As she stood outside her dorm, waiting for him to arrive, she felt only excitement for the time with him and none of the nervousness she’d experienced when he’d first pitched the idea to her. He’d texted to say he was close and to watch for a black car, so when she saw a shiny black Mustang come into view, she figured that had to be him.

The car pulled into the half-circle drive in front of the dorm and came to a stop in front of her.

Nate jumped out to come around, shouldered her bag and opened the passenger door for her. “Hi,” he said, smiling.

That sexy smile as well as the affection in his eyes took care of any remaining nerves. “Hi.”

He had wavy dark hair, blue eyes and dimples. McDreamy, indeed, and even more so in person. “Are you going to get in?” he asked, seeming amused by the way she looked at him.

“I am, but first I want to do this.” She stepped toward him, put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. “Hi.”

Nate returned her embrace, holding her tightly. “How’re you doing?” Understanding how nervous she was about their plans, he’d continued to reassure her as their weekend together had drawn near.

“Much better now that you’re here.”

“I thought today would never get here,” he said, echoing her thoughts on the matter. “Every minute felt like a week.”

“Same.”

“Do you have a ton of homework?”

“I did it all.”

He pulled back to look down at her. “All of it?”

“Every bit of it. I didn’t want to be distracted this weekend.”

“Brooke,” he whispered. “How is it that you get prettier every time I see you?”

“Do I?” Was it healthy for a heart to pound that hard?

“Yeah, you do.” He tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “Let’s get out of here.”

She got in the passenger seat.

He stowed her bag in the trunk before getting in the driver’s side and pulling away from the dorm. After reaching for her hand and joining it with his, he didn’t say anything on the short ride to his hotel.

“Stay here for a sec. Be right back.”

When he got back in the car, he drove around to the back side of the hotel, retrieved both their bags from the trunk and held the door for her when she preceded him inside. Their room was halfway down the hallway and was actually a suite with a kitchen and living area.

“The sofa pulls out to a second bed. I can sleep there.”

Brooke ventured into the bedroom, which had a king-sized bed. She sat on the edge of the bed. “You can sleep in here. With me.”