Photos, photos and more photos. It was a never-ending barrage of photos. As though they hadn't taken a thousand photos before the wedding even started. There were photos of her arriving, getting ready, having a toast with the bridal party. Then Shira had traipsed them all over the Frick for photos with the bridesmaids and her family. But she should have known that wasn't the end of it. Logan wasn't allowed to see her in her dress before the ceremony so there needed to be more photos of the two of them and the entire wedding party after. Plus, she'd even been dragged outside to take photos on the steps and in the snow-covered garden. She was cold and hungry, and her feet were already killing her.
"What time is it?" Rory asked as she made their way back into the building with her mother and bridesmaids. Lorelai retrieved her phone from her purse and looked at the time.
"6:53," she announced.
"Good, there's a few more minutes left of the cocktail hour. I'm starved. I need to grab some of those mini lobster rolls and bacon wrapped shrimp." The cocktail hour was just about the only part of this ostentatious shindig she was looking forward to. The hors d'oeuvres they'd picked out were some of the best things she'd ever put in her mouth. And she'd almost missed the whole thing. They made their way into the garden court which was already starting to empty out. But it wasn't empty enough as she still managed to find herself cornered by a middle-aged woman she'd never met before.
"Oh, Dear, I just wanted to let you know how beautiful the ceremony was. And that dress…my god, it's to die for. And I have to tell you, I would kill just to be able to fit into it; that figure of yours is out of this world."
"Umm, thank you…" Rory said, only half paying attention as her eyes locked on to a waiter holding a try and heading towards the exit of the room. She resisted the urge to call out for him to stop so she could go running after him.
"I've got it," Lane whispered in her ear. Thank god for maids of honor. She turned back to the woman who continued to gush about…Rory wasn't even sure what. All she could hear was the sound of her stomach rumbling. She gave the occasional nod and "uh huh" to make it appear she was paying attention until Lane returned. "This was all I could scrounge up." The plate contained a crostini with some bright green spread that she vaguely recalled from the meeting with the caterer, was supposed to be mashed spring peas. There was a couple of cucumber and salmon slices, and a piece of fried asparagus.
Rory grumbled sadly. There wasn't a single thing on that plate that looked even remotely appetizing. "But the bacon wrapped shrimp," she bemoaned.
"Oh, it was delicious," the nameless woman raved. "I'm sure there must be more somewhere."
"All gone." Lane's face scrunched up in an apologetic grimace. "I think there were some cheese cubes and fruit still left at the charcuterie station that they haven't cleared yet. I can go grab you some."
"Yes; cheese please," Rory pouted.
Lane disappeared again and returned with several hunks of cheddar and gouda, along with a few slices of salami. Rory's stomach churned appreciatively. She grabbed a toothpick speared a piece of cheese and was just about to pop it in her mouth when the wedding planner appeared.
"Oh, thank god, there you are. It's time for the wedding party entrance." She took Rory's plate and set it aside, grabbing her hand and pulling her away. Rory let out an audible whimper as her snack faded into the distance.
The planner lined them all up and had everyone enter the reception hall in pairs. "And now, for the very first time, I introduce, you to the new Mr. and Mrs. Huntzberger," she heard the MC announce. She almost didn't realize he was talking about her until the wedding planner shoved her through the door. She took Logan's hand and tried to parade in with as much zest and enthusiasm as she could muster in her currently starved state as she made her way to the table at the front of the room set up for them and the rest of the wedding party.
They took their seats to continued applause, but Rory wasn't interested in that; all she was interested in was food. "Bread!" she cheered, immediately grabbing for a roll from the basket in the middle, tearing off a piece and stuffing it in her mouth. She heard Logan chuckle next to her.
"No laughing!" she scolded. "Your bride has not been fed all day. I need sustenance."
Rory stuffed another piece of bread in her mouth. "I'm just saying, you might want to take a second to swallow there, Ace." We have to get up and give our welcome speech in a minute and talking with your mouth full might not be the kind of first impression you want to give."
Rory huffed and swallowed the glob of carbs in her mouth, washing it down with a sip of champagne. "Fine, let's get this over with. The sooner we do, the sooner dinner comes."
A moment later, the MC walked over with a microphone. "Welcome," he announced. "If everyone could take their seats, it's time to hear from the happy couple themselves." He handed over the mic and Logan took it, standing up and ushering Rory to do the same.
