Rory looked puzzled when the young blonde woman entering the room said her name. "Colby?"

"You two know each other?" Shira asked.

"Sort of," Colby said. "From Chilton."

"Colby Ingram. Of course," Rory said. "I should have made the connection when I met your parents. You were a year behind me, weren't you?" Because she tended to avoid the Chilton social scene, Rory didn't know a lot of students, particularly those in other years, but she recognized Colby as a boy-crazy sophomore who had belonged to one of Paris's college application-padding tutoring groups during their junior year.

"That's right," Colby said.

"But you left Chilton, didn't you?" Rory asked.

"I transferred to Oldfields after my sophomore year," Colby said. "I wanted the boarding school experience."

"I forgot you went to Chilton, Colby," Logan said. "You never mentioned you knew Rory."

"I didn't know you knew Rory," Colby said, taking a seat beside her mother.

Logan's surprise showed on his face. Was it possible Colby didn't know about his relationship with Rory? After the events of last May, he assumed they'd been the talk of Hartford society. "Really?"

"I thought...I mean I haven't been in Hartford much the last few years. I heard you had a girlfriend, and everybody knew about what hap—that," Colby said, leaving no question as to what that was. "I guess nobody ever mentioned Rory's name to me." She looked at Logan. "I thought you pro—were dating a girl you met at Yale."

"We did meet at Yale," Logan said.

"But, Rory, weren't you desperate to go to Harvard, like that scary Paris Geller?" Colby asked.

Logan stifled a laugh when Rory elbowed him in the ribs. "Actually, Paris and I both ended up at Yale," Rory said. "Although Paris is now in medical school at Harvard."

"Well, not everyone is accepted to Harvard," Annabelle said.

"Oh, Rory was accepted," Logan said. "To Princeton, too." He lifted Rory's hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on it. "Lucky for me, her brilliant mind told her to choose Yale. We met at the beginning of Rory's sophomore year, but it took me until the spring semester to convince her I was the one for her."

That earned Logan another elbow in the ribs because, not only was that an inaccurate description of the beginning of their relationship, Rory realized what he was trying to do. She saw the look of disappointment on Colby's face when Logan took her hand, and it didn't take an Ivy League degree to figure out her appearance had disrupted another of Shira's matchmaking attempts. Shira's expression reminded Rory's of Michel's when somebody got into his Post-its at the Dragonfly. The last thing Rory wanted was more of the ugliness she'd endured during her first visit to this house, but she wasn't sure if the Ingrams' presence would be enough to prevent Shira from lashing out.

It wasn't.

"Now, Logan, you make it sound as if you and Rory have been together all this time," Shira said. "We all know she ended things with you last spring."

"That's not exactly what happened, Mom," Logan said.

"Well, why don't you tell us what did happen?" Shira said. "This girl turned down your marriage proposal and then suddenly turns up here on Christmas. Care to explain that?"

Honor gasped. "Mom!"

"Logan, maybe I shouldn't have come," Rory said, quietly.

A flush of anger spread across Logan's face, and he tightened his grip on Rory's hand. "Of course you should have. You have every right to be here," he said. "As I said, Mother, Rory's here because I invited her."

"Yes, but that doesn't explain—"

"Honestly, Shira," Mitchum said. "Is this necessary?"

Shira muttered something unintelligible at Mitchum's rebuke, and an awkward silence fell over the room. Rory was stunned. She had known since Logan's birthday that Mitchum had changed his opinion of her, and he'd helped Honor with her plot to get Logan to the party Saturday night, but Rory wasn't prepared for him to intervene on her behalf. She couldn't help but wonder how different her life would have been if Mitchum had been on time for dinner the first time Logan had brought her here. Without the uncivil treatment she had received, Mitchum would never have felt obligated to offer her the internship. That would have meant no "you don't got it" critique, no stolen yacht, no community service, no semester off from Yale, no estrangement from her mother. It would have changed everything.

"Colby is in her last semester at Sweet Briar," Honor said, and Rory could have kissed her for breaking the tension in the room. "What did you say you're studying?"

"Art history," Colby said.

