“Sorry, Khloe,” Katrina said, hugging her back.“There was traffic all the way from Miramar.We checked in with just enough time to freshen up before coming down to the party.”
Katrina and her sister stood there chatting excitedly about the wedding, apparently completely forgetting there were other people around them.It wasn’t until a tall, lean man with blond hair and wearing a suit that probably cost more than Darwin’s monthly hazard pay from the Navy walked over with a smile on his face.
“You must be Darwin Sutton,” the man said, offering a hand for a firm shake.“I’m Asher Haynes, Khloe’s fiancé.”
“Nice to meet you,” Darwin said, glancing at Katrina with a smile.“She did mention you, but something tells me that I probably know as much about you as you know about me.”
Which was to say, next to nothing.
“Probably,” Asher agreed with a laugh.“But that’ll give us a lot of stuff to talk about while Khloe and Katrina bond over wedding stuff.”
Darwin immediately decided he liked Asher.As a Navy SEAL, making quick appraisals of a person was kind of like a thing for him.
That was when Katrina and Khloe remembered they were in a ballroom with four hundred other people, including their new boyfriend and fiancé.
“I see you’ve already met Asher,” Katrina said with a smile.“Darwin, my sister, Khloe.”
Up close, Darwin could recognize the family resemblance even more.Katrina’s face was a little more heart-shaped, her nose a little perter, and her hair a little more honey colored, but it would be impossible to look at them and not know they were sisters.
“Nice meeting you, Khloe.”Darwin gave her a smile.“Thanks for inviting me.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Khloe said, returning his grin as she moved close to Asher and slipped her hand into his.“And of course I’d invite you.Like I’d pass up the chance to meet the man my baby sister has been telling me so much about for the past few months.”
Stunned, Darwin looked at Katrina, who suddenly seemed to have an unusual interest in the string quartet on the other side of the room.Was she blushing?
“Katrina’s been talking about me?”he asked innocently.“What’s she been saying?”
“Don’t you say a word!”Katrina hissed, glaring at her sister.“Anything I said to you is protected under sibling confidentiality.”
Darwin chuckled.He’d been teasing Katrina by asking, but now, he couldn’t help wondering exactly what the two sisters had discussed.Unfortunately, Khloe shook her head.
“I’m just playing,” she assured Katrina.“I’d never reveal anything you said in private.But you can’t blame me for being interested in the guy you brought to my wedding.And don’t think I didn’t notice the two of you have connecting rooms.”
“Who has connecting rooms?”a woman asked from behind them.
Darwin turned around along with everyone else to see an older version of Katrina and Khloe standing there, wearing an elegant gown and looking expectantly at her daughters.
A younger man stood beside her, his suit as expensive as Asher’s, and his gaze locked on Katrina like he wanted to eat her up..Darwin had never met the man and already didn’t like him.
“Mom!”Khloe said.“Katrina and I were just about to go find you.”
“Were you?”the woman said, her tone suggesting she didn’t believe Khloe at all.“Because all I heard you two talking about is Katrina having a connecting room with someone.”
Katrina’s mother regarded her for a few moments before continuing until her icy blue gaze settled on Darwin, as if she was evaluating him.And found him lacking.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” she said, giving Darwin a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“This is Darwin Sutton,” Katrina said, stepping closer to him, like she was trying to protect him from her mother.“My boyfriend.”
Her mother’s eyes went a little wide at that.As for Mr.Perfect, he looked like someone had just stolen his G.I.Joe action figure with the Kung-Fu Grip.For some reason, the man’s reaction made Darwin happy.It was juvenile, but he wasn’t going to apologize.
“Boyfriend?”Katrina’s mother echoed.“You didn’t mention having a boyfriend at Khloe’s bridal shower.And you certainly didn’t say anything about bringing anyone to the wedding.”
“Yes, my boyfriend,” Katrina repeated, not flinching at the accusation in her mother’s words.“Darwin and I have been seeing each other for a while, but I didn’t get around to asking him to come to the wedding until recently.That’s why I didn’t mention it at the bridal shower.But since we’re here now, I should introduce you, don’t you think?”She looked at him.“Darwin, this is my mother, Grace Weber.”
Katrina’s mother didn’t say anything.Instead, she stood there studying her daughter with what could only be called a calculating expression.After a moment, Grace’s gaze moved to Darwin before going to Mr.Perfect.
Deciding it was time to step in, Darwin offered his hand to Katrina’s mother.“Mrs.Weber, it’s wonderful to finally meet you.Katrina has told me so much about you.”
