Chapter 9

The following morning was spent lounging around the breakfast table, Finn's sister having finally arrived home late last night. But as it turned out, the woman, dressed in a colorful tunic and her edgy pixie cut highlighting her natural salt-and-pepper hair, was just as much fun as Finn had promised. The fact that breakfast transformed into something resembling brunch, as everyone simply chatted, enjoying the morning sun, seemed no longer that surprising as time passed.

Sylvie had shared dozens of embarrassing details about Finn's childhood, filling in the gaps Finn was yet to tell Gigi about, giving everyone a hearty laugh that echoed over the yard even as far as to the neighbor's. She was still getting to know Gigi herself, but even though she appeared a little skeptical of Gigi's age, she seemed to be accepting Finn and Gigi together, making it a little bit easier for Chris to see that the two seemed oddly to fit.

Logan and Rory had been sitting at the opposite ends of the long table, not intentionally, but certainly subconsciously. Rory was a little offended by Gigi's last suggestion, to be honest. It was something the 20-year-old Rory might've at some point considered, but not the person she was now. Mostly she just didn't want to cause Christopher, Gigi or Finn to get any ideas, so her goal was to play it safe - indifferent, friendly but as distant as politely possible. She'd toned down her outfits too, not wanting to give anyone an impression that she was trying to please him. Mostly all of this just made her feel like a flake; was some old boyfriend all that would still in her age make her act so irrational?

"And you should definitely go check out the sanctuary," Sylvie said, having spent a good amount of time this morning doing what Finn had failed to do in her opinion - giving tips about touristy outings. Finn always knew the underground party spots and anything alternative the city had to offer, any city, but touristy bits - not so much.

"Oh, yes! The koalas are adorable. I must've taken like a thousand pics when I was there the first time," Gigi gushed.

"Yeah, and you wanted to take most of them home with you," Finn commented, causing Christopher to chuckle at his daughter.

"Yeah, Finn, I don't think you count the extra space for all the strays in that new house you're building," Logan commented, having been over to see the construction site in question last night with Finn.

"Hear! Hear!" Sylvie chimed.

"Oh, come on - I'm not that bad!" Gigi replied. "It was one time," she added, following to fill Rory and her father in on the fact that there had been a real case with a kitten that she'd found in some alley. One of her friends had offered the kitten a more permanent home, having a little bit more outdoor space at the time, compared to her.

"But you're right," Logan began, changing the subject. "I've heard great things about the sanctuary. We should check it out," Logan replied, sounding casual. Rory couldn't help but to sense him studying her for response.

Rory knew that while Logan didn't appear as much of a conservationist, he was known to take a genuine interest in such activities and make sizable donations whenever he visited. In part it was surely just good PR, but once-in a while Logan had indeed shared with her how he felt unproportionally guilty for many environmental issues simply because of the family name he'd been born with. So many details about his environmental footprint felt beyond his direct control, having happened before he'd been even born. Even the media had targeted the Huntzberger name once, saying how people like them, the uber-rich, were responsible for the majority of problems out there.

"I'd love to, but I have an appointment for my make-up trial this afternoon," Gigi said, not needing to say that this was all in the preparation for her wedding.

One by one almost everyone around the table had convenient excuses - having to deal with picking up kids, work things and Christopher having already made arrangements to see one of his old friends who'd moved nearby to Gold Coast.

The outcome almost caused Rory to shake her head, finding it utterly ironic. It was not like she had a good excuse not to join Logan, having actually been eyeing the site on Top 10 Things to do in Brisbane herself.

"I… I guess I could go," Rory hesitated, both unable and reluctant to think up fib.

"Well, okay… I guess it's just us two then," Logan exhaled, struggling to hold his smile.

This was the real test, wasn't it? Whether they really could be friends or not. They thought this almost in unison, not realizing that the other was also treating it as a tentative task.

Logan had rented a car, unlike Rory who preferred to just use Uber whenever getting around a new town. But driving on the left side was just too much for Rory, hating how she had to adjust her thinking around to do it, having tried once or twice when in the UK. For Logan, however, it didn't seem to matter, coming from the UK as his Tesla Model S whooshed along the small suburban streets that led them out of Paddington.

"So, you seem awfully quiet… I hope you didn't feel obligated to come with me," Logan said, knowing that Rory at her 'normal' was never this quiet.

"Oh no, just… I was just thinking how I hate left-sided traffic, it messes with my brain," Rory commented.

Logan mused, the statement not quite deserving a laugh.

"You'll get used to it," Logan said.

"Yeah, and then I won't know left from right once I get back to Boston," Rory said, relaxing a little.

"So, Boston, eh?" Logan said, finding it a good conversation starter. Sure, he'd already heard the gist of things. She lived and worked in Boston, but Logan didn't really know much of its depth.

"Yeah. We moved, what - 2.5-3 years ago? Dad has some real estate in town and timing wise it just seemed to fit with my studies and work. Also, there's a bit more to choose from in terms of preschools for Mil," Rory shared, speaking quickly, trying to hide her nervousness.

"It's a nice city. Fenway park, baked beans, ducks, MIT, Harvard… but, boy, mostly I just remember it for freezing my ass off," Logan replied, listing the first half of it quickly and the latter with a smug chuckle, reminding Rory how Logan really was easy to banter with.

