“You know she won’t allow that. She says it would ruin the story.”
“Exactly. If the audience would’ve known what you were thinking, there wouldn't have been any drama or mystery.”
“And they'd be pissed to know that although I did totally fall in love with her that day, I still mostly wanted to sleep with her. I thought after my prom gone bad that I had grown up and was different, but I still had a lot of growing up to do. We both did. I was crazy about her but there were times when I wanted to give up. Times when I thought we'd never make it. Love requires work, Riley. It's risking your heart. It's wooing her when she has a boyfriend or is still seeing her ex. You and Ariela never had much drama. Once you asked her out, you never really broke up. I mean, until that day.”
“Graduation day,” I say, taking a gulp of milk and shoving another cookie into my mouth.
“Riley, did you fight for her?”
I hang my head. “I was too devastated to fight. Then I was pissed. Then it was too late.”
“She's back. You have a chance. Why don’t you stop fucking around and take it?”
“If she—”
“If she breaks your heart, we’ll deal with it,” he tells me. “Call her and find out what really happened.”
“What do you mean? I know what happened.”
“Riley, you’re trying to fuck your feelings away. It’s not going to work. And what do you know exactly?”
“I don’t care what Vanessa says. I know what I saw.”
“Yeah, you saw her husband kiss her.”
“That was enough.”
“Did you bother to ask him why he kissed her?”
“No! Why the fuck would I do that? It’s her fucking husband.”
“You did once before. Don’t you remember?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, bewildered.
“Remember Christmas break senior year? You were at Ariela’s house and some guy dropped by.”
“Yeah, her idiot ex-boyfriend. He tried to kiss her and I whooped his ass.”
“So, why didn’t you whoop Collin’s ass this time?”
“Wait? What the fuck? Are you telling me that’s who she married?”
“Yeah.”
“But he was such a douche!”
“Still is, from what I gather. Riley, if you’re going to have a relationship with Ariela, you have to talk to her. You have to believe her when she tells you what happened. The Riley I know would have seen him kiss her, walked straight up to him, knocked him the fuck out, and—”
“—asked questions later,” I say along with him. I take another cookie. “You’re right. I’ve become a *.”
Aiden laughs. “You haven’t become a *. You can’t knock someone out in business when things don’t go your way. I’d say you’re more refined. But you haven’t been in love for a while. You’re out of practice.”
“It always seems so easy for you and Keatyn.”
“It’s not. We make it work because we want it to work. Our relationship has always been our number one priority. You know how many roles she’s turned down because of scheduling. Riley, I’m going to ask you one question. It’s the only question that really matters. Do you still love Ariela?”
I slowly nod.
“Then go fucking do something about it and don’t let anything get in the way.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I think Keatyn and Dallas are right. I need to go back to Eastbrooke and put the past behind me before I can move on.”
“Does that mean you’re going?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Then congratulations are in order too. Riley Johnson CEO & Chairman of the Board has a nice ring to it.”
“I was so shocked, I never asked her why she was promoting me.”
Keatyn walks out with another plate of cookies and sets them on the table. “Why don’t you just stay here tonight, Riley.” It’s hard to even look at her. I’m so overcome with emotion. I’m so lucky to have such good friends. “I’m promoting you for a lot of reasons but mostly because you deserve it.”
“Is one of the reasons because you want to slow down?”
“We want to spend more time at the vineyard,” Aiden says. “Raise our family there.”
“That sounds nice,” I say.
“I want to take some time off and just write scripts for a while. It’s what I love. And I want that for you too, Riley,” Keatyn tells me. “Dallas has always been so good about having balance between his personal and professional life. You and I need to do a better job of it. That’s part of why I brought Dawson in. I want you to groom him to be your successor. Once you feel he’s ready to take over as CEO, you’ll retain the Chairman of the Board title and only have to attend board meetings.”
“It would be cool to only work on the fun projects. I’ve been sorta itching to produce again. Be on set more often.”
“It’s not like you even need to work anymore, Riley. You have plenty of money. You should be doing what you love.”
“And finding love?” I say with a smirk, knowing where the conversation is headed.
“At least having the time for love,” she replies.