Alyssa and Jace didn't feel like leaving the rink just yet, so we told them we'd see them later at the house so Logan could stop flashing everyone with his underwear. I grabbed my bag out of Alyssa's car and we went ahead and drove to Logan's house in his Corvette.

When we walked inside, Mrs. Carmichael was in the kitchen, hovering over a cookbook with the woman who I assumed was their housekeeper, Pam.

"Hey, Mom," Logan said as he took off his shoes.

Mrs. Carmichael was a tall, willowy woman with stunning blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked up from the cookbook. "Hi, Logan. Back already?"

"Yeah." He turned around to show her his backside. "I had a little accident."

"Oh my word, Logan." Mrs. Carmichael put a hand to her chest and looked up to the ceiling, like the last thing she wanted to see was her seventeen-year-old son's choice of underwear. "Please go put some pants on."

Logan chuckled, apparently enjoying upsetting his mother. "We're actually going to go swimming, so I'll put on my swim trunks instead."

Mrs. Carmichael's gaze landed on me, and it only took a moment for recognition to show on her face. "Raven Rodgers?" she asked, coming closer.

I dipped my head forward in a nod. "Yeah. It's good to see you again."

She gave me a hug, and then she pulled away and held me at arm’s length. "My, you've grown since the last time I saw you. You've turned into a very beautiful young lady. Don't you think so, Logan?" She turned to her son, and I could have died of embarrassment.

But when I looked to see how horrified he must be, I found a quiet look instead. Did I dare to hope that there was admiration in his eyes?

He cleared his throat. "Yes, she's very beautiful."

Very beautiful.

I let the words linger in my mind for a moment.

Mrs. Carmichael clasped her hands together. "Well, I better get back to planning Friday night's menu with Pam. You two have fun."

And with the reminder about their Friday night dinner with Logan's ex-girlfriend, the high I'd momentarily been on after he'd said I was beautiful instantly died.

When his mom went back to the cookbook, Logan turned to me. "Before we go to the pool, do you want to see the tree we picked out?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

Logan led me down a hall and then up a beautiful staircase with white carpeted stairs and wrought-iron railings. I studied his broad shoulders as I followed him. Logan had really nice shoulders. I wondered what it would feel like to run my hands across them.

Then an image of his ex-girlfriend running her fingers over his shoulders popped into my head and I was no longer curious what it would feel like.

"This is it," Logan said when we made it to a room just off the top of the stairs. The afternoon sunlight shone through the sheer curtains as he led me further inside. There was a TV, a couch, and a loveseat, and in the corner was their tree.

"Do you recognize it?" Logan asked.

I took a closer look and smiled. "It's the crooked one."

He stepped to my side and pressed his hand against my lower back, bending close to my ear and whispering, "I figured I should probably get it after all the trouble it caused you."

I looked at the crooked trunk. "It actually reminded me of you," I said. "That's why I wanted to show it to you in the first place."

"It reminded you of me?" he asked, seeming surprised and slightly confused.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"And why do you think I look like a crooked tree?"

I laughed. "I don't think you look like a tree. I just…" I sighed, trying to figure out how to word it without giving away too much. I couldn't let him know that I was starting to like him. "I guess it reminded me of you because you're a little rough around the edges, but once you let people get to know you, you're actually pretty great."

He gave me a gentle smile. "So how did you get that from the tree?"

"Well, I guess when you first look at the tree, you notice the twist in the trunk. But once you focus on the other parts, you see that it's actually kind of beautiful."

His smile broadened. "So you think I'm beautiful."

My face flushed with heat. "Now you're just putting words into my mouth." Words that were truer than I'd like to admit.

"Sure I am."

I stepped closer to the tree to get my mind off of what he may or may not be thinking about me right now. I drew in a deep breath and focused on the ornaments he and Jace had hung on the tree. They weren't the sparkly, expensive kind like the one's I'd seen on the tree we'd passed downstairs. Instead, they all looked very handmade.

"Did you and Jace make all these?" I touched the star that was made out of popsicle sticks.

Logan stepped beside me, so close that our arms brushed. "Yeah, most of them, anyway."

There was a transparent green globe that had a piece of paper with something written on it. "What's that ornament?" I pointed.

