Odette saw the look on Rory's face and quickly jumped in to reassure her. She motioned to Finn and he gave her his seat next to Rory and moved over between Colin and Robert.
"We are going to find a way around this. Yes, Logan and I were supposed to be married in April, but clearly he has had a change of heart. I have always known about you, you are the girl that tamed Huntz! You are a legend! And when you two broke up all those years, you were his lost love. I have also know about your arrangement for the past few months. I honestly am only a little surprised by this happening now. I knew it might happen at any point. It was as a good friend to me that he offered to help me by agreeing to our marriage." Odette began. "I would never stand in the way of his happiness. I want to be a good friend to him as well."
"As a good friend? Please, I am still missing some parts of this story." Rory stated.
Everyone became somber and a look was exchanged between Robert and Odette. Robert sighed and began to speak.
"Rory, you remember what an asshole I was when we first met?" Robert began.
Rory squirmed a little but gave a small nod. Finn and Colin chuckled.
"About 18 months before I met you, my older brother David passed away. It was a car accident." Robert paused and reached across the table to take Odette's hand. "Odette had been betrothed to David since high school. Our families have always been close. My mother and Odette's had been in boarding school together in Switzerland. Our mothers arranged for the marriage, but only because they knew that Odette and David truly loved each other and both were happy with it. I think David could not believe his luck that Odette felt the same way about him that he did for her." Robert cleared his throat. The emotions were returning from the loss of his brother.
Rory was feeling overwhelmed by this new information, but couldn't help immediately liking Odette. "This is just..." she broke off and waved her hand in front of her face as tears welled up. "I'm sorry. The pregnancy hormones are just crazy. I have very little control over them. Ignore this"
Odette's head snapped back. "Oh! That's it!" She turned to Logan and smiled. "Congratulations!"
Rory realized that Logan had not told Odette about the pregnancy. She immediately regretted blurting it out that way and covered her face with her hands. "Oh my lanta! I didn't mean to spring that on you!"
Odette shook her head at Rory as she rushed over to hug Logan. "You will be a fantastic papa! I am happy for you, for you both! Rory, please understand, I am not angry or upset or what have you. I have been expecting this to happen for months. But Logan! Why did you agree to sign the contract!"
Logan pulled Rory's hands away from her face and held on as he explained to Odette. "Rory and I had decided to end our involvement. After that, it seemed like the right thing to do." He shrugged.
"But it puts you in such a bad position now!" Odette complained.
"What bad position?" Rory asked with a squeeze to Logan's hand.
Logan winced. He had hoped to break this part to Rory privately. "I had agreed first off to pretend to be Odette's boyfriend. Mostly to keep her father from arranging another marriage on her. It worked for both of us, and we have similar interests and enjoy each other's company and it was easy to pretend to be involved so that our parents would stay off our backs about settling down. Odette is a jewelry designer. She is amazing and her work is ... well, it's breathtaking. She wanted to focus on building her design company. I was ... I had no interest in having random women thrown at me by Mitchum and Shira. It worked for both of us."
"But as my 30th birthday started to approach, I began to be pressured by my father to find someone who would marry me, because I am expected to produce an heir for the family. Ayres and Vive are both still single, and happily so. They have no interest in having children. Ayres particularly has been very clear not to expect him to produce an heir."
"Ayres actually had a vasectomy years ago." Robert admitted. "He told David and I about it."
"Oui. I was not aware that you all knew about that. It is his personal choice." Odette shrugged.
"Vive has not been in a serious relationship ever, as far as I know." Finn chimed in. He nudged Colin as he spoke.
"Vive is ... a bit of a free spirit." Colin sighed.
Odette laughed. "Vive is certainly that!"
Logan nodded and continued to explain. "It seemed like a good solution. I would help Odette get her inheritance, and I wouldn't have to deal with the constant match making and pressure from my parents."
"And we are great friends, who would leave each other be except when a spouse or companion was needed." Odette shrugged. "The plan was to marry and carry on with our careers, and to divorce just after my 35th birthday, when I receive the second installment of my inheritance."
Rory nodded as she listened but suddenly she stood up and shook her head. "You know, this stuff isn't normal. I listen to you all talk about arranged marriages, and trust funds and finding ways around the rules of the trust funds and the marriage contracts and in my heart of hearts, I honestly cannot comprehend what you are talking about. Regular people don't get married to fulfill...." Rory's eyes snapped up and met Logan's.
"Dynastic Plans." He finished. Rory walked out of the restaurant without another word.
