"Ace, the car will pick us up at half to seven. There will be dinner at the gala, but I know gala food won't satisfy the beast in your stomach. So I ordered some food. They should be here around 6, think you can manage to be ready then so you'd have enough time to eat?" Logan asked her that afternoon as he spotted Rory getting into the bathroom.
It's 5.14pm and he just arrived at Rory's because he got held up at the office taking care of a sudden crisis at the Omaha office. Macy had sent his tux to Rory's apartment where him and Rory would get ready before they show up to the gala together. It would be their first public appearance since they got back together and he was excited to show the world that he's very much taken. He was getting tired of girls throwing themselves when he knew for sure they didn't stand a chance. And it would be nice to let as much people know that Rory's taken too.
Rory peeped behind him, snaked her arms around his waist and gave him a light kiss on his neck, "I will always have time to eat. And you know I'm not that five-hours make up kind of girls. I'll be ready in time and still have spare for you..." she said seductively. He could feel her body heat through their clothes.
Logan chuckled. "Really, Ace? We're kinda in a tight schedule here and I don't wanna rush when I'm with you,"
"If you're so concerned about time then maybe we should shower together. You know, to save time, and energy, and water and all the other things,"
Dear lord, how could a man say no to this?
Logan turned around to face her. Contrary to her seductive voice and her eager eyes, her cheeks were blushing hard and that was quite a turn on. "What can I say... I love saving the world,"
He finished taking off his clothes and tailed Rory into the bathroom where they had a the quickest but the hottest shower of all times.
As they preparing themselves for the gala in front of their vanity mirrors, Logan couldn't stop himself from asking, "So, Ace. I gotta say, I'm loving this new side of you,"
He sneaked a glance at her and watched her blush creeped in as she realized what he was referring to.
"Um, yeah. Well..." she took a deep inhale. "Uh, you know that I didn't went celibate this past ten years, and I had... uh, casual nights from time to time," she said uncomfortably.
Really? She called it casual nights? Logan laughed inside.
"But, I haven't... um, there was no one... as good as you. No one felt this good, you know?" She finally took her eyes to his. Yeah of course he knew. He felt exactly the same. "So I guess I'm just compensating for ten years worth of bad sex?"
He came to her side and turned her towards him. "I feel the same, Ace. No one felt as good as you. I kept looking but I never found. Paris was right, you got me wrapped around your fingers," he said softly, meaning every word even though it made his sounded like a wuss.
She smiled and gave him a long soft peck on the mouth. "Smooth, Huntzberger. But you're gonna have to wait till after the gala for round two..."
He chuckled but let her go to continue her make up, while he went to pick up their food the postmates delivered to Bart downstairs. She was already waiting for the food when he got back, wrapped in her night robe.
They devoured their dinner quickly before going their separate ways to finish preparing. The clock said 6:20, still plenty of time for him to put on his shoes.
"Ace, you need any help there?" He called.
"Nope, I'm done, I'm coming," she shouted back.
Logan looked up after tying up him shoes when he heard her heels clinking towards him and what he saw made his mouth dropped.
How did she do this so quick? She sat there eating Chinese take outs with him half-done with her make up, hair tied up, and in a night robe just merely ten minutes ago. And now she stood there like a snow queen wearing a silver satin floor length dress that was generous at the top and flow like a winter wind at the bottom. Her hair was let loose with perfect curls and a shiny headband. Logan felt his mouth went dry.
"Ace, you... you look smashing," his voice sounded hoarse, as he had difficulty to form a coherent sentence out of his foggy mind.
"Smashing?" She smiled.
He shook his head to clear out his mind. "Yeah, I tend to turn British when I'm nervous," he smirked, taking her hand and kissed it gently. "Or when I'm turned on," he whispered on her wrist sending chills trough her body. He liked that he had that effect on her.
"Too bad you'd have to keep it in your pants until midnight, Cinderella. Our carriage is waiting downstairs. Let's go before it turns back into a pumpkin,"
Logan offered her his arm and led them out. But she stopped them before they step out of her apartment. "You look smashing too, Huntz..." she said before kissing him under the mistletoe.
"Now I'm just gonna be wishing this party over the whole time," he muttered before tailing her to the elevator.
The limo was waiting in front of her lobby, with Frank smiling widely at them. "Merry Christmas, Logan, Sir, and Miss Rory. You look beautiful,"
"Thank you, Frank. Merry Christmas to you too," Rory replied.
