Mistletoe Mischief: A Christmas Romance (Island County Series Book 9)

by Karice Bolton

  “Hey, you okay?” Holly asked, touching my cheek.

  “Sorry. My grandma just popped into my head. It happens at the weirdest times.” I sniffled and let out a little laugh.

  “And it will always hit at the weirdest times,” she said softly. “I was so sorry to hear about her passing.”

  “It was such a shock.” I shook my head and swallowed down the lump. “She was fine at the engagement party and—” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

  Holly hugged me just as Nick came inside.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “She was just telling me about her grandma.” Holly rubbed my arms and let go.

  “I was just saying how she seemed perfectly fine when we were all together last, and then two days later, she had a massive stroke. If it hadn’t been for the neighbor, Mr. Manning down the street, we wouldn’t have found her.” I didn’t want to tell them it was the same neighbor who’d lost his parents only to have them come back on Christmas Eve to visit. There were some things best left close to the heart. “He’d stopped by to return a cookie platter we’d dropped off on Christmas morning full of cookies my grandmother had baked. We’re just so grateful to him and his entire family on so many levels.” And so many that only Colton and I would understand.

  Holly dabbed the tears from her eyes and glanced over at Nick, who squeezed her in close. “Life is so fragile.”

  “It can be.” I nodded, wiping away the tears that had suddenly appeared. “Anyway, I didn’t have you guys fly all the way out to Colorado to stand in the middle of our house in tears. This is a celebration.” I wiggled my hand, where my engagement ring sat on my finger.

  “I second that,” Holly said, smiling and bringing Nick in for a quick kiss.

  “Where’s Colton?” Nick asked. “He had me make something for him, and I wanted to show it to him to make sure it was what he wanted.”

  “He ran to the store for some more salad dressing.” I grinned and pointed toward the kitchen. “I bumped the bottle of dressing we had onto the floor and it shattered.”

  As I started showing them the downstairs and leading them into the great room and kitchen area, the front door opened and in came Colton. I could feel the house brighten with his presence. There was something about him that made my world right. Grandma Tuckerman saw it, Lester and Wilma saw it, and my father blessed it.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, scooping me in his arms, still holding a grocery bag.

  He kissed me quickly on the cheek before turning his attention to Nick and Holly.

  “I’m so glad you guys made it out here,” he said, pulling Nick in for a guy hug before moving on to Holly. “I know Gina misses you all so much. I only wish there were a way to bring us all together.”

  “The right thing will work out how it should.” I rubbed his back and he smiled.

  “Oh, I’ve got that thing you had me work on,” Nick said, trading a quick glance with Colton. “It’s in my bag.”

  “Great.” Nick and Colton made their way back into the foyer.

  Holly leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve never seen you this happy.”

  “I’ve never been this happy,” I confessed, and it was true.

  Love had never been this easy, and the deeper in love I fell with Colton, the more I doubted I’d ever been in love before. There was an ease about being with Colton, and I could never get enough of him. It was like we were two kids back in high school, and maybe in a sense, we were making up for lost time.

  The oven dinged, and I spun around to shut off the timer.

  “Roast is done,” I called to Colton.

  One of the things I inherited from my grandma was her recipe book, and I treasured it. Beyond the recipes, she’d filled it with tiny life sayings that only Grandma Tuckerman could come up with like, We all have our own bell to ring, so why not jingle if there’s some jangle to be had?

  “Grandma’s roast,” Colton said, striding into the kitchen with Nick right behind holding a large box. “You definitely take after her, honey. Your cooking rivals hers.”

  I held up my finger to his lips and he kissed it. “Don’t say that. She’s liable to come down from above and strike some sense into those bones of yours. You know she would.”

  “Or she’d just send Lester or Wilma to do her dirty work,” he whispered.

  “Who are they?” Holly asked.

  “Some old friends who knocked some sense into us about love early on.” I smiled, watching Colton take the pot roast out of the oven and set it on the kitchen island to carve.

  “I’m going to set this at the table, sound good?” Nick asked.

  “Great.” Colton already had the roast sitting on the cutting board while Holly and I filled water glasses and took them to the table.

  “It’s so nice to have you here.” I grabbed some napkins and spread them all around the table. “I do miss the islands, especially this time of year. There’s nothing like Fireweed in the summer.”

  “I have to agree with you on that one.” She grinned and glanced over at Colton. “So, when’s the date? You told me you’d tell me as soon as I got here.”

  “We’re getting married on Christmas Eve this year.”

  Holly let out a squeak and gave me a giant hug. “Best news ever.”

  “It just felt right.” I smiled and took a deep breath, loving how wonderful life had turned out. I’d found the man of my dreams right where I’d left him and had friends who cared about us deeply.

  Colton brought over the platter of roast, and Nick followed behind with the salad dressing while I grabbed the bowl of salad.

  We all took a seat at the table, but before we began, Colton slid the flat box over to me.

  “Open this,” he said, unable to keep the growing smile off his face.

  “What is it?” I asked, looking up at Colton, who only grinned coyly.

