Inn Love

Would it be so bad to settle down again in the town where I grew up? We could carry on helping my parents fix the Inn that has been such a big part of my life and my parents. Would it be so bad to raise a family here and give them an ordinary life, away from the paparazzi and the screaming fans? The more I think about it, the more appealing it seems to me, and I know Olivia would agree.

“What’s on your mind?” Olivia asks me when we reach the store. She wanders through the produce section, picking up several items and putting them in her shopping cart.

“I’ve just been thinking about work,” I tell her. We haven’t talked that much about my work. I showed her one of my movies the other day, which she loved, but we feel so far away from that side of my life now that we are here that it doesn’t even really feel real. It certainly doesn’t feel like she’s a part of that world yet.

And the problem is, we haven’t talked about where our future will take place yet. We’re almost stuck in limbo right now. Olivia doesn’t have a home to go to, and I’m stuck between two different ones.

But this is where we built our relationship and where Olivia is starting to get to know my family. This is the place where we could settle for simplicity after a life of complications. She doesn’t seem interested in living a life of luxury, being spoiled with gifts all the time, and attending fancy parties. What she’s wanted for a long time is love and a family. She can have those things here…she can even find work in the Inn too, cooking for the guests. I know she’d love that. She is an excellent cook by all standards. Even my mother says so.

And I’m starting to think I’d love that too. When I left Hollywood, I fully intended to go back someday. I didn’t think there was any possibility that I wouldn’t want to go back. But now, it feels like something that I’d be happy to leave behind.

“What do you want to do? With our lives, I mean?” I ask Olivia. She blinks in surprise at the question.

“Oh…I hadn’t given it too much thought. I don’t care where I am…so long as I’m with you. That’s what matters most to me.”

“So you’re happy here?”

Olivia smiles at me warmly. “Of course, I’m happy here. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.” She slips her hand into mine. “What’s going on in your head, Elijah? You can talk to me about anything, you know.”

“I know,” I say softly. Because she’s right. I can trust her with anything in the world. She’s my sole confidant, especially now that I don’t have my brother. I feel like I could spill my soul out to her.

I clear my throat. “I’ve just been thinking…that maybe we could make a life here. Maybe we don’t have to go anywhere else. I’ve got a life back in Hollywood…but I feel ready to abandon it all. I’ve got money to last twenty lifetimes. We’ll never have to worry about a thing. And we can just focus on doing what we want to. We can buy a house. We can work or choose not to. We can start our family. What do you think? Is that something that would appeal to you?”

Olivia’s face creases into a frown. “Elijah…that sounds amazing to me. But what about you? What about the life that you had before? I know you’ve been taking a break from acting, but I thought you’d want to eventually go back to your roots, and I’m good with that. We don’t have to be apart from that if you want it…I will go wherever you go.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know…I don’t feel as though that life fits me anymore. My priorities are different now. You’re my priority. My job demands a lot of time, and I don’t want to be away from you for a single moment. I can’t explain it, Olivia. Everything that seemed to matter before…just doesn’t anymore. You’re all I care about. I don’t want to drag you there to a life that doesn’t suit you or the new me. It doesn’t have to be here that we settle…but you’ve made it feel like home again. And that’s why I don’t feel like I’m leaving anything behind. I feel like I’m getting a fresh start, a better life. Because of you.”

Olivia’s eyes are misty as she looks up at me. I know I’ve hit her right in the emotions, but everything I’ve said is true. She’s the one thing that matters now. I could give up everything else I have in a heartbeat, and I would if I had to just to be with her. She’s everything to me, worth more than gold, celebrity status, or anything else that people tend to crave.