Charlie’s heart began to pound. An hour ago. She had made her wish at the wishing tree before that. She’d hung her card next to the crystal cupid, and the figurine had seemed to wink at her in the sunlight.
“That’s... that’s wonderful,” Charlie managed to say, though her voice sounded strange even to her own ears.
Julie looked at her with those knowing eyes, that gentle smile that suggested she understood far more than she was saying. “I do love a good Christmas story. Especially the ones where wishes turn into miracles, and those miracles spread good fortune to others who need the same hope and healing.”
Charlie sank into one of the library chairs, her legs suddenly weak. “No, that’s still... it’s not possible.”
“What’s not possible, dear?” Julie asked innocently.
“Nothing,” Charlie said, feeling foolish. It was just a coincidence. “Coincidence is such a strange thing.”
“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Julie told her.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t my wish that came true,” Charlie said before she could stop herself.
“Wish?” Julie looked at her curiously, but Charlie had a feeling Julie already knew what Charlie had wished for. Why else would the sly woman tell her the story about Tony Reeves?
“Wishes don’t come true. Especially in such a short span of time! That’s ridiculous.”
Julie sat down across from Charlie, her expression gentle and wise. “Why not? What makes you so certain that magic doesn’t exist? That wishes can’t come true when they’re made with a pure heart and selfless intention?”
“Because I’m a lawyer,” Charlie said weakly. “I deal in facts and evidence and logic. Not in magic and wishes and—” She gestured helplessly. “Not in crystal cupids that wink.”
Julie laughed, a warm, rich sound. “Oh, Charlie. You’ve been working so hard to save the inn through legal means, research, and logic. And those things are important. They matter. But sometimes, the most powerful force in the world isn’t logic. It’s love. It’s hope. It’s the belief that good things can happen to good people.”
Charlie thought about the wishing tree. About Tony waking up exactly when she’d wished for him to. About Trinity wishing for her father to come home, and Gabe appearing at the inn. About Holly wishing for…
Wait. Had Holly made a wish? Charlie didn’tknow. But Holly had found Jack, and Jack had found Holly, and they were both healing from their broken pasts.
“That’s ridiculous, we’re grown adults.” Charlie snorted. “Are you seriously trying to convince me that the wishes on that tree come true?”
“The ones made with love and hope and pure intention?” Julie said. “Yes. They have a way of finding their path.”
Charlie leaned back in her chair, her mind reeling. She’d made a wish for a stranger’s father to wake from a coma. And he had. Within an hour.
What did that mean for all the other wishes she’d been holding in her heart? For the inn to be saved. For Jane and Gabe to find happiness. For Holly and Jack to overcome their obstacles. For her own future with Logan.
“Don’t overthink it,” Julie said gently, as if reading Charlie’s thoughts. “Just believe. Just have faith. The rest will work itself out.”
After Julie left, Charlie sat alone in the library, staring at her notes about William Moore and his time as an attorney in West Palm Beach. About the mystery benefactor paying off the inn’s debt. About all the threads she’d been trying to weave together with logic and research.
And then she thought about the wishing tree, the crystal cupid, and Tony Reeves opening his eyes.
Maybe, Charlie thought, there was more to saving the Christmas Inn than legal strategy and financial maneuvering.
Maybe there was magic, too.
She just had to be willing to believe in it. Something sparkled on her desk, and her eyes widened. In front of where Julie had sat was a crystal cupid tree ornament like the one that was in William’s shop.
9
JACK
The late afternoon sun slanted through the workshop windows, casting golden light across the space where Holly stood bent over the antique dresser they’d retrieved that morning. Jack paused in the doorway, watching her work, and felt his heart do that familiar flip it always did when he looked at her.
She was completely absorbed in her task, her hands moving with practiced precision as she carefully stripped away years of accumulated grime and poorly applied varnish. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and there was a smudge of wood stain on her cheek that she seemed completely unaware of.
Jack smiled, remembering the way her eyes had lit up when she’d first seen the dresser at the antique shop. Everything else had fallen away in that moment. The stress about the inn, the worry about Victor’s takeover, and the complicated family dynamics. There had been only Holly and that beautifulVictorian piece, and Jack had watched her fall in love with it in real time.
