“Wow.”
“I know.”
“She sounds like a strong woman.”
“The strongest.”
“I’d like to meet her again,” he says. His voice sounds sad. He did meet her, but he never got to know her.
I incline my head. “You will. Soon. I’ll be taking her home to figure out what she wants to do with her parents’ company. If she decides to stay, I’m staying. I’ll work on whatever you need from there.”
“Jax—”
I lift my hand to stop him.
“Don’t try to object. She’s it for me. She’s my River . . . I would do and be anything she needs me to be.”
I watch as he looks off toward the opposite side of the room. I follow his stare and see his eyes land on a picture of him and River. Then he looks back.
“I’m happy for you. If you need anything . . .”
“One thing . . . use of the company plane.”
And with that, he laughs, and I know everything will be okay.
Epilogue
Jaxson
She has no idea what I have planned, and that thought alone has me smiling broadly. She thinks we’re here to help Addison look at a piece of property, and while yes, we are here to look at property, this piece of property has nothing to do with Price Enterprise.
As we get off the private jet, and I usher her to the waiting car, she doesn’t say anything, but once the car door closes, and she is sitting beside me, tucked into the nook of my arm, I feel her head move.
I look down at her, and she’s looking up at me.
“This is some job perk. Private planes. Greece.”
“Addy’s job, not mine. Remember, my job is in the office behind a computer.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “As if you mind being stuck behind a computer all day. That’s like your happy place.”
Leaning down, I place a kiss on her temple. “You’re my happy place,” I say against her skin.
Together, we stare out the windows as we drive to our destination. Through narrow, winding streets, and overgrown trees, we continue our trek up the mountain.
Fifteen minutes later, we pull off the road. The clearing opens, and there set amongst the rocky cliffs is the house I had built.
“What is this?” she whispers. “I thought you said that this was land to build on.”
“I might have lied.”
“Why would you do that . . . ?”
“All in good time.” I kiss her again. “You don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
“Surprise?” Her voice cracks, and with my lips still on her skin, I smirk.
“Yep.”
The car pulls over by the front door. Once it is completely stopped and parked, I open the door, step out, and stretch my hand out for Willow.
She lets me help her out before the two of us walk hand in hand over to the front door.
It’s hard to see the view from where we’re standing, but I’m excited to show her.
“Come on,” I say, and I place my finger to the keypad next to the door. “Actually . . .” I take her finger and place it on the pad, and the sound of a clicking rings through the air.
“What did you do?”
“Not me. You. And what you just did was unlock the door.”
“The door to what?”
“Let me show you.” I laugh as I push the now unlocked door open.
As she steps inside, she lets out a long audible breath.
I did the same thing when I came here after the construction was done, so I understand her reaction.
Still holding her arm, I lead her through the house until we are standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the cliffs and the water.
From where we stand, you can see the docks below and anchored to the wood is a boat.
“What is this place? And why does my finger work to open it?”
“This place . . . This is our sanctuary. Remember that story I told you?” She nods. “This is that place. We are in Patras.” Her eyes are wide in shock. I figure while I’m shocking her, I might as well tell her the real reason we are here, and with that, I drop to my knees.
At my movement, her jaw starts to shake.
“What are you doing?”
I take her hand in mine, and then with my other hand, I reach into my back pocket and pull out the box.
How she didn’t realize I slipped it in there before we got out of the car is beyond me.
“Willow.”
Tears start to roll down her face.
“I love you, and I want to spend my whole life loving you. Not just today or tomorrow. I want to love you past forever. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she says as she throws her arms around me.
Her lips find mine, and as my tongue delves into her mouth, claps erupt all around us.
She pulls back and sees that we aren’t alone here. My family and Maggie are here.