Andy returns to his hometown of Lancaster, PA. where he visits with his mother, father, grandparents, and sister Susie. He tells them about Tessa, including that her mother and her mother's husband just live "down the street" in York, PA.
Andy asks his family to keep an open mind and welcome both Tessa and Bevin since either one could be a future member of the Baldwin family.
Andy reveals that it's been nearly eight years since he brought a woman home to meet his family and his mother says she knows he's ready to settle down and not be a bachelor anymore.
First to arrive is Tessa. Andy's grandfather wonders how her visiting them compares to Andy's visit to Tessa's family and she assures them that her relatives all liked Andy very much. His mother says she can't stop staring at Tessa because she's so beautiful. She asks who wants to help her with lunch and Tessa volunteers. Andy's mother describes Tessa as "witty, bright, very natural, and real."
Andy's mother asks Tessa how she pictures her life in five years. She answers that she sees herself as settled and maybe starting a family. Tessa privately worries that she hasn't answered the question adequately but she's not sure she can say with confidence that she'll be with Andy.
The grandfather asks what religious upbringing Tessa had and she says she was raised Catholic, though she hasn't practiced in a while. Later, he admits that Tessa is just the kind of girl he'd want if he were Andy's age.
Susie tells Andy that she really likes Tessa and feels very comfortable around her. Andy confesses that he's still not sure if Tessa is serious about him, and that she seems reserved around him. He tells Susie that early on, Tessa wanted to leave the show and he doesn't know if it was because of him. Susie volunteers to question Tessa about it.
She asks Tessa if she wants to be with Andy and have a relationship with him after the show is over and Tessa immediately answers, "Absolutely. One hundred percent." When asked about her doubts throughout the show, Tessa says, "The only thing that's felt real to me about this whole process is when I'm with him." She also says she would be willing to move to Hawaii to be with him.
After their talk, Susie finds Tessa's honesty refreshing and is convinced that she's really committed to Andy. For her part, Tessa reveals she felt instantly at home with the Baldwins. She says she hoped that she's convinced Andy's family that she's the one for him, but they do still have to meet Bevin yet.
Andy is thrilled that the visit went so well on both sides, but he suspects that Bevin will have a rougher time. "It's definitely hard for a family to meet two girlfriends in one day," he says, adding that Tessa set a standard that will be hard for Bevin to live up to.
Bevin shows up with wine and a flower basket for his family. She realizes there's a lot at stake and that if she doesn't impress his relatives, that will sway Andy's opinion of her.
Andy's father asks what she does for a living and she tells them she's a clinical researcher and one of her fields is Alzheimer's. She hesitates before telling them about her current project, which is studying the libido and sexual dysfunction of women going through menopause.
Andy's mother takes that as a cue to go start dinner. Bevin feels horribly embarrassed, saying later, "I just wanted to die."
Over dinner, Andy announces that his parents have been married for 36 years and his grandparents for 60 years. His grandfather asks Bevin if she's willing to go with Andy anywhere in the world. She wants to know if he means even out of the country, and she replies, "Yeah, I think it would be fun."
The grandfather then asks about her religious affiliations and she answers that she was raised in the Baha'i faith. Andy's grandmother admits she's never heard of it.
Andy sits down with his parents and grandparents and tells them Bevin has "overcome a lot of obstacles," including her parents' divorce and having come from a poor background and working her way through college. He says he feels comfortable with Bevin and that's why she's still here.
His mother wants to know if the attraction he feels for her now will still be there, years down the road. He admits that Bevin is more open and affectionate and that the "electricity" he feels with her, he doesn't feel as strongly with Tessa. When he adds that Bevin's very well read and smart, his mother says it sounds like he's trying to justify his attraction to her. Andy admits he's torn and his mother offers to get some answers from Bevin. His mother thinks Andy is trying harder to talk up Bevin to them because he knows that his family had already bonded with Tessa.
She asks when Bevin first felt a connection to Andy and she says it was during the third rose ceremony, when they sat on a balcony and she felt a "spark" when he tucked her hair behind her ear. "Make it happen," his grandmother urges her. "We'll help!" The grandmother adds, "I think you're just drop-dead great."
Andy tells his father he wants the same kind of marriage as his father and mother have. His father advises him not to make his decision based on what he's thinking, but what he's feeling.
Andy's mother says later that the things that what impressed her about Bevin were her "gracefulness, beautiful eyes, her laughter, and her affection toward Andy." His father feels that Andy loves Bevin more than Tessa but that Andy clearly still has to make up his mind.
