Page 23 of Resurrection
“This suits you,” he whispered over her shoulder before moving to his own chair that Michael held out.
“I’ll send your server right in. Roseanne will be taking care of you. Might I recommend the Taste of Brennan’s menu this evening? The turtle soup, rock shrimp boil, and bread pudding are phenomenal and my personal favorites.”
“Thank you, Michael. Your taste, as always, is flawless.”
“Bon appétit, my friend.”
CHAPTER NINE
Imogen couldn’t get over how charming and fun Nic was. Their dinner conversation was lively and flowed with ease.
“You’ve really never been scuba diving?”
“I don’t have gills. I’ve never really thought about sinking underwater for hours on end.”
“More like an hour at most. Although, sometimes, I wish I could stay down there forever.”
“Have you ever been down in a shipwreck?”
“Oh, yeah. They’re fascinating.”
“I have an ancestor who was a pirate. Jean-Luc St. Clair. He sailed with the Baratarians.”
“No way.” Imogen’s imagination was fully engaged. “Did his ship go down?”
“Ahhh … no one knows what became ofLa Courage. They say he sailed off into the sunset with his lady love and was never seen or heard from again.”
“How romantic,” Imogen whispered.
“I like to think so. He wasn’t hanged for piracy like so many others, so I think he ended up all right, especially since my great-great-great-grandfather showed up back in New Orleans with a chest of gold and made his home in the French Quarter.”
“That’s incredible.”
“If you want to see it, my grandfather left a collection of gold doubloons, said to have come off a Spanish ship Captain Jean-Luc had supposedly raided.”
Imogen inhaled. “Really? I’d love to. What a fascinating family history.”
“What about yours? I understand you come from an Irish whiskey-making family.”
“Well, we were, until recently. But, yes, my father’s family started Seven Sinners after they despaired of the quality of whiskey in America after they came over from Ireland. It offended their sensitive Irish taste buds, I guess.”
“I love that.”
“Are you a whiskey drinker?” she asked him.
“Not since I was a stupid young kid making bad decisions—no offense to the whiskey. That was all me.”
Imogen had noticed he’d stuck only to water during their three-course meal.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
He smiled, and she loved the way it came so easily to his handsome face. “Of course.”
“I don’t like whiskey. I never have. You can’t dive safely or enjoyably while hungover. Which was just one more reason I had no interest in the family business. Alcohol held no allure for me, especially when compared to the wonders of the sea.”
“Understandable. I love that you love it. How long are you staying in town? I’m sure you’re eager to get back to the Gulf.”
Imogen paused. “Honestly, I don’t know. I had planned to leave in a few days … but that was before …” She trailed off.
