Chapter 222 Chapter 221
Chapter 222 Chapter 221
Logan POV
If there was one thing I’d learned about dating a sorority president, it was this:
Never believe the words, “We’ll only be another five minutes.”
Five minutes in Alpha Chi time apparently translated to somewhere between thirty minutes and the complete collapse of civilization.
I leaned against the hood of Marco’s truck, adjusting the cuffs of my tuxedo for what had to be the tenth time.
The navy tie Harper had helped me pick out the night before sat perfectly against my white shirt. My mom had insisted on ironing everything herself before I left that morning, claiming she didn’t trust me with something “this important.”
She was probably right.
“So…”
Marco checked his watch with an exaggerated sigh.
“…how many centuries has it been?”
Cole, who stood beside him looking far too comfortable in a charcoal gray tuxedo, barely glanced up from his phone.
“Twenty-three minutes.”
“I’ve aged.”
“You were dramatic before we got here.”
“I’m dramatically older now.”
Corey laughed as he buttoned his jacket.
“I don’t know why you’re complaining.”
Marco looked offended.
“I’ve been standing outside a house full of women getting ready.”
He spread both arms.
“They’ve got curling irons, hairspray, makeup brushes…”
He lowered his voice dramatically.
“…I saw someone carrying false eyelashes.”
Anthony wandered over from where the football players had gathered near another SUV.
He looked Marco up and down.
“You realize hockey players aren’t exactly low maintenance, right?”
Marco frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Anthony snorted.
“I’ve watched you spend fifteen minutes arguing over which hair product gives you ‘effortless volume.’”
Corey immediately burst out laughing.
Cole actually smiled.
Marco looked horrified.
“First of all…”
He pointed a finger.
“…it was effortless.”
Anthony folded his arms.
“Second?”
Marco ignored him.
“And second…”
He looked at all of us.
“…at least we don’t spend two hours flexing in front of mirrors before media day.”
Anthony grinned.
“You tape your sticks like you’re wrapping Christmas presents.”
“We’re artists.”
“You’re obsessive.”
“We’re precise.”
Anthony looked at me.
“Captain.”
I sighed.
“Don’t drag me into this.”
“Who’s right?”
I shrugged.
“I’ve seen Marco restart taping his stick because the first strip wasn’t ‘emotionally correct.’”
Corey doubled over laughing.
Cole actually had to look away.
Marco pointed accusingly.
“I confided in you.”
“You absolutely did.”
“And you betrayed that confidence.”
“I absolutely did.”
Anthony slapped me on the shoulder.
“I like him.”
“I’ve noticed.”
The laughter settled over the group, easy and familiar.
A month ago…
I don’t think I would’ve been able to enjoy this.
My brain would’ve been somewhere else.
Thinking about scouts.
Thinking about my father.
Thinking about everything except the people standing beside me.
Coach had been right.
Cole had been right.
Mom had been right.
I couldn’t control the future.
But I could stop missing the present.
The front door of Alpha Chi finally opened.
Marco immediately straightened.
“Finally.”
The first pair of girls stepped outside wearing long evening gowns that shimmered beneath the porch lights.
Several of the football players whistled.
One of the hockey freshmen nearly forgot how to breathe.
Another pair followed.
Then another.
The porch slowly filled with dresses in every shade imaginable.
Deep emerald.
Soft blush.
Classic black.
Champagne gold.
The girls laughed as they carefully made their way down the front steps, trying not to trip over heels they clearly weren’t used to wearing.
Anthony leaned toward me.
“I’ll admit it.”
“What?”
“They clean up pretty well.”
Marco scoffed.
“Pretty well?”
He gestured dramatically toward the house.
“They’re making us look underdressed.”
Corey looked down at his tux.
“I spent an hour getting ready.”
Marco patted his shoulder.
“It wasn’t enough.”
The guys laughed again.
Then the front door opened one more time.
Lila stepped outside.
She wore a dark emerald dress that hugged her figure before flowing to the floor, the fabric catching the porch lights every time she moved.
Marco let out a low whistle.
“Well…”
He straightened his jacket.
“…I’ve suddenly become extremely passionate about charity work.”
Lila laughed loud enough for all of us to hear.
“Oh, please.”
“What?”
“You’ve never been passionate about anything that didn’t involve your reflection.”
The group erupted into laughter.
Marco clutched his chest.
“That was unnecessary.”
“It was accurate.”
“I’ve been attacked.”
“You’ll survive.”
“I don’t know…”
He looked at us dramatically.
“…tell my future children I died serving the community.”
Anthony muttered just loud enough for us to hear,
“I’ll tell them you died flirting.”
Marco pointed toward him.
“That’s fair.”
The laughter hadn’t even settled when everything suddenly…
Stopped.
The front door opened again.
Harper stepped onto the porch.
And the entire world seemed to go quiet.
She wore the midnight-blue dress she’d described the night before.
Only…
She hadn’t done it justice.
The fitted bodice caught the light with every movement before giving way to a flowing skirt that moved softly around her legs as she walked. The open back was elegant rather than revealing, her dark hair pinned loosely to one side so a few curls framed her face.
