Keatyn is shaking my shoulder. “Wake up, sleepyhead. We have somewhere to be.”
I look at the clock, noting that it’s nearly one. We didn’t get to sleep until six this morning and I’m still tired.
But the sight of her wearing nothing but my boxers perks me up.
“Are those my boxers?” I tease.
“Maybe,” she says with an adorable smile.
She runs her hand across my bicep. Then across my cowboy boots tattoo, giving me a naughty grin. “We need to get going.”
“Where are we going?”
“A little surprise trip. But I was just thinking . . .”
“What?”
She winks at me, runs into her closet, and then tosses my boxers out the door behind her.
The Titan jumps to attention before I do, urging me to get my ass in there.
I round the corner and find her naked, sprawled across a white furry rug, surrounded by all her clothes and shoes.
I pounce on her.
What else would I do?
Hilly. Lush. Green.
2pm
I take Aiden to the plane that’s waiting for us, praying I’ve timed it right.
The flight is quick and when we land he asks, “Where are we going? Are we seeing my parents?”
“No, we’re not. I have something I need to show you.”
I jump in the Mercedes convertible that I got for my birthday last year.
“How’d your car get here?” he asks.
“I had it brought up here, so we could drive it.”
He narrows his eyes at me, trying to figure out what’s going on, then hops in the car.
It’s a beautiful drive. Hilly. Lush. Green.
Aiden lowers the convertible top even though it’s chilly. “I love the way it smells so clean just after a good rain,” he says.
I make a left turn, winding up the rock path.
“Wow,” Aiden says, admiring the scenery. “It's gorgeous up here. Are we going to get in trouble for trespassing? There were warning signs back there.”
“I don’t think so,” I say, parking at the top of the hill and grabbing a bag out of the car.
I take his hand and lead him toward the spot with the best view.
“You can see the ocean from here!” he says. “And, look, the sun is starting to set.”
I look out at the sky and wonder why I was so worried. I couldn’t have timed it more perfectly.
“What do you think of it up here?”
“It's beautiful,” he says, turning around and taking it in from all directions. The rows of grapes. The hilly land. The view of the ocean.
I hand him a piece of paper.
“A deed?”
“Yes, this, pretty much as far as your eyes can see, is yours.”
“What do you mean, mine?”
“Remember how upset I was when that girl from the club was killed? And I went back a few nights later and danced?”
“Yeah.”
“Things were heating up with Vincent, and I was afraid that . . . well, that I wouldn't survive. I bought this land for two reasons. If something happened to me, I wanted to be cremated and have my ashes spread here. Then the land was going to you,” I say, tears prickling my eyes. “So you would have something to remember me by. It's a working vineyard. Twelve-hundred acres. Already producing high quality grapes. I left you this deed and a letter in my will. Sam was supposed to bring you up here and give it to you. I decided I’d give you the letter myself. Since I survived and all, and because I want you to know . . . well, I just want you to know.”
I hand him the letter and watch as he reads it, tears filling his eyes.
He’s crying, hugging me, and shaking his head.
“We’re building our love mansion right here,” he says determinedly. “In this very spot.”
I smile at him and take the jar out of the bag. “I was hoping you'd say that. Cuz I brought the dirt.”
(Pan shot of couple kissing and the land.)
Aiden puts his hand on my knee and whispers to me as The End rolls across the movie screen in front of us. “Hard to believe your journals were turned into three movies.”
“It’s even harder to believe it’s been over ten years since we met. I’m so glad we decided to show all three movies back to back for this premiere. It was so fun to see the growth of the characters.”
“You mean our growth? That was the amazing story of us. How our love survived it all. We really are lucky, you know.”
“I loved seeing the first movie again. It’s still my favorite.”
He smirks at me. “Cracks me up to hear all the stuff you thought. Especially since I was crazy about you right from the start.”
“It sure didn’t seem like it then. Damn Logan,” I tease.
The movie we just watched was a combined Special Edition of all three films in The Keatyn Chronicles. Riley had the brilliant idea of stringing them together and saving all the credits for the end.
The audience is clapping and cheering for their favorites. Cush, Brooklyn, Dawson, and the entire Eastbrooke crew.
I think the audience feels the same way we do.
We can’t believe it’s over.