CHAPTER ONE

"Sorry Noah turned you down at the game," my best friend, Alyssa, said as she parked her Honda a few houses down from her boyfriend Trey's house. "Do you still think you'll be able to get a date before the Christmas Ball?"

I sighed and unbuckled my seat belt. "I have no idea. I wouldn't know who to ask." I'd stuck all my eggs in the Noah-Taylor basket and now I was running out of time to find a date.

Why had I been so stupid to think that just because we'd made out at one party meant he might actually like me?

“Don’t worry, Raven. I bet there’ll be plenty of guys at the party tonight willing to go with you."

Willing to go. That wasn't romantic. I wanted this to be the year I finally had a boyfriend to take to the annual Cheerleader Christmas Ball. A guy who I was excited to go with and who was excited to go with me.

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I dreamed of the day a tall, dark, and handsome guy would want me for more than just a night of non-committal kissing. I wanted a boyfriend. I wanted what Alyssa had with Trey. One of those relationships that everyone envied.

Yes, I knew I didn't need a guy. But I wanted one.

I sighed and climbed out of Alyssa's car. She joined me on the sidewalk a second later, and we walked up the hill past the houses lit with colorful Christmas lights. Trey's house, also known as "Party Central," was at the end of the cul-de-sac.

"I think I saw that trumpet player, Harrison, checking you out during the game," Alyssa said, her breath visible in the cold December night air. "I heard he just broke up with his girlfriend, too."

I made a face. Harrison was a band nerd. Sure, I liked music as much as the next girl…but he just wasn't my type. I wanted the type of guy that walked into a room and stole everyone's attention. A guy that you couldn't help but take a second look at and stare at for a few seconds.

There had to be a guy like that somewhere, right?

"We need new guys at our school," I finally said. That was the only option left.

Alyssa laughed. "Or maybe you need to stop being so picky."

I rolled my eyes. "Says the girl who already has the perfect boyfriend."

Alyssa just shrugged. "I'll tell Trey you wish he had a twin."

I smiled. "Yeah, you go tell him to make that happen." Trey wasn't exactly what I'd call a hottie, but he was cute in a boyish sort of way. And him and Alyssa looked good together.

When we were one house away, Alyssa pulled her phone out of her back pocket. "I'll text Trey, so he knows we're here. It's probably a madhouse in there."

"As usual." 

Trey was on the basketball team, and since they'd just won tonight's game they were bound to be in a celebrating mood.

We climbed up the front steps and were about to knock when the door opened wide and Trey filled it. "Welcome to the party." Trey pushed his strawberry-blond hair out of his blue eyes.

Alyssa gave Trey a quick hug and a kiss before walking in.

Once the door was shut behind us, Trey looked at Alyssa with excitement in his eyes. "I have a surprise for you out back."

She furrowed her brow. "You do?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But we need to hurry before he gets too cold."

"He?" Alyssa and I both said at the same time.

Trey grinned. "Yes, he." Then he took Alyssa's hand in his and tugged. "Come on. You're going to be shocked."

Alyssa turned back to me with her eyebrows raised. "I guess I'll be back in a while. Will you be okay on your own?"

I scanned the room. It was full of cheerleaders and jocks. "Pretty sure I'll be fine." These were my people.

I weaved my way through the living room until I found my other friends from the cheer squad, Megan and Rachel.

"Hey, Raven." Megan gave me a quick side hug. "I didn't know if you were coming tonight."

I tucked some of my long, black hair behind my ear. "Uh, yeah. I had a last-minute change of plans."

"Oh yeah, I kind of saw that," Megan said.

Of course, pretty much the whole school saw me get shut down…again.

I turned to Rachel, hoping she'd have something interesting to say so we wouldn't have to keep talking about my guy failures.

"Did you hear the Carmichael twins moved back to Ridgewater?" Rachel asked, her eyes bright with excitement.

"What?" My jaw dropped. Jace and Logan were back? In Ridgewater? "Who told you they're back?" I quickly glanced around the room to see if they were here.

"I totally saw Jace in the kitchen a few minutes ago."

