the reality of what she’d just done hit Mia like a train at full speed. Everyone looked at her with varying expressions of surprise, but only one set of eyes mattered. Grandma slowly rose to her feet, the scrape of her chair across the floor echoing in the silence.

“What did you say?”

Leaping to her feet, Mia tried to respond but words failed her.

“Mia, I asked you a question,” she repeated. “What did you just say?”

“Please, Grandma, I didn’t—”

“You didn’t what?” she snapped. Glancing around, she studied every face in the room before looking at Mia once more. “They all know. All of these people know this while you’ve been lying to me all this time.” Before Mia could answer, Grandma turned to Nick. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t my place. Nota, let Mia—”

“Let her what? Humiliate me even more?” Shuffling toward the door at an impressive rate, she said, “Take me home, Nickolai. Take me home right now.”

As Mia dropped into her chair and pressed her face into her hands, she heard Nick say, “You need to listen to her.”

The thud of a cane pounding on the floor was like a series of punches to Mia’s chest.

“Drive me home or I’ll walk on my own. Either way, I’m leaving. I’ve been humiliated enough.”

“You’ve been humiliated?” Mia heard Henri say. “What do you think you’re doing to Mia right now?”

Bolting up, Mia said, “Henri, don’t.”

Ice-blue eyes met hers, silently demanding that Mia stand up for herself. But what was she supposed to say? Grandma was right. Nearly every person in this restaurant knew the truth, while she’d lied to the most important person in her life. Mia would be humiliated too. This was her fault. This was the price of her cowardice.

“Grandma, I’m sorry,” was all she could think to say. “I never meant to hurt you.”

The older woman paused for the length of a breath before continuing her march to the door. Without another word, she left the building, letting the door slam behind her. Nick turned to Mia, and she nodded toward the exit.

“Go,” she said. “I’ll be okay.”

Lauren handed Nick both his and Nota’s coats, and then she sent Mia a sympathetic look. Mia crossed to retrieve her own coat from the back of her chair and walked over to Will and Randy as tension filled the silence like a suffocating fog.

“I’m really sorry,” she said and turned toward the door.

“Are you going to be okay?” Will asked.

Mia kept walking, the shame and guilt filling her lungs making it impossible to respond. She stepped outside as Nick’s truck pulled out of the parking lot. The icy wind off the harbor cut through her sweater and she slipped on her coat. She was moving on autopilot, not sure where she was going. Mia only knew she had to get away. From the restaurant. From the people. From the mess she’d made.

As she walked, head down and body numb, tears rolled down her cheeks and a new truth settled over her. No matter what she did now, Mia’s life would never be the same again.

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