"Oh, did you study abroad?" Rory asked. "Maybe Florence or—"

"Rome," Colby said. "Last spring."

"Oh, I bet that was wonderful," Honor said. "Rome is so beautiful. My friend Megan and I spent a month there the summer after college. Her parents keep an apartment in Parioli."

"How did you like Rome, Colby?" Rory asked.

"It was nice," Colby said.

Both Honor and Rory tried to engage Colby in conversation about Rome and college, but after several minutes of monosyllabic responses to their questions, they gave up and talked about Honor's preparations for the new baby. When conversation turned to the Huntzbergers' impending trip to St. Croix, Rory was content to sit quietly beside Logan, grateful for his calming presence, his constant, reassuring hold on her hand, as he, Winston, and Mitchum discussed Mitchum's golf game. Rory couldn't shake the feeling that she was on display. More than once, she felt Shira's frosty gaze on her, and she noticed Colby's fascination with her and Logan's joined hands. Elias also appeared to be glaring at her, although, to be fair, his scowling seemed to be aimed at the room in general.

The party started to break up around nine. Honor and Josh, who needed to get home to prepare for their trip to Toronto, were the first to say their good-byes. While Josh brought their car around, Logan and Rory waited with Honor in the front hall.

"Promise me you'll call me from the campaign trail, Rory," Honor said. "I've got loads of free time now that I'm only working part-time, and I'd love to get caught up with you."

"I will," Rory said. "I often have downtime during the day when most people are at work."

"And you," Honor said, turning to her brother. "You had better not forget about me now that you've got your girl back."

"Yes, ma'am," Logan said. When they hugged, he whispered in her ear, "Thank you for meddling."

"You're welcome," Honor whispered back. "I hated how unhappy you were."

Once they were alone, Logan wrapped his arms around Rory. "Come here." He kissed her, then continued to hold her tightly against him. "Want to go up to my room?"

Rory wriggled out of Logan's embrace. "You know we have to go back to the living room."

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do. While I'm sure your mother'd be happy if I disappeared forever, she wouldn't want me to take you along."

Logan took a deep breath and exhaled. "Well, can I at least hope everyone leaves soon?"

"Knock yourself out."

They entered the living room as Elias announced he was ready to go home. Before Rory could ask if Logan would be responsible for driving the old Scrooge, Mitchum volunteered, which was the cue for the Ingrams to take their leave as well. The good-byes were cordial, although Colby never looked Logan or Rory in the eye. Logan kept his distance and avoided another hug.

After everyone was gone, Logan and Rory remained in the front hall with Shira.

"Colby's grown into such a lovely young woman," Shira said.

Logan scoffed. "You are unbelievable, Mom."

"What?"

"What did you think you'd accomplish by parading Colby in front of me?" Logan asked. "You know I'm back with Rory."

"I didn't know until this morning," Shira said. "Did you expect me to disinvite the Ingrams? They're our friends."

"You could have at least warned me you were trying another set up, which you should know by now never works," Logan said. "I don't need your help."

Shira snorted. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Either you accept that Rory is part of my life, or you're going to see even less of me than you do now. You think I'm going to bring Rory here with the way you treat her? Bringing up Francine like that—"

"Logan, please don't," Rory said. Witnessing the friction between Shira and Logan about her was awkward, to say the least, and she never liked discussing her non-relationship with Francine. In a perfect world, nobody would remember her connection to the woman who wished she'd never been born. "It's okay."

"No, it isn't okay," Logan said, glaring at his mother.

"Logan, be fair," Shira said. "I wasn't aware that Francine was a touchy subject—"

"Oh, please," Logan said. "Of course you were."

"Don't worry about it," Rory said. "Really, it's fine."

"No, it isn't," Logan said.

Rory placed her hand on Logan's arm. "Logan, please."

Logan started to say something else, but the pleading look in Rory's eyes stopped him. Another uneasy quiet settled over them.

Finally, Shira sighed. "I apologize, Rory, if I upset you."

"Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal," Rory said.

Shira gave her a tight smile and turned to Logan. "Since your father and I are going to St. Croix, I gave the staff vacation time before I knew you'd be staying until the weekend. Once they finish in the kitchen, they'll be leaving."

