The following days were filled with general bliss for Rory and Logan. Rory spent her time resting and reading. She also bought a gown for the Friday night gala that Logan asked her to attend. Logan surprised her and sent her Friday for a day of pampering at a spa. She had her hair done in an intricate up-do, and her makeup a little more dramatic than usual. He arrived home just in time to meet Rory and change into his tuxedo so that they could leave for the gala.
As soon as Logan walked in the front door, he headed up the stairs to change. Rory met him at the top of the stairs already in her dress. Logan's mouth dropped open and said, "Wow!"
"Hi," Rory replied as she blushed.
"Damn, Ace. You look... unbelieveable." Logan stammered.
"You like this?" she asked coyly as she turned around slowly for him to notice that the gown was backless.
He nodded and pulled her close by her hips. Logan kissed her firmly and let his hand graze over her ass. He whispered in her ear, "What does one wear under a gown like that?" even though he already knew the answer.
She gave him a devilish grin and replied, "Just a couple of pasties."
Logan groaned in response and closed his eyes for a minute.
They chatted about random stuff while he changed and she relaxed on the couch. She scrolled through her phone for a while until he walked over to her. Rory looked up at Logan and her breath hitched a bit in her throat. "You look..." she took a deep breath "damn, Logan." His black Tom Ford tuxedo was perfectly tailored and somehow gave a spectacular view of all the work he put in in the gym.
"Yeah?" he asked absent-mindedly as he fiddled with his bow tie. Finally he stopped and caught her eye. "What?"
"Nothing. You make that tux look GOOD." She smiled at him.
"Thank you. You ready to go? So we can leave?" It wasn't a secret that Logan didn't feel like attending these kinds of events, but he considered it part of the job.
"Yep." He took her hand and helped her up and followed her down the stairs. They grabbed coats and met the car outside.
It was cold and dark already. Rory shivered from the cold and her barely-there dress. Her wool coat didn't do much to help. Logan pulled her close in the car and slipped his arm around her. "Have I told you that you look fantastic tonight?" he asked her.
She grinned at him, "You may have mentioned something about that..."
Logan's phone chimed. He glanced at it and involuntarily said, "Well fuck."
"What?" she asked.
"Shira is here. Well... there. Apparently we are sitting with my parents tonight. This should be fun." Logan was immediately stressed.
"Oh, well. I suppose we have to tell her sometime. And it might be easier to tell her in public. She won't act out quite as much as she would if she was in private." Rory was trying to reason with him. "We don't have to tell her about the baby tonight if you don't want to."
"Let's see how it goes. But in general, I don't want to give the impression that I'm not thrilled about any of this."
Just then, Rory's phone chimed. She glanced at it, frowned and immediately put it in her evening bag. "Something wrong?" Logan asked her.
"Not exactly. Just something to deal with. Do you mind if I tell you about it later? I don't feel like getting into it right now." She was a little glum after she read the text.
"Sure." Logan was curious but didn't push. The car came to a stop in line with the other chauffered cars. "Oh, good. We'll be there soon," Logan said with mock-glee.
Rory lay her head on his shoulder and said, "We'll get through it. Oh... are Brad and Joshua attending?"
Logan nodded, "They're supposed to." Logan's hand on her thigh crept higher and higher. He whispered in her ear, "Are you really not wearing anything under this dress?"
She smirked at him. "I guess you'll find out later."
He pouted. "How much later?"
The driver announced their arrival just then. "Are you ready for this?"
"Yep." She squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. "Let's do this, Huntzberger."
As soon as Rory was out of the car, Logan firmly wrapped his arm around her. They walked up the steps with other attendees. Once they were inside, they checked their coats and stopped for a drink. A couple of coworkers said hello to Logan and he had the opportunity to introduce Rory - as his finance. In his position in the company, no one was going to question his relationship status - but Logan just liked saying it. Every time he said it, it became a little more real.
Logan spied his parents on the other side of the room, but didn't let on that he saw them. He whispered to Rory, "Mitchum and Shira are over by the staircase, just so you know."
Rory whispered back, "Does she have a sniper rifle aimed in our direction?"
Logan smirked, "Not yet." He kissed her softly then whispered, "Ace, you are such a little sex kitten in this dress. Its hard to concentrate on anything."
She smirked at him, "Yeah, that was the plan."
He pulled her close with his arm around her waist, cupping her cheek with the other hand. "So devious!" he said as he let his lips brush her ear. Then he went in for another kiss.