My heart raced at the prospect of Jace being here at the party. Would he remember me?

He’d better remember me. We'd been next-door neighbors all growing up.

Megan looked at us both with a confused expression. "Am I supposed to know who the Carmichael twins are?"

How could she not know who the Carmichael twins were? They were legendary around here.

"They're only the hottest guys to ever walk the earth," Rachel said, matter-of-factly. "It's like God knew he'd made a masterpiece, and so he couldn't help but make two of them."

"So they're hot?" she asked.

"Do you really not remember them?" Rachel furrowed her brow, confused.

"No," Megan said.

It was then I realized why Megan wouldn't know who they were.

"Of course she doesn't remember them," I said to Rachel. "They moved away right before Megan moved here."

Understanding washed over Rachel's face. "Oh. That's right."

Rachel launched into an explanation about how the Carmichael twins had moved away to North Carolina the summer after our freshman year. As she spoke, I scanned the crowd for their familiar faces. If they were really back, that would be amazing.

Memories of all the times I'd watched Jace and Logan play basketball in their driveway next door popped into my head. I'd been ridiculously in love with Jace all through middle school and freshman year. He and Logan were identical twins. The only reason people had been able to tell them apart was because Jace actually combed his hair, whereas Logan seemed like he just ran a hand through his and called it good—and despite my preference for the put-together look, there were many girls who had fallen for Logan's more tousled, bad-boy style. 

But not me and Alyssa. We’d been obsessed with Jace all through middle school, always trying to get a peek at him through his bedroom window, which was across from mine, whenever we had sleepovers.

Which was why I'd never gotten the courage to tell him that I liked him. Alyssa and I had both agreed that he would have to be the one to pick between us without us making the first move. That was the only way things would be fair.

But now she was dating Trey, so…

Maybe this was the universe's way of telling me it was time to take a chance. Maybe Noah had to totally turn me down at the basketball game tonight, so I could be open to something with Jace.

"Do you think Jace is still in the kitchen?" I asked Rachel once she'd finished giving Megan the details about the twins.

Rachel shrugged. "He could be."

My hands felt sweaty at the thought. 

"Is Logan here, too?" I asked. 

Rachel shrugged. "When I asked Jace, he said Logan had decided to stay home to read a book."

"Logan wanted to read a book?"

Rachel gave me a look that told me she was just as surprised as I was. "That's just what Jace said."

Weird.

"I'm going to go grab a drink from the kitchen," I said.

Rachel gave me a knowing grin. "I bet you are."

So it was totally obvious that I was going looking for Jace. Oh well.

I walked into the kitchen but didn't see Jace, just a few basketball players with big red cups, laughing about something in a corner.

That was the one bad thing about partying with the basketball team. They were all about getting drunk on the weekends and didn't realize that some of us wanted to actually remember what we did at parties.

I settled for water from the tap then went to the dimly lit dining room in the back to see if I could spot Alyssa and Trey in the backyard. He had to have shown her his surprise by now.

I peeked through the blinds in the door but didn't see anyone.

I blew out a long breath and turned around. I almost dropped my cup when I saw that I wasn't alone in the dining room. Just a couple of feet away was a guy who looked familiar, but also different. He was a few inches taller than he'd been the last time I'd seen him. His hair was cut in the new trendy way, which looked amazing on him. His shoulders were broader. His jaw more defined.

I'd thought he was drop-dead gorgeous when we were fifteen, but time had definitely been good to him. Jace Carmichael was possibly the most beautiful guy I'd ever seen.

I cleared my throat to get his attention. And when he slowly pulled his gaze away from the window to look at me, my blood completely froze up. Wow. Just, wow. His eyes were as steel-blue as ever.

"Hi," I managed to gasp out as my pulse skyrocketed.

Jace's lips curled up into an easy smile. "Hi."

I sucked in a deep breath through my nose, hoping it would calm me so I wouldn’t act like a total fangirl.

"Rachel said she ran into you here. When did you guys get back?" I asked. Act cool. Don't go all gaga over him.

