All Chapters of Breaking The Ice Between Us: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Harper POVI don’t know how I manage to walk away.My legs feel unsteady, like the floor is still tilting under me, like Logan’s hands are still on my waist even though he’s not touching me anymore.The hallway behind me is too quiet.Too charged.I can feel him standing there, frozen in the aftermath, like neither of us knows what we just did—or what it means.My lips still sting.My heart still won’t slow down.But I keep moving.Back toward the noise. The lights. The room full of people pretending this is normal.I need air.I need distance.I need to stop looking at him like he’s an answer when he’s still a question.The mingling event is still humming, laughter spilling over champagne glasses, donors smiling too brightly.Life continuing, careless.I slip through the crowd like a ghost.And then—Lila.Of course.She appears in front of me like she was summoned by emotional distress.Her eyes flick over my face once and immediately narrow.“Oh no,” she says. “Absolutely not.”I b

Harper POVThe day of the auction is chaos.Not the cute, movie-montage kind of chaos where everyone is laughing and carrying floral arrangements in slow motion.Real chaos.Chairs scraping across the floor. Volunteers arguing about table numbers. Someone yelling that the string lights are tangled again. A catering guy asking where the outlet is like this isn’t his job.The hall smells like fresh flowers and stress.I’m in the middle of it all with a clipboard in my hand and a headache forming behind my eyes.“Okay,” I call, clapping once. “Centerpieces go on every table except the front row. Those are reserved for donors. No, not those donors, the ones with the gold name tags. Yes, it matters.”A girl scurries past with a box of bid paddles.I pivot immediately.“Careful with those! If we lose a paddle, Daniel Meyers will actually combust.”Someone laughs nervously.I don’t.My hair is pulled back, my dress for tonight hanging untouched in my room like a threat. Right now I’m in legg

Logan POVMy phone buzzes the second I step away from the chaos.I don’t even look at the screen at first. I already know.There are only a few people who call instead of text.Cole, when something’s on fire.Daniel Meyers, when something’s on fire publicly.And my father…when he wants to remind me what my life is supposed to be.I exhale through my nose and answer.“Yeah?”There’s no hello on his end.Just that familiar, clipped tone.“Scouts were at the last two games.”My shoulders tense automatically.Of course they were.“They’ve been around all season,” I say.“Yes,” he replies, unimpressed. “But now they’re watching closely. They’ve seen some improvement.”That should feel like praise.It doesn’t.It feels like a warning.“And you need to buckle down,” he continues. “Focus on the prize. Getting drafted isn’t a dream, Logan. It’s the only thing that matters right now.”My jaw tightens.“I know.”There’s a pause, then the faint sound of his breath.He’s measuring me, even over t

Logan POV I tell myself I’m fine. That this is just an event. That this is charity. That this is optics and paddles and donors with too much money and too little sense. That I am the captain. That I am supposed to smile, shake hands, play the role. I even manage it for the first twenty minutes. I stand near the front with Cole and a couple boosters, nodding at the right moments, letting Daniel Meyers hover like a proud stage mom. My body is here. My mind is not. Because I know she’s on the list. Because I know her name is going to be called. And because I don’t know what I’m going to do when it happens. Then the emcee laughs into the microphone. “And now… one of our most anticipated participants tonight.” My spine goes rigid. Cole glances at me. “Oh boy,” he mutters. The room shifts. Applause builds before she even appears, like people already know. The emcee smiles. “She is a campus leader, the president of one of our most respected sororities… and the woman who

Harper povI tell myself I don’t care.I tell myself it shouldn’t matter.This is literally the event. The entire point. Logan is on the list. People are going to bid. That’s what happens.But my chest doesn’t listen to logic.I stand near the side of the stage with Lila, pretending to focus on the clipboard in my hands, pretending I’m still the organizer and not the girl who just got bought for five thousand dollars by the hockey captain who kissed her in a hallway last night.My pulse is still too loud.Then the emcee’s voice booms again.“All right, ladies and gentlemen… next up, one of our own campus stars. Captain of the hockey team, a future pro prospect, and clearly a man who knows how to make an entrance…”Laughter ripples through the crowd.My stomach twists.“Please welcome… Logan Shaw!”The room erupts.Cheers. Whistles. Clapping.Of course it does.Logan steps onto the stage like he belongs there.Tall. Controlled. That same effortless confidence that makes people believe