"I don't need the staff," Logan said. "I don't even know how much time I'll be spending here."

"Well, just be certain you remember to set the alarm and lock up whenever you leave. I know you're not used to the house being empty," Shira said. "Do you need a key?"

"Dad said he'd give me one tonight," Logan said. "I'll get it when he comes back from Grandpa's."

"Fine. I have some more packing to do, and I'm exhausted, so I'm going upstairs," Shira said. "The car will be here to take us to the airport at seven, which I assume will be before you're awake, if you're even here."

"Definitely," Logan said.

"Then, I suppose this is good-bye," Shira said. "I'm glad you came home, Logan. Take care of yourself."

"You, too, Mom." Logan gave his mother an obligatory kiss on the cheek. "Enjoy St. Croix."

"We will," Shira said. After a short pause, she added, "Lovely to see you again, Rory."

Rory wasn't sure how to respond to Shira's obvious lie, but she decided to play along. "Merry Christmas," Rory said. "Have a safe trip."

Rory and Logan watched Shira ascend the grand staircase.

"You Huntzbergers sure are big on the warm and fuzzies," Rory said, once Shira was out of earshot.

Logan shrugged. "You know we're not an affectionate family."

"You didn't need to say anything to her about Francine," Rory said.

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry about the way my mother acted tonight. You'd think I'd know by now not to underestimate how vicious she can be." He draped his arm across Rory's shoulders. "She shouldn't have brought up Francine. That was low, even for her. I know you don't like to talk about her."

"Not your fault. I expected your mother would be unhappy to see me and that was before I realized I was ruining her plans for you and Colby."

"Ugh."

"Oh, Colby's not so bad," Rory said. "She doesn't really say much."

"Maybe not when you were around, but she never shut up before you got here. Maybe her robot power source needed to be recharged after all the droning on she did."

"Don't be mean."

"I sat through more than two hours of her vapid conversation. I've earned the right to be mean," Logan said. "You know why she left Chilton? Because her parents decided a less academically rigorous school would be a better fit for her."

"So she's not so bright," Rory said. "I sort of felt sorry for her. I'm sure both of your mothers convinced her tonight was her big chance with the very eligible Logan Huntzberger. She must have been awfully disappointed when I showed up."

"My mother's crazy. Even if we weren't back together, I wouldn't be interested. Colby could never live up to you in any way."

"I don't know," Rory said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "She does have me beat in one particular, um, area."

Logan chuckled. "Oh, you noticed."

"They're kind of hard to miss. Which, I suppose, is the point."

"She told Honor they were a present from her parents for her twenty-first birthday."

Rory made a face. "And all I got was a party and an undrinkable eponymous cocktail. I feel so deprived."

"Well, don't. You definitely don't need to do anything like that. You're already perfect."

A flush spread across Rory's cheeks. "Time to change the subject before this spirals into an embarrassing conversation about cup size. Are we going to stand here in this fancy foyer all night?"

Logan winked. "Wanna go up to my room and fool around?"

"You never give up, do you?"

Logan pouted. "Come on, Ace, it's been seven months."

"Come on, Logan, it's been less than 24 hours."

"You know what I mean." Logan grinned. "I'm powerless against your charms."

Rory shook her head. "Then I guess it's a good thing I have some self-control. You have to wait for your father to get back, and I want to hear about your big plan."

"Come up to my room, and I'll tell you," Logan said.

"Do I look like I was born yesterday? I know you, Logan Huntzberger. Going to your room will not be conducive to conversation."

"Maybe not, but it'll be a lot more fun." When Rory gave him an exasperated look, he said, "Fine. Let's go back to the rose room. We can talk in there while we wait for Mitchum."

Once they reached the small room, Logan removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie.

"Uh-oh. The tie is coming off. This must be some plan," Rory said, as she kicked off her high heels and sat on the sofa, pulling her feet up under her. "Spill it."

Logan took the spot beside Rory. "Okay, when I was driving back from your house today, I started thinking about how Seattle is a lot closer to San Francisco than Hartford."

