Page 96 of Maximum
“That’s wonderful.”
“Yes.” River looked around and wrung her hands. “I just hope we can get everything ready for the big day.”
“You have two weeks. Are you worried it’s not enough?”
“No. I’m just overthinking things. It’s going to be fine.”
“Of course it is! And we’re here to help if you need anything,” Fleur offered.
“Ready to go?” Noah asked and clapped his hands together.
“He’s just eager to show you our new property and tell you all about his plans for the dog institute.” River walked over to turn off the lights before opening the door. “We wanted to meet here so you could see the gallery for yourself, but we’ve prepared dinner at home.”
“Sounds wonderful.” We stepped outside in the bright sunlight and I pointed to my car. “We’re right here. Where are you parked?”
“Behind the gallery,” Noah said. “Just wait for us and we’ll pull right out and you can follow us, or River can text you the address.”
“Better yet, I’ll drive with Maximum, and Fleur can go with you. It’s only a ten-minute drive,” River suggested and with everyone agreeing, Fleur walked with Noah and Bernie, while River got into my car.
“Are you happy here?” I asked River as we took off.
She looked casual chic and beautiful as always.
“Very. You would think I’d miss London, but I don’t. Everything is finally coming together for me.”
I glanced over at my little sister and smiled from the glow around her. “You look happy.”
“I am. What about you?”
“I’m with Fleur… what’s not to be happy about?”
“Take a left here and then go right at the next crossing.” River steered me to the outskirts of the city and pointed ahead. “It’s at the end of this road. It’s nothing special right now, but we bought it because of the land. Remember how I told you that it used to be an equestrian center?”
“I knew you wanted this property, but I thought you said the owner wasn’t willing to sell.”
“She wasn’t, but we offered a good price that changed her mind. There’s even a small forest in the back of our property and when it rains there’s a natural pond that fills up. The dogs are going to love it here.”
I slowed down when the road changed into a long driveway with gravel. In front of me was a long white house, two barns, pens that had been used for riding, and large pastures.
“Noah can tell you about his business plan himself, but it’s all very ambitious and exciting.”
“When do you think he can get started?”
“I don’t know. For now, he’s focusing on getting the barns and outside areas up and running. He wanted to start with renovating the main house, but I talked him out of that. My idea is that we stay in it as it is and then we have a house built from scratch on the opposite side of the grounds. When our new house is done, the current main building can serve as an official building for the institute.
“Are you going to build a mansion of a new house then?”
“Noah doesn’t want something too flashy, he’s a modest guy and he’s concerned about safety, but I’ll make sure it’ll be nice.”
“What do you mean by safety?”
“He prefers to blend in with the community and for us to be regular neighbors. You know, the millionaires next door that no one knows are loaded. It’s safer that way.”
“Except in your case it’s billionaires. Do you think he can hide it?”
“Why not? Only the closest family knows. Maybe Noah is just paranoid because he was a policeman, but none of us wants to live a life surrounded by security guards. We’re installing the best security system money can buy, and with Bernie and other dogs here, no one will be able to sneak up on us.”
“About that… aren’t your neighbors going to hate all the barking dogs that will live here?”
