Page 34 of The Location Shoot
“Ella,” he whispered, running his finger down her cheek. She started to lean forward when Willow came sprinting up, Charlotte following closely behind.
“Look, you guys! We found the most beautiful shells.”
At the end of the afternoon, Michael said, “We need some tunes and entertainment.” He put the Queen tape on at full volume and sang along to “We Will Rock You” as if he were performing at a cheesy karaoke bar. Everyone laughed. When “We Are the Champions” came on, he made everyone stand up and dramatically sing along. Willow, who only knew of Queen’s music from the acclaimed biopic about Freddie Mercury, was pleasantly surprised to find she knew the lyrics. They were all impressed with her powerful singing voice. “Radio Ga Ga” came on next, and Ellasquealed, “Ooh, I love this song!” She started dancing with abandon, and everyone leapt up to join her.
As the song ended, Finn whispered to her, “Would you like to go for a walk?” She nodded and they headed off along the water’s edge.
“This was a great idea,” Finn said. “Willow hasn’t had this much fun since we arrived. Neither has Charlotte.”
“What about you?” she asked.
He took her hand and said, “My whole world changed when I met you.” They stopped walking and stood face to face. A breeze blew, and Finn gently brushed her hair away from her face. “I need you to know that I thought about what you said last night. The relationship I’ve been in, well, it’s because I was afraid of ending up alone, but that’s not half as scary as living without real love. I’ve made a decision. I’m ending it with Savannah for good. I would do it now, but after two years together, I owe it to her to do it in person. There’s no time to fly back to LA, so it will have to wait until I get home. You have my word. It’s over with her.”
She looked down and he caressed her cheek, pulling her eyes back up to his. “You’re not responsible. This was a long time coming. Ella, the way I feel about you, it’s everything. Tell me you feel it too.”
“I do,” she whispered.
Unable to withstand the electricity between them, he cupped her face in his hands, leaned forward, and gently pressed his mouth to hers. “Oh my God,” he mumbled, still holding her face, “I felt that in my entire body.”
“Me too,” she said softly, and they kissed again, more passionately this time.
He pulled back, and she traced the lines of his face with her fingers. They smiled at each other and he said, “If we do that again, I think we’re going to need more privacy than we have here.”
She took his hand and they strolled back to the others. Everyone smiled when they noticed them holding hands. “So, do you guys want to pack up and get ready to head to town?” Ella asked. “Willow, can I get ready in your trailer?”
“I LOVE MY NEW CLOTHES.They’re so different from what you can get in LA,” Willow said, happily swinging her shopping bag as they meandered down the charming cobblestone street.
“I hope my husband likes this print I bought for our flat,” Charlotte said.
“It’s lovely,” Ella assured her.
“I always try to pick things up during my travels to support local artists and to remember the trips and the films or plays I made. It’s like a tapestry of my life,” Charlotte explained. “The stories I’ve helped to tell have become the story of my own life in so many ways.”
Ella noticed some locals recognizing the four actors and excitedly whispering to each other, whipping out their phones to snap photos and take videos. She quietly said, “I keep forgetting you’re all famous.”
Everyone laughed and Michael said, “We’ll try not to take it personally.”
She shrugged.
Unbothered by the attention of her fans and fixated on shopping, Willow noticed an interesting store window and said, “Ooh, jewelry. Can we stop in this store?”
They all headed into the small shop; the walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with colorful stones, beads, and amber. The shopkeeper was speechless as the group of stars filled his tiny store. Willow pulled Charlotte to the corner to help her select beaded bracelets.
“Baltic amber is my favorite,” Ella said, admiring a wall covered with brown, yellow, and green trinkets. “It’s amazing what nature produces. Amber is so old, it’s like wearing a small piece of natural history or a material reminder of the wonder of this miraculous planet. It has a calming effect, like we’re all connected to something bigger. This one is gorgeous,” she remarked, looking at a large chunk of green amber on a nearly invisible chain, behind a glass case reserved for the rarest items with the highest price tags.
“May I help you with something?” the shopkeeper asked.
“She’d like to try that on,” Finn said, pointing to the necklace.
The shopkeeper unlocked the case and retrieved the piece. Ella lifted her hair, and he fastened the necklace around her delicate neck. She let her hair fall and turned to Finn. “What do you think?”
“It’s stunning, like it’s floating.”
She smiled.
“I’m buying it for you,” he said.
“Oh no, please, you don’t have to do that,” Ella replied.
