You Can't Buy My Love

Olivia

When we got back to Noel's apartment, I hurried back into my new room. I was still embarrassed beyond belief, and I had wished that I didn't have to face him. I didn't want to have to look at him everyday knowing this is how he feels about me. I'm just a poor broad that would do anything for money. That's what he thought.

I finally unpacked my things, trying to be comfortable. It seems I was stuck here for a while. I may as well settle in. I was pretty unsure of what to do all day, so I pulled out a book I wanted to read. I never really had much freedom at home. I was always on one errand or another. So, I wasn't really sure of what to do in my spare time; what I liked.

I was about to turn nineteen in a few days, and all I knew was how to succeed in school and flip dough bread through and through. I heaved a heavy sigh, and decided that it couldn't hurt to do some yoga. This room had plenty of space, it even had its own balcony! I didn't have a yoga mat, but I didn't mind the wooden floor.

I put on some relaxing wave sounds, and continued on with stretching, and breathing. I hadn't done yoga in so long that I forgot how relaxing it is.

I hadn't even realized that I fell asleep until there was an abrupt knock at the door. I opened my eyes quickly, waking up in the sleeping dog position. I took a glance at the clock on the nightstand, and noticed that almost two hours had gone by.

Since the knocking continued I assumed that Nolan wasn't going to open it, so I slowly peaked my head out of my room to make sure that he wasn't around.

I ran to the front door, swinging it open. "Hi?" I said, but it came out as more of a question.

"Hi!" There was a beautiful brunette girl, about an inch taller than me. "Nolan said you would be here."

"Who are you?" I asked, raising a questioning brow.

"I'm his sister. Nova. Can I come in?" She asked.

"Sure." I sighed, holding the door open for her.

"Nolan didn't tell me he had a sister." I said, shaking my head at the sight of her.

"I'm sure he hasn't told you a lot of things." She laughed. "He's like that with women." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Our parents got married, and then divorced after eleven years, so we still consider each other siblings." She smiled, and I sighed in relief.

I wasn't hoping there was another woman around, but I didn't want to be alone in another country with three men alone. I don't even know these people! I know nothing about him aside from basics because he doesn't tell me anything. Some marriage.

"Now I came here to take you shopping." She grinned. "You want to be the wife of a rich man? You have to act like it."

"How would you know what a rich mans wife does?" I asked her in all seriousness.

"Because I am the wife of a rich man!" She beamed, holding her hands out proudly. "I've been married for a year. Even though I'm twenty-three, I felt ready for some reason. Spent so long watching marriages fail, I wanted to prove to myself that I could make it work." She shrugged, and I nodded.

"Okay," I sighed. "I'll get dressed."

~*~

Nova and I had spent almost all day going into stores that I didn't even know existed. It was one thing to go shopping for clothes at the local Walmart, and another to be shopping in places where everything isn't even priced it's so expensive.

I could have gotten anything I wanted, but I remembered to dress a little more mature than I would have liked. Since Nova was the age I was aiming for, she helped me pick some stuff out. She even introduced me to some restaurants that I've never heard of. It's clear that I don't come on this side of town often.

I may live in Santa Monica, but I am in no way important enough to be on this side of town. "So you guys are just letting him concoct this scheme?" I asked her, as we sat down and ate.

She just shrugged, biting down into her flatbread. "Nolan has been like this since we were young. He's always concocting one scheme or another. Everyone has roles as children, he was always the one to get in the most trouble." She laughed. "Don't you have siblings?" She asked.

"Yes." I nodded. "But I usually wasn't the one to get into trouble."

"I see." She sighed, sitting back in her seat. "This is your first time doing something bad?" She smiled softly, and I nodded.

"Well, at least it's for a good cause." She shrugged. "What're you going to college for anyways?" Nova asked.

"I want to be a marine biologist." I answered simply, figuring it was the best thing to study.

"An animal girl?" She asked, raising her thick eyebrow. "Interesting." She said quietly, and I gave her a confused look. "We should head back." She started, leaving cash for the bill. "You probably want to head back and pack. It's going to be a long weekend."

"You're going on the trip too?" I asked her as we walked back to the car.

"Yes, I do like to go." She explained. "I like sailing on the yacht and remembering their late mother."

"Who's all coming?" I asked her, curious.

"Just us, and their grandma. She always comes. Even if their father is seeing someone, he NEVER brings them to honor his late wife." She explained. "He only brought my mother because they were married. She's the only woman that's ever come."

Once Nova dropped me off at the

apartment, she had the bellboy help me carry up all of my shopping bags. I hadn't realized how much stuff we bought until I saw it all

covering the whole living roo

I sighed heavily, and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed at how much my life has changed seemingly over night.

If you told me last week I would be spending thousands of dollars to prepare for a trip to Italy, I would

honestly laugh in your face. I decided to leave the shopping

alone, and sort out my Steve Madden luggage set that I picked

out It came with six pie

and

didn't even know all this luggage was necessary to go on a trip. I guess since I wasn't really used to going anywhere, I wouldn't need to have all this luggage.

I decided to pack my new clothes first, then the shoes, then intimates, then personals. I didn't usually like wearing makeup, but Nova got a bunch of stuff; she said I was definitely going to need it. When I was done packing, I sat all of my six bags at the front door, and smiled softly. I was actually really proud of myself. My happy moment was ruined by Nolan coming home from work.

I rolled my eyes slightly, and he glanced at all of my luggage. "What is this?" He asked, clearly amused. "We're going away for three days not three years." He laughed, and I side eyed him. "Hello, I'm a girl, I need a lot of stuff."

"Definitely not a whole wardrobe." He sighed, going to the kitchen. The first thing he did was pull out a can of beer, and I all but laughed at him.

"You keep that up, you're going to have the belly of a pregnant woman." I said observingly.

He lifted up his dress shirt, then stared down at his abs. "I think I'm good." He shrugged, cracking it open despite my comments. I scoffed at him, flopping down on his leather couch.

"What am I supposed to do all day anyways?" I asked him, grabbing the tv remote off the coffee table.

"Whatever you want." He shrugged, taking a swig of his beer, and sitting down next to me on the couch.

"That's boring." I stated, flicking on the television. He sighed heavily, running his hands through his already messy hair.

"You should be happy. You're getting paid to sit around and shop with my sister. Find a hobby or something, I don't know." I rolled my eyes at his empathy, channel surfing. "By the way, that stuff is coming out of your tab." He said, and I laughed.

"No way, not fair!" I protested.

"I saw what you two spent!" He scoffed. "I said to go shopping, not bankrupt me."

"Hey!" I smiled. "Your sister picked those places, not me." I held my hands up in defense, and settled on watching 'The Nanny' on HBO. I always did like this show.

"By the way, do you have a passport?" He asked me.

"Yes, I do." I told him nonchalantly. "I've been to Canada." I told him nonchalantly. Remembering the last trip we took as an actual family. course was younger then, but a passport is good for ten years. I should have a good two years left before it needs to be updated.

"Okay, well we're leaving for Italy in the morning. I don't have a private jet if that's what you're thinking, but we'll be in first class."

"I wasn't thinking that." I answered, squinting at him. "I don't know how much money you have."

"Enough to buy a private jet," he smirked teasingly, and I tried to hide the fact that I was actually blushing.

Wait, I said to myself. Stop it, Olivia. He is the enemy. I blinked rapidly, turning my head back to the TV. "Anyways, I'm good." I continued, ignoring the fact that I felt the tiniest bit of attraction to him. God the things my Mother would say.

"Okay." He shrugged. "We're leaving in the morning. Got a long day ahead of us."☐☐☐