I have no excuses as to why this took me so long... All I can hope is that you enjoy these chapters. I got inspired and I hope you like how this ends... Thank you all for reading and giving me the courage to continue.
Rory looked in the mirror and her gaze automatically focused on the ring that was gracing her left ring finger, the only thing wrong with the image was the missing wedding band but after by the time that night was over that would all change and she could wear it all the time. The month and a half following the wedding had been filled with final book edits on the first book as well as edits on the second. There was so much debate on the release date, but she held firm on waiting till after the New Year and refused the long book tour that the publisher wanted, insisting that she be home as much as possible to be with her husband and son.
It was hard working on book two, reliving those early years when her relationship with her grandparents started and she had so many regrets about how she acted. But conversations with her therapist and Emily helped her work through them and she saw that she was just a kid and couldn't continue to blame herself. While she knew in her mind that everything they kept telling her was the truth, her heart still held onto the regrets, especially since she would never be able to apologize to her grandfather for the way she acted.
But she pushed aside the 'what-ifs' and focused on Thanksgiving, the first holiday celebrated in this house as a family of three and everyone attended. She had to smile as she remembered how lively it was and even her normal staff were given time off to either attend or to spend the time with their families.
There were also the preparations for this event that kept her busy. It was the normal Huntzberger Holiday Gala but with it also being the first event that Logan and Rory would attend after news of their rekindled romance and the birth of Richard, the number of people clamoring for invitations had skyrocketed. Rory, Honor, Emily and Francine worked with HPG's event planner to ensure that everything was perfect. The entire space was to be reminiscent of a winter wonderland and while she had seen the plans for the day, she couldn't wait to see it put together. She had originally planned on spending the day at the venue, but Honor had shown up and whisked her away for the day to go to the spa and while she was reluctant to go, she had to admit that it was what she needed. With a smile she thought about what she found when she returned after getting her hair and make-up done…
Rory returned from the spa and had to admit that Honor was right and she needed that bit of pampering before the circus that would take place that evening. As she walked into the living area she had to smile as she heard Logan's voice and then saw Richard curled in his arms as he read an email out loud to him.
"I don't know if Ritchie is old enough to understand marketing," she teased as she walked further into the room.
"It's never too soon to teach the riveting subject of buying a publishing house," Logan deadpanned. "Dad is looking at buying one in Philly and sent over the specs that I need to review."
"Would you need to go see it?" she questioned as she sat down next to him and placed a kiss on Ritchie's forehead and then another on Logan's cheek.
"I don't think so," he answered as he placed the phone down and then kissed her on her lips taking in her perfectly done up hair and make-up. "It's just preliminary now, looking at authors and stuff to see if it is viable option for HPG. If we decide to move forward, I may need to make a trip but that is months away."
"Okay," she sighed as she leaned slightly back. "I was just hoping if you had to leave it wouldn't be too soon after the announcement."
"Definitely not," he answered. "I don't want to leave you alone while this is so new. And I want to enjoy our newlywed bubble for as long as possible."
Before either of them could say more, Ritchie let out a small cry and Logan chuckled. "I think he is hungry."
Rory reached over and took him before adjusting to feed him. While she mostly pumped now sometimes it was easier to breastfeed like at this moment. Logan watched them in awe, it always amazed him to watch Rory feed their son. After a few minutes Logan got up and grabbed her a cup of water and Livy had already made a pot of tea for Rory, so he brought that out to her as well. Rory thanked him and as soon as Ritchie was done eating, Logan took him to burp him.
"Ill take him so you can shower and get ready," she stated as she took Ritchie back.
"You look stunning by the way," he replied and stood but leaned down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. "You have a surprise in the closet."
"Logan!" she exclaimed but he just chuckled and walked away.
That surprise was the stunning ice blue creation that she was wearing. . It was a pale blue, that almost looked white, and boasted a sweetheart neckline. It was held up by silver and pale blue lace and gem straps that moved down the gown to form an overlay on the pale blue. As she studied the lace, she noticed it featured an intricate floral pattern that got heavier on the bottom of the gown. It was stunning and she couldn't stop staring at it.
