Chapter 8

Rory POV

Mom and I were heading home today and I couldn't help but think about my phone call from Finn the other day. He said that he could provide insight into my situation. I wasn't sure how he could do that but I was willing to give it a shot. When I got home I put my stuff away before I called Finn. He told me that he'd be right over, so I headed into my kitchen and started a pot of coffee. By the time that Finn walked through the front door, I was pouring two cups. I sat at the breakfast bar. I slid Finn's cup to him. "How was your trip?" He asked me.

"It was okay. Spent most of the time drunk, talking to mom. Don't know how I actually cleared my head." I said.

"So, your no closer to making a decision?" He asked me.

I shook my head, taking a drink of my coffee. "Why does everything have to be so confusing?" I asked him.

"I don't know, Kitten. But after talking to Colin, something came to mind… your family knew that Colin was coming as your date to events right?" He asked me and I nodded. "Do you think that it's possible that your Dad reached out to Tristan and asked him to reconcile with you?"

I looked over at Finn in shock. "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked him.

"What I mean is, is it possible that they didn't think that anything romantic was going on with you and Colin so they convinced Tristan to reconcile." He said.

"You don't think they would, do you?" I asked him. He shrugged. I thought about it for a minute. In a way it kind of made sense. Logan kept pushing that I break up with Charlie. Dad and Francine kept asking me repeatedly about my dating life. I mean, I clearly wasn't going to tell them anything about me and Colin. And then Francine didn't seem to like the idea of merging with Colin's firm. "I have somewhere that I need to be. Keep your phone close. Might need you later." I told him and he nodded.

We both walked out of the house and to ours cars. Finn headed one direction while I headed the other. Ten minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot, knowing that he'd still be sitting at his desk. I walked inside on a mission. "Good afternoon Miss Hayden." The receptionist said but I walked right past her.

I walked into the office and slammed the door behind me. I didn't care if he was busy. "Tell me that you didn't do what I think you did." I yelled.

"Rory, please calm down." He said.

"No. Just tell me…that you didn't pick up the phone and call Tristan. Tell me that you didn't offered him a position in MY firm as a partner if he reconciled with me. Tell me that it's all in my head and that I'm just imagining that my family went behind my back and conspired against me to try and solve my love life." I yelled.

"Ror, it's not that simple." He said.

I sighed. I was frustrated and getting a headache. I opened his office door. "Marissa, please bring me a cup of coffee." I said before closing the door back. I walked over to the chair in the corner of his office and sat down. "Then explain it to me." I said, calming down a little.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face. "When you left Boston that weekend, I could tell that you were heartbroken. I didn't know what had happened between you and Tristan, but I could tell that the outcome wasn't what you wanted. Then you started showing up to Hartford events with Colin McCrae as your date. Mom was immediately worried…mainly because of his law firm being a competitor. After a while she noticed that whenever it was and event where either one or both of you were invited you both showed up together, she started to wonder if there was more going on there. When she saw nothing but platonic feelings she decided that something needed to be done. She sent me to Boston to talk to Tristan. At the time, he was struggling. He was struggling working for his father; he was struggling with his feelings for you. He and I had a few drinks that night and we talked. After we talked, I offered him a position if he wanted to work things out with you." He said.

"That wasn't your place. God! When is everyone going to butt out of my love life." I said.

He ran a hand over his face and sighed. "I don't like the idea of you being alone all the time. I feel like all you do is work." He said.

"Dad…Yes, I work a lot but my love life is just that…my love life. Yes, things have been screwed up since Logan and I broke up, but Dad, that was years ago. I need everyone to let me figure things out on my own." I told him.

He nodded. "Your right. Do you want me to talk to Tristan?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "No. It's something that I need to do on my own. The only person that I need you to talk to is Grandma. I need her to stop trying to fix things. Also, you need to get her sold on the idea of this merger with Colin's firm. It's a good idea." I told him.

"Do you love him?" He asked me.

I didn't need to ask who he was referring to. "I think that I could. Our relationship has been so complicated that I don't know if it can be fixed. Taking Tristan to my dinner with Colin didn't help any. I actually think that it made it worse." I said, standing up. "I should go. I still have some more people to talk to today." I told him and he nodded.

"I love you kid. I'm sorry about all of this." He told me.

"I love you too Dad." I said before I left.

When I left the firm, I knew where I had to go next. I made the short drive to his apartment. I just hoped that he was home. When I parked my car, I made my way to his front door. I stood there for a good five to ten minutes before I finally knocked. When he opened the door, he looked like shit. "Hi." I said, barely above a whisper.

"Hi. I heard you left town." He said.

I nodded. "I'm assuming that you heard it from my father, since there were only three people that knew that I was leaving." I said.

He looked ashamed. "Do you wanna come in?" He asked me. I nodded.

He opened the door to let me in. He led me to the living room and we both sat on the couch. "I think that we should talk about everything." I said and he nodded. "I know about your conversation with my father. I know about everything that he and my grandmother were trying to do." I looked down. "I'm sorry that you got dragged into all of this." I said.

"It's not your fault Rory. I mean sure, they initiated things…but the feelings were there…and they were real." He said, causing me to look at him.

I nodded. "I know that, believe me I do. I just wish that they'd leave my love life alone." I said, quietly.

He reached over and grabbed my hand. "Look, Rory, I've had years to really think and process my feelings for you. I'm not proud of the way that I handled things before your trip. But I do know, that I love you and that I want to build a life with you." I looked up at him shocked. "If you'll still have me." He said.

I sat there and thought for a minute. I was so sure of my decision on the drive here, but listening to his words…I wasn't so sure.

Logan POV

I ran a hand over my face. Everything was so screwed up. Tristan had called me late yesterday evening and told me that Rory's dad and Grandma had conspired to get him with Rory. I felt bad about everything. I'd been encouraging it. I had encouraged everything. Ace breaking up with the ass Charlie (which needed to be done anyway), Tristan pursuing her…only to find out that everything had been instigated by her family. I felt bad for Colin. He'd been in love with Rory for a long time…before she and I even dated.

I was sitting in my home office when I noticed Steph in the doorway. "You okay?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "No. I feel like part of it's my fault. I encouraged it. I supported it. Only for him to tell me that her family instigated all of it. I mean, sure he loves her; but he let her family convince him that going after her was what he needed to be doing. I feel bad for Colin. He's loved her for a long time and I feel like he's getting the raw end of this deal. And there's nothing that I can do about it because we're on the other side of the country." I told her.

"So let's go." She said. I looked at her confused. "Let's get on a plane. Lo, let's go home." She said. Both of us knew it. As much as we liked California, it wasn't home. Hartford was. I nodded.

Rory POV

"Tristan…I can't be with you." I told him after we'd both been quiet for a while.

"Why not?" He asked, looking hurt.

"Despite how I feel about you… you let my family get into your head and convince you what the right thing was. If you'd told me that first night what had happened…I probably could have overlooked it. But you didn't. You let me believe that you'd approached my father…not the other way around." I said.

"Why does it matter? Either way, I packed up my life in Boston and I moved to Hartford…For you." He said.

I shook my head. "You moved to Hartford because of my family and your father. You were looking for a way to get away from him and my father coming to see you, gave you the perfect excuse. That's not how this works." I told him. I stood up and started past him towards the door. He grabbed my hand.

"I really am sorry." He said.

"So am I." I said. I leaned down and kissed his cheek. "We could've been great." I said before I left.