Chapter 103
I thought you’d like the festival more,” he said after a long pause
“I like it. A lot, actually.”
“You didn’t smile much.”
I settled into the chair across from him, folding my hands in my lap. “That doesn’t mean I didn’t like it.”
Logan finally turned. His expression was unreadable, but something about the way he lowered himself into the chair beside mine felt… tentative. Like he wasn’t here to deliver a confession.
He stared at the horizon for a moment longer before speaking.
“When I was about eight,” he said, voice quieter than usual, “my father told me I had to attend this summer gala. One of those stuffy, formal Pack events. Speeches, photo ops. I hated them.”
That I could believe. I wasn’t a fan of them, myself.
“I didn’t want to go. I wanted to run in the woods and play sentinel” He poured us drinks, watching the liquid catch the light. “ So, I snuck out before the driver came and rolled in the mud behind the stables.”
I blinked. “You?”
“I figured if I was dirty enough, they’d leave me behind. That I’d be an embarrassment. That maybe I’d be invisible for once.” His his jaw was tighter now, eyes focused somewhere far away.
“My father found me before they left. Hosed me down like a mutt. Made me ride with him anyway. Sat me right in front so everyone would see what a disobedient heir looked like.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
Logan gave a slow exhale, like he was letting the memory finish playing out in his mind.
“After that, I stopped trying to enjoy things. I just focused on doing them well enough not to get noticed for the wrong reasons.” That explained so much. Why he always seemed a little too polished. Why his calm was so exact. Why his anger always felt coiled, held back. Not because he didn’t feel it, but because he was taught early that what he wanted was a liability.
I swallowed. “Why are you telling me this?”
He looked at me then. Just a man, bruised in quiet places. “Because today, I didn’t know if you hated w didn’t want to be there with me.” A beat. “And I’m not sure which answer would bother me more.”
16 if you just
That struck something deep and immediate. I shifted in my seat, suddenly too aware of how still everything had become
“I didn’t hate it,” I said.
He nodded, but the doubt lingered in his posture.
“And I had a good time with you, there.” I rushed to finish before he thought not hating the day meant I didn’t want to be there with him.
He looked back out toward the trees. “If you had a free day, no expectations, no cameras, no responsibilities, what would you choose to do?”
My first instinct was to deflect. To say something practical. But I didn’t want to lie. Not right now. Not when he’d just peeled himself open in front of me.
“I’d sleep in,” I said slowly. “I’d make something sweet and slightly burnt. I’d walk barefoot in the grass until my feet hurt. And then I’d sit in a sunbeam with a trashy book.”
Chapter 103
+25 BONUS
Logan’s mouth lifted, just barely.
Sounds like a better day than I’ve ever planned.”
I laughed softly. “That’s not a high bar.”
His gaze landed on me, steady. “No. But you raise it.”
I felt the blush creep up my neck and cheeks. “Thank you, Logan. Today was… good.”
I didn’t know what to do with the warmth spreading through my chest. It wasn’t heat like anger or desire. It was quieter than that. Something gentler. Something that made me want to stay a little longer, just to see if the moment would stretch.
But instead, I stood. Smoothed the front of my dress. And wished Logan good night.
When I left him on the balcony, I could still feel his eyes on me. And later that night, I dreamed of muddy footprints and soft sunlight, and a man who I had more in common with than I thought.
Chapter 104
Chapter 104
