Extrait

“Outlander!” I stab my tortilla chip in the direction of the guy who’s playing Jamie, the heart-melting Scottish highlander from the eighteenth century who falls in love with a twentieth-century nurse. “Isn’t it awesome they adapted the book for TV?”

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re still obsessed over that book.” Jason’s voice is affable, but I think there’s just a small amount of derisiveness in it. Oh well. I suppose it’s too much to ask for a guy to appreciate—I mean truly appreciate, not out of politeness—the fantastic escapism that a romance novel offers.

“It’s a classic,” I say, pretending to look offended. “And strictly speaking, it’s not a romance. There are too many elements in it to be labeled your typical romance novel.”

“Okay, whatever you’d like to call it, but I just don’t get it. The girl gets thrown into centuries back in time, where they don’t have electricity or running water. When you’re used to modern appliances, how are you going to tolerate going without them? Can you give up those comforts for the dashing hero who probably has outdated, sexist views?”

Realistically speaking, of course not. But . . .

“We’re talking about a novel here, not realistic non-fiction. It’s the story that counts.”

“Yeah, but if you can have a gorgeous, caring guy in the twenty-first century” —he points at himself with a smirk— “why would you choose an anachronistic man, even if he looks good with his shirt off?”

“I get it.” I throw up my hands in a you win gesture. “You just can’t stand the sight of me drooling at another guy in front of you.”

“Come on, baby, you know me better than that. Hypothetically speaking, you’ll never choose a guy from the past over me. Anyway, there’s no point arguing over a TV show. Let’s move on to something more important.”