"Hello, Mumus and mittens!" Rory said, referring to her favorite clothing items, indicating she had defense mechanisms against the cold.

Logan hated to admit it… but he could almost imagine her all cozy in a big chunky sweater and a big cup of coffee, looking even sexier all covered up than she was in her summery but casual outfit of shorts and T-shirt.

"Do you mind if I ask…," Logan began again, having gotten stuck on another part of her earlier statement.

"Shoot!" Rory suggested.

"Who's the 'we' you mentioned? Are you married? Or is it just you and Emily?" Logan asked. "I just didn't see a ring," he added, feeling like he had to explain.

Rory didn't quite understand what she was feeling - excitement of the fact that he had, in fact, checked her hand for a ring? That he was genuinely curious about her relationship status? And then came a whole other wave of concerns - she wasn't exactly eager to tell him it was Jess, you see.

"I.. um… I'm not married. But I guess the correct way would be to say that I'm involved with someone. But it's a little complicated right now. And yes, he's Mil's dad. We always call her Mil, using 'Emily' was just too weird for me…," Rory explained, nervously, and tried to scatter her nervousness by going on how despite the fact that they had named her daughter after her grandmother, considering it had been so close to the time when her grandmother had passed it had felt just painful and odd to actually call her 'Emily'.

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother," Logan said after listening to Rory's lengthy blabber. He knew better than she thought how it was a sign of nervousness for her.

"Uh-huh… yeah, thanks. It was a long time ago. And she died doing what she enjoyed, she was happy. She went peacefully in her sleep," Rory said, going into too much detail.

"So, this guy of yours - is he a good guy? Or is he just afraid of commitment or something?" Logan just couldn't help himself, and bit his lip. Essentially his interest was innocent, but hearing how some guy had indeed fathered her daughter but not married her, that just made him think all sorts of scenarios about the guy. To his eyes, that was simply not good enough for someone like Rory.

"Oh, wow!" Rory exclaimed with an eye roll, catching on to his sharp comment by its tail without excess politeness.

"I'm sorry," Logan apologized, raising his finger off the steering wheel for a moment.

"And yes, for what it's worth he's a good dad. As for the rest of it - I'd really not rather discuss it. I am just here to enjoy the fact that I'm here and he's over there… and just we needed some time apart," Rory explained, going deeper into the matter despite her intentions.

"Okay," Logan settled.

"And I assume, you and Odette…?" Rory felt the need to even the playing field.

"Uh-huh," Logan replied, though sounding a little reluctant.

Truthfully, Rory just wanted to inquire as to why there were 'not yet' any kids to speak of, but she didn't want to let on that she'd remembered that sentence so vividly. Besides, asking about kids, or the lack thereof, was hardly considered polite these days with so many people struggling to conceive. But she did wonder - wasn't it one of the main goals of this match to ensure the continuation of the Huntzberger legacy?

"But as you can imagine, we're pretty much living separate lives. She has her work, her charities. Most of her family's in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and she lives in our summer house there. She can't stand wintering in the UK," Logan shared.

"You sound so casual about it, when I almost feel like expressing my condolences. It doesn't sound like a very happy marriage, if I were to be frank," Rory said, coming off more brutal than she rationally had wanted to.

"Auch!" Logan chuckled. But on second thought - he came to another realization. "You're serious?" Logan asked.

"What?" Rory frowned, not following what he was asking.

"You actually expected my marriage to Odette to be some scene out of a fairy tale book?" Logan asked.

"No, I didn't expect that. No relationship is perfect," Rory said, speaking from experience.

"But you did think we were in it for the actual real reasons?" Logan said, pulling up in a bus stop at the side of the road.

"Why did you stop?!" Rory inquired, not understanding what he was saying.

"Rory, Odette and I - we're married, yes. We're friends more than anything. But it's a convenience marriage above all. A clever match to combine the two families, our money and influence… but we're only ever just friends. Sure, with benefits… I would even go as far as to say that I love her, but it's not the romantic kind of love. I love her for accepting me for who I am and not trying to change me. And the way we function is to support each other, but that also means that we are not in the way of each other to have our own lives," Logan explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" Rory asked.

"I just thought you knew most of this," Logan replied.

"I don't even know what to say to this," Rory said, being too shocked as to actually hear him spell it out for her, but also this moment and his detail in telling her this. Why did he think it was so vital for her to understand this?

"Ugh…," Logan groaned, running his hand over his face. "I thought you knew this. That it was just an arrangement… that I didn't choose her over you or… I don't even know…," he added, struggling to say it out loud. "I'm sorry - I'm not making my move here, trying to undo something or re-establish something… I am just… just I feel like I just got punched in the face by guilt, thinking how you could've thought Odette meant more to me than this," Logan added.

"Can we just go?" Rory suggested, needing time to wrap her head around this. She was too shocked to hear him say this. She was too shocked to hear Logan communicate his feelings this well; it was almost like in that sense he was a different guy completely. The past years that they'd seen each other, they only barely talked, all they'd ever done was hinted and avoided.

"Yeah, sure," Logan agreed, sighing deeply, and pulled out of the bus stop.