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He saw her on 29th and Park, her auburn hair billowing around her face from the sudden breeze. His heart skipped a beat. It had been three days since he left London, and here she was, a vision before him in the New York streets.
A month ago, they had said their goodbyes. This was a sign. It seemed that fate wanted him to say hello to her again.
He was about to call out to her as he came nearer, but someone beat him to it.
From a distance, he could see that the man had dark-blond hair, just like him. He was taller, though, and slightly leaner. He wrapped Rory in a tight hug and they stayed in the embrace just a second too long for his liking.
As they broke apart, Logan could see the delight in Rory’s eyes as she looked at the man before her. Both of them crossed the street to the Starbucks on the other side, arm in arm. Logan stopped in his tracks. He could not follow them. He could not say hello to Rory now. She didn’t even notice him when he was only a few feet away from her.
And she looked happier.
***
It had been two weeks since he saw Rory. He buried himself in his work. It was wonderful to be back in America after that sham of an engagement he had with Odette. He was in charge of the New York offices now.
He loved London, but if his father thought that bringing him back to America was a punishment, well, it wasn’t. He loved New York, too. She was in New York. The knowledge alone that he was breathing the same air as her was comforting to him in a sad, twisted, masochistic sort of way.
He’d taken to going to a pub after long hours in the office. The Dragon’s Den reminded him of London. One night, as he was having dinner and a pint, he heard a familiar laugh.
There she was again, with the same man he saw her with two weeks ago. They were both grinning from ear to ear and talking animatedly with each other, hardly noticing the people around them. Did he and Rory ever look that happy when they were together? They probably did when they were younger, when they were together in Yale; in the past year when they had that ghost of a relationship, he wasn’t quite sure.
The man slid into a bar stool as Rory headed for the restroom. Logan threw some cash on the table and left the pub without finishing his dinner.
He couldn’t face Rory now, not when she had obviously moved on.
***
On Saturday night, Colin and Finn rang him up saying they were in town. He made an excuse of working overtime on a project so he didn’t have to go with them to God-knows-where. In truth, since seeing Rory again with the same guy in the pub, he did not feel like going out.
An hour later, he heard a knock on the door. His mates showed up anyway. They said they were bringing the party to him as they showed him four bottles of Scotch. Although already slightly intoxicated, they noticed he was not in the mood.
That night, he had a heart-to-heart talk with his friends instead. He told them about the two times he saw Rory with another man. They were sympathetic to his plight, just like the last time. Nonetheless, this time, they hinted that maybe he can move on, too, just like Rory did. They told him he could, in time, learn to be happy with someone new.
They left him feeling worse than he did earlier that evening. This time, there was no grand scheme of whisking her away for the night in an adventure.
As he sat in a corner of his old apartment, memories of Rory came rushing back to him. She often visited him from New Haven when she was a senior at Yale, when he had got back from London to work for his father in New York. The walls of the apartment were now painted a different colour and the appliances and furniture were not the same, but he remembered the times they spent together here like they happened yesterday.
There was the time when she tried to throw him a very special 25th birthday party and decorated the place with various themes all at once. There were those days when they would talk about anything and everything in the kitchen, she cradling a big cup of coffee as he was trying to cook a meal for them. There were the nights when they made love to each other, when no one else existed in the world but them.
He grimaced as he finished off the bottle of Macallan in his hand. All those times were long gone, never to be replaced with happier moments in the future.
***
Another two weeks passed, and still, he was not over her. It was pathetic, really. His friends encouraged him to go out on dates. There was an event scheduled for Friday night where the biggest names in the multimedia world would be present. His father had instructed him to go in his stead since he was in China.
He thought about asking a pretty brunette co-worker as his date, just so he could put himself out there. After much contemplation, however, he decided not to. It didn’t feel right. He realised in that moment that he had changed a lot. Gone were his playboy ways. He knew in the back of his mind that it was she who had changed him.
He was going stag.
***
The party lived up to his expectations. All kinds of alcohol and cocktails were available at the bar. Neat little hors d’oeuvre were served in platters. In short, the point of the party was to make you drunk. He was thankful to have eaten a hamburger before making his appearance. None of the food served could satisfy your hunger.
