In the past, whether she’d been dating or not, she’d always spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with her parents. They always attended what was called the midnight service at the church. Actually, it started at ten-thirty and ended at midnight. The music was glorious. She could go by herself, but she thought she wouldn’t have the energy. And probably she’d embarrass herself by weeping. Tonight of all nights, she missed her parents.

Right now, she was too profoundly sad to cry. As she pulled on her coat, hat, and gloves, and hefted her purse and bank bag full of money, she felt heavy. Her heart was full of lead. She locked the shop door and trudged over the snowy path to the street and her Jeep, which was, of course, ice cold. She sat dejectedly warming up the car.

After a while, she listlessly drove home, past the shops with gorgeous decorations and the houses with their windows twinkling with lights.

She turned onto her street. Cars were parked nose to nose on both sides. Someone was having a party.

She turned into her driveway and gasped.

From her windows, light beamed. The Christmas tree twinkled cheerfully from her front window. Smoke spiraled from the chimney—someone had made a fire. Who? Mimi? Louise? Although she always locked her shop, she seldom locked her house. Most island people never locked their doors. Then she saw her front door open.

Wink peeked out. “Come in, Christina!”

Laughing, Christina stepped out of her car and hurried along the path that someone had shoveled to her house.

Wink held the door open wide. “Surprise!”

Christina stepped into the bright warmth, and her heart swelled with joy.

She could hear chatter and laughter and she smelled something wonderful cooking.

“Come on!” Wink said, tugging on Christina’s hand. “We’re all in the kitchen!”

And they were. All in the kitchen.

Including Delia and Jeff.

Delia, Jeff, Andy, and Oscar were seated at the kitchen table with homemade cookies shaped like stars, wreaths, reindeer, and Santa in front of them. Several bowls of icing were in service as they decorated the cookies.

“Don’t eat the silver balls,” Wink warned her. “They crack your teeth.”

Delia, holding a knife covered with red icing, looked up. “Nice to see you again, Christina.”

Christina grinned. “Nice to see you, Delia. And you, Jeff.”

“He’s my daddy!” Wink crowed. “He’s spending Christmas with us. He and my mommy love each other!”

“Oh!” Would she ever get used to the way Wink blurted out information? “How nice!”

Oscar, a half-eaten cookie in his hand, looked up. “Merry Christmas,” he rumbled, and he almost sounded as if he meant it.

Andy rose from the table. “Merry Christmas. Let me take your coat and hang it up. And I’ll put your bags and purse on the top shelf of the closet, okay?”

“Okay.” Christina was too stunned to say more.