The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance (74 page)

Oh, of course. Stupid travel agents!
she quipped, while still numb with shock.

So name a time period and we’ll go. For an hour or so.

Any time?

Any time.

Ella sighed. Why not go all out?
Then I want to go swing dancing. I learned how to dance about five years ago. I want to go to the Cotton Club. But more importantly, I want to go hear Duke Ellington perform “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”.

Sounds great. Let’s go.

Right now?

You doing anything else today?

And before she knew it, Ella was standing outside in the massive amounts of snow, in a fake fur coat and slinky silk dress, shivering while people attempted to shoveltheir driveways and kids playing in the snow gave her weird looks.

She waved merrily at one of the kids giving her a questioning look and in an eye blink Herman was standing there in front of her, dressed in a suit and fedora.

She gasped and stumbled back. “How did you do that?”

He held up his wristwatch. “Time travel , remember?”

She looked around, seeing no car he could have come from. Indeed, the snow surrounding him was clear of footprints. She shivered again, and not from the cold.

“You look lovely, but you’re not going to be able to swing dance in that.”

“It was the only thing in my closet that looks remotely like something out of the 1930s. If I have to sit and listen to Duke Ellington, I’ll do that too.”

“Are you ready?” He took a matching watch out of his pocket and checked the time.

“Does it hurt?” she asked as he slipped the watch on her.

“It’s extremely cold in one sharp instant. And then you blink, and you’re there. Now, according to our guidelines, I have to tell you that you cannot say or do anything that is going to seriously impact the future. You talk with as few people as possible. Think of it as bird watching or going on safari. You watch the people interacting and try to stay out of their way.”

She nodded and he took her hand, then pressed a button on the watch. And in an eye blink, a terrible coldness settled over her.

The next thing she knew, they were standing in the back of a crowded room, the gorgeous sounds of jazz and people laughing mixing with the haze of cigarette smoke that filled the room.

“Oh, my God.” Ella looked around. Everywhere people were dressed like something out of one of her grandparents’ picture albums. “We’re in the Cotton Club.” She pushed past the crowd to get a good view of the band performing in the crowded club and gasped. “Oh, my God!” She pointed to the stage. “It’s Duke Ellington!”

Herman was smiling. “I can see that.”

“They’re playing ‘Sophisticated Lady’!”

“I can hear that.”

“Oh, my God!” She threw her arms around him and hugged him. “This is the best date I’ve ever been on!”

He laughed. “Does this mean you believe me?”

“Either this is realor I’m hallucinating with you.”

“It’s real, all right. Now – ” he held out an arm to her “ – want to dance?”

They spent the next forty-five minutes dancing to every song Ella’s dress would allow and sitting out at a table nearby for the others, enjoying the music and just basking in the presence of the band.

“Our time’s about to run out,” Herman said to her.

“Oh, no!” Ella said with dismay. “And he hasn’t played it yet.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Ella watched in awe as he skirted around the dancing couples and went up to where the band was performing. Her mouth fell open as Herman talked to the famous musician himself, pointing back to where she was sitting. He smiled, nodded, and then turned back to the band as Herman walked back to her. The first notes of her song rang out.

“How did you do that?”

“I told him I’d travelled from far away to impress a girl,” he said with a wink. “And playing this song might help my chances.”

“Chances for what?”

He didn’t say a word as he led her out on to the dance floor again. Even as they danced to the upbeat song, Ella knew one thing – she was falling for him, big time. “I’m glad you brought me here,” she said over the music.

“Me too,” he said. “I’m glad you finally believe me. Ella. I know we’re moving fast, but I have to tell you something – I’m falling in love with you.”

She felt her face flush. “I think I’m falling in love with you too.”

And then, he leaned forwards and gave her the warmest, sweetest kiss in all of time, in front of all of the patrons of the Cotton Club and Duke Ellington. They were still kissing even as the ice cold of time travel took them away in an eye blink.

They broke off the kiss shyly and took in their new surroundings. “We’re back already?” Ella asked, disappointed as she looked around to find herself in the snow once again outside her house.

“The travel lasts for only an hour, remember? I got a few bonus minutes to allow for time to come get you. It came with the package deal.”

“Naturally,” she said in shock.

“Listen, Ella,” he said. “I’m afraid I’ve got to tell you something else. Something important.”

“More important than being from the future?”

“I told you before, time travel is pretty expensive. And I’m just a journalist. We don’t get paid much, even in the future.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t afford to keep coming back to see you.”

Her heart plummeted into her stomach, and she was surprised to realize how much the loss of him would affect her. “What? So we can’t keep seeing each other any more? I thought that was the whole point of this, to find someone in the past.”

“It is and I did. I met you, Ella.” He took her hands in his. “Like I said before, I know we’re moving really fast and I know you barely know me, but I also know that there’s no other woman in all of time that I want to be with. Love at first sight might be a cliché, but I think in this case, it’s also true. I’m asking you to go to the future with me.”

“You said I couldn’t go to the future.”

