On his phone, Carter buys tickets for a Friday date to see Frozen II. Olivia tells him about moving from Muskoka, Ontario, to British Columbia for university. She admits that she doesn’t want to leave, and Carter asks her to sleep over. She agrees.

When Cara bangs on the locked bedroom door, Carter opens it and assures her his intentions are honorable. After Cara and Emmett leave, Olivia locks herself in the bathroom. Through the door, Carter stammers about earning her trust. She calls him in to help unzip her dress. He realizes the stretchy dress doesn’t have a zipper and notices her bra on the counter. They lock eyes in the mirror.

Despite knowing better, Olivia decides to give in to her attraction. She asks him to kiss her. The encounter escalates quickly, and he warns that if they do this, there’s no going back. She consents. He brings her to orgasm with his fingers and carries her to the bedroom. Olivia blurts out that she has only slept with two men and requires a genuine connection. Carter replies that he’s never felt this way before. They have intense sex, and afterward, he asks if he can keep her. She says yes, realizing she may be in over her head.

The next morning, Carter wakes to find Olivia panicking. She says she has to leave. Carter follows her downstairs, confused and hurt. Her phone slips, and he catches it, seeing a tabloid article about himself and other women. Olivia voices her insecurities, saying she can’t compete with women from his past. She notes they didn’t use a condom and calls it reckless. Carter explains that he gets tested regularly.

Olivia says she wants something steady and calls their night a mistake. She admits she’s afraid of a relationship that feels like heartbreak waiting to happen. Carter accepts her decision. Before she leaves in an Uber, he gives her a belated Christmas gift and wishes her Merry Christmas, clarifying that she’s the one walking away.

Olivia reflects on her decision, acknowledging that she acted out of fear after seeing the tabloid article. She opens Carter’s gift: a custom rose gold lanyard for her school ID with a whistle and hockey skate charm, engraved with her name and a playful compliment. The note says he believes this year will be the best because he met her, signed with a heart.

Overwhelmed, she realizes she fears public heartbreak if things don’t work out. When Cara calls, Olivia defends Carter, admitting he did nothing wrong. Cara arrives at Olivia’s house and shows off an engagement ring, asking her to be the maid of honor.

Several days later, Carter is miserable on a team road trip. During a FaceTime call, Cara puts Olivia on camera. Both are eating Oreos, and Carter privately thinks she might be his soulmate.

At the next game, Carter plays poorly. At a bar, Carter takes Cara’s phone and sees texts suggesting that Olivia is on a date. Thinking she’s moved on, he approaches Sandie, a woman he’s been with before, and asks her to leave with him. On the way to his condo, regret overwhelms him. He tells Sandie he can’t go through with it. Paparazzi swarm them, but Sandie clarifies that nothing happened and advises that while he can’t change his past, he can choose a different future. His friends find him and reveal that Olivia’s “date” was with her seven-year-old niece.

At school, Olivia’s students notice she seems sad. Cara interrupts class and, in Olivia’s office, creates a pros/cons board about Carter that quickly fills with positives. Olivia realizes that she wants to give him a chance. Cara shows her texts from Carter that prove he misses her.

At Cara’s house, Olivia unexpectedly encounters Carter, who is visibly flustered. As she leaves, he gives her two Oreos and opens the car door for her. At home, her brother Jeremy drops off her niece Alannah and discovers Olivia’s furnace is broken. A special pizza arrives for her—Carter ordered it covered in bacon. Emmett sends a video of Carter singing while talking about the pizza. Olivia admits her biggest fear is falling in love with Carter.

The next morning, Emmett texts that Carter is still going to their planned movie date alone. Olivia decides to meet him.

Carter meets Hank in Stanley Park; Hank encourages him to fight for what he wants and go after Olivia. That evening, Carter goes to the movie theater alone for his planned date, feeling foolish but hopeful. As his tickets are being scanned, Olivia appears behind him and asks for two. Carter is stunned and overjoyed.

During the movie trailers, Carter is extremely nervous, fidgeting, and stress-eating. Olivia takes his hand, and he relaxes. After the movie, they go to a coffee shop. They discuss their fears and agree to take things slow, with proper dates to build trust. They flirt, and Olivia challenges him to earn a kiss by showing self-control.

At midnight, they leave hand in hand. He asks her to save him a dance at Cara’s engagement party the next night. She refuses to let him kiss her goodnight, instead kissing his dimple and telling him to keep working on his restraint.

At Cara and Emmett’s engagement party, Carter sees Olivia in a red lace dress and struggles to maintain composure. Olivia reacts similarly to Carter in a three-piece suit.

Later, Olivia bumps into Carter. He backs her into a bathroom, locks the door, and arouses her before pulling away, saying he’ll wait until after their lunch date. He has her enter her address in his phone. For three hours, he watches her dance with others. When they finally dance, they flirt intensely.

Overwhelmed, Olivia decides to go home. In the limo Carter arranged, he withholds attention until she challenges him; then he arouses her again, stopping before it goes further. At her door, she says he didn’t win because she hasn’t kissed him. He breaks his own rule, kisses her passionately, and admits he can’t do “slow” with her. He gives her a cupcake topped with bacon.

The next day, Carter has breakfast with Hank, who teases that in relationships, women are in control. He arrives at Olivia’s house 20 minutes early but is too anxious to get out of the car. When he finally rings her doorbell, she answers in pajamas, flustered.

While she gets dressed, he quietly takes her ice skates from the entryway and puts them in his trunk. When she returns, they sit and talk. Olivia admits she’s scared that his feelings are temporary. Carter explains that his feelings have only grown stronger and officially asks to date her. Olivia says she’s an all-in type who needs to see a future. Carter replies that he’s all in—as long as it’s with her.