All That Sparkles: The Texan Quartet (14 page)

Her father scowled when she said ‘we’. “I told you that man was no good for you.”

Imogen didn’t want this conversation now, particularly not while Christian was in the house. “Papa, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t come into the guesthouse without my permission. I have the right to a little bit of privacy, don’t I?”

“I was only concerned for you.” The French in his accent was more defined.

“I appreciate your concern but it could have been a lot more awkward than it was.”

Her father had the grace to look away.

Until she moved out she would have to remember to lock the doors before she went to sleep at night.

“That man only wants you for your money,” he said.

Imogen stared at him. Did her father really think the only thing she had going for her was money? Did he think no one could desire her? Urged on by the hurt, she said, “If last night was anything to go by, it’s not all he wants.” She very nearly ruined the comment by slapping a hand over her mouth in shock that she could say something so audacious to her father but she resisted.

Her father gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing but no words came out.

Good. She’d shocked him. Maybe he would recognize she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions.

Imogen took him by the arm and led him to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

Without a word, he left.

*

Christian stepped in to the room and opened his arms. He’d been waiting like she’d asked him to. She rushed in to his arms, needing the comfort he could provide.

“I never thought you’d say something like that to your father,” he said.

Imogen felt the blood rush to her face. “I wanted to shock him.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure you did that. You shocked me too.” He chuckled and then he gently pushed her back. “You know it’s not true, don’t you?”

Imogen frowned at him, not sure where he was going.

“I’m not after you for your money.”

Imogen laughed. “Of course.” It had never occurred to her that he would be. He was Christian, the guy she knew before money was even a consideration. “Let me get us some coffee and then I believe you promised me a date.”

He tugged her closer and kissed her. “I believe you may be right.”

*

Imogen was ridiculously excited by the time they arrived at the boardwalk. She had to laugh. Her father would be absolutely horrified. The boardwalk represented everything he hated: crowds, cheesy souvenirs and mass-produced food.

Christian took hold of her hand. “Where do you want to begin?”

“The rollercoaster.” She’d seen it from a distance as they drove in and was worried she’d chicken out if she didn’t do it right away.

Christian laughed. “All right. Let’s get some tickets.”

They wandered along a path. There was a mixture of families with small children, teenagers on their own and young adults. Imogen glanced up at a ride proclaiming itself the Iron Eagle Zipline as the chair at the top of the line came rushing back to earth. Her heart thumped at the screams issuing from the chair. “We need to do that as well,” she said.

“Whatever you want,” Christian said. “Come on, the ticket booth is over there.”

While Christian bought the tickets she scanned the park, deciding what else she wanted to do.

“Here.” He handed her a ticket. “It’s a day pass.”

Imogen hadn’t offered to pay. “How much do I owe you?”

He gave her a look. “You’re my date; I’m paying today.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted, “Unless you want me to pay for my ticket from Friday night.”

She closed her mouth again. He was right. If he wanted to pay for her she should let him. It was weird because she usually paid when she went on dates. “All right,” she said. “But I should warn you that I’m expecting both donuts and cotton candy.”

He grinned. “I can manage that.”

They lined up for the rollercoaster, the Boardwalk Bullet. It was huge, and as Imogen watched a carriage plummet down the first drop, she squeezed Christian’s hand. She was going to do this. She was going to ride this wooden rollercoaster. She was going to take this risk.

It wasn’t long before it was their turn. The front seat was free and Christian pulled her in.

“It’s the best spot.”

Imogen wasn’t so sure she wanted to be right at the front, but she went with him and waited for the safety bar to lock in to place. She glanced at it dubiously. It wasn’t a whole lot to keep her from falling out.

The carriage moved and Imogen clutched Christian’s hand. This was it! Nerves and excitement clattered queasily around in her stomach. The carriage was dragged up an incline and Imogen could see across the parking lot and marina to one side and the Texas Gulf on the other. Then, before she could catch her breath, the ride was going around a bend and dropping straight down.

