“He probably has some other bar he picks them up at.” I laughed, pretending not to care.

She shook her head, still smiling. The girl knew me better than anyone.

“Caleb thinks Logan is dating someone and just wants to keep it quiet.” Her brows rose. “But I think he has a crush on a certain blonde teacher.” She slapped my knee and stood, walking into the kitchen with her empty plate.

What if was dating someone? Would he tell me? It’s not like I’ve ever asked and I know there’s still a lot of things about him I don’t know. What if it was Mackenzie? Ugh! I cringed. It was obvious from the previous interactions I’d witnessed with him and Mackenzie, she was interested. Logan made sure to keep Mark and me apart whenever Julia came around with him, and I wondered what exactly Logan knew about my past with the tramp.

I chuckled to myself, rolling my eyes. It wasn’t my business. If Logan wanted to share something with me then he would.

“So, just friends, huh?” Hilary said, walking back out with another slice and slouched down on the couch.

I sat up and looked her straight in the eye. “Why would I lie to you? Logan is fun to be around and Oliver is a great kid; I would never want to hurt him by fooling around with his father.”

Hilary nodded her head but still seemed unconvinced.

“I was over there just last weekend watching a movie in the theatre they have in their basement. You have got to come watch a movie there. I mean it’s amazing and—”

“Cassandra, what happened when you were there?”

“We watched a movie. Jurassic Park to be exact.” Poor Oliver only made it half way through before he ran from the room terrified. Bad choice of movie. I scrunched my brow but slowly understood her question. I puffed out an exasperated breath. “Oliver sat between us for goodness sake. It’s completely platonic, I swear.”

Hilary scoffed and picked up her glass of soda.

I was not letting up until she believed me. I was determined for her to understand that what Logan and I had was strictly a friendship. “Honestly, I don’t even think Logan feels that way about me anymore. I can’t remember the last time he blatantly hit on me. It’s been all house related talk, helping him furnish Julia’s secret new place which is only so I’ll win the little bet I have going with him.”

“Logan West wants to sleep with you. I can see it clearly every time he’s around.” Hilary laughed, looking at me like I was blind.

I groaned, setting my plate on the coffee table. “I am not kidding. Last week, I bent over right in front of him to tie my shoes and I glanced back and he wasn’t even looking! Not even a friendly appreciative glance. I work hard for this ass!”

Hilary’s eyes flew open wide chuckling as she attempted to choke down her drink.

“Oh my God, Cassandra!” Hilary shrieked. “You glanced back! So what, you were hoping he was checking you out?”

“No, I just…I don’t know. But trust me, the man no longer wants to sleep with me. Which is good, since I’m spending Christmas with him.”

“Christmas?” Hilary raised her brows.

“Yeah, I’m sending my mom on a cruise with some of my grandparents’ savings I inherited, so I’ll be alone. Logan helped me pick out the cruise line and set everything up for her. It was actually Oliver who invited me over though.”

“So then you’re going?”

I nodded. “I think it will be fun. I mean you should have seen the shorts I was wearing when I bent over! He didn’t even give the tiniest glance or single perverted remark. It was…bizarre.” I laughed.

“You’re crazy!” She giggled. “What are you going to get him? For Christmas, I mean.”

“I have no clue.” I had been thinking about it ever since Oliver invited me. “What are you getting Caleb?”

“Nothing!” Hilary shook her head. “We’re just friends too.”

“Sure you are.” I giggled. “For the record, Caleb has never not checked out your ass.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said softly. “I like him and I know he likes me but…he won’t make a move and I’m too terrified he’ll reject me.”

“I don’t get it. Maybe he’s afraid to?”

We both burst into a fit of giggles. Caleb had never been afraid of making a move on a girl.

“Maybe you could…ask Logan? I mean, I know him and Caleb talk a lot,” she asked, hesitantly.

“All right, I’ll see what I can pry out of him. But if he confirms that Caleb is waiting for you to make the first move,” I pointed my finger at her, “you better do it!”

I pulled myself from bed and headed into the bathroom. There was only one week left until Christmas, and today was a Saturday to take it easy and hang out with my mother before she left for her cruise.

Once I grabbed my purse, keys, and phone, I opened my morning text from Logan.

Have a wonderful day with your mother, sweetheart

After sending back a cheerful but quick reply, I was in my car, headed to Haven. I instantly found my mother’s short, dirty-blond hair in the back of the restaurant. I smiled, looking forward to spending the day with her, and headed over.

Stopping a few feet away, I noticed the middle-aged man with a trimmed mustache wearing jeans and a grey polo. He was the same guy I saw her talking to at the carnival back in August. Hesitantly, I walked over and gave her quick hug, warily eyeing her guest.

“Cassandra dear, this is my friend, George.” Mom smiled brighter than usual and reluctantly I shook his hand.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Cassandra. Your mother has told me so much about you. I feel like we’ve already met.”

I nodded, pulling on a tight polite smile before shooting my mother a confused glance. Who the hell was this guy?

I took a seat across from them in the booth and I awkwardly waited for her to explain. Christmas was always spent with mother-daughter bonding, and this year with her going on the cruise, our spending today together was a huge deal for me.

Once I realized my mother was too busy swooning over the man beside her than to ask how my week had been going, I sighed. “So, George, do you work with my mother?”

He looked over at her and smiled. “No, we met at the prison when she was bringing in some scumbag. I’m a guard there. The prisoner tried to cop a feel from your mother and I stepped in. She felt she owed me for my help, so she agreed to have coffee with me after our shift.”

“I did not feel obligated.” My mother giggled, pulling his hand into hers. “I had been secretly eyeing you for a while.”

I felt a small wave of repulsion hit me as I watched my mother nuzzle her nose with his. I swallowed, looking anywhere but across the table. Mom used to date when I was younger, but none of the men ever lasted long and thanks to my grandfather and his shotgun, they rarely got to know me. By the time I was a teenager she had stopped dating altogether, her sadness undeniable. She just gave up on finding the right guy.

“So, you work at the prison? Must be an interesting job.” What was I supposed to talk about? I had no clue what else to ask. Luckily, the waitress finally decided to stroll over, taking her sweet time. My mother leaned over, planting a long, lingering kiss on his lips.