"Welcome," he announced, preparing himself to deliver the necessary amount of schmooze to be convincing. "Rory and I are so glad all of you could make it here today. This process has been a whirlwind, but we just couldn't wait to get married and to share this day with all of you. I want to thank my mother, Shira and Rory's grandmother, Emily for all the work they did to make this come together so quickly. I'd also like to thank Rory's mother Lorelai and her father Christopher for all of their support, and to thank her grandfather Richard for his blessing of this union. If my father were here today, I know he would be just as happy to welcome Rory into our family as you have been to welcome me. To every member of the bridal party," he turned to his right to point out each of his groomsmen, "Colin, Finn, Josh," then to his left, "Lane, Paris, and of course my sister Honor, your encouragement and friendship means more to us than you can imagine. There are so many others who made this day possible including each and every one of you, so thank you."
He turned to face Rory. "And Rory…Ace, my beautiful bride. I still can't quite believe you said 'yes.'" That part, at least was true; he'd tried to keep to the technical truth as much as possible in this speech. And it really was a miracle she had agreed to any of this. "I am so honored to have you here by my side, sharing in this with me. I couldn't imagine asking anyone else to be my partner for this crazy journey we're embarking on."
Rory listened to him go on, amazed at how he could manage to weave such a romantic sounding story without telling a single lie…well, okay the part about thanking his mother and her grandmother may have been a little less than sincere. And she wasn't sure about the part about his father either, though she could only hope it was true. Mitchum Huntzberger's approval would be a dream come true for a journalist like her. But anyway, the speech was impressive. She shouldn't be surprised; he was a wordsmith; it was in his blood. He spoke some more about how his parents and her grandparents had been long time family friends and joked that his only complaint was that their families hadn't introduced them sooner, though admitted that was probably his own fault for always finding excuses to get out of as many family gatherings as possible.
"And so, let us toast to this grand adventure that is marriage." He concluded, holding up his champagne glass. Rory did the same, clinking them together and taking a sip. "Now, please enjoy your dinner, the appetizers should be coming around as we speak and the waiters will be taking your orders for the entrée." There was applause and just as Rory and Logan were about to take their seats again, the applause gave way to the sound of silver on crystal. The noise grew louder until almost everyone was banging their spoons on their glasses.
"I think the masses demand a show," Logan whispered, giving her a smirk and a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.
"Seriously?" Rory complained. "I'm the bride, aren't I supposed to be the one demanding things."
"That's just what they want you to think. The truth is, you're just here to entertain the crowd." Rory huffed, but leaned in to give Logan a peck on the lips and the ruckus in the room settled down
"That was lame, Ace," Logan teased. "I know you can give a better performance than that." The truth was, she wasn't a bad kisser. The demonstration at the altar proved that.
"The more I give, the more they'll demand."
"Valid point," Logan conceded with a shrug. This wouldn't be the last time that evening that someone decided to bang their spoon on their glass and insist on a kiss. And he probably shouldn't get too used to the intimate gesture. He didn't want to worry about muddying the waters any more than they had to be. The more boring they made the kiss to watch, the less they'd be forced to do it.
They settled into their seats and a few minutes later, a waitress came along and placed a plate of burrata and heirloom tomatoes in front of them. Rory salivated at the mere sight of such sustenance. She picked up her fork, cutting into the soft cheese and letting the creamy goodness ooze over her plate.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Huntzberger?" Rory reluctantly shifted her gaze from her appetizer to the wedding planner.
"Yes, Jennifer?" she asked.
"Your mother-in-law asked me to get you. Apparently she needs you to retake a photo."
Rory's mouth dropped open. She had to be kidding. There was no way. There were eighteen bazillion shots of every single angle of every single pose of every single combination of people in the wedding party. There was no way she could possibly need to retake anything.
"Does this really need to happen right now, Jennifer?" Logan asked, noting Rory's distress. The poor woman was clearly famished…and tired of posing, as were they all. His mother had gone photo crazy. Rory gave him an appreciative look.
"Apparently there were some issues with the lighting of the pictures of you and your father in the Garden Court. She wants to get them now while everyone is eating, and the court is empty. Once dinner's over, guests will start congregating out there again."
"There was problem with the lighting of just me and my father? Out of all the photos that we took in the same lighting in the same place? And we're just figuring it out now?" Rory asked skeptically.
"I'm sorry," Jennifer cringed. "I'm just the messenger."
Logan looked at her sympathetically. He was sure his mother did this specifically so that no one but Rory could step in and take care of it; she lived to create problems. "Do you want me to go talk to her?" he asked. Though he wasn't really sure how that would help; his mother never listened to anything he said before in his life.