"Wow. No wonder you got into Yale," Rory said. "Your knowledge of geography is astounding."

"It is impressive, isn't it? I totally kicked ass at Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"

"I bet you did. So this display of knowledge is relevant because?"

Logan took a deep breath. "Okay, well, you know how you told me at your grandparents' party that you have to be in Seattle on January 2?" He didn't wait for Rory to respond. "I got to thinking that maybe you might like to spend a few days with me in Palo Alto before then. We could celebrate New Year's together, and you could see where I live, and even though the office is closed, I could still show it to you. One of my business partners is having a New Year's Eve party, but we wouldn't have to go unless you wanted to." While Logan talked, his fingers drummed an even beat on the sofa cushion, and Rory reached for his hand in hopes of quelling his jitters. "I'll cover your costs for the extra flights, of course. And I know that Lorelai won't be happy if you leave Stars Hollow sooner than planned, so I'll understand if you don't want to, but I just...I'd really like you to come to California. I think it will be good for us to have some time together without, you know, the distractions of our families and everything. So. I guess that's it."

Rory smiled. "That was some ramble. You have spent entirely too much time around me."

"Well? What do you think?"

"I think spending a few days alone with you sounds wonderful. I'd love that," Rory said. "There's just one problem. I got an e-mail from Hugo yesterday, and the Seattle event was postponed. I now need to be in Iowa next Thursday morning for the caucuses. I fly out, connecting through O'Hare, next Wednesday afternoon."

Logan's face fell. "Oh."

"But I'm sure there are flights from San Francisco to Chicago that would get me there in time to catch my flight to Des Moines."

"You'd do that?"

"Logan, I want to see where you live, particularly if I'm going to live there once I leave this job, whenever that is." Rory looked down at the floor, suddenly shy about her assumptions. "I mean, if that's what you want."

"You know I want that. If that's what you want."

Rory looked up to meet Logan's gaze. "You think I can get on the flight to San Francisco with you on Saturday?"

"Okay, here's the thing. I don't want you to be upset because I probably should have asked you first and I know you're over the big gestures. Try to think of this more like my coming home from London to surprise you instead of, say, showing up unannounced at a wedding in North Carolina, but when I was on the phone with the airline today—"

"On Christmas Day? How long were you on hold?"

"About an hour and a half. That's another reason I didn't call you earlier, but what I needed to change couldn't be done online," Logan said. "I had to change my flight today because I was supposed to leave tomorrow. The rep said there were only a few seats left on my new flight, so I went ahead and bought your ticket. If you don't want to go, it's okay because I'll be able to use the ticket for something else without losing a lot of money, so that won't be a problem."

It broke Rory's heart to see the uncertainty in Logan's eyes, the doubt she had put there by rejecting his proposal. Although she was one of a select group who knew Logan was not always as self-assured as he appeared to the world, until the night of her graduation party, Rory had not seen this degree of insecurity about her—about them—for a long time, probably since those awful silent weeks when she was unconsciously punishing him for the bridesmaids. Rory frowned, then reached up and laid her hand on Logan's face. "I'm sorry I did this to you."

Logan looked confused. "Did what?"

"Made you feel so...so unsure about me." She blinked away the tears forming in her eyes. "You don't have to doubt me, Logan."

"Hey, I'm not the only one with doubts." Logan put his arm around her and pulled her close. "You thought I was screening your calls."

"I wonder how long it'll be before we stop qualifying everything we say with 'if that's okay with you' and 'if that's what you want.' I want things to start feeling normal again."

"They will."

"Going to California should help," Rory said against his shoulder. "Thank you for buying my plane ticket."

"You're not mad?"

"Not even a little."

"And Lorelai?"

Rory sighed. "She probably won't be happy, but I don't need her permission. Besides, she's promised to try to be more supportive of us, and it was her idea for me to show up here tonight. But I might need to ditch you on Thursday afternoon. Mom's going to play hooky from the inn, so we can hang out."

"I can live with that."

They sat quietly for a few moments, Rory's head on Logan's shoulder as he stroked her upper arm.

