Page 108 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

“Give me a chance,” he pleaded halfheartedly.

Rowan pushed off the wall and scuffed his boots around the room. “She doesnae need a chance. Ye are captain of theSea Storm. ’Tis an honor to wed ye.”

“Rowan’s correct on both accounts.” I removed my hand from his grasp, wondering if he felt the slow burn. “It is an honor to marry you, and there is no chance I will.”

Max’s smile waned. “What do ye mean?”

“Here’s the deal. I want to be honest with you. And I want you to be honest with me.”

“Honesty isnae a desirable trait for a smuggler,” Rowan said.

“Or a pirate,” Max added.

“Is that what you want to be? A pirate? A thief?” I stood and faced Max. He stiffened, then relaxed, but I felt his anxiety all the way to my toes. Reading him was easy—he didn’t know how to block me.

“I um…” Max averted his eyes from mine, looking down at his shoes.

“Do you want to steal from innocent people trying to make a living? It’s one thing to sneak around under England’s nose to take a load of sugar to a town that’s in need, but it’s a much bigger thing to cut a man’s throat because he’s protecting his livelihood.” I slashed my finger across my throat, mimicking the sword, and held my arms up, palms open in awhat do you thinkgesture, hoping my message hit a vein.

Max paused, snuck a glance up at Rowan. “Are you worried that I won’t be a good husband because I’ll be out to sea?”

“Captain Smith will sail the ocean, like his da,” Rowan bellowed. If he’d gorilla-thumped his chest, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

I dropped my hands and attempted to get in Rowan’s face. Not an easy feat to face off with the giant. “Where will you be?” I placed my hands on my hips instead. “What about your wife and children?”

“I havenae bairns,” Rowan began, then stumbled back. His eyes widened just a bit. Enough for me to witness his concern. “Have ye a vision about me then?”

“No vision.” I shook my head slightly. “I’m speaking the truth. You’ve seen my key. You know I’m from the future, like Max’s mother.” I removed my scarf and showed Max my key. “And like all my friends who have come here searching for an important relic lost in our time.”

“She wears a key like mine.” Max looked at my key in awe.

“And because I’m from the future, I know about Rowan.” I turned to face the giant. “You must leave this life of piracy, or it will be your death.”

Whoa, that sounded morbid, like one of those end-of-the-world guys who stand on the corner and shout Bible verses.

Max closed his eyes tight as if shutting out the idea of Rowan’s death. He shook his head violently. “It cannae be.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder, taking a deep breath of my own to calm him. “What if I can show you a new adventure? One where you can still make a difference. One where Rowan gets to live to be an old man with his wife and children. Where you become something besides a pirate. Where you can use your gift to help us.”

“Are ye saying I can go with you?”

“And we can take theSea Stormwith us.”I hoped.

“I can take my ship to the future. That would be so dope.” Max beamed at Rowan.

“Dope?” Rowan’s brows knitted together. “Where did ye learn such a word?”

“From the cook.” A contrary smile pulled at the corner of Max’s mouth. “It means veera good.”

I did a mental head slap of Ace for his tutoring. I moved between the two men and softened my voice. “There’s one hitch. You will have to leave Rowan.”

“Why cannae he come with us?” Max’s mood quickly turned into a panic that filled the room so fully I thought the door would bow out from the pressure. I did a little mental blocking to lessen the emotions Max radiated like sun rays.

“Because he’s from this time. His life is here, but yours doesn’t have to be.”

“How does this happen?” Rowan’s face held curiosity, and his body language indicated he was open to the idea, mainly because he wasn’t grunting. He really did have Max’s best interests at heart.

I told them my plan. Rowan wasn’t thrilled to be sidelined. “I need you on theSea Storm. Vane will never believe you didn’t attend your captain’s wedding.”

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