He saw her descend the staircase as he was having his fifth hors d’oeuvre of the night. She looked radiant, her hair coiffed much like that time he attended that Yale alumni party at her grandparents’ house. She wore a blue dress with a billowy skirt that made her look like someone out of a fairy tale, ethereal and beautiful. She took his breath away.
He grabbed a glass of champagne and downed it in one go to calm his nerves. He knew he could not avoid her, not here, not tonight.
“Logan,” someone called out.
He turned around to see Hugo, an old friend.
“Hugo, it’s good to see you again.” They shook hands. “I hear you’re working for Condé Nast now.”
“Two years. It’s been great. And I hear you’re back stateside.”
“Yeah, my father sent me home, it’s a long story. I don’t want to go into the details.”
“It’s all right,” Hugo said knowingly. “Hey, there is someone I want you to meet. You may have a connection with him.”
“Really?”
Hugo dragged him to the opposite side of the room. He glanced back at the staircase, looking in the direction where Rory had gone to, but had she disappeared. Oh well, the reunion would have to wait.
He turned to where Hugo was leading him. Crap! Not him again.
“Logan, I want you to meet Tristan Dugray. Tristan is a member of our graphics team in Ars Technica. Tristan, meet Logan Huntzberger of the Huntzberger Publishing Group.” They shook hands, Logan eyeing Tristan warily. Hugo turned to Logan. “Tristan used to go to Chilton with Rory Gilmore, did you know?”
Oh, he did not know that.
“So, you are the infamous Logan Huntzberger. I’ve heard a lot about you from Mary, Rory to you.”
“Actually, I've always called her my Ace. Funny, she never mentioned you.” He was liking this guy less and less every passing second.
“Excuse me, gentlemen, I believe my wife wants me.” Hugo turned to leave, oblivious of the tension between the two men he just introduced to each other.
“Well, we’ve only been together at Chilton for a little over a year,” Tristan said coolly to Logan when Hugo had left. He shrugged.
“Hey babe, I want to you to meet someone,” a leggy blonde said to Tristan. “Oh, sorry, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”
“Not at all, babe,” said Tristan, kissing the blonde on the cheek. “See you around, Logan. Say hi to Mary for me when you see her. She’s around here somewhere.”
Logan’s hands were tingling. The nerve of him! If his new girlfriend hadn’t rescued him, he would have been sporting a black eye by now. Punching Tristan would have felt good.
“Logan?”
He turned around. There she was in front of him.
“Ace.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle.
“I see you’ve met Tristan.”
“Yeah, what an asshole.”
“You’ve only just met him.”
“I know an asshole when I see one.” He ran a hand through his hair.
She looked at him, bemused, then shook her head.
“What are you doing here in New York?”
“Daddy sent me.” He wanted so much to pull her into a hug then kiss her senseless, but he knew he shouldn’t. He crossed his arms on his chest instead.
“I didn’t know this was part of the dynastic plan.”
“The dynastic plan fell through. Odette and I broke up. She was seeing someone else the whole time we were engaged and her father found out. He wasn’t happy about it, but he gave her his blessing to cancel our engagement. She beat me to it by a few days. I planned to break up with her shortly after I arrived in London from seeing you this autumn.”
He heard her breath hitch.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
He looked at her closely. Her eyes were glistening.
“How have you been?” he said in a gentler tone.
“So-so.”
He shut his eyes in anguish, taking a deep breath.
“Ace, do you want to get out of here?”
She nodded.
“Yeah. We need to talk.”
***
They ended up in a diner a few blocks away from where the party was. They were more comfortable with each other there than in that stuffy event. In no time, they fell into a familiar banter.
“People are staring at us.”
“Well, we are the best dressed couple in here,” he said, mock fixing his bow tie. She laughed. “How’s your cheeseburger?”
“Not as good as Luke’s, but I’m not complaining.” She took a big bite of it.
Logan eyed her with amusement. He popped a fry in his mouth.
“Their chips are good.”
“You should try the onion rings. Crap!” She almost spilled ketchup on her dress. “I should be more careful.”
“Nah, don’t be. I’ll buy you a new dress if you ruin that one. I’ve got an eye for dress sizes.”
Rory looked at him with suddenly serious eyes.
“We really need to talk, you know.”
“I know. We’ll talk after you finish eating.”
They sat together in companionable silence, Rory finishing her burger while Logan was picking at the fries and onion rings.