"Logan?"

"Hm?"

"I'm kind of hungry."

Logan chuckled. "Rory Gilmore is hungry? I'll alert the media." Rory pinched his side. "Ow. Between you and Honor, I'm going to be bruised."

"What are you talking about?"

"The pinching, the elbowing."

"You laughed when Colby called Paris scary," Rory said. "Although I guess Paris was a little scary when we were at Chilton."

"What are you talking about? Paris is still scary."

"And what was up with that 'it took me until spring to convince her I was the one for her' business? That's a little revisionist history there, pal. It didn't exactly happen like that."

"That's the way I choose to remember it."

Rory lifted her head and kissed his lips. "Like I said. Revisionist history."

"So I guess I have to feed you, huh?"

Rory nodded. "It will make your life more pleasant."

Logan looked at his watch. "The staff is probably gone by now, so the kitchen should be free. Plus, Dad will probably come in that way from the garage. You can munch on some Christmas cookies while we wait for him."

"Homemade by Shira Huntzberger, of course."

Logan laughed. "Maybe homemade at Shira Huntzberger's request."

Rory had never been in the Huntzbergers' kitchen, and her first thought upon seeing the cherry cabinets, granite countertops, stone floor and walls, and stainless steel appliances in the spacious room was that she had stepped into an advertisement for a kitchen remodeling company.

"Sookie would kill for a kitchen like this," Rory said, studying the two small chandeliers hanging over the island housing the stovetop.

"Nobody can say that Shira Huntzberger's kitchen staff doesn't have an appealing workspace. They remodeled during my last year at Yale," Logan said. "Not that there was anything wrong with the old kitchen. It probably cost more than your mom paid for her house."

"Probably cost more than she and Sookie paid for the Dragonfly."

Logan motioned for Rory to take a seat in one of the tall stools at a wide breakfast bar beside the windows. A fancy cookie tin rested on the counter, and Logan removed the top and pushed it toward Rory. She selected a candy cane-shaped cookie.

"Oh, yum. This is good."

Logan crossed the floor and took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Water, okay? Or I can probably figure out how to work the coffee machine—"

"Water's fine." Rory watched as Logan returned with the bottle. "Aren't you having anything?"

"Nah, not really hungry."

"These cookies are really good," Rory said, biting into a sugared Christmas tree.

"Is that so?" Logan swiveled Rory's chair toward him and reached in to put his hands on her hips. The height of the barstool put Rory's mouth slightly above Logan's from his standing position, and he had to tilt his head up to place a soft kiss on her lips. "Delicious," he said.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Cheesy," she muttered before taking a swig from the water bottle and putting it down on the counter. She turned back to Logan and draped her arms around his neck. "So I've been thinking—"

"You usually are."

Rory made a face, but Logan captured her lips before she could think of a retort. Without ceasing the kiss, he moved his hands from her waist to gently push her knees apart, so he could step closer to the barstool. He reached behind her to wrap his arms around her back, and Rory's right hand found its way into Logan's hair.

Eventually, Logan broke the contact, earning a little whimper of protest from Rory, and whispered against her mouth, "So what have you been thinking?"

"Can't remember," Rory said.

"God, I've missed you," Logan murmured, before rejoining their lips.

They were so focused on each other that they didn't notice the sound of the door at the far end of the kitchen or realize they were no longer alone until Mitchum cleared his throat.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said.

Logan grasped onto Rory's forearms as he turned around, which kept her her arms draped across his upper chest.

"Oh, hey, Dad," Logan said, tightening his grip when he felt Rory try to free her arms. Although she was behind him, he felt certain she was blushing at being caught by his father, and his mind flashed to the dressing room at the country club on the night of the Gilmores' vow renewal. "You get Grandpa home okay?"

Mitchum grimaced. "He gets more cantankerous every day. He wasn't even happy that I sent Jones over to plow his driveway this afternoon."

"Guess it really wasn't necessary for me to pick him up," Logan said.

