5

He maintains his smile as he gives me an off-kilter expression while looking in my direction. "Have you ever given any thought to the notion of purchasing any jewelry?"

I nod. "Is it possible that it's time to update your statement jewelry?"

Nolan's expression of complete bewilderment as he looks at me drives me to burst out laughing, and his answer to my laughter is just a smile on his face. "Olivia, I can't remember the last time I heard you laugh. It's been a very long time. It did not happen to me."

My smile fades away, and I look down in my lap with a distressed expression on my face as I realize what's happened. I really wish that he would refrain from making remarks like that in the future. When he tells me that he has missed me, it is difficult to keep in mind that he thinks of me as both an old friend and as the woman who will one day be his sister-in-law. When he tells me that he has missed me, it is difficult to keep in mind that he will one day be my sister-in-law. I take a deep breath in and, at the same time, I clench my grip on my handbag even more tightly. A "statement piece" of jewelry is one that, in contrast to other pieces of jewelry that are more delicate, makes a dramatic statement.

Nolan grins at me. "What do you say we just defer to your judgment on this matter?"

I look at him in a manner that suggests that I am accusing him of something. "Is this something that you do on a yearly basis?"

As he drives into the parking area of one of the shopping malls in Johnson, he gives me a wicked smile and practically jumps out of the car in order to rush around it and open the door for me. When it comes time for me to exit his car, he extends his hand to me, and I shake it while keeping eye contact with him.

A bright flash of light startles both of us, and as I turn to my side, I find a paparazzo who has been following me for the previous several days smirking at me. He has been doing this for quite some time. I grit my teeth and take a step toward him, but before I can even voice a word, he rushes away before I even had the opportunity to complete my sentence. I am left with no choice but to clench my teeth and take another step toward him.

Nolan places his hand on the small of my back, and I shift my body to face him as he does so. "I should have known that by taking you to such a public location, this would have been the result; yet, I chose to ignore the possibility." I'm sorry, Olivia. I will personally see to it. It is quite unlikely that anybody in the public spotlight will ever see that image.