Logan watched her as she studied herself in the mirror and he was amazed again that she was finally his. The weeks after the wedding had been a blur for both of them. He was trying to settle into his new company role and she was trying to finish her edits for the first two books of the series. Despite how busy they both were he tried to make sure he was home for dinner each evening. A smile crossed his lips as he thought back to just a few days prior when he managed to get off work early.
It had been a long couple of days but he managed to get everything done early that day. He had debated on trying to take Rory out for a nice dinner, it had been awhile since they had gone out to dinner anywhere. But when he walked through the door, he heard Rory's voice and walked into the kitchen and was shocked to see her in the kitchen with Livy as she was learning how to cook something.
"What do we have here?" he questioned as he leaned up against the wall looking at the scene in front of him.
Rory frantically looked at the clock and then back at him. "You're not supposed to be here yet!" she exclaimed as Livy tried to disguise a laugh.
Logan walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Hello to you to my love," he laughed. "And hello to you Livy, what smells so good?"
With a small laugh, Livy gestured to the pot on the stove and then looked at Rory. "I am sworn to secrecy. Rory wanted to cook you a surprise."
He cocked his eyebrow and looked over at Rory, but she quickly moved out of his grasp and moved to push him out of the kitchen. "You, leave," she huffed. "Go play with Richard."
"Fine, fine," he laughed. "I'm leaving." He paused and then placed a soft kiss on her lips before he walked out of the kitchen with a large smile on his face.
Logan walked out of the kitchen and then made his way up to the Richards room where he knew it would be taking a nap. But as he walked towards the nursery, he paused to look at the pictures that Rory had painstakingly gone through to decorate the entire house. There were photos from college, the Vegas days and most importantly ones from when they finally got on the same page. His favorite stood in the middle of an 'art wall' and it was the very first picture of them together, the jump. Hearing Richards' excited squeal broke him out of his trance, and he resumed his walk to the nursery to be greeted by his son. As soon as Richard saw him another excited squeal erupted, and Logan let out a laugh as he walked over and took the child from Patty, their nanny. It took an effort from almost everyone, including her therapist, to convince Rory to hire a nanny. She still held the thought that she didn't want her son to be raised by someone else, but her therapist pointed out that even she had hired a nanny for her child so that she could work, and it didn't make her less involved in her kids' lives. It was also pointed out that lots of families put their kids in daycare and even though Rory worked from home, she still needed to be able to focus on her writing and having a nanny enabled her to have those uninterrupted hours. They had interviewed many people until they settled on Patty, a 50-year-old woman that was recently widowed. She had three grown children and had worked as a teacher for 20 years but after her husband's death she had moved to Hartford and moved in with her oldest daughter. While she didn't need to work, she had decided to nanny part-time and after meeting Rory and Logan agreed to nanny for them full-time.
A while later Rory found her two favorite men sprawled on the nursery floor and Logan tickled Ritchie's belly and played with him. "Dinners ready," she laughed as Ritchie grabbed hold of Logan's hair causing Logan to let out a slight groan. Walking over she detangled his hair from the baby's fingers and then picked him up as Logan moved to stand.
"I don't think I will ever get used to his grip, or the yanking," Logan huffed and then placed a soft kiss on Rory's forehead.
"Oh yeah," Rory agreed with a laugh. "Keeping mine up doesn't work anymore and him yanking at it while its up just hurts worse."
Patty smiled as she walked into the nursery and saw the lovely couple. "Here let me get him," she stated as she walked over to take him from Rory's arms.
"I thought you had gone for the day," Logan said in shock when he saw the nanny still there since usually, she left after Logan had arrived home.
"Not tonight," Rory told him as she started to pull him from the room but paused to thank Patty for staying late. "I asked her to stay late so we could have a little date," she continued and then led him to the small sitting area in their bedroom where a table was set up with a candle and two plates of food were covered waiting for them as well as a salad.
