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By then, it was noon and as Christian walked, he felt the beat of his heart change at the thought of seeing Raina again. It had only been a few hours since they had been together, but it felt like a year.
He whistled a tune as he walked. The world felt right, and even the weather was unusually warm, as though reflecting the joy in his heart.
Something told Christian that he had found an uncommon woman. Brilliant, beautiful, but most of all, kind-hearted; such women were rare in his world.
He knocked lightly on the door. Though he had a key, he found it awkward to enter without knocking as though it was his house. Raina flung the door open and when she saw him, she broke into a wide smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she saw him. Christian leaned on the doorframe and admired her loveliness.
“I thought I had dreamt everything up,” Raina said. “Where did you run off to?”
“I remember everything,” Christian drawled. “If you like, I would be more than happy to remind you.”
Raina laughed, throwing her head back, her wild curls shaking as she did so. Christian’s eyes ran over her sleeveless light pink blouse and black trousers that hugged her hips. He drew a sharp breath, about to grab her in his arms, wanting to take her right there—and then, Jeremiah’s face appeared at Raina’s side.
“Hi Chris, Aunty is taking us to the Water World Park, will you come with us, please?” he said, looking at Christian intently.
“Well, maybe we should ask Aunty Raina first?” Christian said.
Raina swatted him on the shoulder. “We’d love for you to come with us, you know that.”
It gave him a jolt of delight that she wanted him along on a family outing. He and Jeremiah linked arms and followed Raina inside.
“Hey Chantal, what are you up to?” Christian said, walking towards the dining table where Chantal sat.
“Hi Chris,” she said with a sweet smile. “Just waiting for Crystal to get ready.”
“She’s still up there primping herself,” Raina said with an exasperated voice.
“It’s just a stage, she’ll get over it,” Christian said, winking at her. “She just wants to be as beautiful as her Aunty.”
Raina bit back a smile and looked down at her feet at his compliment.
They left the house thirty minutes later and squeezed into Raina’s car. Christian enjoyed the opportunity to observe her delicate profile as she drove. Her brow was creased in concentration as she navigated the road around careless drivers.
The children chattered in the back about the rides they planned to go on. There had been an awkward moment back at the house when Jeremiah asked him where his swimming trunks were.
“I can’t swim,” Christian had lied smoothly.
Swimming was out of the question. For starters, it would mean that he had to remove his contact lenses and also immerse his hair in water. Christian didn’t know how the chlorine in the water would react to the dye in his hair. His whole fake ensemble could melt away and he could just imagine Raina’s reaction.
Something in his gut told him that she wouldn’t take the whole business of him going undercover well. He felt a heaviness in his gut at the uncomfortable thought, but shrugged it off again as something he would have to sort out in the coming days. He would have to break it to her gently, so that she would understand why he had done it.
The Water World Park was designed to delight both children and adult senses, with bright colors decorating the rides and splash pads. Raina paid the entry fee for all of them, which made Christian thoroughly uncomfortable. He knew she was on a limited income. He thought about pulling out his own wallet, and then realized that all of his credit cards gave away his real name. With regret, he let her pay. I’ll make it right with her, later, he thought to himself.
He chose a picnic table near the water and waited for Raina and the children to change into their swim suits.
They came out of the changing room minutes later and Christian’s jaw dropped when he saw Raina. She wore a red one-piece swimsuit which shone bright against her dark skin in contrast. The garment was cut like a modest suit from the 1950’s, with ruching on the side, and a halter around her neck, drawing attention to her ample bustline. She looked like a pinup girl from his fantasies, and for all that she was much more conservatively covered up than the women in the amusement park who were parading around in thong bikinis, she was all the more attractive for it.
She walked toward him, her hips swaying, and when the children were not looking and he saw her laughing eyes at his expression.
“You’re the most beautiful woman here,” Christian growled into her ear, wrapping his hand around her well-defined waist. She looked up at him, smiling, but before she could answer they were interrupted by one of the children.
“Chris, will you watch me slide down the blue one? It’s the scariest slide!” Jeremiah shrieked with excitement, jumping up and down.
“That blue one is not the scariest slide, it’s for babies,” Crystal said in a faux-bored voice. “Me and Chantal will go to the yellow one; it’s the scariest, Chris. You should come watch us on that.”
“I don’t think I could manage either of the slides, myself,” Christian said and shivered. “I think you’re very brave, especially you Jeremiah. That blue slide does look pretty scary. I can take turns watching all of you.” Jeremiah, whose face had fallen, now perked up and he grinned.
“Watch me first!” he said, sprinting towards the water and the slides.