"Oh, it was. He couldn't wait for the plow. He demanded we have his end-of-the-year discussion about the company before your mother and I leave for St. Croix. Retirement has not put an end to his opinions about how we should do things," Mitchum said, frowning. "So, Rory, I didn't get a chance to ask you earlier, but how are you enjoying covering the campaign?"

"It's interesting." Rory tried, and again failed, to remove her arms from Logan's grip. "I'm getting a lot of good experience, I think, but it's tiring. All the travel. And I'm not sure that presidential politics are really my thing."

"I followed Reagan a bit in '80. I remember it being grueling, and I was never on the trail full-time," Mitchum said. "Well, you've done some excellent work. I'm sure the experience will translate into many job offers once the campaign ends."

"Oh, well, thank you," Rory said as Logan squeezed her arm. "I hope so."

"Are you two planning to stay here tonight?" Mitchum asked. "I only ask because the roads are starting to ice up."

"We haven't really talked about that," Logan said. He turned around to look at Rory, which finally allowed her to free her arms. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Rory said. "I'm not really a fan of driving on ice."

"We could leave your car and take the Rover," Logan said. "Come back for the Prius tomorrow."

"Or you could just stay here," Mitchum said. "That would be the simplest thing to do. We have plenty of room, and your mother and I won't even know you're here. Unless Rory needs to get back."

"What do you think, Ace?" Logan asked.

Rory pursed her lips. "I'd have to call my mom. Let her know I'm not coming home."

"So call her," Logan said. "Dad, do you have that key for me?"

"In my study," Mitchum said.

Logan turned back to Rory. "You stay here and call Lorelai, while I go get the key," he said. "I'll be right back."

Neither Mitchum nor Logan said anything as they walked through the front hall. When they neared the study, Mitchum glanced over at his son. "So Rory's back."

Logan nodded. "She is."

"For good?"

"Yes."

"Glad to hear it." Mitchum said as he flipped on the light inside the study. "You look happy."

Logan's eyes narrowed. "I am."

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Logan," Mitchum said. "You think I'm an ogre whose sole purpose is to make your life miserable, but that really isn't the case." Mitchum walked around his desk and opened one of the side drawers. "I want you to be happy and successful. You and your sister both. Of course I want that."

"Uh, okay," Logan said.

"And I like Rory. I'm not sure I understand what happened last spring, but she's been a good influence on you," Mitchum said as he closed the desk drawer. "Here, catch."

Logan caught the key tossed across the desk. "Right," he said. "Because I couldn't possibly achieve anything on my own without Rory's help."

Mitchum frowned. "That isn't what I'm saying. I know how well you've been doing in California, and Rory hasn't been around for any of that, has she?"

"No."

"But you also can't deny that you settled down and started to take things a lot more seriously after she came along."

Logan shrugged.

"Fine, I get it. You don't want to talk to me about this. I didn't expect we'd start having heart-to-hearts now," Mitchum said. "I just want you to know I'm glad you've worked things out." He motioned toward the study door, and Logan got the lights when they left the room. "And don't worry about your mother. She'll come around about Rory. She did before."

"She'd better if she ever expects to see me. I won't subject Rory to any more of her rude treatment."

"That won't happen again."

"It'd better not," Logan said, as they retraced their steps to the front hall.

"And no more Colby Ingrams on display, either," Mitchum said. "I'll make sure of that."

"Thank you."

When they reached the staircase, Mitchum hesitated. "You know, I think I'll have a couple of those cookies before I go up. Don't tell your mother. She thinks I eat too many sweets."

"Then she shouldn't have had the cook bake the cookies in the first place," Logan said.

"That's exactly what I said."

Rory was putting her phone back in her purse when Logan and Mitchum returned to the kitchen.

"Did you talk to Lorelai?" Logan asked.

Rory nodded. "She thinks it's a good idea if I stay if the roads are getting icy."

"I just hope ice won't be a problem in the morning," Mitchum said. "I'd like to get nine holes in tomorrow afternoon."

The three of them chatted about the house in St. Croix for a few minutes. Mitchum had purchased the oceanfront property while Logan was working in London, so he had not yet had an opportunity to visit it.

"Any time you two would like to vacation there, it's yours," Mitchum said.