"It smells amazing," he told her and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"No funny business," she told him as she swatted his roaming hands away from her body. "I worked hard on this."
"Okay, Ace," he replied but placed another soft kiss on her lips. After they finished their salads, he removed the cover from the dish and took a deep breath. "Ossobuco," he murmured as he looked up at her.
"It's the dish that you ate the first time that we went to dinner, just the two of us," she replied with a blush. "You told me the story about how you had attended a boarding school in Switzerland and one of your roommates was from Milan and how he invited you to go spend fall break with him because you didn't want to come to the states…" she trailed off. "It was the first time that you ever gave me a glimpse into who you truly were."
"You remembered," he asked in awe.
She nodded and gave him a soft smile. "As I was writing I started thinking back on all our memories and this stood out to me, and I knew I wanted to learn to cook it for you. It's probably nowhere near as good…"
"I am sure it is amazing," he replied and lifted her hand to place a soft kiss on it. They ate their meal and reminisced about the adventures that they had while they were at Yale. Logan was right, it was amazing, but Rory knew it was only because of Livy.
After they finished the meal, Logan proceeded to take her to bed and showed her just how much he loved the surprise.
He was brought out of the memory by Rory's voice.
"You okay there?" she questioned when she noticed Logan in the mirror, looking lost in thought.
"Yeah," he answered as he walked over to her with just a towel tied around his waist. "Just thinking about that surprise, the other night," he stated his voice slightly husky with desire.
"No thinking about that right now," she giggled. "We have to leave soon."
He chuckled and then stood closer to her, admiring the way the dress clung to her curves. "Do you like it?"
She shook her head no and it slightly worried him before she turned to face him with a large smile on her face. "I love it," she breathed out and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "It's stunning."
"I'm glad," he replied and gently pulled her against him. "I thought it would be perfect on you… slightly bridal but not overly so. I thought it would be fitting for announcing our marriage."
"It is perfect," she answered. "But you need to get dressed," she stated as she looked at his toned chest and shook her head slightly to get her mind off the same things he was just thinking of. With a laugh he walked into the closet to put on his tux that had a matching ice blue tie and pocket square.
As Logan walked out fully dressed he noticed Rory looking at her jewelry trying to decide what to wear. "As stunning as you look, I feel like you are missing something…" he stated and she turned to look at him questioningly, and he walked over to her with a box in his hands. Her breath caught when she saw the pair of diamond and pale blue sapphire earrings that formed a flower that matched the designs in her dress as well as a matching necklace and bracelet.
"Logan… this is too much…" she breathed out.
He gently shook his head no and moved behind her to put the necklace on and she automatically moved her hair out of the way. "You deserve diamonds," he replied. "You deserve the world, Ace."
"I love you," she sighed as the necklace was clasped into place and she turned to look at him.
"And I love you," he reverently replied as he placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Now we should probably head out before I get sidetracked, and we don't leave."
"Your right," she sighed and after they both finished getting ready, he led her out of the room.
The drive to the club was short and they were swarmed with photographers the moment they exited the car even though they were one of the first to arrive. They stopped to take a few pictures and Logan answered a few questions about how he was excited to announce some of HPG's initiatives in the coming months. Rory was also asked about her book, and she answered that the first would be coming out in the New Year. When questions started getting asked about the upcoming wedding the two both declined to answer and made their way into the venue.
Francine and Emily greeted them as soon as they walked in, and Rory gasped as she looked around the room. While she had wanted to get there early to ensure everything was set up, her grandmothers had insisted they would take care of everything, and Rory knew that it was of no use to argue with either of them.
"It looks perfect," Rory told them as she studied the winter wonderland that they had created. Tearing her eyes away from admiring the room she embraced them both. "Thank you for taking care of this for me."
"Of course, darling," Emily replied as she returned the embrace and then turned to hug Logan.
