Page 86 of Misadventures with a Time Traveler

“What an astute woman you are, mademoiselle.” I’m sweet about it and even stop myself short of the girlfriend lemur latch on his arm—though inwardly, I consider it. His natural pine-and-wind smell, combined with the crisp newness of his custom suit… Not a soul in Manhattan would fault me for going full lemur. “He makes the suit his, doesn’t he?”

“Hmmm,” the bird croons. “Ohhh, yes.”

“Max enjoys making things…his.”

“I am most certain he does.”

I want to roll my eyes. The woman isn’t giving up. Worse, I see that Max knows it too—and stifles a smirk as a result. For all the man’s gee-whiz reactions over the past twenty-two days, he picks now to transform into the Marquis de World-Wise? I’m not sure whom I’m peeved at more now.

“Well, thank you for your help.” I’m sure she notices the clench of my smile. “And since there are only the few alterations on my dress for you to handle, perhaps we can come back in a few hours to pick up—”

“Oh, no no no.”

“Excuse me?”

“We do not know if yours are only the alterations.” She gives the answer to me but locks her gaze on Max. “So many hidden challenges with suits. I believe I shall require a closer perusal of Monsieur De Leon’s…fit.”

“Of course you do.” I grit it out so hard, it’s an incoherent mumble.

Once more, Max battles back a grin. “Mademoiselle,” he soothes. “Tout va bien. Je ne souhaite pas vous déranger.”

“It is no trouble.” Refinna translates his words with the simplicity of her reply. She goes for the big-eyed blink-blink again. “In fact…it is my pleasure.”

She enforces every illicit subtext of the words by dropping her stare south of his trendy belt. I re-twist my hands into fists. If this wench is all for scrapping decorum, so am I.

“Mademoiselle,” I level. “Even in your native land, shit like this isn’t close to acceptable.” I step in, nearly taking Refinna’s eyes out with my breasts. I don’t care. Max presses against me from behind, soothing a hand down my arm, but I resist. “Stay out of this,” I snap and backhand his chest.

“Ma femme. This is not worth—”

“Stay out of this.”

Refinna rocks back on one of her skinny gold stilettos. “Perhaps that is not the only thing you have ordered him out of—which is why he is growling for the chance to get into me.”

One punch.

That’s all it requires to send the girl down for the count.

One punch.

But undoubtedly, the beginning of a thousand repercussions…

Including what is going to be my very short career.

Holy. Crap.

What have I just done?

And is it too late to beg Max just to zap my ass—along with the rest of my short-tempered, career-burning self—out of this time period altogether?

Chapter Fourteen

Max

“Alessandra.”

“What?”

“You must come out of the shadows, chérie.”