The White Chocolate Christmas Wish (Christmas Kisses & Cookie Crumbs)

1. Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

HOPE

T he sharp rap on my front door sent a jolt through me, and I nearly dropped the scrub brush I’d been clutching. Colton. I hurried to answer, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Hey,” I breathed as I swung open the door. “Thanks for comin’.”

Colton’s broad shoulders filled the doorframe, and his easy smile warmed me despite the December chill. It was Tennessee, of course, so it was nothing like the winters they got up north. But it was still cold enough that I could see his breath when he exhaled into his cupped hands.

“No problem. What’s the big emergency?”

I tugged at a strand of hair that had fallen loose from my bun. “Well, it’s not exactly an emergency, but...”

Colton’s brow furrowed. “Everything okay?”

“Yes! I mean, I think so. It’s just—“ I took a deep breath, backing into the house with a shaky laugh and beckoning him inside. “Sorry, come on in.”

He entered the house with a grin, making my foyer feel a whole lot smaller due to his sheer size. The man had been a football player in high school and looked like he could make do in the pros now that he was an adult, but he’d joined the Marines instead.

“Anyway,” I said as I closed the door, “I was cleanin’ the fireplace, and I found… somethin’. Somethin’ hidden, and maybe somethin’ we’ve been lookin’ for?”

His eyes lit up with curiosity. “That so?”

I nodded.

“Lead the way.”

I smiled. Even in the face of my bumbling around like a fool, he was still so easygoing. Charming. And as we made our way to the living room, I was hyper-aware of Colton’s presence behind me.

Was it me, or did he smell like cinnamon and something woodsy? Probably me. It wasn’t like I had anything festive enough to smell like Christmas cologne in this house.

But if he could make the whole room smell good—like a walking, talking bowl of potpourri—what would he smell like if I got up close and personal?

Get it together, Hope. Not what he’s here for.

“So,” Colton said as we reached the fireplace, “do you normally make such a mess when you’re cleaning?”

I narrowed my eyes at his teasing tone. “Not usually. But once the grout started chippin’ away right under my scrubber, I figured I might as well go to town on it and then fix it up later.”

“Uh-huh.”

I pointed to the partially exposed metal box nestled beneath the bricks. “But then I saw that.”

Colton crouched down, examining the corner of the box buried beneath the stones.

“You don’t think it could be...?”

He glanced up at me with a half-grin when I trailed off. “The lost treasure we’ve been hunting for?”

“Yeah, that.”

“I don’t know, but if it is, I’m glad you called me and not Tuck. I can’t wait to have the bragging rights. He and Dakota have been relentless about finding that missing gold. Now I get to say we beat them.”

He shot me a wink, which sent my body into absolute tilt-a-whirl chaos. But that didn’t stop my face from scrunching up with guilt at his words.

Sharp as ever, his smile flattened. “You didn’t call me first, did you?”

“I called your office line. So, technically, Tucker could’ve answered, but when no one did, that’s when I called your cell.”

Colton tilted his head from side to side. “Hmm. I suppose I’ll take that. At least you didn’t call his cell.”

I chuckled as he began carefully working to free the box. It’d been silly, but even though I’d called the office line of the private investigations office Colton ran with his best friend Tucker, I really had hoped he’d be the one to answer it.

And when no one did, the obvious choice was to call Colton instead of Tucker. Dakota had a Christmas date night planned for her and Tucker—one involving a giant, snowman-covered apron for Tucker to wear—and I couldn’t ruin that for her. Especially since she’d promised to send me a pic of his reaction to having to wear it.

All jokes aside, calling Colton was a big deal for me. I’d been crushing on him since we met, sure, but letting people in wasn’t something I did lightly. And there was something about finding this box that felt significant somehow, and I just knew it wasn’t meant for me to dig up on my own. In the end, I supposed there was just something about Colton Hayes that made me feel like maybe he was worth trusting with… well, anything.

“I can’t tell how big it is yet,” Colton said, his voice strained with effort, “but if it’s really holding that treasure, Tucker’s gonna flip.”

I knelt beside him, my fingers itching to help. “Should we call him?”