"Merry Christmas, Frank. Let's get this over with before we go on our merry ways, I am so excited for this holidays..." Logan told him.
"Yes, of course, Logan Sir," he replied, closing the door for Logan.
Frank had been his driver since he was a teenager, and he kept reminding him to call him Logan. But the older man felt uncomfortable for it, so he kept adding Sir after he mentioned Logan's name.
Logan slide in to Rory's side and held her hands the whole ride, unable to spend a minute not touching her. She smiled and squeezed his hand back.
The ride to the Ritz where the gala was held was short and uneventful. Logan stared at the window the whole time to prevent himself staring at his stunningly beautiful girlfriend, but found his gaze drawn to her more than once, and caught her staring at him every time.
"We're like a couple of cheesy teenage rom-com main characters going to the prom," Logan commented. They were thirty-something with stellar careers of their own but acting like a couple of teenagers.
Rory grinned at that. "You're way better looking than Chad Michael Murray,"
"Chad Michael Murray? Is he your teenage celebrity crush?"
Rory blushed.
"So you do have a type, huh?!"
"Shut up, we're here..." she nodded at the hotel.
They checked their appearances one last time while waiting for their turn to get out of the limo. A red carpet had been layered from the front door to the edge of the sidewalk where they supposed to walk. There were several paparazzi waiting to take their pictures as this is a huge event in the media and journalistic world whose guest list were full with popular names.
Logan had discussed this with Rory and considered the option of her coming through the side door as to not attract too much attention. But she insisted to accompany Logan, who as the heir of the Huntzberger Publishing Group, was obligated to set foot onto the red carpet and had his pictures taken.
When their limo stopped in front of the hotel's lobby, Logan shot a look at Rory, asking if she's ready and when she nodded, he signaled for the usher to open their door.
They were welcomed by flashes of cameras and rain of questions, most of which asking who was the beautiful lady that was Logan's date, and was it serious. Logan took Rory to the hotel's front door then turned around to face the paparazzi.
"Hi everyone. This lovely lady is not just my tonight's date. I intend for her to be my plus one at any event from now on. She's the love of my life, and I was blessed to get her again after years of separation. Yes, it is romantic, and yes, it is hard to believe. I guess I'm just the luckiest guy in the world. No more questions, please. Thank you," he concluded after the outbreak of questions regarding Rory's identity.
They were about to get in when Mitchum and Shira arrived followed by Honor and Josh. The paparazzi bombarded them with questions by which most of them about Rory.
"Thank you everyone. We are happy that our son had reunited with his long lost love, and we hope that you guys could give them some space. In the meantime, we encourage you to focus on the party and the cause that we are supporting with this: Preventing Child Marriages and Raising Awareness on the Social Implication of Child Marriages, which is Miss Rory's idea. I expect to see it on the headlines tomorrow! Thank you and have a nice holiday," Mitchum ended his short speech and led his family for a picture.
Logan nodded his thanks and posed for the picture while resting his arm on Rory's waist protectively. His heart bloated with pride and happiness having her in his arms to show to the world. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world as he eyed his Ace and caught her looking at him with the same intense sparkling happiness radiating all over her face.
Logan thought about how his life had took the fortunate turn this year for him. With Rory back to him, all was right in the world and he felt like he could do anything. But on top of that, his family turned out to be their biggest supporter, and although he hadn't got over on how strange and out of character it was, he couldn't help but thanked his lucky star to make his life so much easier. Guess he had paid his miserable years and now he was entitled for an easy and content life.
They entered the ballroom with her hand rested on his arm comfortably, walking behind Mitchum and Shira, followed by Honor and Josh. Any other date would have to sit tight waiting for the family to walk in, but Rory, Rory deserved to walk in with the family, as part of it.
And he watched every eyes on them, intrigued by the stunning lady in his arms, reading the unspoken statement that this woman is soon to be part of their family. Soon they were all whispering to each other, speculating about her identity. But he recognized some of the faces, they should have known who Rory was. After all, Rory's grandmother was there.
Oh, and that duGrey guy. Logan smirked triumphantly. The sooner he realized he has no chance whatsoever the better. Logan also noticed some disappointed faces of the gentlemen, and relieved that his Ace chose him. Clearly lots of gentlemen here also thinks of her as a catch.
Great, they had sent the message loud and clear. This was a great evening already.