But who was I kidding?

He was real.

He was here.

Hopefully he was single, too.

He took a sip from his water bottle. If I'd had any doubt about who I was talking to before, aside from the fact that his hair was actually combed, that water bottle was my clue. Logan had always been the first to suggest raiding his parents’ wine cabinet. Jace had been the one with the water bottle to make it clear that he wasn't drinking.

Jace screwed the cap back on his bottle. "We just got here today."

"And you guys are back for good? Not just visiting your grandma for Christmas?"

"Yep, we're back for good."

I bit my lip to try to keep from grinning at the thought of having Jace at school with us again.

"Did you miss me, Raven?" Jace asked, a teasing grin on his face.

Wow, I was being so obvious.

But I couldn't help it. I'd had such a crappy time at the game tonight and seeing Jace again after all this time was too good.

"I guess I sort of missed you."

"Yeah?" He raised his eyebrow and inched closer. "But do you even know which twin you're talking to right now?"

"Yes…" I said it slowly, not quite as confident as I'd been a moment before.

"So which one am I then? Logan or Jace?"

"You're Jace, of course."

His grin stretched broader. "And what makes you think that?"

Well, honestly, it was because Rachel had told me that Jace was at the party and Logan was at home reading a book.

But I wouldn't tell him that. This was my chance to let Jace know just how much I had noticed about him. I knew that the twins had always wanted to be set apart from each other—wanted their own identity. Which was why they had created their own looks. Jace was the clean-cut twin who you could depend on. Logan was the goof-off who was always getting into trouble.

"I know you're Jace, because firstly, you're holding that water bottle instead of a cup filled with beer. Secondly, I haven't heard of anyone getting into a fight yet tonight, and we all know how Logan could never resist starting one. And third, your hair is a dead giveaway. You actually took time to comb it instead of running your hand through it and calling it good like Logan does."

His grin broadened as I finished my list. "I had no idea you were so perceptive, Raven."

I shrugged. "It's a gift. I like to call it my sixth sense."

He stepped closer. "Did your sixth sense clue you in to what we're standing under right now?"

What?

I tipped my head back to see what he was talking about. And to my surprise, I was standing right beneath a sprig of mistletoe. The evergreen shrub with white berries was practically mocking me with how close it was to the door.

My cheeks flushed. "I promise I didn't know that was there."

He gave me a knowing smile. "You sure you weren't planning to give me a special welcome back to Ridgewater?"

My cheeks burned hotter. "I—"

He stepped closer. "Because it seems awfully wasteful not to use this moment. I think the universe might be trying to tell us something." He winked.

"It is?" I managed to say. Was this actually happening?

He stepped even closer until we were only inches apart. He reached his hand forward and twisted some of my hair around his finger. "I've always wanted to do this." The low tone of his voice turned my insides to mush. 

Jace Carmichael was touching my hair! "Y-you have?" 

He nodded, and his steel-blue eyes bore into mine. "You have to know that I've always had a crush on you, right?"

My heart stuttered in my chest. Was I dreaming? Was Jace Carmichael, the guy I'd crushed on for years, actually telling me that he had secretly crushed on me, too?

I was speechless. I pinched myself to see if I was really awake.

Jace's gaze dipped down to where I'd just pinched myself. "This isn't a dream, Raven.”

Gah. What was I supposed to do?

Usually, I was so much better with guys. I had always prided myself on how easily I flirted. I could go up to a random guy at a party and know for sure that he'd happily make out with me. I’d gotten the nickname “Rebound Raven” for a reason.

But this was different. Because this was Jace. This was the guy who had moved away, who I thought I'd never see again.

He let my hair untwist from his finger and looked up at the mistletoe above our heads again. "So, what do you say, Raven? Want to give it a chance?"

Okay, I needed to get my crap together. I could not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And I needed to do it with dignity, too. If I was too scared to kiss him, there was no way the kiss would be any good. I needed to be there for it. I needed to be confident.

I needed Jace to think he was lucky to have a chance to kiss me.