Rory sighed. "No, just let me get it over with so I can come back and relax and enjoy my burrata." She pushed her seat back and headed out of the ballroom to complete what should have been a five-minute task—at most.
Thirty minutes later, she finally returned to her seat. "Where's my cheese?" she asked with a pout.
"Sorry," Logan made a remorseful face. "I tried to save it, but they insisted on clearing it away. You also missed the soup. But there's salad."
Ugh, salad, of course. The most boring course of them all. But alas, it would have to do. She picked up a fork and was about to dig in when something purple caught her attention. "Is that a beet?" she asked.
"Umm," Logan looked down at their plates. "Yes."
"There weren't supposed to be beats in the salad."
"Well, can't you just eat around it?"
"No. I'm allergic to beats."
"Oh." Logan didn't know what to say. If there was one thing he had learned about Rory in the last few months, it was that the woman liked to eat. And this food situation was getting to be a folly of farcical proportions. Maybe he could flag down one of the catering staff and get them to bring her a beet-less salad? But by the time they made it, they'd probably be ready for the main course. He could ask them to bring the soup back out, but it was probably cold by now.
"Hey," he heard a voice say. He looked past Rory to her Maid of Honor sitting next to her. "I'm going to go find you something to eat," Lane told her. Thank God. No offense, but he didn't feel like spending his entire fake wedding day tracking down food for his fake wife. Well, technically he supposed it was time to admit she was his real wife, but it was better if he continued to think of her as his fake wife. And physically providing food was a real husband's job.
A few minutes later, Lane returned empty handed but for another basket of rolls. Rory didn't seem that thrilled, but they were already starting to clear the salads anyway. That meant they just needed to get through the Best Man and Maid of Honor speeches, and the entrees would be on their way. And he knew for a fact that Colin had just barely managed to scribble down a page and a half of hand-written stream of conscious two days ago; a couple quick digs at Logan's expense and he'd be done in five minutes, tops. Hopefully Lane would keep things short too. Then, once Rory got some steak into her, everything would be fine.
Or it would have been fine. Except that less than five-minutes into enjoying her filet, a commotion broke out over by the bar. Apparently, Finn had made the mistake of hitting on Paris and she decided to handle the situation with a swift knee to the groin.
Once Paris was sufficiently deescalated and Finn was set up with an icepack and a double of scotch, Rory and Logan returned to their dinners. Rory managed precisely one scoop of lukewarm truffle mashed potatoes before the band paused and the MC's mic squealed on.
"I hope you have all enjoyed your absolutely divine dinner. I swear, I have never had a more tender, juicy rack of lamb. It was heaven on a plate. And now that we've all eaten ourselves silly, it's about time to get up and work it off. But before the rest of you hit the dance floor, I'd like to welcome Rory and Logan for their very first dance as husband and wife."
"Nooooo," Rory groaned. "Whhhhhhy? What does it take to get a girl some food around here? I mean really, with all the money we spent on catering we should have been able to feed a small country. And all I'm asking for is one lousy steak." Logan could only imagine her frustration. He himself had barely gotten to eat his entrée and was feeling a little cheated too. But at least he'd had the other courses.
"Look, just take a few more bites," he suggested, "It's our wedding, what are they going to do? Start the first dance without us?"
"I guess," Rory sighed, cutting a piece of her steak. But the band was standing there with their instruments at the ready making Rory feel like everyone was watching her sit there and eat. And then, suddenly, Emily and Shira were behind them, pulling out their chairs and ushering them out of their seats.
"Your guests are waiting," Emily scolded. "Honestly, haven't we all had enough food already as it is?"
With a disgruntled sigh, Rory let herself be led onto the dance floor with Logan as the first strains of Moon River, emanated from the guitarist. Logan put his left hand on her waist drawing her close, Rory resting one hand on his shoulder, and their free hands grasping each other's as he started to lead her expertly across the dance floor. Rory had taken a couple dance lessons when she had her coming out party at 16, but she had thoroughly sucked no matter what Miss Patty did to try to change that. There had been a few more dance lessons leading up to the wedding which went a little better. But somehow, in the moment, none of that seemed to matter. Logan led, and she followed, her feet just seeming to know what to do without any input from her head at all. He twirled her in a circle, which probably wasn't the best idea considering her insides were currently being eaten away by a buildup of hydrochloric acid. She pushed down the uncomfortable gurgling as she settled back into his embrace. "So," she said.
