"Logan?" She knocked on his door, the sound of the television making her smile. She reached down and fixed her sweater. She'd put on her favorite one, the one that was dark red and fell off the shoulder. She knew very well it was because of how it made her feel. She knew the red brought out her skin, which had lightened considerably since she'd left Neptune. She left her blond hair down and styled it with the wax stuff Mac had given her, giving her hair a sexy grown up look. She smiled guiltily knowing that he liked it that way best. She wore her long chandelier earrings which brought the attention to her bare neck, and her black slacks. Nice, but not overdone. She didn't want him to feel all stuffy.

"Logan?" She opened the door softly, not hearing his response. She wondered if perhaps he'd left the room and forgotten to turn of the TV. She took a step inside, and froze as she saw the back of him. He was standing tall with his hands in his pockets, looking out over the balcony.

She smiled at the picture before her. She stood there watching him, his dark black coat against the cool white snow. The look of the flakes as they fell upon his head; and tangled with his hair, only to disappear moments later. She closed her eyes wanting to memorize what he looked like, something special for her to keep when he was gone.

She walked quietly up to him and stopped behind him, feeling his warmth, even in the cold outside.

"I've never seen snow like this." He said with a voice full of wonder. She smiled, and grabbed his hand as she led him inside.

"You'll see more of it as the week progresses. Right now, I'm starving." She smiled and her smile faded as she watched his face.

"You look incredible." He whispered as he eyed her and then looked back at himself.

"I've got this black turtleneck and blazer. I hope it's not too underdressed."

"You don't even need the blazer." She smiled and helped remove it.

"Actually, I just use it because I'm cold." He laughed. She rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Ok, well, my coat's downstairs. So, let's go."

She grabbed her black pea coat and laughed as she realized that they pretty much matched, except for her red top.

"Did I tell you that you have great taste in clothes? What happened?" She smirked as she put on her gloves and scarf.

"Trina told me that v-neck sweaters and jeans are ok for high school but that if I dared go into the adult world looking that way she'd disown me forever. So, she took me shopping for essentials and I've been shopping this way ever since." He shrugged as he tugged on his last leather glove.

"You look great in black."

"Think so?"

"Yea, very… James Bond, Johnny Depp, evil Englishman type."

"What?" He laughed and this time she shrugged her shoulders playfully. She felt great. It had taken her an hour or two to get over the initial shock of that afternoon, and to really put together the list of questions she had for him about the new mystery woman. But that would come with time. They had all week. For now, she just wanted to enjoy him.

They arrived at the restaurant and he looked up at the sign swinging above the door.

"The Red Parrot?"

"It's got fabulous food. And, it's right near one of the city's landmarks. So, you get a bit of both worlds. So we'll eat here and then I'll go take you after. Ok?"

"Whatever you say." He smiled and opened the door to let her in.

Immediately, the smell of food and the warmth of the heat made her feel cozy all over. That's what she had loved about this place; all the luxuries of a city, with the feel of a small town. She had felt both afraid, and at home all at once.

"Veronica, honey, how are you?"

"Great Jamie, how are you?"

"Good, good. How's Mac?" She smiled as she looked into the bright blue eyes of the man before her. She's not gonna call you Jamie. She wanted to tell him, Mac was never really interested, but she just wanted to go on a few dates, as something to do while there in Newport.

"She's doing great, last I heard."

"Is she coming up for Christmas?" He asked as he gathered the menus and began to walk them toward their tables.

"I don't… uh… perhaps. I have to talk to her about it."

"Well, tell her to give me a call when she gets here." She opened her eyes widely at Logan who smirked. Then she turned back toward Jamie as they sat down.

"I, uh, I will. I will most definitely."

"Your waiter will be here shortly." He walked away as she sighed loudly. Poor Jamie.

"He didn't even notice I was with you." Logan said with a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Yea, well if you couldn't tell, he was still day dreaming about Mac. Who by the way, is never going to call him."