  “Open it and find out.”

  I slid my finger along the cardboard and popped open the end before sliding the contents out. I gave the piece, wrapped in bubble wrap, one final tug and began unwrapping the plastic until a beautiful Welcome to our Home sign hand-carved by Nick lay in front of me.

  “Oh, Nick. It’s beautiful.” My hand slid along the rustic pine finish, landing on a hook with a dangling key. “And it will hold all of our keys? What a great idea.”

  “Completely designed by your fiancé,” Nick told me.

  “But that’s not just any key,” Colton said, grabbing my hand.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, feeling my heart begin to pound in my chest.

  “It’s a key to the new summer home I bought for us on Fireweed Island.” He glanced at Nick and Holly. “They helped me pick it out and—”

  Before I let him get any other words out, I jumped up to hug him but instead smacked my hand against the dressing bottle, only to have it fall to the ground again.

  But I didn’t care. I just wanted to hold Colton and tell him how much I loved him.

  “Surprised?” he whispered, pressing his lips to mine.

  “Beyond,” I said, kissing him over and over again. “I can’t believe you pulled this off. It’s like I leave you alone and you’re all into mischief together.”

  “Could be worse.” Colton flashed a wry grin and shook his head as I turned to face Nick and Holly.

  “How long have you known about this?”

  “A couple of months.” She smiled. “It was so hard not to tell you. Everyone back home in Washington can’t wait to see you again.”

  “They all know too?”

  “Well, I kept the secret from you but no one else.”

  I laughed and glanced at the exploded dressing and let out a happy sigh.

  “No salad tonight,” I said, laughing. “It’s just not meant to be.”

  “I think we can safely say that,” Colton said, helping me to clean up as Holly and Nick began eating.

  As Colton and I bent over to pick up the remaining g
lass so I could wipe up the dressing, his eyes connected with mine and I felt the familiar flutter of excitement and longing.

  “Do you realize you can make cleaning sexy?” he asked.

  “I was thinking the same thing.” I chuckled and rolled my eyes before taking everything to the trash.

  The rest of the dinner was uneventful, thankfully, and by the time we were all ready for bed, all I could think about was getting to spend the rest of my life with a man I’d wanted to kill for most it. Not really, but close.

  “I still can’t believe you did that for me,” I said, crawling into bed.

  “Fireweed Island is a special place.” He smiled, turning on his side. “And I want you to be as happy in this life as the next.”

  Colton grabbed my hand and pulled it toward him. “You’re my world, Gina. You’ve made my life complete.”

  His words warmed my soul and I sank deeper into the pillows. “I can’t believe I’m back home, but what I realize now is that home is with you. From the moment I met you, I felt safe and comfortable. I’d never felt that way before. You made my world right.”

  He smiled and moved a piece of hair away from my eyes. “Life has certainly been interesting since I met you.”

  “I know. We even have people from other realms popping in on us.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced around the room. “I’d like to think it isn’t all the time.”

  “No doubt.”

  He moved closer, hovering over me. “So, I’ve been thinking about love and loving you.”

  “And?”

  “I think loving you is the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.” He smiled, his gaze falling to my lips. “And I feel like a man who was blessed that Christmas Eve when I first got to kiss you.”

  “How do you do it?”

  “Do what?” he asked softly, his eyes full of heated desire.

  “Make me fall in love with you even more.”

  “I’m so happy to hear you believe in love, Gina,” he said, his voice raw with longing.

  His lips pressed down to mine, and I knew I was the luckiest woman in the world.

  The magic of the season might have brought us together that fateful Christmas Eve, but there was something more that would keep us together long after. Something powerful happened that night, and I knew I’d always embrace the unknown, especially with Colton by my side.

  Wilma was right. A person couldn’t experience true love unless they let themselves believe it even existed... kind of like Santa.

  And I’d never stop believing in love again.

  I hope you loved reading Mistletoe Mischief as much I enjoyed writing it! If you haven’t read the Island County Series yet, there are eight full-length novels available with more on the way! Sign up here for Karice’s newsletter to receive exclusive novellas and epilogues and to be notified of new releases!

  Want to read more about the little town of Silver Ridge? Check out the Silver Ridge Series! Happy Truth About Love is available now and A Little Secret About Love is coming soon!

  Keep reading for an excerpt of Happy Truth About Love and fall in love with the town of Silver Ridge…

  Happy Truth Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Autumn Tucker sat gripping the steering wheel as she stared at her inheritance. The home looked nothing like the photos her late uncle’s attorney had sent her.

  Nothing at all.

  If it had, she probably wouldn’t be sitting in front of the dilapidated mansion, cursing her impulsiveness.

  Instead, she’d left everything behind in Los Angeles—which, admittedly, wasn’t much—and moved to the small mountain town of Silver Ridge.

  Autumn sucked in a deep breath and glanced in the rearview mirror of her car. Ronald had just pulled up behind her with a moving truck full of her worldly possessions.

  He’d insisted on driving the rental truck up the coast for her. She hadn’t asked him to make the drive, and she’d secretly hoped he’d bail at the last minute. But only recently had she begun to notice that life rarely worked out how she hoped or planned.