“Okay, I don’t think I can eat another bite,” said Rory, shoving one last fry into her mouth then taking a sip of her soft drink.
“Whoa, that’s a first.”
“Shut it.”
“How about some pudding?” he asked her, smirking. “Maybe a banana split?”
“On second thought, maybe I’ll have a milkshake. How about you?”
Logan laughed. “I think I’m good. I won’t say no to a sip of your milkshake, though.”
“Fine, I’ll share it with you.”
When the chocolate milkshake arrived, it was finally time to talk.
“So, who’s going first?” Logan asked after he tasted Rory’s drink.
“I have a milkshake to finish, so it had better be you,” she said, stirring her drink with a straw.
“All right. What do you want to know?”
“How long are you staying here in New York?”
“Indefinitely. I’m in charge of the New York offices now. My father brought me from across the pond to keep a closer eye on me.” He shook his head. “He may be hatching another dynastic plan. I won’t fall for it this time.”
“Man, Huntzberger, I wouldn’t know what to do if I had a father like Mitchum.”
“You’re lucky your parents are so cool.”
“Yeah.” She smiled, then became quiet.
“What about you? What are you doing here in New York?”
“Condé Nast offered me a job. I’m a features writer of The New Yorker now, and I’m also a contributor for Epicurious.”
“That’s brilliant, Ace. I’m glad they finally noticed your talent.”
“They did give me that ‘lines’ article before, but I’m glad they offered me something more substantial than that. Now, I get to pitch my story ideas.”
Logan nodded. “Are you working with that Tristan guy?”
“No, we just ran into each other about a month ago. He’s working for Condé Nast, too, but not in the same departments as me.”
“Were you seeing him? Because if you were, I would have you know that he’s got himself a blonde girlfriend now.”
“What? Tristan? No! I’m not seeing anyone at the moment. Tristan and I, we’re just old high school mates, although, he did kiss me once, years ago. It didn't mean a thing. He got shipped off to military school by his father in the middle of our high school play when we were juniors because of some stupid stunt that he did with a couple of his friends.”
“I’m right, then. He’s an asshole.” Deep down, he was relieved that Rory did not date Tristan, both long ago and just recently. Did she say that she was single? She did. He felt better now that he knew.
“He was, but I think he’s less of an asshole now than before.”
“I saw you with him at East 29th St and Park Lane South, then at The Dragon’s Den.”
“What? Why didn’t you say hello?” she asked, wide-eyed. Logan just shrugged. Her brows furrowed. “Wait a second, you’re jealous of Tristan.”
Logan wanted to deny it, but he knew he would not really get anything from it, so he just nodded.
“God, Huntzberger, you really are something.” Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
Logan was bewildered. “I’m sorry, Ace. Hey,” he said, holding one of her hands, “there’s no need to cry.” He rubbed his thumb soothingly on the back of her hand. He didn’t understand why she was crying.
“Logan, I’m the one who should be sorry,” she began, but they were interrupted by the waitress.
“We’re closing up, kids. It looks like you have to continue your party somewhere else.” She disappeared as fast as she had appeared.
Logan put a couple of bills on the table then helped Rory with her trench coat.
“C’mon, Ace, I’ll take you to my place, it’s close to here. We can continue this conversation there.”
***
It was half past eleven when they arrived at Logan’s apartment. Rory had been sniffling the entire car ride back, so Logan did not press her to talk. Maybe she would feel better once he made her a cup of coffee.
“Make yourself comfortable, Ace,” he told her once they were inside his flat.
“This place has changed quite a lot since I’ve been here last,” she managed to say as she sat on the sofa.
“Yeah, it got renovated. You want some coffee?”
“No,” she said quickly. “No coffee for me.”
Logan looked at her oddly.
“Did I just hear you say no to coffee?” He shook his head. “What happened, Ace?”
He noticed that she was on the verge of tears again. He quickly went to her side and offered her a glass of water and some tissues.
“Thanks,” she said after she had a sip of water. She wiped her eyes with a tissue.
“What’s wrong, Ace?”
She took a deep breath. He squeezed her hand for encouragement.
“I’m sorry, Logan. I have something very important to tell you.” She paused, looking at their joined hands. His heart was now hammering inside his chest. She looked him in the eyes. “There is no subtle way to say this, so I’ll just say it.” She took another deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”
The world seemed to crash around him. He couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. He just sat there in a catatonic state. He finally regained his senses after Rory gave him a drink of her water. She rubbed soothing circles on his back.
