Grace regarded his extended hand for so long Darwin thought she wasn’t going to shake it, but then she reached out and took it.
“Sutton, you said?”She arched a brow, scanning him critically up and down.“Of the Silicon Valley Suttons?”
Darwin wondered for half a second if he should lie in order to make Grace like him, but decided against it.Katrina didn’t seem concerned about her mother’s approval, so maybe he shouldn’t be worried about it, either.
“Afraid not,” he said, giving her a smile.“My family is from Pennsylvania, so I don’t think any of them have ever moved this far west.Except for me, of course.”
“And what do you do for a living, Darwin?”
The woman’s tone was nice enough, but something told him there was definitely a wrong answer here.He once again considered lying, but didn’t.Besides, what would he say?That he was an investment analyst?With his luck, she’d engage him in conversation about stocks, and there was no way he could pull that off.
“I’m in the Navy,” he said simply.“I’m assigned to a platoon on Coronado.”
Darwin wasn’t sure what he expected Grace to say, but he had to admit he was stunned when the woman let out a sniff of what seemed like disappointment before turning to Katrina.
“I just realized I didn’t even greet you properly, dear,” she said as if Darwin wasn’t there, stepping forward to hug Katrina.
Katrina returned the gesture, if a little awkwardly.Darwin wasn’t sure if it was because they didn’t hug very often or because Katrina was annoyed at her mother for blatantly snubbing her boyfriend.
He repeated the word in his head again.
Boyfriend.
He had to admit it’d been surprisingly cool to hear Katrina refer to him like that.They might technically be on their first date, but it was still nice to know she thought of him like that.
“You remember Upton Vandermark, don’t you, dear?”Grace said, stepping away from Katrina and motioning toward Mr.Perfect, who was looking at her like she was a midnight snack.
Darwin was hating this jerk more and more by the second.
Katrina looked from Upton to Grace and back again, a baffled expression on her face.“Upton, what are you doing here?”
“Your mother invited me.She suggested to Asher that I be one of his groomsmen.”
Suggested or demanded?Either way, Darwin didn’t have to be a genius to know the woman had done it because Katrina was one of Khloe’s bridesmaids.Something told him that poor Asher couldn’t have refused to allow Upton to be part of the wedding if he wanted to.
Grinning, Upton stepped forward, arms wide and clearly ready to hug Katrina.
Despite how cringeworthy the whole thing was, Darwin almost laughed when she smoothly sidestepped the man and moved even closer to him.Flushing, Upton dropped his arms, looking crestfallen and a little embarrassed.If the guy wasn’t trying to make a play for his girlfriend, Darwin might have felt sorry for him.
“Mom,” Katrina said, giving her a pointed look.“Is there something you forgot to mention?”
Grace smiled sweetly.“A few minutes ago, I might have asked you the same thing.”
Katrina stared at her mother for a long moment, like she was daring her to say more, but Grace simply reminded Katrina to make sure she said hello to her father before whisking Khloe and Asher away with her and Upton tomeet someone important.
Beside him, Katrina sighed.“I’m sorry about that.My mom can be a lot to deal with sometimes.”
“Don’t be,” Darwin said, giving her a small smile.“It isn’t your fault.”
“Maybe not,” she agreed.“But I still hate that she was so rude to you.And that stuff with Upton is annoying.”
He sipped his wine.“So, what was all that about?”
“That was Mom trying to set me up with someone she thinks is appropriate for me.”
“And I’m guessing she thinks Upton falls into the appropriate category, while I don’t?”
Darwin tried not to sound defensive, but was pretty sure he failed.
