AN: If this chapter seems a bit choppy or redundant (especially near the end), I apologize. I lost the last part of this chapter and had to start over—which sucks. Thanks for those who reviewed.

Chapter 2:

Less than 24 hours. It took less than 24 hours for the news of his divorce to hit the papers. Did he expect the news to be printed? Sure…eventually, but why did this have to be news at all? But of course, because of the families involved, he should have known better. He didn't have time to deal with this. Searching his computer, he found and opened the file he needed. It felt good to be writing articles again. Now that it wasn't forced on him to have his byline in the paper, he could admit that he really did have a talent and love for writing. Doing a quick spot check of his current piece, he saved it and sent it to Hugo.

He didn't have to wait more than half an hour for Hugo's call to come in. "Logan, isn't it 5:00 in California? Why are you awake, much less turning in an article right now?"

"Because I'm in New York. I told you about the company expanding; well I'm heading up the New York office now. I'm over here finalizing some things and looking for an apartment. Which considering current life circumstances a move across the country is exactly what I need."

"Yeah, I read about that. Tell me if I'm out of line, but what happened there? I know things weren't all that great, but I thought you guys were working on it."

"Well short story is she figured out that I couldn't give her everything she ever wanted."

"And what was it that she wanted that you couldn't give her? I mean, I don't want to rub salt in the wounds here but you're a Huntzberger, isn't everything pretty much there for the taking with that name?"

"Well when what you want, money can't buy, then I guess the answer is no."

"Okay, can you be any vaguer? You're talking in circles."

"Simply put, I didn't love her like she wanted to be loved, so she wanted out. I can't really blame her for that. Plus she wanted to start trying for kids, and I just didn't see that for us anytime soon. So Nicole thought it was best to just end it now. And since I'm not really that torn up about it, I think she probably has the right idea in going ahead with a divorce."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Rory, does it? I know you still keep tabs on her, at least over her professional life, but you're not still hung up on her, are you? Because it's been five years, and you've been married for over three of those."

Logan thought about how to answer those questions. It wasn't something he liked to dwell on or think about…his feelings for Rory. He tried to block out those memories, both good and bad because it was still painful. She was his first love, and it's true what all those sappy chick flicks say 'you never forget your first love.' "Yes and no. At least not in the way you think. Yes Rory has something to do with it because when I got involved with Nicole, I wasn't over what had happened with Rory. But I was so set to make everyone in my life see that I was okay and that I had moved on, that I dove head first into a relationship with Nicole. She was supposed to be the rebound, but she just kind of stuck. I was working all those crazy hours with the start-up that the consistency of just having one person there was comforting. Next thing I know, we've been together for about 6 months and she's moved in and was talking about marriage. I knew that our relationship was not like the one I had with Rory, but obviously that wasn't the worst thing because she could actually see a future with me. She wanted to factor me into her life permanently instead of freaking out that I would be limiting her prospects for her career. And I did love her, and still do, in my own way, but I'm not sure I was ever in love with her. So anyway, in that way, yes, it has something to do with Rory. But am I still hung up on Rory? No. I wish her well. I read her articles, but I don't sit here anymore and think what could have been. That was a long time ago. I loved her, but I am not still in love with her."

"So then you don't ever think about what would happen if you ran into each other today? Because if you're planning on living here it's going to happen, especially if you're going to continue to write for me. And I'd like to prepare Rory for that actuality. Whether she's over you or not, she's not going to want to be surprised with this."

"Rory is one of the strongest women I know; she's not going to have any problems sharing this big city with me. I'm sure she's moved on; it's been 5 years. And if she hasn't, that's not my problem. She's the one who quit our relationship, so I'm sure she had no problems whatsoever moving on from what we had."

Hugo listened to Logan thinking that he couldn't have been further off. Despite what Rory said and did, she was still affected by the goings on in the young Huntzberger's life. She hadn't had any serious relationships and she still checked up on him and how he was doing via Hugo or the internet. He didn't think Rory would be able to handle running into Logan in some random place without any kind of preparation. One thing he did notice was that they both seem to have different ideas on who ended the relationship. Ugh, he really hated being stuck in the middle. "So you think she wouldn't have any problem whatsoever running into you at say a work function? Because there is a dinner for CLIO and all contributors will be in attendance, since technically you are a contributor you should be there. If you don't run into her there it will be somewhere else, and you can judge for yourself how affected she is by your presence and vice versa. But you're kidding yourself if you think she's going to be completely okay with you re-entering her life in this way. With any luck, she will be as Zen about this whole thing as you appear to be. I, however, don't think that will be the case, for either of you, during your first meeting. And I'll leave you to think about that because I've got a conference call coming in. I'm glad you're back and we'll have to set something up so we can catch up properly. "

Logan barely got a goodbye in before Hugo was already off the phone. His friend had left him with a lot to think about regarding his expectations for first seeing Rory again. He realized that while he talked a good game, he didn't think he was going to be as unaffected as he lead on to Hugo. How could he be since he hadn't physically seen her in five years? Keeping tabs on someone was one thing, but an up close and personal meeting was another. He had kept himself from the what-ifs that Hugo mentioned, for the most part through marriage. Working 80-90 hour weeks didn't hurt either in terms of keeping his mind from going there. Work had been his saving grace when he first moved to California without his expected fiancée. It would have been easy to go back to life pre-Rory, but he knew that he couldn't do it. So instead he tried a different tactic and threw himself into his new job and new life. At first there was always the hope that she would break and call or even just show up. He gave up on that idea within the first couple of months. He knew she was stubborn and not big on grand gestures. Of course he had to look no further than the declined proposal for her opinion on that he thought bitterly. But he held out a little longer for some kind of communication from her. He was not going to be the one to do the chasing this time. And so with that mindset, he waited for a call, text, or email that never came. As the days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, he gave up the hope that she would ever reach out to him. So he moved on. He met Nicole and things progressed quickly. Probably too quickly, but it was nice to have someone there. Moving to California without any of his safety nets had been hard and Nicole filled the void that Rory left in his life—it wasn't until later that he realized she hadn't entirely filled the void. He wanted to believe that what they had was as big and great as what he and Rory had, but he knew it wasn't.

Before he knew it, an hour had passed since he got off the phone with Hugo. His mind had drifted back to his time with Rory and his time without her. He was beginning to see Hugo's point. Nothing was ever easy when it came to Rory. And with that last thought, he opened a search engine to check up on her again and see where her latest thoughts and investigations had taken her.