"We may take you up on that, Dad," Logan said. "Rory's never been to the Caribbean. It's a good thing it's not Tortola, though."

Rory laughed, and Mitchum looked puzzled.

"Sorry, Dad. Inside joke," Logan said.

After Mitchum finished his third cookie, he said, "Well, I guess I'd better head upstairs before your mother wonders what happened to me. Good to see you, Rory. And good luck on the campaign trail."

"Thanks. It was good to see you, too," Rory said.

"Logan, don't be a stranger, and try to remember to call your mother. It makes her happy," Mitchum said. "Will we see you when the baby arrives?"

"Probably, Gramps. Honor would kill me if I didn't come home to meet my nephew," Logan said. "Have a good time in St. Croix."

"I intend to," Mitchum said. "So I guess I'll leave you two alone. Enjoy your night."

Once Mitchum disappeared up the back staircase, a wide-eyed Rory turned toward Logan. "Enjoy your night? Did your father just—"

"Tell us to go have sex? I think so," Logan said. He reached for Rory's hands and tried to pull her down from the barstool. "So I guess we'd better go upstairs. Daddy says."

"Like you haven't spent most of your life doing the exact opposite of what Daddy says," Rory said. "Okay, let me see if I've got this straight. Last night you freaked out about my father finding out about...what did you call it? Oh, yeah, our tryst, even though he's on the other side of the Atlantic, but tonight it's perfectly okay when your parents are right down the hall?"

Logan shrugged. "That's different. You're not their little girl. Besides, they're not right down the hall. My room is on one end of the house, and my parents' room is all the way at the end of the opposite wing. It's practically in a different zip code." Logan leaned in close to Rory's ear. "You can be as loud as you want, Ace. I guarantee they won't hear a thing." Rory inhaled sharply when she felt Logan's lips brush her earlobe. "Would you rather sleep all alone in a drafty old guest room than in my nice, warm bed with me?"

Rory snorted. "Why do I suspect this isn't the first time you've used that line to talk a girl into your room?"

"Hey, that didn't happen as much as you think. You got to remember I haven't really lived here since I was about fourteen, thanks to boarding school and Yale and the Vineyard and whatever else I could find to do during the summers and school breaks. I'd go just about anywhere to avoid being here."

Rory allowed Logan to help her down from the barstool. "So does that mean your room still looks like it did ten, twelve years ago? Are there posters of '90s supermodels on the walls? Cindy Crawford, maybe? Or I know! Alyssa Milano. Is that it? Do you have pictures of your first girlfriend hanging in your room?"

Logan grinned. "Only one way to find out, Ace."

"Guess that's something else you can cross off your list of things to do before you die," Rory said as she and Logan were nestled together in his bed, her head resting on his bare chest.

Logan chuckled. "Absolutely. Seduce Rory Gilmore in my childhood bedroom while my parents sleep down the hall. Check."

"Probably ranks up there with Jump off cliff in Costa Rica and Sink yacht in Pacific."

"Technically, it was the Java Sea," Logan said. "And I can assure you this was much more fun than either of those events."

"I'm sure," Rory said. "No broken ribs or collapsed lungs."

"And Honor didn't have to pay off the Indonesian Navy."

Rory lifted her head and propped her chin on her hands, so she could see Logan's face in the pale light coming from the adjoining bathroom. "Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"No, Ace, I believe we should have a strict no questions policy at this stage of our relationship. We need to see how things go before we allow questions."

Rory rolled her eyes at Logan's smirk. "Miscreant."

Logan snickered. "What do you want to know? Yes, it was good for me. Mind-blowing, amazing, the earth moved—"

"Oh, forget it." Rory felt her cheeks warm and started to roll off of Logan, but he tightened his arms around her.

"Now don't go anywhere. There's that adorable blushing again," Logan said. Rory stuck her tongue out at him, and he replaced his grin with an exaggerated sober look. "I promise I'll be good. What's your question?"

Rory hesitated, silently debating whether she should bring up a painful subject. "Well, I was wondering what you...no, never mind. It's not important."

"What? You know you can ask me anything."

"Well, then, what did you do with the ring?"