"So," he repeated.
"We're married."
"That we are."
"I just…it still seems so surreal. Like this is some drug fueled, Alice in Wonderland, fantastical dream full of everything from a harried white rabbit to a ruthless Queen of Hearts."
"Finn is definitely the Mad Hatter…and Colin is the Caterpillar smoking a hookah."
"I would have to concur with that sentiment."
"Well, as your white rabbit, I promise to be a better guide through Wonderland than what Alice got." He dipped her for good measure and Rory felt her stomach flip.
"Why did you choose me anyway…to be your Alice? Why pick me to lead down the rabbit hole?"
"Why did you say 'yes'?"
"Well, no other rich, handsome men were offering."
"So, you think I'm handsome, huh?" he teased, still ignoring her question.
Rory cocked her head to the side, pretending to appraise him for a moment. "Ehh, on a sliding scale, I'd give you a B+"
"Ouch, that hurts, Ace."
"Oh please, you've done way worse than a B+ in your life."
"Yeah, but it's the sliding scale thing. I mean, who exactly is my competition here?"
"All my other husbands, of course."
"Of course," Logan chuckled.
"Really, though," Rory asked, getting serious again. "Why did you choose me? You had so many choices. So why?"
Logan shrugged the shoulder Rory was holding onto as he continued to guide her around the floor. "You're special."
Rory's face scrunched up in confusion. Was that a compliment? "Special? Like stop eating the paste special?" she asked for clarification.
"You are beautiful, you are intelligent, you are incredibly interesting. You are definitely wife material. And honestly, we're kind of a perfect match on paper—our backgrounds, our interests, our sparkling wits," he smirked at that. "But we also both know what we want from this. And it's not a marriage. You may be wife material, but that last thing you want is to be a wife. And the last thing I want is to be a husband. It's just a means to an end for both of us, but I think we can be friends. Real friends. And partners. I can't believe there's anyone else out there who could be all those things."
Rory took a step in closer to him and gave him one of the first genuine smiles she'd had all night. "I think we can be friends too," she admitted. She actually enjoyed spending time with him, though it had mostly been limited to time spent also in the company of family members bakers, musicians, and florists. They'd had almost no one-on-one time to get to know each other for real. Still, the way they seemed to have each other's backs with their families made her trust him.
The song finally came to an end and Rory thought maybe, just maybe she'd get a chance to sneak back to her plate and get a few more bites of food in. But alas, as soon as Moon River came to an end and the guests were invited onto the dance floor, Rory found it impossible to escape. Honor and Josh, Lane and Dave, Paris and her fiancé Doyle, as well as Colin and Finn and the two women they were clearly trying to hook up with, all surround her and Logan, creating an unescapable dance circle. By the time she had a chance to break free, her father was being called on to the floor for their father daughter dance. She made it through the sentimental Paul Simon tune Father and Daughter. But by the time she left the dance floor to let Logan and Shira have their moment to Stevie Wonder's Sunshine of My Life, her food had once again been disappeared by the wait staff. Once she was invited back to the dance floor, she tried to distract herself from her hunger with champagne and dancing. She deserved to have something of a good time tonight for all crap she'd put up with the get here. And there was going to be cake eventually—right? At first she'd been against the whole smashing the cake into her face thing, but now she was a hair's breadth away from telling' Logan to go for it, because at least then she was guaranteed some food would make it into her stomach.
The band stopped playing and Rory looked at her watch. It was 9 PM, which meant the band was schedule to take a break while other wedding festivities took place. She just needed to make it through the garter toss and the bouquet toss, and then it would be time for cake. She still didn't know how she'd let herself get talked into the garter tradition. Logan may be her husband now, but that was a little closer to the goods than she was entirely comfortable letting him get, especially in public. But at some point, she had agreed and it was a little too late to turn back on her decision now. It was printed in the programs; everyone was expecting it. Plus, the MC just set a chair in the middle of the floor and called her to it. Meanwhile, the waiters were passing out small bowls of sorbet prior to the cake—a palate cleanser, it had been explained at the meeting with the caterer—yet another course she was finding herself not privy to at her own wedding.
Rory hesitantly took a seat in front of Logan. "Don't worry, Ace, I'll be gentle," he smirked in a way that somehow made her more nervous, and more at ease at the same time.