"Good evening, Mr. Huntzberger." Rory pushed Logan away and noticed a beautiful young black woman next to them.
"Sherry! Its so nice to see you!" Logan turned and gave her the hug that one would give a very close friend. "Sherry, this is my fiance Rory." "Rory, this is Sherry Smith."
Rory reached out to shake the woman's hand. "Its a pleasure to meet you, Sherry."
Sherry replied, "The pleasure is mine! Logan mentors my son, Louis. I'm very grateful for Logan's influence. He's become like family to us."
Rory's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Really? I had no idea you did this kind of thing." She looked at Logan who grinned sheepishly.
"Its nothing. I'm sure I get more out of it than he does. Louis is the one who has to pal around with a boring-middle-aged guy, on the other hand, I get to go to stuff like soccer games with a cool kid." He tapped Sherry on the arm. "I'm really doing this to boost my street cred." The three of them laughed at the idea of Logan's street cred.
Sherry told Rory, "Seriously, Louis is going to be excited to meet you. He adores Logan."
Rory smiled up at him. "Me too."
Logan lowered his voice. "So, Sherry, no one knows this yet but Rory and I are expecting a baby. I'm going to be a father!"
Sherry beamed at him. "That is tremendous! Congratulations to you both." Then she threw her arms around both of them in happiness.
Once their hug broke, Sherry excused herself as she saw a few other people to whom she needed to say hello. They all promised to meet up with each other again before the holidays.
Rory said to Logan, "You continue to surprise me. I didn't know you were mentoring! That's great!"
Logan blushed a little, "Ace, its no big deal. And... I don't like to brag about that stuff. I do things like that to inprove my karma a little." He looked up and saw his parents approaching, and he whispered to Rory, "Speaking of karma..."
Mitchum spoke first, "Logan, Rory, hello."
"Mitchum, hello," Rory responded. "Good evening, Shira. How are you?"
Shira narrowed her eyes at Rory, "This is a surprise. I wasn't aware Logan was bringing a date."
"Hello, Mom." He bent to kiss her cheek. "I think you'll agree that Rory is more than a date." Shira opened her mouth to speak and Logan cut her off. "Mom, Rory and I actually planned to see you next week in Connecticut. We wanted to tell you in person that we are back together."
"Logan, did she coerce you into breaking off your engagement or something? Is that what's going on here?" Shira's voice was getting louder and louder.
Mitchum jumped in and said to his wife firmly, "Please remember your surroundings. I'm sure you and Logan can discuss this at length when we aren't in the middle of three hundred other people."
Just then, Shira spotted Rory's engagement ring. "Oh, no. Is that really an engagement ring? Logan, honestly?!"
Logan got annoyed with his mother and got very close to her so that she would not misunderstand. "I am so very lucky that Rory gave me a second chance and agreed to marry me. I know you love me and want me to be happy. Right?"
"Yes, but..." Shira stammered.
"She convinced you to break it off with Odette for her?" Shira was incredulous.
Logan was exasperated. "Well, I guess we're doing this here. Let's go." He wrapped his arm around Rory's waist and walked her through a set of wooden doors to a small lounge. Mitchum escorted his wife right behind them. Logan still holding Rory said, "Mom. I have sincerely missed Rory since we broke up years ago. That can't be a surprise." She stared at him and said nothing. "I was not happy with Odette. Odette was not happy with me. I know you all thought she was my perfect match, but I think Rory is."
Shira turned to Rory and asked, "Exactly how did you finagle all of this to your advantage?"
Mitchum said quietly to both of them, "Shira, please..."
Logan tried to continue, "Seriously, even if there was no Rory, Odette and I still would not have worked. You have to know this." He searched her face for signs of concession. "Mom, I love Rory. I can't wait to marry her. And..." He glanced over at Rory who was terribly uncomfortable and pursed her lips. "We're expecting a baby."
"Logan, she..." Shira couldn't find the words.
Mitchum tried to help, "Dear, we're having another grandchild. Isn't that terrific?"
Shira glared at him, "Why aren't you surprised?!"
"Well, earlier this week, I dropped by Logan's flat and talked with them." Mitchum didn't seem to care that Shira was freaking out. Shira gasped at the knowledge that he kept this from her.
Rory had no idea what to say but she decided to say something, if for no other reason that to take Logan's side in the matter. "Shira, I know this news is unexpected. But, we're very happy."
