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He wants to be my friend? My pulse accelerates, and that fluttery sensation returns. Aye, I want to be Alex's mate a bit too much.
"What do you say?" he asks. "Will you be my mate, Catriona?"
"Aye. That would be, um, lovely."
His mouth slides into a sexy grin. "Brilliant."
I pick up my rucksack. "You must have work to do, so I'll leave you to that."
"Yes, I do have lessons to plan. However, I'm free this evening." He eyes me up and down, and his tongue flicks out to moisten his lips. "Would you have dinner with me, Catriona? As a mate."
Will dinner with him be a platonic event? I'm not sure. My attraction to him could have influenced how I interpret his actions and words. Maybe he isn't attracted to me. He might only want to help a newcomer to this country.
But I need him to want me the way I want him.
"That would be lovely," I say. "Thank you, Alex."
"Where are you staying?"
"Graduate student housing. I have my own flat."
His lips twitch, though it's not quite a smile. "I know where that is. May I pick you up at eight?"
"Yes. I'll be ready."
"Excellent." He stands and escorts me to the open doorway. "I look forward to seeing you again, Catriona."
"I look forward to seeing you too, Alex."
As I walk down the corridor, I can't help glancing back. Alex is still standing on the threshold of his office, watching me. I wave to him, and he waves back. This time, though, I do not look back four more times. No, I restrain that impulse and keep moving at a brisk pace while I exit the building, cross the quad, and find my vehicle in the car park. I think Americans call it a parking lot. Tonight, Alex can help me get used to the way people in this country speak and teach me their idioms. I do know some of them from watching American television.
I shut the car door and sag into my seat. Cannae stop my lips from forming a smile or my body from tingling yet again. Alex Thorne wants to have dinner with me. Aye, withme.
Since I have no more classes today, I drive back to my flat in the graduate housing complex. I've just walked into the bedroom and kicked off my shoes when the phone on the bedside table rings. I snatch it up. "Hello?"
"Cat, how are you settling in?"
"Lachlan?"
"Aye, it's me. I asked how—"
"I'm settling in fine." Should I tell my oldest brother about Alex? No, not yet. We're just friends, anyway. "It's only my first day on campus, so ye donnae need to check up on me yet."
"Of course I do. My wee sister is on another continent, and you've been there for eight days."
"Ahmno 'wee,' and I can take care of myself."
"I know that." Lachlan pauses as someone in the background speaks, but I can't tell who it is or what that person says. "Rory wants to say hello."
Honestly, my brothers are so overprotective.
Rory comes on the line. "Are you sure you're all right, Cat? America is nothing like Scotland."
"How would you know? You've never been here."
"No, but Iain told me what it's like."
I can't help making a derisive noise. "He lived in this country for one year."
