“Don’t take it personally,” Katrina said, reaching out to grasp his hand, interlacing her fingers with his.“Mom might not be as ruthless as Dad when it comes to business, but she definitely has opinions on whom she believes is good enough to associate with the Weber family.Upton comes from old money.Mom likes that.”
Darwin winced, reminded once again how rich Katrina’s family was.They clearly had standards when it came to their daughter.Grace obviously thought he didn’t measure up.
“Don’t worry about it.Really,” Katrina said.“My mom and dad aren’t going to ever like any decision I make, no matter what it is.”
“Speaking of your father,” he said, not wanting to think about how inadequate he was in the eyes of Grace Weber any further.“Should we go look for him like your mother suggested?”
Katrina made a face.“Not yet.I mean, we’ll have to go say hello to him at some point, but let’s put that off for as long as possible.I need to decompress after that conversation with Mom.”
Darwin could understand that.
So instead, they helped themselves to the desserts on the nearby table––which turned out to be as delicious as they looked––then walked around the ballroom, stopping occasionally so Katrina could introduce him to a few people.
They were working their way to the far side of the ballroom when Katrina released his hand to hurry forward with an excited cry to hug a middle-aged woman with wavy shoulder-length red hair and big, round glasses.Darwin couldn’t help noticing how much warmer their embrace was compared to the hug she and her mother had shared.
“Francesca, I didn’t know you were coming!”Katrina exclaimed.
“Like I’d miss Khloe’s wedding,” the woman said, pulling back to look at Katrina fondly.“Or a chance to see you.”
Katrina took Francesca’s hand and led her over to him.
“I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Darwin Sutton,” she said.“Darwin, meet Francesca Miller.She was my nanny growing up.Well, she was Khloe’s nanny, too, but she always liked me better.”
“Oh, you!Stop that!”Francesca admonished with another laugh and a wave of her hand.“I love both you and Khloe equally, and you know it.”
Katrina grinned.“I know.I just love teasing you.You’re so cute when you’re exasperated.”
Shaking her head, Francesca gave him a smile and held out her hand.“So nice to meet you, Darwin.”
“You, too.”
Darwin smiled as Katrina and Francesca chatted, loving how much fun his new girlfriend was having.
“As much as I love talking to you,” Francesca said with a sigh a few minutes later, “I need to say hello to your mother, so I have to scoot.Talk later?”
“Definitely!”Katrina said.
“Can’t wait!In the meantime, why don’t you and Darwin go dance?”
Francesca gave Katrina a wink and another hug, then flashed Darwin a smile before disappearing into the crowd of people around them.
“She seems pretty awesome,” he said.
Katrina grinned.“She is.”
“So, do you want to take Francesca up on that suggestion and dance?”Darwin asked, gesturing toward the dance floor and a dozen or so couples moving around it.
Katrina smiled.“I’d love to.”
Picking up the four-count beat the string quartet was playing, Darwin slipped an arm around Katrina and moved into the first steps of a waltz, slowly merging in with the others gliding around the dance floor.
“You are a man of many talents, Petty Officer Sutton,” Katrina said, resting her hand on his shoulder.“Where did you learn ballroom dancing?”
“During basic underwater demolition training,” Darwin replied.“It’s right after Hell Week because the Navy doesn’t want to waste time teaching the waltz and rumba to anyone who’s not going to become a SEAL.”
Katrina blinked up at him, mouth agape.“Are you serious?”she finally asked after he led her through a natural turn in the corner of the dance floor.“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”
Darwin couldn’t keep a straight face anymore.“No, the SEALs didn’t teach me to dance while going through BUDs.My grandmother owned a ballroom dancing studio and taught me.She insisted it was a skill every man should know.That, and cooking.”He’d thought it was ridiculous at the time, but now, he’d have to call and thank her.“How about you?Where did you learn to dance?”