Andy walks Bevin to the car, and then goes back inside to see which woman his family thinks is right for him. His mother says she sees Andy more "connected" to Bevin and that a large part of that is that Andy knows she's crazy about him. She says there's nothing wrong with having someone be crazy with you, right off the bat, without having to struggle to get it, and that that kind of affection is "priceless."
His grandfather points out that some people just don't show their emotions as much, and that Tessa is probably just more guarded of a person. Andy says he feels like Tessa has started showing him more affection, but there are times when it's just not there. Susie chimes in that she respects Tessa more for taking the time to warm up to Andy, that she's convinced Tessa just doesn't like the idea of Andy, she likes him for himself.
The grandfather sums up Andy's dilemma: He's turned on by Bevin more than he is by Tessa, but is that what really counts in the long run? He urges Andy to consider which one will be the best for him, five or ten years from now.
His grandmother asks which one he'd rather have children with, and he says he thinks they both would be good mothers. Andy's mother and father tell him they approve of both women, and that he can't make a wrong choice. Susie tells him that in his remaining time with Tessa he needs to tell her straight out about his concerns.
Andy is discouraged that the visits with his family didn't help him make up his mind.
Back in Hawaii, Andy waits for Bevin on the beach. They kiss and he tells her he has a surprise for her, a helicopter ride. She freaks out when she sees it, telling him she doesn't want to get in. She reveals that she's terrified of flying. "Am I going to die?" she asks.
But he talks her into it and later she says that Andy made her feel so comfortable and safe, and that it just solidified everything she already felt about him. He lands on a hilltop, where they'll go hiking.
He asks her what she thought of his family. She says Susie grilled her about whether she was ready to make a commitment to Andy and she said she wouldn't be here if she wasn't.
They stop to picnic and they toast to her first time in a helicopter. "What do you need most from a man?" he asks her and she answers, "Unconditional love and understanding, open communication, and a best friend." He tells her he's looking for the same things from a woman.
He asks her why her first marriage didn't work. She says she was just too young and they grew apart. She says there was love, but no passion and that she wanted kids and he didn't, so they just weren't a good match. He nods seriously and she starts to look concerned. "It's good," he reassures her.
"But you think you'd be happy here with me?" he asks and she flippantly answers, "I'm pretty sure." He insists he's serious and wants to know what her reservations are.
"I don't know how you feel," she says, adding that she feels vulnerable and she doesn't like feeling that way. He tells her he wants to reassure her, but he can't.
He asks how she feels now and she says, "Do I have to tell you right now?" He tells her she doesn't have to, because he knows how she feels. "I'll tell you when you tell me," she offers.
Privately, she admits that her heart is telling her to give in and her head is telling her to play it safe. She vows to tell him that night how she feels so that she has no regrets about holding anything back.
That night, she cooks dinner for him and he says it feels like a "foreshadowing" of how things could be between them. They go out on the balcony and he notes it could be their last night together, which she admits makes her nervous.
He says he was really impressed with how she was with the children at the charity date and that he could easily see her being a wife and mother. She says those are all things she could see doing with him, adding, "I'm not scared and I could see myself being really happy."
She hopes he's feeling what she is and he says, "Yeah, I'm feeling it." If he isn't feeling it, "I'm a complete fool," she says. "I think you can feel it," he responds, and kisses her.
Bevin gives him a present and he opens the card first. In it, she's written that she wants to spend her life with him, "until the end of time." He kisses her and tells her, "I wish I could make this moment stand still." She gives him a watch (to make time "stand still") and he remembers the Chopard watch he gave her.
She says he's made her the happiest she's been in a long time and that she could see herself being with him forever. "Lt. Andrew James Baldwin," she says, taking his face in her hand. "I love you."
"Are you serious?" he asks and she answers, "Dead serious," and they kiss. She whispers, "I love you, Andy," and he whispers back, "I love you too, Bev."
Later, Andy says that when Bevin told him she loved him, that was "the best moment of this entire journey." For her part, Bevin believes that there is "no chance in hell," she won't be getting a rose at the final rose ceremony.
For his last date with Tessa, Andy meets her on the beach. He's concerned that she hasn't opened up to him yet and she's fretting that it's her last opportunity to let him know how much she cares. Privately, she says, "I'm in love with Andy and I want to be the one that he chooses."
He has a surprise for her: They're going horseback riding. They ride the horses along the beach, stopping to go for a sunset swim. They frolic and kiss in the waves and come out just as the sun is setting. Wrapped in towels and sipping on beers, she tells him she's excited to be with him tonight, but also very nervous. "That makes two of us," he admits.