Colton paused, considering. “Nah, let’s see what we’ve got first. No sense getting everyone worked up if it turns out to be a stash of your grandpa’s tax returns or something.”

I chuckled, picking up my scrubber even though he insisted he didn’t need my help. But I won, and as we worked side by side, I stole more than a few glances at Colton’s profile. The way his brow furrowed in concentration, the slight upturn of his lips as we made progress—it was all oddly captivating.

“Almost got it,” he grunted, giving a few bricks a final tug to break them free from the hearth. “Ready to see what’s been hiding in here?”

“More than ready.”

My heart raced as he gently lifted it, but then I scowled. It wasn’t a hulking metal container that could contain over a million dollars of missing pirate treasure. It was much too small for that. And when he opened the lid to find another box inside rather than the glow of rubies or sapphire-encrusted daggers or gold… I sighed.

It was an old, rusted cookie tin.

“Well, that’s anticlimactic,” I said as he brought out the tin.

I trailed my fingers over the faded Christmas scene on the sides, and Colton’s eyes sparkled as he looked over at me. “Why do you look so bummed? We haven’t even opened it yet. This might not be the treasure, but it’s gotta be something cool for it to be hidden away like that, right?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Alright, I’ll bite. Let’s see what’s inside.”

As he carefully pried open the lid, the scent of aged paper and more dust wafted out. Inside, we found an assortment of items: a gorgeous antique snow globe, a few yellowed photographs, a small cloth doll, and some other items that were clearly handmade by a child.

But the thing that caught my eye was a folded piece of paper with what was probably supposed to be a reindeer drawing on the outside.

“What’s this?” I murmured, gently unfolding it. Colton leaned in close, his warmth heating my skin like this fireplace surely would if it were lit.

“Looks like a list,” he said in a low tone.

I read the top of the page out loud, my voice stiff. “Steps for the Perfect Charlotte Oaks Christmas.”

He grinned, and I shook my head as that boyish excitement lit up his face as he scanned the list. “Jackpot. It’s my first Christmas in Charlotte Oaks. We should do all of this stuff.”

“What? No, we can’t just?—“

“Why not?” Colton interrupted, his enthusiasm growing by the second as he swiped the note with a teasing grin. “Think about it. Somebody left this behind for a reason. We’d be a couple of Grinchy jerks if we didn’t follow their guide to the perfect Charlotte Oaks Christmas after they went through all this trouble.”

“‘Grinchy jerks,’ huh?”

“Yeah, and those are the worst kind.”

“Uh-huh.” I frowned down at the other contents of the box. “I would’ve thought this was my grandpa’s based on how old it looks, but the stuff in here is pretty…”

“Girly?” he finished for me, picking up the cloth doll.

“Yeah. Not that I’m judgin’ my gramps, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard that he played with dolls. There isn’t a single wooden car or tool in this thing.”

“All the more reason we should follow the list. Maybe we’ll find out who left this box here, and we can return some of this stuff to her. Or maybe a relative,” he added with a slight frown. “Not sure if she’ll still be… you know.”

I nodded and looked away. I did know. My grandpa had passed a few years ago, and if he were alive today, he’d be ninety-six.

“So, what do you say?” he prompted, giving me the kind of smile that probably got him his way every time he used it.

“I don’t know...”

“Come on,” he coaxed. “Where’s your sense of Christmas spirit? This has Christmas adventure written all over it. Literally. ”

“I’m not really into Christmas,” I admitted.

His eyes bulged, and then he waved the list at me. “Well, you’ll have to be for this year since decorating your house is on the list. Besides, if you don’t do it for Christmas, do it for me. First time here for the holidays, remember?” He could tell I was leaning toward acceptance, and he grinned as he delivered his death blow. “Plus, it’ll give us a chance to spend more time together.”

Feeling like I had no control over my body or my heart, I nodded. “Okay, fine. We’ll do it.”

Colton’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, and as he immediately began reading off the items on the list, I wondered what the heck I’d gotten myself into.

But… watching him—so genuinely into this, even though I had no idea why—had warmth spreading through my chest.

Maybe it would be fun.

Or, maybe those would be my famous last words.