“Hands up,” Christian shouted, putting his hands up in the air and hers went with him. Her stomach dropped along with the ride and she shrieked as they twisted and turned. It was insane. Her body was thrown violently around and she had no control over what she was doing, where she was going.

It was terrifying and it was thrilling.

She didn’t breathe properly until they came to a slow stop.

“Oh my gosh,” she said, her skin tingling.

“What did you think?” Christian asked as they exited the ride.

She couldn’t think straight. Adrenalin was racing around her body and she couldn’t stand still. What a buzz. “That was so much fun.” She tapped her hands on her thighs. “Can we go again?”

“Sure thing.”

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thanks.” She grabbed his hand before he could kiss her again. “Come on.” She dragged him back to the line.

*

They rode the rollercoaster another three times before Imogen declared she’d had enough and they tried some of the other amusement rides.

Chris followed wherever she wanted to go, caught up in her exuberance. True to her word she made her way through cotton candy, donuts and whatever other snack foods caught her interest. All the sugar probably helped fuel her energy.

This was the Imogen he remembered from his childhood. So full of life, passion and excitement. She’d been missing her spark for several weeks. Her father had almost snuffed it out.

Determined not to let thoughts of Remy ruin his day, he noted Imogen’s energy was waning.

“Do you want to walk along the boardwalk and visit Stingray Reef?” he asked.

“Yes, please. I’m feeling a little queasy.”

He chuckled, not in the least bit surprised. They’d spun and swirled and dropped and swung. He barely knew which way was up. But he felt like a kid again.

Stopping at a food vendor he bought a bottle of water for them each and then took her hand and together they wandered along the boardwalk. The gulf was calm today and lapped against the pilings, producing a soothing sound. There were a lot of people out and about and Chris was happy to mosey between them.

“There are a lot of great restaurants here,” Imogen commented.

Chris stared at her. “You can’t possibly be hungry.” He couldn’t believe how much sugar she’d consumed.

She grinned. “Not at the moment, but dinner isn’t far off.”

He shook his head. She was incredible.

They wandered the length of the boardwalk to the Aquarium Restaurant where the stingray reef was. There were a lot of families in there with small children but that didn’t stop Imogen. Before he could protest, she’d bought them tickets and handed him his share of stingray food.

He followed her around the tank to where there was a clear spot. The stingrays were all on the other side being fed by other visitors; Imogen didn’t seem to mind though.

“Look at the way they’re coming right up out of the water,” she said, pointing. She perched herself on the edge of the tank and dangled one of the fish in the water.

Several of the stingrays broke away from the main pack and glided over toward them. Imogen stayed seated and kept still, watching their approach. She was calm, and not at all squeamish like some of the other tourists. When the stingray rose to the surface, she let go of the fish and stroked a hand down its back.

“It’s so soft,” she said.

Another stingray rose to the surface and splashed with its body. Water washed over the edge of the tank, wetting Imogen’s pants.

“Oh,” she said, twisting to see the wet spot now covering her butt.

Christian waited for her reaction.

“We may need to go shopping after this,” Imogen said and turned her attention back to the stingrays.

She was wonderful. Little things didn’t faze her. Chris moved closer and dangled one of his fish into the tank. Two stingrays dove for it and the wave of water splashed up over his front.

“I think you might be right,” he said, glancing at his wet T-shirt. He laughed.

*

When they were done feeding the stingrays, Imogen dragged him into the kitschiest souvenir shop he’d seen. It was full of boardwalk gear and novelty items. Imogen was like a kid in a candy shop as she went through the T-shirts and chose ones for them both.

“Papa never let me have kitsch stuff when I was little.”

Then she purchased a skirt to replace her soaked pants and used the change room to get changed.

Pleased with her purchases she dragged Chris into the other shops in the area. There was a ladies fashion shop where Imogen spent a lot of time, browsing through the clothes and examining the labels. She wasn’t interested in purchasing as much as checking what was available. It was fascinating to watch her. She held out garments, checking the seams and testing the fabric by stretching or scrunching it. She had a long conversation with the shop assistant and took a card from her.

