Thanks for the reviews. I hope I can write a story that you all will enjoy and does not disappoint. :)
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Logan walked through the front door of his parents house, followed closely by Colin and Finn. They'd gotten back a few hours earlier and since Logan didn't have a fixed address anymore, he was once again calling his parents 11,000 square foot mansion home.
The trio wandered into Logan's room which for many people was the size of apartment. It had it's own private bath, and a large walk in closet, a work desk, and a sitting area complete with a large comfy sofa and matching chair, facing the television and fireplace that the bed also had a primo view of.
Finn dramatically fell on the bed, face first, burying his head in Logan's pillows. "Ah, this is the life."
"No drooling Finn," Logan said, glancing over at his friend who could quite possibly be the reason that he'd need to burn those pillows and get new ones.
"Never," he mumbled, his eyes drifting closed.
Colin wandered over to the bedside table and picked up a picture, inspecting it closely. He smiled sadly at the faces smiling back at him. It was of Rory and Logan during their time in London over the Christmas break. They were so happy. So in love. He looked over at Logan who'd sat down in the chair at the desk. He opened up a drawer and rumaged around the contents, finally finding what he was looking for.
Logan pulled out his cell phone, turning it on and noticing that the battery was nearly dead. But not quite. He punched in his access code to retrieve his messages. It was full. His face contorted in pain when he heard her voice. His heart was still raw over loosing her. The first few messages she'd left, he could hear the waver in her voice, the silent tears that were falling. She begged him to call her back. She even ended the messages with "I love you." The next set of messages were more detached, but still asked for a return call. Then the calls stopped. A handful of messages over the course of a month had been left by business associates. But none from Rory. He knew, based on what he'd read in online articles, that she had gone on the Obama trail . . . but then they started again. She called, her messages quiet, but her voice betrayed her. He could tell she was scared. But as the days went by, he could hear the anger creep into her voice. She didn't offer ultimatums or threads if he didn't call back. Just that she needed to talk to him. And soon. But for the last week, there hadn't been a single call. It was like she'd gotten busy with work again.
He was proud of her. She'd taken a risk and turned down the job in Providence for a chance at the fellowship with the New York Times. Although that hadn't worked out, she'd ended up with a great opportunity. One that not many people would get the chance to have. And as much as it pained him to admit, he knew that if she'd accepted his proposal, she wouldn't have gone. Their families would insist on planning a big society wedding, and while Rory Gilmore was not a fan of society events, she couldn't deny her Grandmother. And they both knew it was important to the Huntzbergers to have a grand wedding, regardless of whether or not he'd resigned himself from his position at HPG. Plus, Rory was a planner. She needed to know where her life was going, and to have a plan. It was one of the things he loved about her. It was a quirk, but it had proven useful on many occasions.
But he was still hurt. How could one woman, who was barely a hundred pounds, soaking wet with sand bags in her pants, cause him so much heartache?
Colin nudged Finn, who was now slightly snoring and he once again became aware of his surroundings. He glared at Colin for interrupting his peaceful slumber. Didn't he know the sun was still out? Colin just nodded his head towards Logan and Finn saw what his friend found so interesting. Logan was now holding the engagement ring between his index and middle finger, staring at it as the light bounced off the large center diamond.
"You look lost, Mate," Finn supplied, snapping Logan out of his daze. Finn's tone was soft and sympathetic. He'd seen first hand these last few months how Logan was without Rory in his life.
Logan dropped the ring back into the drawer and closed it. "Hmm," he shrugged, trying to seem unaffected.
Colin rolled his eyes. "You gonna call her?" Logan looked at him, his eyebrows scrunched together. "Oh don't give me that look. You know I'm talking about Rory."
Logan sighed. "I don't know."
"How many times did she call?"
"A lot. I lost count," he answered quietly.
"She obviously misses you," Colin told him. "You should call."
Logan looked straight at Colin. "That's rich. You're giving me advice on my love life?" He shook his head. "You don't have the guts to ask Stefanie to be exclusive, and you're telling me to call her back? You were the one who ragged on me in the beginning for even being exclusive with her. You were always reminding me of how much random ass I could be getting, and how it was such a waste to be tied down to one woman. You certainly changed your tune," he snapped.
Colin bit his tongue to stop himself from arguing with his best friend. He liked Rory. "She kind of grew on me, I guess," he shrugged. "She's good for you. If someone had told me three years ago that you'd be the first to fall head over heals and would find the love of your life, I'd have told them they were crazy."
"Me too," Logan muttered, looking out his bedroom window at the acres of land that surrounded the property.
Finn sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes. "For such a smart guy, Logan, you sure are an idiot." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "If you don't wise up and stop being so stubborn, some other Romeo will ride in on his white horse and carry her off into the sunset." Finn noticed the look at his two friends were giving him. "God, I need a drink," he announced, shuffling his way out of the room in search of his favorite beverage . . . .
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Rory ran her hands across the material of her dress, smoothing out wrinkles that didn't exist in an attempt to rid herself of the nerves that had taken over.
She had wanted to wear a sexy black dress, and killer stilettos, but her body had decided it was time to start changing. If she wore what she'd planned, Logan would've noticed before she had a chance to tell him. And the dress she'd brought no longer fit, so she had to completely change her plans on what to wear, and had instead opted for a white summer dress that hugged her body in all the right places, but was loose enough where you couldn't see a slightly protruding baby bump, stopping just above her knees. She wore a pair of white summer kitten heels with a slight criss-cross above her exposed toes. Her hair was naturally wavy and hung down around her shoulders. Her make-up was natural earth tones and a clear gloss on her lips.