She says they should live tonight to the fullest, "as if there were no tomorrow." She tells him how happy he makes her and that she feels that they're on the brink of an adventure.
He tells her how impressed his sister was with her sincerity, and she says she hopes he sees that for himself.
Later, she admits she has trouble putting her feelings into words. Today is going to "make or break it," she says, as she struggles to decide what to say to him on what could be their last night together.
He visits her hotel room that night and she orders in food for them. She admits that she's scared of "the unknown" and of putting her feelings on the line. She gives him a gift and makes him read the note out loud. In it, she says that Andy is the best thing that could have come into her life and that she believes they are meant to be together. He asks if she really meant it when she wrote, "I don't want to go back to the life I was living before I met you," and she nods and kisses him. She tells him she's fallen totally and completely in love with him and she couldn't let tonight end without letting him know how she felt.
"I love you, Tessa," he tells her and says that to hear those words from her mean so much. They kiss and then he finally unwraps her present: it's a collage with photos of them and words that represent conversations they've had. He marvels at the effort she put into it, and she smiles and says, "You're worth it."
If Andy proposes to her tomorrow, she intends to accept she says later. "There's not a doubt in my mind."
Andy walks away, saying, "something amazing happened," and that it was "everything that I could have wanted, and more."
The next day, Andy is a wreck when he awakes. He's still confused. He goes for a run to clear his head and gets very emotional, realizing he could propose to either woman. Tessa is terribly nervous and realizes she's wasted a lot of time in the beginning with her hesitation. She now knows how much she wants to be with Andy. Bevin knows she's found the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with, and can't wait to say yes if he has a ring to give her.
Andy goes off to shop for an engagement ring. He looks at several before settling on a traditional brilliant-cut round diamond from Chopard. The women get ready for their moment with Andy, getting their hair and makeup done for the final rose ceremony.
Dressed to the nines, Andy waits on a windswept balcony overlooking the ocean. He's in a suit and the last rose lays on a silver tray beside him. He says he knows he's making the right decision but that he never expected to also be breaking a woman's heart.
Host Chris greets the first woman who arrives by limo. It's Bevin, wearing a red halter dress. Chris leads her to Andy's side as we hear Bevin in voiceover say, "We were made for each other. It's meant to be."
Andy kisses Bevin hello and hugs her. "You are so beautiful," he tells her. "I thought so from the first time you walked out of that limo." He says he appreciates how much she loves him and that he loves her too. He starts to choke up when he says it's the hardest decision he's had to make in his entire life. Even before he tells her she's not the one, she covers her face with her hands and starts to cry. "This is not a rejection," he insists, but tells her that there's someone who's "touched my heart deeper."
She's crying and he wipes away her tears. He tells her it's a privilege to have felt the way he does about her. He asks if there's anything she wants to say and she shakes her head. He leads her down the long path back to her limo. Before she leaves, he emphatically states, "I will never, ever forget you."
"I should've known this is how it was going to end," she sobs in the limo. "I gave him my heart and he didn't want it. He doesn't love me," she laments, "Now I've got to pick myself up and move on. It hurts, but I've got to accept it."
Andy waits for Tessa, saying in voiceover that he's found the woman that he hoped to find in coming on this journey, calling Tessa "a wish come true." He says he can't wait to get down on one knee and ask her to marry him.
She steps out of the limo wearing a formfitting powder blue gown. She knows she's either going to come away with a broken heart or engaged. She's sure that when she looks Andy in the eye, she'll know before he even says a word.
She greets him with a kiss and a hug and he tells her she always looks beautiful in blue. He tucks her hair behind her ear and then he tells her she's everything he's been looking for. He says she makes him feel like a king, with a queen at his side.
He asks if she knows what's so special about today, and tells her, "It's just you and me. It's just you and me, baby!" She throws her arms around his neck and they kiss.
"I'm so happy and so in love with you," she beams. "There are no words."
He gets down on one knee and tells her he's imagined this day, but this is beyond his wildest dreams. "Tessa, will you marry me?" he asks, popping open the ring box to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring.
"Yes!" she says, bending down to kiss him. He places the ring on her finger, telling her, "You've got my heart." "You've got mine," she answers happily.
He picks her up and spins her around. "Before we go any farther, there's one more thing I have to ask you," he says. He takes the last rose and holds it out to her. "Tessa, will you please accept this rose?" "Of course, " she says. He dips her back and kisses her.
"You're perfect," she says. "This moment is perfect." They kiss as the sun sets over the water.
"Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong," the theme from the movie, An Officer and a Gentleman, plays over a montage of all their moments together.
Advertisement