Chris was content being with her, watching the joy she got from talking about clothes and examining the outfits. Clothing wasn’t just something to wear to her: it was an extension of personality.

She should be designing her own label. She shouldn’t be locked up at Tour de Force, made to follow her father’s whims.

He needed to convince her of that.

When she was finished shopping he took hold of the bags she’d collected. She’d bought something in each shop, not able to help herself. “Hungry yet?” he asked.

“Surprisingly I am,” she said. “Where do you want to go?”

“Lady’s choice,” Chris said. “This is your day.”

“There.” Imogen pointed without delay to the nearby movie-themed restaurant with shrimp and fried food.

She never stopped amazing him. He’d expected her to choose the Aquarium with its aquarium tanks or the Sushi restaurant.

“This is fantastic,” Imogen said as they walked through the door and the waitress explained to them how the restaurant worked. Her smile got wider as she read the menu and pointed out the names and what they were. “I’m never going to be able to decide,” she pronounced.

“The shrimp’s good,” Chris said with a grin.

She scowled at him and then said, “Have you been here before?”

He nodded. He’d been there several times over the years but never before had he enjoyed it so much as now, experiencing it with her.

She hesitated. “We can go somewhere else if you want.” She closed the menu.

“No way. I’m having way too much fun.” He kept it light but it annoyed him that she’d put him before her own enjoyment. She was too selfless.

She watched him for a moment and then said, “All right.”

In the end Imogen ordered a ridiculously large cocktail and a smallish entree. “I need room for dessert later,” she explained.

Chris waited until the drinks were served before he broached the subject he’d wanted to talk to Imogen about. “How are things going with your label?”

Some of the happiness left her eyes and Chris cursed himself for bringing it up, but she’d wanted to do it so badly, and he didn’t want others, namely her father, to stop her.

“I’ve put it on hold for now,” she said.

“Imi, you’d be great at this. Your business plan was good – it just needed a bit more work.”

Imogen took a sip of her drink. “Christian, there’s too much happening in my life right now. I’ve bought a house which needs renovating and there’s potential I have family I don’t know. Papa’s upset enough about those two things. I don’t have the energy for anything else at the moment.”

She had a point but he didn’t want her to give in. “You could still work on your business plan. You don’t have to actually set up the business straight away.” From what he’d read, there was a lot to it. “You could even talk to Simon.”

Imogen hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“Imi, your designs are fantastic.” He didn’t know much about fashion but if his friends liked them and Simon thought she was good enough then he was sure they were right.

Her smile was small. “It’s not all about the design,” she said.

The food arrived and Imogen changed the subject. “So what’s new at your work?”

Chris was tempted to continue the conversation but he didn’t want to upset her further. “Same old, same old.”

“Could you do more pro bono work?” Imogen asked. “It sounds as if you enjoy it and I’m sure people like Elle appreciate it.”

“Not all my clients are like Elle.”

“You’re still lucky,” she said. “As much as I love designing clothes, I don’t think it has any impact on anyone.”

“You helped Elle immensely yesterday,” Chris said.

She smiled. “That was easy. She needed a boost and it was just a few dollars.”

Chris suspected it was more than a few dollars. He’d seen the name of the high-end salon Imogen had sent Elle to. “You could call up a charity and volunteer your time. I’m sure they’ll accept any hours you offer. I can give you a name or two.”

“I might do that,” Imogen said.

He hoped she did. He could see how much joy she’d received helping Elle.

The waitress came and cleared the plates and Imogen ordered the chocolate-chip-cookie sundae. It came out in a cast-iron pan with a warm chocolate-chip-cookie base and ice cream, cream, toppings and nuts poured over it. She took one bite and her eyes rolled back. “So good.” She licked the cream off her top lip and Chris forgot what they’d been talking about.