She sighed, dropping down to a sitting position on her hotel room bed. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to control her nerves. But it was useless. Knowing that she was going to see him tonight scared her. It excited her too.
After Honour had told her that he'd left his cell phone stateside before heading off to only God knew where, she'd felt a lot better about him not returning her phone calls. He hadn't gotten most of them. The few that she'd left on his voicemail the day following her graduation he'd probably gotten. But she couldn't blame him for not returning her calls immediately. He was hurt. He needed space to get his thoughts together. She probably wouldn't have called him back immediately had she been in his place.
Then she'd realized that he'd had internet access occasionally, sending Honour emails. Which probably meant that he'd been near phone lines. And he didn't call her back. Nor did he email her.
She raised her fingers to both temples and massaged the tension that had made a permanent home there. "Stop it, Rory," she ordered herself. "You're going to drive yourself crazy with questions of 'what if' . . . "
Glancing over at the clock, she noted the time. It was time to leave. Time to go see Logan.
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Rory had decided to walk to the Huntzberger's house on the Island. It was only a short walk from her hotel, but she'd thought the air would do her good.
Every time a limo or expensive vehicle would pass her by, she would try and see who was inside, hoping for a glimpse of Logan. Hoping that maybe he'd see her, and rather than force her to go to the party to see him, would pull the car over and rush into her arms. Or he'd pull over and ask what the hell she was doing there. It didn't matter what he'd say when he got out of the car – just so long as he prevented her from going to that party to tell him.
But that never happened.
She approached the tall iron gates that kept the home private and secure. A guard stopped all the incoming cars, asking for the occupants for their invitations and names, checking the list to make sure they'd been invited.
Rory sighed as she stood as tall as she could and walk with authority towards the man. She cleared her throat to signify that she wanted his attention. "Rory Gilmore," she nodded her head towards the list. Though she didn't like acting as though she were entitled, this was an event in which she needed too.
"I don't see your name," the man answered in a mono-tone, folding his arms across his chest.
"Honour Huntzburger invited me," she copied his stance. "She told me personally that she had emailed you a revision of the guest list."
The man sighed and pulled out his cell phone, quickly opening up the email account that the company he worked for used for all updated documents from their clients. He scrolled through the inbox on the tiny screen, keeping one eye on the young woman before him, making sure she wasn't trying to create a distraction to just slip into the party. He found the email, titled "Huntzburger Revision" and opened it up. It read 'new guest: Rory Gilmore.' He turned off the screen and stepped aside, allowing her entrance onto the property. "Enjoy the party Miss Gilmore."
"Thank you," she said politely, dropping her act of entitlement. She wandered onto the grounds, completely overwhelmed. There were people standing around in their best ball gowns, the lush gardens surrounding them illuminated by white twinkle lights. The doors and windows of the home were wide open, allowing people outside to see in. Large, expensive flower arrangements were placed in numerous positions, men and women in black and white uniforms scurried around with trays of food and champagne.
"Rory?" she heard someone behind her.
She turned around and saw a beautiful blond woman. "Stefanie!"
The two smiled, embracing each other.
They pulled back and Stefanie looked her friend over. "You look good," she commented, noticing the glow of Rory's skin. "I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?"
Rory's smile faultered. "Looking for Logan," she said softly. "I have to talk to him."
Stefanie nodded her head. "Do you think this is the best place?"
"He hasn't returned any of my calls, and I've left him a lot of messages," she shrugged.
"He's been out of the country," Stefanie answered as the two fell in step beside one another, walking along the edge of the property, looking out at the ocean. "He left shortly after the two of you . . . ." she didn't want to finish her sentence. "Anyway, he and the boys just got back yesterday, so he probably hasn't had much of a chance."
"Or he doesn't want to talk to me," Rory answered, looking at Stefanie, cutting through it all. "If he doesn't want to talk to me, or see me, or have anything to do with me ever again, that's fine. But I have to talk to him. I can't wait any more."
Stefanie nodded her head again, but wasn't so sure she agreed with the location. This was his family's party and if they created a scene, it wouldn't be good. Logan's family had an icy reception to Rory when they first met her, despite her coming from a prominent Hartford family. She knew that Huntzburgers had become deeply indebted to Rory since then, though. They knew that she'd had a positive effect on Logan's life, and had helped him become excited about the possibilities that the business world had to offer. They still had their reservations about her wanting a career, but they were willing to over look that. She made Logan happier than they'd ever seen him. That is, until she turned him down. And crushed him.
Behind them, they heard a roar of masculine laughter. They turned at the sound and they were standing not to far away. Rory couldn't breathe. He was standing there, a smile gracing his features, laughing. Like he'd moved on. She felt a pain grip her heart. She felt selfish for being upset that he was happy.
Colin looked up and his eyes fell on Stefanie. "Hey, Stef!" He then noticed Rory and his smile fell a little. It wasn't that he was disappointed she was there. He was just shocked.
Logan looked over and his laughed ceased immediately. "Rory."
She took a deep intake of air, the first since she'd laid eyes on him. It was happening. Now. "Hi Logan," she offered a slight smile, hoping that he wouldn't be upset with her.
TBC . . .