Logan shrugged. "My mom thought it would be fun for us to write something we're thankful for every year and put it in one of those."

There were a dozen or more similar globes hanging around the tree. Some were red, green, and some were gold, but they all had slips of paper within.

My gaze caught on the bottom of a gold one with the words Logan age 16 written on it. It would be the ornament from last year.

I couldn't help but be curious about what he'd been thankful for just a year ago.

It was probably his Corvette. Or possibly his ex-girlfriend. If they'd been dating at that time.

And since the thought had been put in my mind, I just had to know.

I really hoped it didn't say Olivia with stupid red hearts drawn all around it.

"Mind if I look?" I asked, pointing to it.

He got a wary look on his face, but said, "Sure."

I didn't like that look.

He reached up high and got it down for me.

I turned it in my hand so the writing was visible. And I was not expecting the single word written on the paper: Sobriety.

Sobriety?

I peered up at Logan with what was sure to be a confused expression. "You're thankful for sobriety?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Why?"

I'd never heard of someone my age being thankful for that.

A shadow crossed his face, almost like he was ashamed. He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair before replacing it back on his head. "Christmas last year marked my first month of being sober."

I furrowed my brows, still not understanding. "What do you mean?"

He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. "I'm a recovering alcoholic."

An alcoholic.

The words stuck in my mind. I'd heard of people being called alcoholics before, but in my head they were all middle-aged, angry men who abused their families. They weren't incredibly handsome and vibrant teenage boys. They weren't people like Logan.

"Why do you say you're an alcoholic instead of just someone who liked drinking?"

He turned and went to sit in the corner of the loveseat. "Because I didn't just like it. It was all I cared about for a long time." He gave me a sad look. "And when it gets to the point where all you can think about is where you're going to get your next drink, that kind of tips people off that there might be more to it than simply getting buzzed on the weekends."

"Wow, I had no idea." I went to sit on the cushion next to him.

He nodded to the ornament that I still held in my hand. "Anyway, I wrote that a year ago, after my family held an intervention and sent me to alcoholics anonymous with the threat of rehab if I didn't go."

I looked at the ornament again, turning it in my hands to read the word once more. It was so weird to think that someone my age would be dealing with something like that. Going to AA meetings.

"Have you had anything to drink since you wrote this?" I held the ornament up.

He took it from my hand, his fingers brushing against mine in the exchange. He shook his head. "Not a drop."

"That's amazing."

"Thank you." He looked down, his jaw flexing, and it almost appeared like he was getting a little choked up. "It's been a long road."

We sat there quietly for a time. I didn't really know what to say, but I felt he was okay with the silence.

He put the ornament on the end table beside him. "Anyway, it helps to have reminders of how far I've come."

"Is it still a temptation?"

"Yeah. That's why I have this." He held up his wrist that had a leather bracelet with the words "one day at a time" stamped into it. "And this." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed me the lock screen. The photo of the mountain with the same words across it.

"I wondered what that quote was for." I reached over to run my fingers across his bracelet.

He put his phone back in his pocket. "Whenever I start thinking about drinking again, I close my eyes and do some deep breathing to remind myself that I just need to say no to one drink at a time and take this process one day at a time." He draped his arm across the back of the loveseat so his fingers were resting close to my shoulder. "It's been a difficult road, but it's getting easier. As long as I stay busy and stay away from the party scene, I do okay."

"Is that why you left the party so early last week?" I'd assumed it was just because he wanted to leave before I could smack him after finding out he was Logan instead of Jace, but maybe it was because of this.

He nodded. "Yeah. I just came to play a trick on our friends, but then I had to get out of there. But I can't say I'm not happy I did show up. I wouldn't have gotten to kiss you if I hadn't." He winked.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach. I decided to be brave and said, "I'm glad you were there, too."

"Even though I tricked you?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

And I couldn't help but let my gaze fall to his lips. I wanted to kiss him again. His lips were soft and full, and I wanted to taste them.

His fingers grazed along my shoulder. "I think that's the first time I've actually told anyone that story."

"It is?" The words came out breathlessly.

"Yeah." His fingers traced across my shoulder and up my neck, causing goosebumps to raise across my skin. Was he thinking about kissing me, too?

"What about Olivia? Did you tell her?"

He shook his head. "No."