"Jackass," she whispered back at him.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, let's get it oooon!" the MC announced. Logan kneeled down in front of Rory suddenly wondering just how he was supposed to get anywhere near her with the sheer bulk of her skirt. But Logan was nothing if not a skilled undresser of women. He had yet to find an article of woman's clothing he couldn't get under, and he wasn't about to change that now.
Rory leaned back slightly in her seat, scooting her butt forward and sticking out her leg in hopes that it would make things a little easier to find. He pushed up the layers of tulle, trying to confine the action to one side of the dress and keep Rory as modestly covered as possible. His hands slid up the calf of her proffered leg and he was presently surprised by how smooth and soft it was. Her calf curved enticingly as he made his way up to her knee, pushing the skirt higher still, until his fingers were fondling a band of lace embroidered with pearls and strung with a blue, satin ribbon. Dear god, his wife had killer legs. He'd only known her since the fall, so he'd never really had a chance to admire them in all their glory before, let alone up this close. Not to mention that he hadn't been up close with any woman's legs in months. Despite his and Rory's agreement to an open marriage, they'd both established that said agreement wouldn't commence until after the wedding. No matter how careful they were, there was always some risk of getting caught, and either of them seen cheating before the wedding, would surely derail the whole deal. So yeah, maybe his body was having some unsolicited feels at the sight of his wife's gorgeous leg wrapped in sexy lingerie. But then again, would he really be much of a heterosexual man if it wasn't?
He wrapped his fingers around the garment, admittedly drawing things out just a tad more than necessary. He tried to convince himself it was all for the show…to increase the drama. He dragged the garter down her leg at a glacial place before slipping it over her heel and off her foot. The crowd cheered as Logan held up the item, twirling it ostentatiously on his index finger. Rory blushed brightly and buried her face in her hands.
The single men gathered on the dance floor as Logan continued to ham it up for the masses. Once everyone was in place, Logan turned around and threw the lingerie backwards over his head into the crowd of men. Rory watched them scramble, but Logan's toss had skewed left away from the most passionate (aka drunk) bachelors and Lane's boyfriend Dave easily took the prize. Rory smiled at that. She wasn't a believer in superstitions, but she really hoped this one came true. Lane and Dave's relationship had continued to grow over the last few months, and she knew her friend was in love. And there were some extra perks for Lane associated with actually tying the knot. Rory wanted all of that for her best friend.
Next came the bouquet toss. Rory did her best to try to match the energy in the room, but Logan was always going to outshine her in situations like this. She tried to come up with some creative or original way to spice up the tradition but in the end, it was a rather mundane bouquet toss; the flowers being caught by one of Logan's cousins she couldn't remember the name of—he had eleven of them after all. Not to mention all his aunts and uncles and second cousins; the extended family was extensive indeed. Whatever, Rory was just glad to have it over with; mostly because the cake was next and there was no way she wasn't getting some of that cake. The whole tradition centered around her and Logan feeding it to each other.
The massive, five tier cake was rolled out. (Rory knew for a fact there was an entire second cake still in the kitchen as even the monstrous sized pastry before them would only feed a little over 200 people. The cake was decorated in ivory frosting with intricate fondant detailing, pearls, and dark red roses. Rory would have preferred something more streamlined and modern, of course, but once again, this wedding belonged to Shira and Emily far more than it did her, and they were obsessed with the icing art. Besides, Rory was far more interested in how it tasted than how it looked. She and Logan approached the cake and the MC handed her a knife. Logan came up behind her, his front pressed up against her back as he wrapped his hands around her knife wielding one and together they sliced into the dessert, revealing the dark red velvet cake and layers of cream cheese filling within. Her mouth began salivating at the mere thought of eating it. She was so close to having actual food in her stomach. They finished cutting and plating the slice and Logan took a fork, digging into it and scooping some up to put in Rory's mouth. Her eyes rolled back at the taste of the moist, sweet, decadent treat. She took a moment to really savor it before taking the fork herself and scooping up a piece to feed to Logan. The guests once again cheered and the cake was rolled away to finish slicing and serving it.
Rory took the plate, commandeering the rest of the slice for herself and heading back to her seat to enjoy it.
"Rory, Dear," Rory looked up at the sound of her grandmother's voice.
"Umm, yes, Grandma?" she asked.
"Come along, we need to go get you changed into your exit outfit."
"My…what?" she asked. What the hell was an exit outfit. And why didn't she know about it until just now? She was pretty sure she would have remembered trying on and buying another insanely expensive outfit. Was she just hallucinating as a result of starvation? Because she'd barely had about an eighth of this piece of cake before she was interrupted.
