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Chapter Eight
Catriona
Living with Alex is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't even mind that he hasn't said he loves me, though I told him how I feel. Men don't like to deal with feelings, a fact I learned from watching my two older brothers deal with the lasses in their lives, beginning when they were teenagers. Aye, men have no clue how to handle romance. That's all right. I can wait for Alex to say those words because he shows me every day that he does love me.
Actions speak louder than words. That's how the saying goes, and I've decided to live by it.
When I ring my brother Lachlan six weeks after I moved in with Alex, I don't mention the man in my life. I've spoken to my sister Fiona in the meantime, but I didn't tell her either. I do let my family know I've changed addresses, and they don't ask why. They trust me. Sometimes I do feel guilty for keeping my relationship with Alex a secret, but I'm an adult, not a bairn. If I want to have this one thing for me and only me, without my family interfering or judging, then that's what I'll do. None of them suggest they might visit me in America. It's too far away and too expensive to fly here, and besides, they have their own lives. Moving here was always meant to be temporary, just until I get my PhD. My cousin Evan, who's almost done with his university studies, already knows more about computers than anyone I've ever met. So he helps us set up our computers to do video conferencing, which lets us see and hear each other.
Time flies by, but I love every minute of it. Sometimes I wish I could slow down the clock, just to have more time with Alex. But we have the rest of our lives. I won't get greedy and hope for more. I never ask him about his past. Am I a fool? Donnae care if I am. For the first time in my life, I have everything I need.
Six months after we moved in together, I get an offer I want to accept—but only if Alex doesn't mind. I'm excited to share the news with him, but I wait until we get home before I tell him. Alex had insisted on driving, and he might've crashed the car if I surprised him with my announcement. The second we walk into the loft and shut the door, I turn to stand in front of him, barring his way.
"What are you doing?" he asks. "If you want to shag before dinner, we should at least go into the living room to make use of the sofa. The entryway floor is marble, you know."
"I have something to tell you."
"Are you up the duff?"
Cannae help rolling my eyes at him. "No, I'm not pregnant."
He grasps my shoulders. "What is it, then?"
"I've been offered the chance to go on an excavation in Nevada."
"That's brilliant, Cat. Why do you look so stricken?"
"Because it means I'll be away for six weeks."
Alex pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead. "I will miss you terribly, but I know how much this chance means to you. Go for it, love."
"I'll miss you too, Alex. Are you sure you don't mind?"
"You've wanted an opportunity like this for a long time, haven't you?" When I nod, he taps the tip of my nose. "I want you to do it. And maybe I could sneak onto the dig site in the dead of night to make love to you in your tent."
"We're staying in a motel."
"Even better. I can steal into your room."
"I'll have two roommates."
He tips his head back and makes a sarcastically pathetic noise. "I'll never survive."
I know he's joking, but I also know he will miss me—and I will miss him. Six weeks might pass quickly. Still, I'll think of him at least ten times a day. Leaving my home in Scotland hadn't been as difficult as spending six weeks away from Alex will be.
He drives me to the airport two weeks later, and he kisses me goodbye at the doors to the terminal.
As the plane takes off, I peer out the window as if I think I'll see Alex waving goodbye to me. Of course I can't spot him. But my heart hurts a wee bit when I realize I won't see him again for six weeks. The excavation takes my mind off Alex during the day, though not completely, and our nightly phone calls don't ease the stress of being away from home, away from him. Aye, the loft we share has become my home. I get every Sunday off, but that doesn't give me enough time to go back to Ballesteros and see Alex, though he offers to pay for my airline tickets. I know he has plenty of money. That's not the issue. I don't want to race back to Ballesteros just to spend a few hours with him. It wouldn't be relaxing, and I've got enough stress with the ongoing excavation.
But on my third Sunday in Nevada, Alex rings me on my mobile phone.
"What are you wearing, darling?" he asks instead of saying hello. "Please tell me you're having a naked pillow fight with your roommates."
"Afraid not,gràidh. They're both sleeping."
"But it's ten o'clock in the morning."
"You know how grueling an excavation can be."