"I figured." They both laughed as they began to look through the menu. "So… we have three years worth of catching up to do. Letters aren't exactly my idea of communication. You can't always read between lines. Where do you want to start?"

She looked up from her menu as she watched him, still eyeing his menu, and then his eyes came up to meet hers expectantly.

"You didn't think we were only going to talk about me, did you? I'm not really interested in my life Ronnie; I already know what's happening. I want to know what's going on with you."

"What do you want to know?" She asked cautiously, afraid that she already knew where he was headed.

"Well, for starters… what ever happened to that guy? What was his name, umm, Antonio?"

She tried to prevent the uncomfortable shake, but when she looked up; she could tell by his eyes that he'd noticed her reaction.

"We aren't together anymore."

"Obviously Veronica, you told me that. I want to know why. From all your prior letters, you kept saying what a wonderful guy he was, and you two really seemed to have hit it off. Then suddenly, I get a sentence. Antonio and I broke up. You never mentioned him again. I want to know why."

She looked down as the waiter came with two cups of water.

"Hi, welcome to The Red Parrot. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Veronica looked up thankfully, the smiling waitress before her oblivious to the tension at the table.

"Umm, yes. I'd love a Snow Monkey in a Coconut Blizzard and an order of U-15 Shrimp Cocktail." She smiled and looked across the table at Logan's startled expression.

"You want a, what monkey?"

"It's a drink, silly. Now, order."

"Umm… I'd like the Red Parrot Ultimate "1800" Margarita and Steamed chicken please."

"Ok, I'll be right back."

"That monkey drink sounds wild."

"It's warm. It's made with banana liquor, Malibu rum, hot chocolate and whipped cream." She licked her licks and smiled in anticipation.

"Sounds good."

"Oh, it is." She smirked, and looked down as she played with her napkin.

"So, Antonio."

"Look, Logan, don't take this personally, but I don't really want to talk about it." She spit out quickly and looked down, hoping he wouldn't pry any further.

***

He watched her face carefully. Something must have happened, he thought quickly, as he felt the blood begin to boil within him. Whatever the jackass did to hurt her, he would have to face Logan Echolls. And Logan Echolls didn't play games.

"So, you're really going to love the steamed chicken, it's great here." She interjected into their silence. He hadn't realized that he had been silent for so long, simply thinking to himself.

"Ronnie, please talk to me."

"Look Logan, both you and I know, I haven't always had a great deal of luck with men. I've been so involved in this project for the past few years. Then I was in school and I just… I didn't expect things to get serious."

"But they did." He leaned forward, his eyes staring into hers passionately.

"I just wasn't what he was looking for."

"What did he do Veronica?"

"I didn't even want to really get involved, it just kind of caught me off guard…."

"Veronica." He stated firmly and looked down in frustration. The silence sat between them for a few seconds, when he looked back up. Her eyes were downcast, her face serious.

"I caught him sleeping with some lady he met at a bar."

"You CAUGHT him?"

"Yea. As in I walked in and saw them doing it… in my B&B."

"What an a-"

"As I was saying… I didn't want to talk about it because it's all behind me now." She kept her eyes on his. He could see the pain that he knew was lying between the words she'd sent him.

"You deserve better than that Ronnie."

"I think I'm gonna hold off on relationships for a while, just focus on my business." The waitress came and placed their drinks and appetizers before them.

They began to eat, in silence at first. He continued to look up at her, seeing the broken heart the loser had left behind. How had he missed it? He took a deep breath to calm his frustration, and took another bite of the garlic buttered chicken. She was right, it tasted great.

"Veronica… you're 25. You're beautiful, smart…."

"Logan, stop."

"Listen to me. You're beautiful, smart; you've got a successful business on the brink. You're one of the nicest most sincere people I've met. There is no reason why you shouldn't be involved in a good, healthy relationship."

"Yea, well men suck." She looked up and he stared at her for a moment. Then, they broke out laughing.