"This is an important evening for you," Francine stated. "We wanted you to be able to relax since this evening is going to be busy."
Rory let out a sigh at that comment, knowing it was going to be true. The group was interrupted by Mitchum and then Honor and Josh. They momentarily caught up before they needed to start and make their rounds, Logan never leaving Rory' side. He introduced her to the higher-ups in HPG as well as other shareholders in the company. Rory charmed everyone and Logan was proud of the way she handled the questions regarding their engagement. There were a few different additions that were in attendance for the evening. Colin and Finn both willingly attended a HPG event and were accompanied by Robert, Steph, Rosemary, Lane and Paris. Rory and Logan made a point of talking with them for a bit since they would not all be seated together. Unfortunately, the conversation was called to an end as dinner was announced, and Logan led Rory over to the head table where they were joined by Mitchum, Honor, Josh, Emily, Francine and Chris.
There were a few envious looks from some of the board members and executives as sitting at Mitchum's table in the past had always been a way to try and get a leg up but this year there was no one but 'family' at the table. There were also the looks of envy from many of the females that had been interested in trying to get their claws in the Huntzberger heir. While he had never given them an indication that he was interested they still held a sliver of hope. But the hope they might have a shot were squashed as most remembered that he was faithful to Rory in the past and they didn't think there would be much change this time around, especially if the looks and tender touches he gave her throughout the evening were any indication.
The group seemed to be oblivious of the envious looks and instead laughed as they ate a perfectly prepared meal. The first course was a pear salad, followed by either prime rib or chicken in a chicken with a cranberry and balsamic glaze both being served with roasted winter vegetables and potatoes. Desert was a selection of miniature items presented on tiered stands that were delivered to each table and contained chocolate cake with raspberry sauce, crème Brulé, and a selection of cookies.
As the group ate, Mitchum looked around the table and it struck him that this was the first HPG event that both Logan and Honor seemed relaxed at and happy to attend. It wasn't the first time that he realized how dramatically his relationship with his children had changed and he was thankful for it. His musings were cut short when he noticed the desserts be placed on each table and he stood so he could get the speech out of the way and Logan could make his announcement, a genuine smile crossing his lips as he thought about that.
As he made his way to the stage, chatter started to quiet down. Mitchum made his normal speech about the history of HPG and then touched briefly on the ever changing world and how those changes were affecting media. It was then that he spoke about how Logan had been instrumental in expanding HPG with the European operations as well as spearheading digital media initiatives to keep the company relevant. It was then that he called Logan up to the stage.
The audience watched as Logan embraced his father as he joined him at the microphone and then he started speaking about how media was ever changing and how he hoped that with HPG's newest digital media acquisitions they would embrace these challenges and continue to provide the reporting and editorial excellence they had been doing in print to a larger audience. He paused and those around the room politely clapped, and Logan gave a large smile and then looked at Rory and asked to join him and before she did, she slipped her wedding band on and joined his side. The murmurs started around the room, but he continued to speak once she was next to him.
"As HPG steps into a new phase I am pleased to announce that there have been changes in my personal life as well. As most of you know, I am engaged to the amazing Rory Gilmore who is supporting me as I work towards ensuring the future of the company. She is the stabilizing force in my life along with our son Richard. I know many of you are wondering when the wedding will be, and I could not be happier to announce that Rory and I were married a few weeks ago in a private ceremony that was witnessed by family and close friends. We chose to announce it to you all tonight and we hope that you will help us celebrate not only the future of HPG but also our recent wedding." As soon as he finished speaking, he drew Rory to his side and placed a soft kiss on her lips and those gathered burst into applause at the announcement. Rory blushed at the clapping and buried her head slightly into Logan's chest for a moment before looking up at him with a bright smile. They walked off the stage and were immediately ambushed by people all wanting to congratulate the couple. The rest of the evening passed in a blur and Logan was only able to manage one private moment when he pulled her onto the dance floor, and they danced to Moon River.