“Breathe, Logan, nice and easy.”
“You’re pregnant?” he spat out.
Rory nodded, her lips trembling.
Dear God in Heaven! Who was the father? Peter, Patrick, whatsisname?
“How far along are you?”
“Eight weeks.” She could barely speak. Tears started running down her cheeks. He pulled her in an embrace. He couldn’t stand seeing her so sad. He held her quietly for a few moments as she cried her heart out.
Eight weeks. Two months ago. They were together two months ago. Didn’t that little LDB reunion happen two months ago? They had ended up in New Hampshire. They had a perfect night together. He suddenly broke into a cold sweat. Could it be?
“Have you been with anyone else since me?” he asked, not able to hide the quaver in his voice.
She shook her head.
“Ace, does this mean that the baby is mine?” His voice was so soft that he wasn’t sure if she heard him.
“Yes.”
Relief washed over him, enveloping his entire body in warmth. He didn’t realise until now that she wanted to tell him he was the father of her unborn baby.
He pulled her in for an ardent kiss. Her lips were soft and warm against his own. He was drowning in her and he was loving it. After a moment, he reluctantly pulled away from her.
“I’m happy, Ace. This is the best news I’ve had for a while.” He smiled widely at her.
Her eyes were unbelieving, but she answered him with a radiant smile. He gently placed a hand on her middle.
“Hello, little baby Huntzberger. I’m your daddy.”
Rory looked like she would cry again. He couldn’t bear seeing her cry so he kissed her once more, just as fervently as before.
The kiss deepened. They moved to the bed, where they made love to each other tenderly. For Logan, it felt like he was coming home.
Afterwards, as they basked in the afterglow, arms entwined around each other, a sudden thought came to him.
“Marry me.”
“What?” Rory asked, looking up from his chest to look into his eyes.
“Marry me,” he repeated, although he was sure she heard him. “Let’s start a family together.”
“What about the dynastic plan?”
“My father’s dynastic plan? Well, he can shove it. Marrying you, having a family together, that’s my dynastic plan. I love you, Rory. What do you say? Will you marry me, Rory Gilmore?”
She eyed him seriously, making his whole body tremble. Then she smiled.
“Yes.”
“Really?” His eyes almost bugged out of their sockets.
“Yes, really,” she said, laughing as she kissed him.
No words were needed between them after that kiss.
***
“Are you ready to see Paris again after all these years?”
“Does she know you’re pregnant with my baby?”
“Yeah, she’s the one who first suspected that I was, actually.” Rory shrugged. “Sorry. It must be hard finding out that so many people have known about my pregnancy before you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He squeezed her in a warm one-armed hug.
He rang the doorbell.
“Finally back to do your walk of shame after three days, huh,” Paris began before realising that Rory wasn’t alone. “Oh, you’ve brought the infamous whorehound with you.”
“Paris, please.”
“It’s okay, Ace. Hi, Paris, nice to see you again.”
Paris glared at him.
“What are you doing with this hooligan, this milk-thief playboy, Rory? I thought you knew better than to get back with this two-timing manwhore?”
“Paris, you know it’s more complicated than that. Can we come in? It’s cold out here.”
She stepped aside for them to pass but still eyed Logan icily.
“Look, Paris, I’m sorry for hurting Rory, I know she means a lot to you. We’ve made up, we’re together now.”
“Are you going to fall into his trap again, Gilmore? God knows you’ve taken his bait quite a few times.”
“Paris, we’re really back together, for good. Logan’s back from London, he’s based here in New York now. He’s not engaged to another woman anymore.”
“Yeah, in fact, I’m engaged to Rory now.”
“That was fast,” Paris said as she looked at Rory’s left ring finger. “I take it you know you’re her baby daddy.”
“Yes.” He let out a huge sigh. “We’re getting married tomorrow.”
Paris’ jaw dropped to the floor. She was rendered speechless.
“Actually, we came here to ask you for a favour. Well, that, and to take my boxes and things.”
“She’s moving in with me. And before you start berating me again, no, I’m not going to leave her, not ever. I’m going to take good care of her. I lover her, and she loves me.”