"Ring?" Logan's brow furrowed in confusion. "Oh." He took a deep breath. "You mean your—"

"I probably don't have the right to ask, considering I...well, I was just curious."

"You really want to know?"

"I think so," Rory said.

"That day, after you—"

"Shattered your heart into a million pieces."

Logan frowned. "I didn't really know what to do at first."

"We were supposed to have lunch with my parents and grandparents and then you were going to help me move the rest of my stuff back to Stars Hollow and stay the night," Rory said.

"Which obviously wasn't going to happen. I didn't know where to go, so I ended up back at Colin's apartment. Naturally, he was surprised to see me, but he figured things out when I tossed the ring in the trash and preceded to drink myself into a stupor for the next two days. At some point, Colin fished the ring box out of the garbage."

"Huh. Never would have pegged Colin as a romantic."

"I think it was probably more that he couldn't bear the thought of so much money going out with the coffee grounds and take-out containers," Logan said. "Although maybe he's more of a romantic than we thought. The box was a mess, so he called the jeweler for a replacement box."

"That was really nice of him."

"Yeah, it was. Of course I didn't know any of this until the new box arrived the day before I left for California. He said I couldn't throw the ring away like that. At the very least, he said I could sell it."

"Did you?" Rory asked.

Logan shook his head. "I thought about flinging it into the Pacific as a symbolic gesture, but I couldn't. I wasn't drunk anymore. I wasn't even angry. Not really. Just sad and depressed and tossing the ring seemed too...I don't know...final."

"So you still have it?"

"It's in my apartment in Palo Alto."

"Good."

"Good? Really?" Logan asked. "You don't think it has bad ring karma now?"

Rory made a face. "Bad ring karma? Of course not. It's the perfect ring. Beautiful and elegant, but not so big that I'd feel self-conscious wearing it. It's exactly what I would have picked if you'd taken me shopping."

Logan looked surprised. "You mean I got something right? It was just everything else I screwed up."

"Not everything."

"Ace."

"I might not have been ready for you to propose, but I loved the ring and what you said to me was sweet," Rory said. "Well, what I can remember, anyway. I was kind of in shock."

"Now I have a question," Logan said.

Rory's breath caught at the solemn expression on Logan's face. She loved him, she knew she wanted to marry him, but she still wasn't ready for him to propose again. Not yet.

When she felt Logan's chest rumble with laughter, Rory frowned and sat up, pulling the sheet over her torso. "Why are you laughing?" she asked.

"You thought I was going to propose."

"I did not!"

"Ace, your entire body tensed. You were completely freaked out again."

"So what if I did? Why is that funny?" Rory crossed her arms over the sheet. "Seven months ago, you didn't think it was so funny."

Logan smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, well, seven months ago I was proposing. Tonight I'm not."

"You're not?"

"No, you're not ready. And you won't be for a while, at least until you figure out your job situation."

"But you are?"

"I suppose I'm more ready than you." Logan groaned. "Pathetic. When did I become the girl in this relationship?"

Rory giggled. "I think you make a cute girl." She reached over and brushed her hand through his messy hair, and her smile faded. "Logan, I love you. You know that, right? You know I'm not saying I never want to marry you."

"I know."

"Because I do."

"I know." Logan pulled Rory down to lie beside him and leaned over her. After a long, tender kiss, he pulled back and stared into her eyes. "Rory, I promise that someday I will ask you again. Just not today."

"And I promise that someday you'll get a different answer."

"Good to know." Logan dropped a peck on Rory's forehead.

"So what was your question?" Rory asked.

Logan smirked. "Oh, I was just going to ask how you managed to meet Christiane Amanpour in your pajamas."

"That's your question? You made me think it was something important."

"I never said it was important."

"No, but you gave me your serious face."

"Just messing with you."

"Mean," Rory said, pouting.

"But fun."

"You are so lucky I love you as much as I do."

"Oh, believe me, I know that," Logan said. "So, come on, Ace, Christiane Amanpour? What's the story? The suspense is killing me."

Rory smiled. "Well, it all started when Mom burst into my bedroom..."