"Your exit outfit," Emily repeated as thought that would clear it all up.
"What is an exit outfit?"
"It's what you exit the wedding in, of course."
"But why don't I exit the wedding in my wedding dress?" she asked, quickly shoving another bite of cake into her mouth.
"Don't be ridiculous, Dear. Wear your wedding dress out of the wedding? What if something happened to it? It could get stuck in the door of the limo. Or dragged in muddy snow. And it's much too complicated for Logan to get you out of later. Do you really think he wants to waste all that time unbuttoning your bodice?"
"Umm…" there really was no polite way to tell her grandmother that Logan would be in no rush to get her out of her wedding dress…or any other clothing she wore. "Okay, but do we have to do it now? I mean…" she looked down at her plate, "cake."
"There will be plenty more cake where that came from," Emily insisted. "The photographer is leaving soon, so we need to get you changed so he can get some shots in before he goes. Plus, it will take time to properly pack away your gown. Come on, up up, up…"Emily pulled her chair back and shooed her up, leading her away from her cake and back towards the dressing room where Shira, her mother, and an attendant were waiting with her grandmother's stylist, Miss Celine, a woman so old she'd dressed Jackie Onassis and mistook Rory for Audrey Hepburn every time she saw her.
There was a single rack of cocktail dressed ranging from ivory to champagne in color. The attendant started unbuttoning the pearl buttons along the sheer back of her wedding gown as Miss Celine started pulling a few dresses off the rack and holding them up get a gauge of what would work best.
"Oh, I know," Lorelai shouted excitedly after Rory politely turned down her third dress. Lorelai ran to the suitcase she'd helped Rory pack for the wedding night, unzipping it and pulling out a white, valor jumpsuit with the word "bride" embroidered on the ass. Rory laughed hysterically while Emily shot her daughter a dirty look.
"How…modern," Shira sneered.
The attendant finished undoing the dress and slipped it off of Rory leaving her in nothing but her nude, backless, strapless body suit and slip.
"I guess not," Lorelai lamented, putting the sweats back in Rory's bag.
"Here, try this on," Miss Celine handed her an ivory-colored v-neck dress with strands of silver and feathering in the skirt.
"Ooh, pretty," Lorelai gushed at the roaring twenty's aesthetic.
"No, no that won't do," Emily shook her head. "We need something more formal, more…respectable."
They went through a few more options before deciding on a champagne colored wrap dress with cap sleeves, an asymmetric hemline, and rouching. "I have the perfect fur stole to wear over it when you head out to the town car," Emily informed her.
They made their way back down the reception where people had finished eating their cake and were up and dancing again. The cake with still out with freshly cut slices and the caterers were setting out a table with the mignardise. Thank god.
"Hey, there you are…" Logan approached, his face falling in confusion as he took in her new look. "What are you wearing?" He asked.
"Apparently, my exit outfit."
"What the fuck is an exit outfit?" he inquired.
"Exactly my question," she replied as she started to move towards the food.
"Oh perfect, Logan you're here. Over this way, both of you," Shira insisted. "The photographer needs you over by the fountain." At this point, Rory was pretty sure she was going to cry and she was also pretty certain Shira would not be happy if the photographer had to try to airbrush out her tears. She did her best to hold it together while Shira, her grandmother and the photographer posed her and Logan like Barbie and Ken dolls for another twenty minutes until they were called up for their final dance. Rory actually did feel herself tearing up at the point, but she wasn't sure if it was the continued suffering or the relief that the end of said suffering was in sight.
Logan gently guided her out to the dance floor as I've Had the Time of My Life started playing. "It's almost over, Ace," he soothed her as they pushed through this final hurdle. The song ended and the MC announced their departure. Emily hurried over with the stole she had promised Rory and told her her luggage was already waiting for her in the car.
Though this should have been the end of Rory's nightmare, the path to the exit was littered with people stopping them to say their goodbyes. Lane, being the amazing friend and maid of honor that she was, snuck over and shoved a couple of macaroons in her hand that she had gotten from the mignardise table. Her and Logan finally made it out the front door of the Frick and Rory immediately shoved the tiny pastries in her mouth, barely bothering to chew them. Logan laughed as he helped her into the awaiting vehicle, then went around to the other side of the car to get in.
"So," he said as he settled down in his seat. "I take it you had fun tonight?" he teased.
"No offense," she gave him a sideways look, too tired and hungry to fully turn her head. "But I am never marrying you again."