Paris was still eyeing him shrewdly, sizing him up. Then, she turned to Rory.
“What’s this favour you’re talking about?”
“We want you to be the witness for our wedding. We just came from the Office of the City Clerk and obtained a marriage licence. We can’t get married until tomorrow, so, I hope you’ll clear your schedule. Please? For me?”
“You’re going to elope? Are you 100% sure about this, Rory? Marriage is a big step, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I mean, look at me and Doyle.”
“We’re sure,” said Rory.
“We’ve talked about it and concluded it’s for the best. If we weren’t so stupid and clueless, we would have gotten married to each other more than a year ago when we met each other in Hamburg,” added Logan.
“What do you say, Paris? Will you be our witness?”
Paris looked from Rory to Logan. She shook her head.
“I think I’m going mad, but if you’re sure, why not? It’s your life, anyway.”
Rory gave a small cry and hugged Paris tightly.
“What are you doing? Why are you hugging me?”
“Sorry,” said Rory as she let go of her, “I got carried away. Thank you!”
“Yeah, thank you so much, Paris,” said Logan with a smile.
“I’m not doing this for you, Huntzberger. I’m doing this for my best friend. I swear to God, if you ever hurt her again, I will hunt you down.”
“I know. I won’t hurt her again.” He said it with so much conviction that Paris raised her eyebrows at him in surprise.
They hammered out the details with Paris then moved out Rory’s things from Paris’ home. They decided to spend a relaxing evening at the flat once they sorted out all of her things.
Tomorrow couldn’t come any sooner for Logan.
***
They got married at the Office of the City Clerk in a simple ceremony that lasted for mere minutes, not the wedding you would expect from the Huntzberger heir and a Gilmore girl.
When Paris said goodbye to them, she got a little teary-eyed and hugged Rory and even shook Logan’s hand in congratulations. Rory smacked him when he commented that he was never sure until that moment that Paris had a heart.
“So, where to now, husband?” Rory asked as they got in the rented limousine.
“You’ll just have to guess, Mrs Huntzberger,” he said mysteriously. “God! I’m so glad you decided to take my last name, wife.”
Rory laughed as they settled down in their seats.
“Are we going to call each other ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ from now on?”
“I don’t know,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose. Both of them admired their matching wedding bands and Rory’s engagement ring, all bought by Logan the day following their reconciliation. “All I know is, you’ll always be my Ace.” He saw the sweet smile on her face before he kissed her tenderly.
***
They spent their wedding night in The Plaza. They ordered room service and made love and talked about their future together. It was another perfect night. When Logan was on the verge of sleep, Rory whispered something to him.
“Just a heads up, Huntzberger, we’re having twins.”
Logan sat up, suddenly wide awake. Then, he gave her the biggest grin he could manage, making his cheeks hurt from smiling.
“Are you sure, Ace?”
“Yes, I got an ultrasound a week ago. You might want to think about finding a new place that’s big enough for all of us.”
“It’s all taken care of. I bought a condo out in Tribeca, it’s undergoing renovations right now, but it should be ready by the time the twins arrive. It’s got plenty of room, it has four bedrooms, actually.”
“Wow, Tribeca, huh? You had to pick the poshest neighbourhood in New York?” Before he could say anything, she added, “I think it’s a wonderful place for the babies to grow up in.” She smiled dreamily at him. He kissed her deeply.
“I’m not sure how long we’ll have to live in New York. For all I know, we might have to move back to Connecticut, maybe Hartford, or even Stars Hollow if you like. I’ll be happy wherever we live as long as I’m with you, and our babies.”
“Me, too.” She beamed at him. “I know the twins are going to be a handful, especially if they take after you, but I think we can handle them,” said Rory, placing her hand over his heart.
“Of course we can,” He placed his hand gently on her belly. “My God, Ace, you’ve made me the happiest man in the world! I love you so much.”
“Right back at you, Huntzberger.” She reached up to kiss him gently. “I love you.”
Rory finally fell asleep in Logan’s embrace. They were going to have to tell their families in the morning and, for sure, there will be some violent reactions on both sides, but they knew that it would be all right in the end, because they had each other.
His final thought before he succumbed to sleep himself was that whatever the future held for them, he knew that he would never have been happier if it were not Rory by his side. She was his best friend, his soulmate, the love of his life.