Page 28 of Never Date a Celebrity

They spent the next hour or so trekking up some fairly challenging terrain and steep hills while asking each other questions about anything and everything. Amy took it in her stride, both the hike and the inquisition.

They discussed their families, and Imogen learned that growing up it had been just Amy, her parents, and her sister. Amy described it as a quiet and harmonious household, and they were all still very close. Imogen on the other hand had been the only girl amongst four brothers, which meant that her house had contained very little peace or harmony at all. Though, as the only girl she had been incessantly doted on by both her mum and dad. Imogen’s brothers still regularly teased her that she was the favourite child, and she secretly suspected that she was.

Amy told her a bit about LA, and in turn Imogen told her about Belfast—Amy said she hadn’t had a chance to visit the city yet, but she wanted to, and Imogen filed that information away. Just in case another date would be on the cards. She couldn’t see any reason why there wouldn’t be. They were getting along really well, and Imogen had to admit, she was wildly attracted to Amy. Her blond hair was pulled back today, and every time she smiled, Imogen genuinely felt her knees go weak. Imogen would also be lying if she said that she hadn’t purposefully lagged behind two or three times to catch a glimpse of Amy walking ahead. That view was much too good to miss. It seemed that part of Imogen had finally woken back up.

What shocked Imogen even more was that Amy seemed to be just as into her too.

“What’s a food that’s really popular that you can’t stand?” Amy asked her.

Imogen didn’t even have to think about it. “Sushi. Vegetarian, fish, or otherwise. I don’t get the hype and would rather go hungry than eat it. What’s yours?”

“Oysters.” Amy puffed her cheeks out. “Can’t stand them.”

“That’s a posh one. Are you a posh person? Over here, I can usually tell by an accent, but with you I’ll need you to tell me.”

Amy laughed. “I wouldn’t consider myself posh. Just been around a lot of oyster joints I guess.”

“Well, fear not. There won’t be any oysters on this trip.” Imogen paused to think of her next question. “What’s your ideal superpower?”

Amy didn’t miss a beat. “Being invisible.”

“You’ve thought about this.”

“Of course. Who knows when they are going to be offered up a chance to bag a superpower? One needs to be prepared. Besides, imagine how much you could get away with being invisible. All the things you would get to see.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure I’m a fan of your power. If you’re invisible, then I wouldn’t get to look at you. Seems like a waste to me.”

That made Amy smile. She bumped Imogen with her hip. “I wouldn’t be invisible all the time. Just when it’s required. What’s yours?”

“Flying.”

Amy nodded like that made sense. “I could see you as a flyer. Free and watching over the world. This damn hill would be easier for one thing.”

Imogen laughed. “It’s worth it at the top. You’ll see.”

And was it ever? When they finally made it, Amelia wasn’t sure how long she stood frozen to the spot, mouth agape, staring at the views that surrounded her.

“Hungry?” Imogen asked, pulling her out of her daze.

“I think I must be, but I’m not sure I fully know how to articulate right now.”

Imogen chuckled and gently took her arm and led her across to some picnic tables that didn’t hinder the spectacular view in any way. In fact, they were even closer to the ocean which was glistening under the bright sunshine that had miraculously graced their date. Amelia hadn’t seen the sun in over a week, but it had picked a good day to make an appearance.

Imogen set her backpack on top of the picnic table and unzipped it. “I didn’t know what you would want so I brought some options.” First, she held up two bottles of water and a couple of protein bars. “These were in case we weren’t getting along. Quick and practical.”

Amelia couldn’t help but laugh. “Did you think we wouldn’t?”

“Well, you just never know.” Imogen rooted around some more and this time pulled out a bottle of white wine followed by two plastic flutes. “But I had a better plan if we did.”

“Now I’m glad I pretended to be nice,” Amelia teased her.

Imogen grinned and proceeded to pull out more goodies, holding each one up as she did. “Fresh ciabatta. A selection of cheeses. Some fruit—grapes and berries and stuff. Um, oh aye.” She pulled out a glass jar. “Some of Sally’s homemade chilli jam. I can’t get enough of the stuff, and it goes really well with the cheese.”

Once again, Amelia struggled to speak, because Imogen had just pulled off a first date masterclass. One that Amelia could have only dreamed of. The setting, the activity, the food, the company. Usually, her dates consisted of dinners at pretentious restaurants, or drinks and dancing at equally as pretentious clubs. No one had ever done anything like this for her—not once in her entire life. Frankly, she felt quite choked up about it. She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled. “This is perfect, thank you,” she said softly, trying to hide her rush of emotion.

“You’re welcome.” A blush rose on Imogen’s cheeks, and she looked away like she was suddenly self-conscious, which she had zero reason to be. Amelia genuinely couldn’t think of anything better than this.

Amelia took a few moments to regroup as she took a seat across from Imogen at the picnic table—before she became a complete sap. She busied herself by sorting out their disposable plates and cutlery while Imogen laid out the food and poured them both some wine. Her thoughts drifted briefly to Steve. It was surprisingly easy to forget he was there at all, which probably meant he was doing his job well. Amelia almost glanced around for him, then stopped herself. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to the fact she had security trailing her on a date. If he was close, he’d simply be keeping an eye on the area, and on hand in case Amelia needed him. Which, as she already suspected, she didn’t. Perhaps he’d realised that too and gone back to wait in the car already. Oh, Amelia really hoped that was the case. On their next date, Amelia was going alone, without question. She didn’t care who tried to fight her on it. Famous or not, she had the right to some privacy.