Really? My insides warmed with thoughts of what this could mean. Did Logan really trust me more than he'd trusted her?

Was I really starting to mean something to him like I hoped?

He found a lock of my hair that had fallen from my ponytail and twisted it around his finger. "I've always wanted to touch your hair like this." .

"You have?"

What was he thinking about right now?

He released the lock of hair and brushed the back of his hand against the side of my face. "This too."

"Yeah?" My nerve endings sparked to life as he trailed a finger down my cheek and then across my bottom lip.

I had to bite my lip at the sensation his touch created. My lips were ultra-sensitive.

"Thanks for going ice skating with me today," he said. His finger traced down my chin, and I couldn't help but lean my head against his hand when he caressed my cheek again.

What was he doing?

He was driving me crazy, that's what he was doing.

"We should probably go to the hot tub, huh?” His voice was huskier than usual. “I'm sure Jace and Alyssa will be here soon."

"Hmm?" I asked, my brain unable to focus on what he was saying because it was too distracted by the way he was now trailing his fingers along the back of my ear.

His lips quirked up into a smile at my response. He totally knew what he was doing to me. And he liked it.

"So you think we should go downstairs?" he asked.

I closed my eyes. He was talking to me, I knew it. But I seriously couldn't form a response because my brain was turning to mush.

I felt him lean closer, so close his warm breath was on my lips when he spoke. "Unless there's something else you'd rather do right now."

His lips were just right there, hovering centimeters above my own. If I pursed my lips, they'd be touching his.

Electricity crackled between us. I wanted to kiss him so badly. Wanted him to kiss me.

But I would wait. I wouldn't make the first move in case I was reading things wrong.

His fingers threaded their way through my long ponytail now. "Your hair is silkier than I imagined," he whispered.

I opened my eyes and looked at him through my lashes. "You've imagined what it would feel like?"

He nodded as his fingers combed through my hair. "Lots of times."

Lots of times?

His nose grazed against mine and our breath mingled. We were so close. It made my lungs constrict, and it was a good thing we were sitting down because my legs would have given out on me by now.

"Raven…" He looked at me carefully, his blue eyes pleading in a way as his chest heaved. "Is it—"

"I'll see if they're up here." Jace's voice came from the staircase, cutting through the air and through whatever Logan had been about to say. A second later, Jace appeared at the opening to their room. "Oh, sorry." He looked embarrassed. "Alyssa and I were wondering where you guys were."

"I was just showing Raven our tree." Logan pushed himself away from me, and I didn't miss the look of frustration on his face.

I cleared my throat and sat up straighter. "Yeah, you guys did a great job of decorating it." I forced enthusiasm into my voice, so the boys wouldn't hear how disappointed I was that my moment with Logan had been interrupted.

"Thanks," Jace said, gazing at the tree instead of at Logan or me. "Anyway, I'm just going to change real quick. Alyssa is waiting for us downstairs. We were just about to go to the pool."

Logan stood and looked at me, his expression awkward. "I'll just go change into my swim shorts, too, if you want to wait for me at the bottom of the stairs."

I nodded and stood, my legs still shaky and wobbly from the last few minutes.

Downstairs, Alyssa was waiting for me. She raised her eyebrows. "What were you and Logan doing up there?"

Heat rose to my cheeks. "We were just talking."

She gave me a knowing look. "Sure you were."

"Actually, we were. You guys got back too soon for anything else to happen."

"Sorry about that. But this is good, right? It means that Logan probably likes you, don't you think?"

I glanced up the stairs as I remembered how he had been running his fingers through my hair and along my shoulders and cheeks. "I hope so."

The guys came down a minute later in their swim trunks. And, apparently, Logan hadn't wanted to overwhelm me too much yet, because he still had a T-shirt on.

"The pool's this way," Jace said, leading the way. Alyssa followed behind him while Logan and I walked side by side down the wide hallway to the back of the house. Our hands brushed as we walked, and electricity zipped up my arm.

Jace opened a glass door that led into a large room with lots of windows and a pretty good-sized pool and a hot tub.

"We have two bathrooms over there that you ladies can change in." Jace pointed to the two doors across from us.

I peeked over at Logan. "I guess I'll see you guys in a minute."

He smiled at me. "Can't wait."