"That was Mac and the snow monkey talking, so I'm going to ignore that." He smiled as he saw her laugh. Then he reached over grabbing her hand. "Seriously, don't judge the whole barrel because of a rotten few. There is going to be a man out there that will adore you… I promise."

He smiled, knowing in his heart that every word was true. In fact, more true than she realized.

"Well, he better hurry up and get here, my biological clock is ticking."

"Again, Mac speaking. You have to stop spending time with that woman. She's thoroughly affecting you." They both laughed and continued to eat.

Halfway through the meal, in between a long silence, he looked up to see her eyes focused on him.

"What?"

"There were so many times I wished you were here… someone to turn to and embrace. I always felt so alone. Thankfully Mac was never too far away… but without you and Wallace… sometimes I felt like I had nowhere to turn."

"You were wrong."

"I know."

"I'm always here for you. No matter how far away."

"But you won't always be. Now that you're getting married, Logan, I need you to understand that things are going to change between us. She's going to be your best friend now. I don't want to make it all awkward, and put myself in the middle. I'm still here if you need me, but… I'll be at a distance."

"Ronnie…."

"No, that's it. Just leave it. There's no point trying to rationalize it. We will always be friends, but we're grown up now Logan. The days of sleep-overs and late night talks are over. We have to be adults about this now."

"You're the one rationalizing it." He laughed. She had always had a tendency to over-think everything, and try to give it some scientific explanation. There were times when it drove him crazy. This was one of those times; especially because she was right.

"Whatever. Ok, no more of this. Eat." He smiled and continued to eat; enjoying every second of her company, and dreading the day he'd have to leave her.

Once dinner was over, he followed her into the cold, dark night. The air outside smelled slightly of ocean water and the breeze was cool and moist, due to the snow. He smiled, loving the feel of the town, and seeing clearly why she'd love it there.

"Let's go." She smiled as they got into her small, silver Toyota Camry. He laughed as he got in.

"It's so weird to see you driving in the snow."

"Hey, just because I always had Mac drive me everywhere doesn't mean I couldn't drive."

He nodded in amused agreement as they drove into the quiet night. They drove for a little in a comfortable silence as he tried to process their entire conversation. He'd missed a lot, but there was no way he was going to let her suffer alone anymore. Suddenly, her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"This is the University of Rhode Island." She smiled and turned to look back at him. "I transferred here junior year from Hearst. I just wanted something a little more… quaint." He nodded in response. He looked around at the world that had been a part of her life for almost five years. He remembered the last time he saw her, she had just graduated from college. Her stressed out Hearst look was gone. She looked relaxed, and happy. Time had only enhanced that look, and aged it as gracefully as wine.

"We're here." She proclaimed as she began to get out of the car. He got out, and looked around the empty parking lot, and then back at Veronica. Had she lost it?

"Umm… here?"

"Come on." She grabbed his hand. They walked to the end of the small lot, and down some narrow stone steps. Once at the bottom they reached a path which they followed for just a few feet before he saw the sight before him.

The moon was full, and it was shining brightly against the water. The reflection wrinkling as the water swirled. He looked down at the rocky mass below, and around at the snow and the stone path. It was like something out of a movie. It didn't even seem real.

"This is my favorite place in the world. This is the famous Cliffwalk, a landmark here in Newport. It's beautiful year-round, and full of tourists most of the year. But late at night… late at night it's just pure peace." She smiled as she looked up and leaned on the small stone wall. "Isn't it beautiful?"

He looked at her, the way her hair fluttered in the brisk wind, the way her long earrings moved against her scarf. The color of her skin, with the moonlight shining against it was beautiful. He had never seen anything like it before.

"Yes, you are."

"What?" She turned her head in his direction, her eyes looking at him curiously. What had he just said?

"It's incredible." He whispered, and smiled softly, trying to keep his heart under control. He would have to solve this inner conflict soon. Before, it completely consumed him.