“Not at all. Phoebe’s cool. She doesn’t ruffle easily. Maggie’s like that, too, at least when she’s working. She can be hotheaded otherwise. I wish Phoebe had come with us last night but she wouldn’t. Long story.” Olivia glanced back at the kitchen, then shifted again to Noah. “If you’re not ready to go back to San Diego, Dylan and I can stay here with you. We’re flexible. I want to see Southern California, but it’s not going anywhere.”
Noah stood up. “Are you nervous about flying?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.” She spoke half under her breath, as if reminding herself that she had her fear of flying under control and wouldn’t let it stop her from doing what she wanted to do. “If you really do want to stay, you’re welcome to use one of the guestrooms here.”
“Complete with vintage linens, from what Dylan has told me.” Noah considered the graceful center-chimney house and surrounding acreage that comprised The Farm at Carriage Hill. “It sounds perfect, Olivia. I actually could use some time just to hang out on my own.”
Dylan grunted. “No one would look for you here, dog sitting, that’s for damn sure.”
“The plane’s gassed up and ready,” Noah said. “Go on. I’ll join you as soon as I’ve had enough of country life.”
“Before we’ve reached altitude, then,” Dylan joked. His good humor evaporated quickly and he narrowed his eyes again on Noah. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you here alone with this guy on your tail.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll have Buster.”
“There’ll be guys working up the road at my place, too. The Sloans. Maggie’s in-laws. They’re handling the construction.” Dylan grimaced, shook his head. “I still don’t like it.”
“Amazingly, Dylan, my friend, I have managed not just whole hours and days but whole weeks and now even months without you down the hall from me. I’ll be fine.”
Buster roused himself and stood by Olivia. He seemed aware on some level that she was about to leave him with a stranger who knew next to nothing about dogs. She scratched his big head. “Staying here won’t be what you’re used to, Noah. Not that I know what you’re used to, but I’m not…” She made a face but smiled through her discomfort. “Do people often get tongue-tied when they try to talk to you?”
Dylan answered before Noah could. “Only until they learn he got perfect scores on his SATs and graduated a year early from MIT. Then it gets interesting. A billion in the bank’s nothing compared to being good at math.”
Noah smiled at Olivia. “Ignore him. He’s been like that since kindergarten.”
“This place is coming together,” she said, “but it’s not done yet. There’s so much more to do. So many possibilities.”
“You love it here,” Noah said.
“I do. As I mentioned, Maggie will be in and out, if you don’t mind.”
“It’s your house.”
“She can help you with anything you need. Phoebe can, too. She’s always willing to help people, and she knows at least as much about what’s going on in town as her mother does. Elly works at the town offices. She’s a ball of fire, if you run into her. She’ll tell you anything you want to know about goats and then some.”
“Good to know,” Noah said with a sideways glance at Dylan. Goats. They were discussing goats again.
“Sure you want to stay?” Dylan asked with a grin.
Olivia ignored them both. “Noah, if you want to keep your presence here a secret, Maggie and Phoebe won’t say anything. People in town are aware of who you are, because of my relationship with Dylan, but they’ll assume you’re in San Diego. They won’t recognize you. For one thing, they’d expect you to have an entourage.”
Noah was amused. “An entourage,” he said.
“You know.” Olivia shrugged. “People. Bodyguards and chauffeurs and valets. That sort of thing.”
He’d had a chauffeur and a bodyguard from time to time, but never a valet. He’d always managed to get himself dressed. He might have danced with a woman pretending to be a princess, but he wasn’t a prince.
“The women he dates have entourages,” Dylan said. “Noah’s just a guy with a lot of zeroes in his net worth.”
Noah rolled his eyes but addressed Olivia. “Your fiancé is dangerous when he starts talking numbers.”
She laughed. “I can see how you two were a good pair at NAK and have stayed friends for so long. I need to run into town. I want to see Maggie before we leave for the airport. Noah, you can hang out with Buster and see how it goes. There’s still time to change your mind.”
As she went back through the kitchen, Noah stepped back onto the terrace and sat at the table. He heard bumblebees buzzing in purple flowers behind a green-painted bench. They weren’t chives. Some kind of mint, he thought. If he stayed in Knights Bridge for more than forty-eight hours, he probably would learn all about New England flowers and herbs.
“Do you think Olivia will fall in love with San Diego?” he asked.
Dylan’s eyes darkened. “I hope so, but Knights Bridge is where she belongs. It’s home for her. It always was, even when she was in Boston.”
“You belong here, too,” Noah said. “You know there’s ice here in the winter, right? Also in the fall and spring, and probably at times in the dead of summer, too.”
“You’re a riot, Noah,” Dylan said.