"Do you think you can handle a kiss from me?" I asked, forcing as much confidence into my voice as I could.

"Oh, I think I can." He raised his eyebrows in a challenge.

"You sure? Because I know you haven't been here for a while, but my kissing skills are pretty much legendary."

"Legendary? That's a big word."

My mind was telling me to back off. That I was pushing things too far.

But I wanted him to expect to be amazed, because if he had that expectation, it was more likely to happen.

So I moved even closer until there was no space left between us. I tilted my head up to look at his handsome face. "If it seems like it's the wrong word for this moment, maybe you should help me figure out a better one," I whispered. And when our eyes met, I saw something spark in his.

He really did want to kiss me.

"I'm pretty good with big words." He bent his head close to mine, and his fingers slipped across my neck until he was cradling my head. 

My eyes fluttered shut as I became overwhelmed with being so close to Jace. A second later, his warm, minty breath caressed my lips, causing chills to race across my skin. And then his mouth was on mine. I went still, not actually expecting him to follow through with the kiss, but then we fell into an easy rhythm.

I let my hand slip up his chest and neck until it rested against his jaw. His jaw was strong. I'd always wondered what he'd look like once he hit his growth spurt, but my imagination hadn't done him justice. He was a work of art. 

I slowly ran my thumb across his jawline as heat swirled in my veins. I had always loved kissing—loved the feeling of being close to a guy I was attracted to. I loved to forget about all the pressures of life. Loved to just live in the moment with someone else, exchanging something we both enjoyed.

But none of those kisses had been like this. Kissing had always been my favorite distraction, but as our lips got to know each other, I couldn't help but think kissing Jace might just be the best distraction of all. I never thought a tiny sprig of mistletoe could change a person's life. But this small moment with Jace just might have the chance to alter mine forever.

The kiss lasted for less than a minute, but when we pulled away from each other, I couldn't keep a huge grin from my face.

I licked my lips, committing his peppermint Chapstick to memory. He tasted like a candy cane. "I think I need to thank Trey's mom for hanging the mistletoe right here," I said, letting my bravery stay a moment longer.

"I should thank her, too." He pressed his lips together as if he was trying to savor the taste of my lips on his for a moment longer as well.

Had I really just kissed Jace Carmichael?

I was about to suggest that we test the mistletoe again when the door beside us suddenly opened, making me jump.

Jace and I stepped away from the door to allow who ever had opened it to come inside. A second later, Alyssa and Trey walked in holding hands, and behind them was a guy who looked exactly like Jace.

Had Logan started combing his hair?

And why would Logan be with Alyssa and Trey? Jace had been Trey's best friend before they moved. Not Logan.

"Oh, hi, guys," Alyssa said when she saw me and Jace.

"Hi," I said, my voice sounding confused.

"We were just coming to show you my surprise," Trey said. "But it looks like you already figured it out."

"Yeah, Jace and I were just reacquainting ourselves with one another," I managed to say, hoping they couldn't read on my face that we'd just been kissing.

I really hoped Alyssa wouldn't be mad at me. We'd always said we'd let Jace decide. He'd been the one to point out the mistletoe…so I had kind of stayed with the plan.

Plus, she was dating Trey, so she shouldn't care, anyway. But when Alyssa furrowed her brow at me, I worried that maybe she was upset.

She pointed to the twin who had come in with them. "But this is Jace."

"Hi, Raven." The Carmichael twin who just came inside waved to me. "Long time, no see."

"Hi…?" I turned back to the guy I'd just been kissing. "Logan?"

A smirk spread across his face, and he took my hand in his and shook it. "It was a pleasure to run into you again, Raven."

I just stood there, completely dumbfounded. Had I just kissed Logan?

His smirk got bigger when he saw the confusion on my face and he leaned in close to whisper in my ear. "You might want to get that sixth sense of yours checked. It was way off." Then he stepped back and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, "It was great to see you all again. But if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be."

And before my brain could wrap around everything that had just happened, that jerk raked his fingers through his hair a few times to loosen his locks until they looked tousled. Then he opened the back door and left the party.