  Ronald Morder was a nice guy, a few years her senior with dark brown eyes and sandy blond hair. In the world of men, he was extremely attractive with a California tan, bright white teeth, and a lean body from biking most places. He looked like everything she should want, even wearing his lavender polo and khakis.

  Besides, the dating app said they were perfectly matched, not that she understood why.

  He was a computer programmer by day, and by night . . . well, he was still a computer programmer, and that was about all she could get from him. She was pretty certain his idea of a hobby was learning new code, but now she could add driving moving trucks to his short list of activities.

  She still couldn’t figure out what in the world made him offer to help her move.

  They’d gone on several dates over the last few months, and she kept waiting for that spark.

  When the spark didn’t appear, she’d started hoping for an ember to glow, at the very least, but so far, she’d only been left with an ashy feeling toward him, and yet here he was by her side, helping her move out of state.

  Come to think of it, maybe he felt the same way about her.

  Maybe this was his way of ending it gently before it ever really began.

  She doubted it though. She was seldom that lucky.

  Ronald gave a quick wave, and she let out a sigh as he jumped out of the cab of the rental truck, looking extremely eager and ready to take on the world. Her stomach tensed at the thought of having to make small talk, but this was how the beginning of relationships always seemed to be. The encounters were a little clumsy and tricky to navigate until a rhythm set in.

  They were obviously still in that getting-to-know-you stage, and she wasn’t sure at what point it would ever turn into something with substance, but they could continue toward that goal.

  So what if the state of Oregon sat between them? People did long-distance relationships all the time.

  All the time.

  But did this even qualify as a relationship yet?

  She grabbed her purse off the passenger seat and climbed out of her red Fiat convertible, top up, and shut the door. Now wasn’t the time to worry about semantics. This move was her new beginning, and she needed to fully embrace the positives wherever they led.

  After all, the state of Washington was pulling out all the stops to welcome her. It was early evening, and the sky was sparkling blue without even a wispy cloud in sight. The brilliant green weeds in her new yard stretched for the sun with mighty determination. Contrary to what she’d heard about the soggy state of Washington, it seemed beautiful all the way up the coast and even more so once she got into the mountains.

  The jagged cliffs, rushing waterfalls, and brilliantly colored wildflowers along the highway leading to Silver Ridge seemed right out of a fairy tale, and the small bit of the town she saw didn’t disappoint either. It was just this little hiccup of a house that drilled a bit of fear into her decision to move here.

  “This place is something else,” Ronald said, sauntering over and giving the house a sideways glance before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Even though a warm breeze caressed her skin, his lips felt like a cold, wet fish and a shiver shot up her spine.

  “Yes. It’s quite something.” She cleared her throat and looked up at the house with a glint of unexpected optimism in her eyes.

  Maybe the inside wasn’t as bad as the outside. She hoped the opposite was true for Ronald. Maybe his insides were as great as his outside. After all, he did drive over a thousand miles to get her here.

  Or maybe that was precisely the problem.

  He did drive over a thousand miles to get me here, she thought

  “Not what you expected?” he asked warily, slicking his fingers through his hair.

  She folded her arms over her chest and hugged herself, letting out an exhausted sigh.

  “No. Not entirely.” She grimaced and shrugged. “But I
’ve never shied away from a challenge before. This will be good for me. It’s time I finally set some roots down, and besides, this was meant to be.”

  “How do you figure?” His brows shot up in a quizzical expression.

  “For starters, I’m tired of LA. Not that I’ve been there much in recent years.” She looked up at the two-story Victorian home with the wraparound porch and wondered if she sounded as crazy as she felt when looking at the home. “But how often does a person inherit a bed-and-breakfast from an uncle they’ve never met? I can’t argue with fate.”

  As she stared at the house, the peeling yellow paint wasn’t her biggest concern. It was the porch’s slight lean and the wobbly-looking steps leading up to the front door that worried her the most. It didn’t help that the roof looked like it was missing more shingles than were nailed down, and the gutters were barely hanging on.

  There’d been a small cash inheritance that came along with the home, but she doubted it would cover much if the exterior was any indication of the interior.

  “We should go inside before you make your final decision to stay.” He draped his arm around her shoulders, and she stiffened, but he didn’t notice. “And if you decide to give this a shot, I can start moving your stuff inside so we can get it all in before I have to catch my flight out tomorrow.”

  She shook her head and untangled from his embrace. “I’ve got a couple of local guys I hired for tomorrow to unload. You’ve done far too much already. You need to relax and try to unwind from all the driving.”

  Disappointment zipped through his gaze and a pinch of guilt socked Autumn in the stomach. She was hot-wired to sense others’ emotions, even though she did her best at extinguishing her own.

  Her mother had always called it being emotionally intelligent, but she wasn’t sure she bought that theory. It seemed like more of an inconvenience the majority of the time, and it was a hindrance when navigating everyday life. The ability often landed her in situations like this one because she didn’t want to hurt people’s feelings.