Chapter 119 Chapter 118
Harper POV
The applause is still ringing in my ears when I step offstage.
My legs feel unreal, like I’m walking through water.
Five thousand.
Logan’s voice.
Logan’s paddle.
Logan standing up like he couldn’t help himself.
The room had laughed and cheered like it was romantic.
Like it was a grand gesture.
But I saw his face.
That wasn’t romance.
That was something rawer.
Something desperate.
Something that felt like a claim.
My stomach flips again.
A volunteer touches my elbow gently.
“This way, Harper. Great job.”
Great job.
Like I didn’t just get bought.
Like my heart isn’t trying to crawl out of my chest.
I make it behind the curtain, away from the spotlight, and the air feels colder instantly.
Quieter.
My breath comes out shaky.
Then—
“Harper.”
His voice.
Low.
Rough.
I turn.
Logan is there.
Close enough that I can see the tension in his jaw, the way his hands flex like he doesn’t know what to do with them.
For a second, neither of us speaks.
The noise from the hall is muffled, distant.
It feels like we’re standing in a pocket of space that belongs only to us.
“You…” I start, then stop, because I don’t even know what word comes after that.
Logan’s eyes lock on mine.
“I had to,” he says.
My throat tightens.
“You had to,” I repeat faintly.
His jaw clenches.
“I couldn’t sit there and watch—”
“Logan,” I whisper, heart pounding. “What are you doing?”
His gaze flickers, like the question scares him.
Then he steps closer, just enough that I feel the heat of him.
“I’m choosing,” he says, voice rough. “In daylight.”
My breath catches painfully.
For a second, I can’t speak.
Because that’s what I asked for.
That’s what I wanted.
And now it’s happening so loudly it feels unreal.
Before I can say anything, Daniel Meyers appears like a demon summoned by emotion.
“Logan!”
Logan’s shoulders stiffen.
Daniel’s eyes dart between us, sharp.
“Congratulations,” Daniel says quickly, already energized. “Very dramatic. Very headline-worthy. We love it.”
Logan’s jaw tightens.
Daniel continues, not caring.
“But you need to get back out there. You still have to be auctioned off.”
Logan blinks once, like he forgot.
Right.
Of course.
This isn’t over.
He’s still on the list.
Still part of the show.
Still part of the charity.
Logan looks back at me, something conflicted in his eyes.
“I have to—”
“I know,” I whisper.
His voice drops.
“I’m not done.”
My pulse jumps.
Then he’s gone, pulled back toward the stage by Daniel’s frantic clipboard energy.
I stand there, frozen, watching him disappear into the noise.
My heart feels too big for my chest.
Then Lila appears at my side like she’s been waiting to pounce.
Her eyes are wide, feral with excitement.
“Oh my God,” she breathes. “Oh my actual God.”
I blink at her.
“I—”
“Harper,” she interrupts, grabbing my shoulders. “Captain Shaw just dropped five thousand dollars on you like he was buying a small car.”
“I didn’t—”
“He did,” she insists. “That man basically stood up and screamed MINE without using the word.”
Heat floods my face.
“Lila,” I hiss.
She grins like she’s about to burst into flames.
“So,” she says brightly, “are you going to buy a date with Logan?”
I choke.
“What?”
She shrugs, completely serious. “Fair is fair. He bought you. You buy him. Romantic capitalism.”
My mouth falls open.
“I can’t,” I say, stunned.
Lila tilts her head. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t have five thousand dollars lying around!” I whisper-shout.
Lila blinks.
Then she laughs.
“Oh. Right. Reality.”
Reality.
The word hits like a bucket of cold water.
Because yes—this is charity.
This is money.
This is optics.
And Logan Shaw just spent more than I can comprehend to make a point in front of everyone.
My hands tremble slightly.
Lila’s smile fades a fraction as she studies me.
“Okay,” she says more carefully. “Talk to me. What’s happening in that brain?”
I swallow hard.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
My voice comes out small.
“I don’t know if he’s… claiming me.”
Lila’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Claiming you,” she repeats, delighted.
“No,” I say quickly, shaking my head. “Not like—like that. Just…”
I gesture helplessly.
“Like he couldn’t stand anyone else having me.”
Lila’s expression softens.
“That sounds like wanting, Harper.”
I laugh shakily.
“It sounds like panic.”
Lila’s eyes sharpen.
“Those two things are not mutually exclusive with Logan Shaw.”
My chest tightens.
I stare toward the stage where his name will be called next.
Where he’ll have to stand under the spotlight too.
Where someone else might raise a paddle.
And the thought makes my stomach twist violently.
Because what he did…
It wasn’t casual.
It wasn’t PR.
It wasn’t confusion.
It felt like a choice.
And I don’t know whether to believe it…
Or be terrified of how much I want to.