Page 77 of Maximum
CHAPTER 19
What Will It Take?
Fleur
Maximum and I spent the weekend in Dublin. After the get-together with his family we slept at his place before meeting up in a local park with some of his friends from his rugby team. Jacob, a fun and easy-going Irish guy, was glued to the side of his girlfriend, an English sweetheart named Lucille.
There was a guy called Brody whom I had a hard time understanding at times because of his Scottish accent, and then there was Liam, whom I already knew because we spoke at Noah’s and River’s wedding.
“You should have brought Nathan with you,” Jacob said as we sat on picnic blankets.
Maximum had his sunglasses on and a sandwich in his hand. “I invited him, but Serena is back on stage and she could only get one day off to visit family. They stayed with Charles and Liv and went back to London early this morning.”
“Have ye been to their house in London?” Jacob asked.
Maximum nodded. “Not Fleur, but I’ve been there several times. Didn’t you two go?”
“Yes.” Lucille was playing with her hair and spoke with a slight lisp. “It was so bizarre to go from interviewing Serena to being invited to her house for dinner. We even went to their wedding.”
“When did you interview her?” Fleur asked.
“Oh, that was two and a half years ago while Serena was doing a press tour. I worked forBrighton Newsback then and meeting her was massive.”
“Serena is the reason Lucille and I are together in the first place,” Jacob said in his Irish accent and gave his girlfriend a wink.
The two of them were so sweet together that I couldn’t stop smiling. “How so?”
“Because Serena gave Lucille some inside information and asked her to fly from England to Dublin to find Nathan and interview him. I happened to be with him in a pub when Lucille approached, and one thing led to another.”
“You were so obnoxious that night.” Lucille laughed and looked at me when she told the story. “I was shy back then and way over my head with the story on Nathan and Serena… I mean it took courage that I didn’t know I had to walk over to their table. These fellas looked so somber and they were all big rugby players except for Nathan, but you know how imposing he looks.”
“Nathan? No, he’s very nice,” I protested.
“Yes, I know that now, but at the time I thought he was intimidating with his serious demeanor and large frame, not to mention that he’d been with a superstar like Serena.”
“Good thing I was there to ease the situation,” Jacob injected and elbowed Brody. “You remember how charmin’ I was, don’t ye?”
“Aye, and I also remember that Nathan had to bribe Lucille to dance with ye. I doubt she would have given ye the time of day if she hadn’t wanted answers from Nathan.”
“Of course I would,” Lucille defended her boyfriend. “I always had a thing for dark guys, and I found Jacob very handsome.”
“Thank you, love.” Leaning over he kissed her cheek.
“But anyway, my point was that I went from interviewing Serena to becoming her friend. She and Nathan are so down-to-earth, and Jacob and I love hanging out with them.”
“Me too, but I’m afraid that today you’ll have to do with me and Fleur.”
Lucille smiled at Maximum before focusing in on me. “Jacob said you’re from the countryside.”
“I am. I live on a farm out west.”
“Oh, you’re a farmer. What do you have, sheep?”
“Yes, and a few goats, dogs, cats, cows, chickens, and four horses.”
“Not that it’s any of my business, but isn’t it hard to make money as a farmer?” Lucille asked.
“Very!” I grinned. “I’m not a real farmer, though. What we do is a little different. We train service dogs and teach classes on animal awareness.”