She wasn’t trying to look like someone else.
She looked exactly like herself.
Just…
Braver.
More confident.
Beautiful.
I’d spent years watching Harper.
Or at least…
I thought I had.
I’d watched her carry textbooks through the halls in middle school.
I’d watched her sit two rows ahead of me in English.
I’d watched her become the girl everyone relied on without ever demanding attention for herself.
I’d watched her organize events that somehow always brought people together.
I’d watched her laugh with Lila until tears rolled down her cheeks.
I’d watched her stand in the student section cheering for hockey games she’d never missed.
I’d watched her become Alpha Chi president.
Somehow…
Through all those years…
I had never actually stopped long enough to see her.
Not really.
Not the way I was seeing her now.
She reached the top of the porch steps and immediately found me standing in the driveway.
Our eyes met.
She smiled.
Then…
To my complete surprise…
She hesitated.
Her hand instinctively smoothed over the front of her dress.
I knew that movement.
She was nervous.
Harper slowly walked toward me while the rest of the world faded into the background.
When she finally stopped in front of me, she looked down for half a second before meeting my eyes again.
“So…”
Her voice was quieter than usual.
“What do you think?”
For a moment…
I couldn’t answer.
Not because I didn’t know what to say.
Because nothing felt big enough.
She laughed nervously.
“Oh no.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You’re making that face.”
“What face?”
“The one where you’re trying really hard to say something nice because you secretly hate it.”
I stared at her in complete disbelief.
“You think I hate it?”
Her smile faltered.
“…No?”
I stepped closer.
Close enough to take both of her hands in mine.
“Harper…”
I shook my head slowly.
“I don’t even know where to start.”
She looked down.
“Maybe that’s a bad sign.”
I gently tipped her chin back up until she was looking at me again.
“No.”
My voice came out softer than I’d intended.
“It’s because…”
I smiled.
“…I can’t believe I almost missed you.”
Confusion flickered across her face.
“What?”
“I’ve known you since middle school.”
She nodded slowly.
“I know.”
“I’ve walked past you thousands of times.”
Another nod.
“I’ve sat beside you in classrooms.”
“I know.”
“I’ve watched you become this incredible woman that everyone depends on.”
A lump formed in my throat.
“And somehow…”
I laughed quietly at myself.
“…I spent so many years looking everywhere except right in front of me.”
Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
“You weren’t invisible, Harper.”
I squeezed her hands.
“I was just too distracted to realize the best thing in my life had been standing beside me all along.”
A tear escaped down her cheek.
She laughed softly as she wiped it away.
“Great.”
“What?”
“I spent an hour on my makeup.”
I smiled.
“It still looks perfect.”
She sniffled.
“Liar.”
“I’m serious.”
She looked down at her dress again.
“So…”
She whispered.
“…it’s not too much?”
I smiled.
“Too much?”
She nodded.
“I wasn’t sure if maybe it was too fancy.”
I looked at her for another long moment.
Then I shook my head.
“No.”
I stepped even closer.
“I don’t think there’s a ballroom big enough for everyone else to see what I see.”
She stared at me.
Then smiled through her tears.
Before either of us could say another word—
“Captain!”
Marco’s voice echoed across the driveway.
Neither of us looked away from each other.
“What?” I called.
There was a long pause.
Then Marco grinned from ear to ear.
“You should probably blink.”
The entire group burst into laughter.
Even Harper laughed, leaning forward until her forehead rested lightly against my shoulder.
“I can’t believe he said that.”
“He wasn’t wrong.”
She looked back up at me.
“Were you really staring that long?”
“I honestly have no idea.”
Marco cupped his hands around his mouth.
“We’re trying to raise money tonight, Romeo! People have to actually get to the ballroom!”
Anthony shook his head dramatically.
“I’ve seen football players celebrate touchdowns with less passion.”
Corey laughed.
“Cole owes me twenty bucks.”
Harper looked over.
“Twenty bucks?”
Cole rubbed the back of his neck, looking almost embarrassed.
“I told Corey you’d cry first.”
Corey pointed toward Harper.
“I said she’d cry.”
Marco threw both hands into the air.
“We all won.”
The laughter spread through the entire group.
Standing there surrounded by friends, hearing everyone tease us the way only people who cared could…
I realized something.
This…
This was what Mom meant.
One day I wouldn’t remember what ranking I was projected to go in.
I probably wouldn’t remember every goal I’d scored.
But I’d remember this.
Harper’s smile.
Marco yelling at me to blink.
Cole quietly smiling because he’d finally gotten his best friend back.
And the feeling that, for the first time in a very long while…
I wasn’t walking into the future alone.
I reached for Harper’s hand.
She laced her fingers through mine without hesitation.
“You ready, Miss President?”
She smiled.
“Only if you’re ready, Hockey Boy.”
I looked at the woman beside me.
The one who had quietly loved me through years I hadn’t even realized she was waiting.
The one who never asked me to be perfect.
Only honest.
I smiled.
“I’ve never been more ready for anything.”
Together, we walked toward the waiting cars.
Toward the charity formal.
Toward the next chapter of our story.