Gilmore Girls: More in the Life

Chapter 10

"I am definitely picking you. There is no contest." Logan held tightly onto Rory's hand.

Rory watched Logan closely. He said the words she wanted to hear but his clouded eyes made her uneasy.

"Why do I get the impression that you're not happy?"

Startled, Logan looked at Rory, worry evident. "What?"

"Your eyes have always been very expressive, Logan. Your lips say you're happy but your eyes tell a different story."

Knowing that it would be better if he laid it all out for her, he told Rory about his relationship with Odette. Familial obligation had reared its ugly head in the Huntzberger family four years before, when Mitchum decided that it would be good publicity for the heir to the empire to marry a woman of means. Scouting prospects yielded Odette, a French heiress, whose father had a similar goal. She and Logan began seeing each other. Despite the plan, it took a lot of prompting for a marriage proposal to happen, mainly because Logan didn't feel right asking Odette to marry him when his heart could never belong to her. Mitchum and Shira didn't care anything about whether love was a factor in the marriage; they merely wanted to ensure their fortune was safe.

Rory recalled the evening they shared at the tango club and Logan's answer when she asked him if he was really going to marry Odette. That's the dynastic plan.

"Did you ever love her?"

Logan shook his head. "Not in the way a husband should love his wife. Don't get me wrong; Odette is a wonderful person. She has a big heart and loves to be of service to others. If you've seen her picture, you know that she is also very pretty. Some have described her as the whole package."

"Boy, based on your description of her, I don't know why you haven't married her yet."

"That's easy: she isn't you." Logan spoke with such conviction that Rory knew he was being truthful.

"When is the wedding?"

"June 18th. When I proposed two years ago, I was adamant we have a long engagement."

"Why?"

Almost sheepishly, Logan answered quietly, "I had hoped to find my way back to you before marrying her."

"And then we ran into each other in Hamburg at that small café," Rory noted, as if reading his mind.

"That we did. The moment I saw you, I felt like it was a sign that you were on your way back to me. Not wanting to lose tabs on you, I happily accepted what you offered with your Vegas-style agreement."

Rory slid closer to Logan, laying her head onto his shoulder. Any apprehension she felt before had melted away and she was able to relax in the knowledge that all was now right in her world. There they sat until Logan's new phone began to ring. He looked at the screen and then at Rory.

"It's Odette."

*****

"Odette," Logan said upon answering. "How are you? Enjoying your time with Eliza, I hope."

"Yes, we are having a great time. It's nice to be back in Paris. I didn't realize how much I missed it. It still feels like home." There was a quality in Odette's voice that made him pause. Logan chose to ignore it for the time being.

"That's because Paris is a beautiful, inviting city. I'm surprised you didn't try to convince me to relocate the family's European office there."

Odette laughed lightly. "It never crossed my mind, to be honest. Probably because it's a short flight so it isn't too hard to hop on a plane and visit when I'm missing the familiarity."

"This is true," Logan said, effectively running out of small talk.

"So, what have you been doing?" Odette asked, sounding more breathy than usual. It was as if she was nervous.

Logan was caught off guard. He clearly couldn't be honest without upsetting the apple cart. "I had something come up so I flew into New England late last night."

"Oh, I hope everything is okay."

"It will be."

Odette chatted about unimportant things for a few minutes more before abruptly telling Logan she had to go. He thought her behavior was a bit uncharacteristic but he wondered if he was projecting his nerves onto her. At least she doesn't suspect anything about my indiscretions with Rory.

Little did he know, Odette knew more than he thought and was now much closer to him—and the truth—than he could have anticipated.