“I said you couldn’t go to the future for a visit. But you could go to the future permanently.” He squeezed her hand. “With me. We wouldn’t have to get married right away; I wouldn’t ask you to do that. We can wait until you get acclimatized in the new time period.”

She was stunned at what he was asking. “I’d have to leave everything and everyone I know behind. For ever!”

“Not for ever, we could save up so you could come back for visits, like on holidays or something. And you could email them, as I said before; emails are easier to send back in time than people.”

“They’d just think I disappeared on them!”

“Tell them you’re joining the Peace Corps or something.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think I can. I don’t think I can give up everything I have and everyone I know for someone that I just met.” She met his eyes. “Herman, I think I am falling in love with you, but how do I know it will last?”

“How do you know with anyone?”

“And this is only the second time I’ve met you,” she said. “Shouldn’t you have at least three dates before you commit to something big like this?”

“Well , we’ve met three times actually.”

“No, we haven’t.”

“I wasn’t sure if you’d agree to go on this date, so the other night I borrowed money off of my dad to do one last grand gesture. I went back to the night you signed up for the account on Future Date and met you in person.”

Her mouth fell open. “W-What?”

“I thought I’d do something romantic, like meet you with flowers after the bad date you were telling me about, the one with the guy who didn’t like kids. You never mentioned the name of the restaurant though; you only said you went to your friend Serena’s where she signed you up on the dating site. So I found her address online and met you outside of her apartment.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“You had a flat tyre.”

She gasped, staring at him in recognition. “Oh, my God! That was you!”

He nodded. “I was going to try to use that as proof of the time travel . I realized afterwards that didn’t really prove anything about time travel , only that I met you before. So—” he shrugged sheepishly “—we’ve met before.”

“I don’t think changing a tyre counts as a date,” she said with a wry smile.

“It should.” He looked at her, his eyes so hopeful. “So, will you go to the future with me?”

Ella couldn’t believe she was even considering this. She had never done a crazy thing in her life before signing on to that website. She had always been the good girland played it safe. Had anyone ever said that she’d be standing in the snow after having been on a date to see Duke Ellington in the 1930s, contemplating marrying a guy that she just met face to face a few days ago, she would have laughed.

Instead, she smiled.

“Yes,” she said. “I will .”

Madeline Baker

New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author. Also writes as

Amanda Ashley.

www.MadelineBaker.net

Sandy Blair

Award-winning author of Scotland-set historical romances.
www.sandyblair.net

Gwyn Cready

RITA-award-winning author of
Tumbling Through Time
,
Seducing Mr Darcy
and, coming April 2010,
Flirting With Forever
.
www.cready.com

Autumn Dawn

Author of
No Words Alone
and
When Sparks Fly, both
from Dorchester.

autumndawnbooks.com

Colby Hodge

Award winning author of the Oasis series and
Twist
. Also known as Cindy Holby.

www.cindyholby.com

Jean Johnson

New York Times
best selling author of the Sons of Destiny series.

www.JeanJohnson.net

Michele Lang

Author of the upcoming Lady Lazarus historical fantasy series.

www.michelelang.com

Holly Lisle

Author of
Talyn , Hawkspar
and thirty other novels in the fantasy, SF, paranormal suspense and young-adult fantasy genres.
www.hollylisle.com

Allie Mackay

National bestselling author of light, Scottish-set paranormals. Allie Mackay is the pseudonym for Sue-Ellen Welfonder,
USA Today
bestselling author of Scottish medievals, including her popular MacKenzies of Kintailseries.

www.alliemackay.com

Sara Mackenzie

Writes paranormal romance for Avon, and also historical romance as Sara Bennett.

www.saramackenzie.com

Michelle Maddox

Author of the futuristic romantic thriller,
Countdown
, as well as several paranormal romance and young adult fantasy novels (writing as Michelle Rowen).

www.michellemaddox.com

Margo Maguire

The author of seventeen historical novels, including the Warrior time-travel series from Avon. Writing in both the medievaland Regency eras, her books have been translated into more than fifteen different languages.

Maureen McGowan

Debut author of sexy paranormal romance and women’s fiction.
www.maureenmcgowan.com

A.J. Menden

She has never travelled in time, but does enjoy big band music.

Author of the Elite Hands of Justice series. The first in the series,
PhenomenalGirl5
, was nominated for a Reviewers’ Choice award from
Romantic Times
magazine and the second,
Tekgrrl
, was chosen as a Top Pick by
Romantic Times
magazine.
www.ajmenden.com

Cindy Miles

Cindy Miles is the national bestselling author of the ghostly paranormal Knights series.

www.cindy-miles.com

Sandra Newgent

A debut author who thrives on romance and adventure, she’s even cycled around the USA in the name of love. She writes paranormal, time travel , romantic adventure and historical romance.
Every love has its time.

Patti O’Shea

Nationally bestselling author and winner of numerous writing awards, her books have appeared on the Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks and Borders bestseller lists. Currently, she’s working on the Light Warrior series about a society of magic users that protects humans from demons and monsters.
www.pattioshea.com