Page 107 of River
CHAPTER 28
Open House
River
My relationship with Noah was nothing like I’d ever experienced before. He was silly at times, sending me obscene gifs and making me laugh just like he had back in Bali. Christmas was a thousand times better with him by my side, and I absolutely loved how well he fit into my family. Damian was more than ten years older than Noah, but the two of them quickly became thick as thieves, sharing stories from their work as police officers and laughing at stupid jokes.
I usually dreaded January because it was so long and cold, but this year the month flew by with Noah and me spending every weekend together. The first time he came to my house in London, he walked around in awe, telling me that he loved my style.
Noah was undramatic and couldn’t care less about my fame or money. He agreed to go with me to a celebrity party, but when I commented on his lack of enthusiasm, he admitted that he’d prefer to spend time with me alone. I was so used to men dating me to be included in the right circles, that it felt like a beautiful declaration of love that I was enough for Noah.
That night we stayed in and ended up sharing our favorite music, cooking crepes at midnight, and talking about everything under the sun until three in the morning when we fell asleep after a satisfying round of lovemaking.
If it weren’t for my work, I would have loved to spend more time with Noah, but I had a busy schedule with makeovers, YouTube videos, and modeling jobs. Still, with every week, I grew more resistant to taking on more commitments. Fashion week was close, and that usually meant long and busy days doing runway jobs for some of the hottest fashion brands in the world. This year I dreaded it and got into an argument with my agency when I turned down three bookings.
The truth was that the more time I spent on Fleur’s farm, the sillier some of my work assignments felt. Here, fashion was irrelevant, and clothing was a matter of finding something practical and comfortable. It didn’t excite me to say yes to a job when I knew it meant precious time away from Noah, and one thing was for certain: I was happiest when Noah and I were together.
On February eleventh, it was Noah’s thirtieth birthday, and because Fleur’s Farm was hosting an open house event, we spent the day at the farm. As promised, Maximum came to see the place, and as a lovely surprise, he brought Charles, Liv, and Saffron.
“We were curious to see where you lived and to meet all the animals you’ve spoken of,” Liv said to Noah when she hugged him. He was wearing jeans and a thick sweater knitted in gray and black colors with a traditional Norwegian pattern.
I had a fitted coat on that protected me from the elements, but today was surprisingly mild for February, and Noah claimed that it was because he’d been good all year.
After the usual slapping of shoulders, Maximum looked around. “I want to meet the lovely flower you’ve told me about.”
“You mean Fleur?” Noah said.
“Yes.” Maximum lowered his voice and gave a humorous wink. “I’ve met voodoo priestesses and shamans, but I’ve never met an animal psychic.”
“She’s not a psychic.”
“A witch then?” Maximum joked.
Noah turned to locate Fleur, who was talking to some other visitors.
“Fleur, do you have a minute?”
She raised a hand to signal that she’d heard him, and after finishing with the other guests, she came over in her tight jeans, woolen shawl, and muddy boots.
“Hello.” She smiled as she shook hands with my family.
“Fleur, let me introduce you to River’s parents, Charles and Liv, and her little sister Saffron,” Noah said and waited until they’d shook hands. “And Maximum here is one of River’s three brothers.”
“Wow, how many children do you have?” Fleur’s gaze fell on Liv. “You look way too young to have children of River’s age.”
I blamed myself for not having explained things to Fleur beforehand, but Liv simply chuckled. “Oh, our oldest, Atlas, is just eleven years younger than me.”
Fleur blinked her eyes in confusion but didn’t say anything.
“We have six children, but Saffron is our only biological child. River, Maximum, and the three others are adopted.”
“Oh, I see.” Fleur nodded and was distracted by Maximum, who reached out his hand with a big smile.
“I’ve been curious to meet you ever since Noah told me you have magic powers.”
“I never used the word magic,” Noah hurried to say.
“I know, but reading animal minds is impressive. Can we see a demonstration?”