Shira simply gasped louded and stormed out.
Once the door closed behind her, the three remaining people burst out laughing. Mitchum smirked and said, "Well, I guess she knows now," as he raised his eyebrows. He looked over at the couple, "Rory, how are you feeling? Is everything going well?"
"Actually, yes. Thank you for asking." Rory grinned at the door that just closed behind Shira.
Mitchum tried smoothing things over, "I'm sorry she was a little, um, surprised."
Logan smirked at his father, "Luckily, we live an ocean away from her so we won't have to deal with that too frequently."
Mitchum raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh, so you are going to stay in London?"
Rory nodded, "Yes. Logan works here and I just got a position at Time Out. Its going to be great."
Mitchum chuckled. "Time Out is one of the few magazines here NOT owned by HPG. That wasn't an accident, was it?"
Logan tried to save her, "She got a call, actually. She didn't apply. You know how it is."
Mitchum said, "Don't worry about Shira. She'll come around. I guess. Anyway, you look beautiful tonight, dear. Enjoy the party." He clapped Logan on the back and then he was gone.
Rory and Logan both looked like they had been through a small war. They both sighed and sat down on a couch to decompress a little.
A little later, there was an announcement from the stage that people should take their seats for dinner. Logan and Rory were seated at a table with four other HPG execs and their dates, including Mitchum & Shira and Brad & Joshua. Logan introduced Rory to the other two couples at the table as his fiance. They were older couples, probably older than Mitchum and Shira, and also more pleasant. Rory made a beeline over to Brad and Joshua. She and Joshua sat down next to each other with Brad on the side of Joshua and Logan next to Rory.
After the salad was served, one of the ladies at the table asked Rory, "So dear, when are you planning on getting married? Do you have a date yet?"
Rory and Logan grinned at each other and then Rory said, "No, it is very new. We haven't set a date yet, but it will probably be pretty soon."
The lady's husband raised his glass and said, "Congratulations to you both! Cheers!"
The rest of the table followed suit and everyone enjoyed their food. Shira was quiet but seething during the meal. Logan all but ignored his mother as he made polite conversation with everyone else.
After the meal, an announcement was made that the program would begin in fifteen minutes. Rory took the opportunity to visit the powder room and Shira did the same. While Rory was washing her hands, she saw Shira leave the stall and approach her via the mirror. Shira washed her own hands and then reapplied her lipstick. Shira started to say something to Rory but then thought better of it. Rory noticed her and finally addressed her. "Please, Shira, just say whatever you have to say."
Shira began, "Rory you don't understand what its like in this family. Is the baby even definitely Logan's?"
Rory's eyes blazed with anger. She blinked a couple times and finally said, "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."
Shira persisted, "Its not a secret that you dated someone for a while. I'm sure there's a possibility that they baby could be his, right?"
Rory quietly said, "No. And I caution you to be civil to me. You aren't going to bully me into leaving Logan."
Rory grabbed her clutch and walked out of the restroom with her head high. She continued walking down the hallway toward the ballroom. In the hallway up ahead, she noticed Mitchum. He had a young blonde woman pressed against the wall with his knee between her legs and his mouth covering hers. Rory's walk came to a screeching halt. Even though Shira was horrible to her, she didn't want her to see Mitchum being openly unfaithful. There had always been rumors of Mitchum's infidelity but she's never seen actual proof with her own eyes. She glanced behind her and saw Shira watching the same thing, walking very slowly, almost pretending not to notice.
Rory pursed her lips and took a deep breath. "Shira..."
Shira cut her off. "I already knew. I just don't like seeing it. I prefer if he was more... discreet."
Rory nodded. "I see."
Shira told her, "You know, Rory. You're a smart, young woman. You don't have to settle for this life."
"What life?" Rory asked.
Shira frowned. "The life of a Huntzberger wife. They do whatever they want. We have their children and look the other way when it comes to other women and whatever the fuck else they want."
Rory shook her head. "Logan isn't Mitchum. He wouldn't..."
Shira blinked at her, "Didn't he cheat with you on Odette? How long will it be before he cheats on you with someone else?" Then Shira continued walking, past her husband with his face buried in the cleavage of a woman younger than Rory. Rory just stood there, trying to process what Shira said to her.
Rory's dress is: Alice + Olivia Montana cowl-neck strappy back maxi-gown from Bergdorf Goodman. Check it out. Its gorgeous!