Dance With Me (2 page)

“
Come home with me tonight.” He softly kissed her again. “Please.”

“
I don't think I can wait that long,” she murmured.

He gave her a slow, sexy, panty-melting smile. “You will come home with me every night.” He kissed her fully then, his hand finding its way back into her hair. “Oh, you will come,” he promised, “after dinner at my parent's.”

That jerked her out of her hormone-induced buzz. “What?”

“
It's Thursday. Cassidy, Camryn and Caleb will be there too.”

She briefly wondered why all his siblings had names that began with C, but pushed the thought away. Tilting her head, she asked, “Earlier today I thought you were ashamed of me, and now you want me to come to family dinner?”

“
Yes,” he answered with a sharp nod. “I'll pick you up at six.”

She flashed a nervous smile. “I guess you will.”

~*~

She changed from her purple wrap dance dress into a more sophisticated blue silk sheath paired with a pair of silver ankle-strap stilettos. She'd curled her long black hair and artfully applied her makeup. She knew she looked good on the outside even if her stomach was a butterfly sanctuary.

True to his word, he arrived at six, still dressed in his immaculate grey suit, pale blue shirt, and blue and grey striped tie. He looked gorgeous and she realized she'd chosen her dress to coordinate with him. She couldn't help it, she laughed.

“
You're laughing?”

“
We match!” she exclaimed through her fit of nervous giggles.

His eyes traveled slowly down her body, snagging on all the good places. “You look wonderful, Katerina,” he said, his voice rough.

She swallowed. “We
 
match
, Mason. We look like we're trying too hard.”

“
You were made for me, babe. Matching or not won't change that.”

She heaved a sigh, pushing her breasts high against the square neckline of her dress. “Remember that later,” she warned.

He tucked her into the passenger side of his silver Audi coupe, kissing her briefly before making his way around the car. “My family really isn't that bad,” he said as they drove the short distance to the Everett estate.

“
One sister is a prosecuting attorney, the other is a Broadway actress, and your brother is a doctor.” She ticked his siblings off on her fingers as she listed professions. “And you,” she pointed at him,“you are the Executive Vice President of Tyler Central Banking.”

He chuckled. “I, I
 
am the Executive Vice President of Tyler Central Banking,” he mimicked, “because my last name is Everett and NationBank thought it best to keep me on when they bought us out.”

“
You have an MBA,” she protested.

“
So does everyone else.” They stopped at a light and he turned to look at her. “My family is wealthy, that's just the truth, but they're not going to look down at you.”

“
You're a banker, your father is a banker.” She blew out a breath as she tossed her right hand out, hitting the window. “Ow. Look, I am in debt up to my eyeballs, my mother is in prison, and I don't have a father.”

He jerked the wheel at her revelation about her mother. “Your mother's in jail?”

“
I haven't seen her in years, but yeah. She was convicted of embezzling and fraud.” She blew out another breath. “You don't want to be with me.”

“
Yes I do,” he bit out. “You are not your mother, you are not your debt. You are Katerina Nemecek, ballroom champion, owner of
 
Dance With Me
, and the love of my life.”

“
You see it that way, but will anyone else?” She tapped a finger on the glass. “Or will everyone think I'm manipulating you for your money? Will they think I am a gold-digger and a whore?”

“
I'll kill them if they do,” he vowed.

“
Just remember I love you, Mason. I always will.”

He started to answer, but instead parked the car in his parent's circular drive before he turned to her. “I love you,” he said as he took her left hand in his, kissing her fingers as he pulled an enormous diamond ring from his pocket. “Marry me, Kat. Forget all this talk of gold-digging and just know I love you,” he promised as he slid the platinum ring on her finger.

“
I do know you love me, Mason. Of course I'll marry you.” She stared at her hand for a moment. It was official. She had a diamond on her hand and was walking into Carolyn and Charles Everett's house as their future daughter-in-law. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of meeting Mason's parents, but took the hand he offered to pull her from the car. As they made their way up the pathway she let out a short bark of laughter, causing Mason to turn to her with an eyebrow raised. “Why are you the only one without a C name?” she asked.

This earned her a grin. “My mother's maiden name is Mason,” he explained. I'm the only Everett not to have a C name in a couple generations.” He laughed. “I think my dad first started dating my mom because her name was Carolyn.”

“
Would we have to name our children with C names?”

“
We can name our children whatever you want,” he answered with a squeeze of her hand.

It was at that precise moment the door opened, Cassidy Everett in the center of the mahogany frame. “Hi big brother. Didn't know it was date night,” she greeted, tilting her head toward Kat.

“
Tonight's special, nugget.”

Cassidy shot him an exasperated look. “Really? You have to call me nugget?” She narrowed her eyes. “Special?”

“
Very much so,” he answered.

“
Alrighty, then,” Cassidy said, gesturing for them to come in. “It isn't every day my brother comes home with a beautiful woman.” In fact, never. He'd never brought a woman home for Thursday dinner. Cassidy looked the woman over from head to toe. She was exquisite, with a little bit of a Snow White vibe going on there, and–holy shitballs–a diamond on her engagement finger. A big-ass, I'm-marrying-Mason-Everett diamond on her hand. Quickly, she stuck out her own hand. “Since my brother is oh so wonderful at introductions, I'm Cassidy Everett.”

Kat took Cassidy's hand. “Katerina Nemecek. Pleasure to meet you.”

“
Likewise,” Cassidy answered. Something about this woman was familiar. She tilted her head. “Do I know you?”

“
I own
 
Dance With Me.
 
You might've seen an ad.”

She didn't think that was it, but nodded anyway. “Yes, I'm sure I have. Ballroom dancing?”

“
Among other things,” Kat replied with a smile.

~*~

Doctor Caleb Everett came into the dining room at the same time Kat, Mason and Cassidy did and stopped dead in his tracks. His brother had his arm around a stunner of a woman. “Mase?” he called as he made his way over.

“
Cale! I haven't seen you in almost a month. What's up with that?” Mason asked, the woman tucked to his side.

Caleb gave his brother's woman a once over. Some guys had all the luck. “I've been working. Trauma docs don't keep banker's hours,” he answered with a smirk. “You planning on introducing your lady, or do I have to do it myself?”

Mason chuckled. “Katerina Nemecek, meet my baby brother, Caleb.”

She took his outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”

He raised his eyebrows at his brother. “The pleasure is all mine.” Caleb held onto her long enough to watch his brother's coffee eyes heat. With a grin at Mason, he dropped her hand. “So, Katerina is the woman you've been mooning over lately?”

Mooning over? Was he that dopey? “I've asked Kat to marry me.”

A high pitched screech sounded from close by before their youngest sister appeared. “You're getting married!” She skidded to a stop, her cloud of auburn hair flying. “Mom! Dad! Mase is getting married!”

“
Thanks, Cam. I don't think they heard you in China,” Mason remarked.

Camryn's yell brought the elder Everetts downstairs quickly. “What's this about getting married?” Carolyn asked as she bustled into the room.

Kat didn't know what to do. She was used to being the center of attention when she was dancing or teaching, but she felt a little like a butterfly pinned to a board beneath the collective gaze of Mason's family. She clutched his hand a little tighter. “I can't do this,” she whispered.

“
Of course you can, they'll love you,” he assured her before turning to his family. “Meet Katerina Nemeck. I just asked her to marry me today,” he met five pairs of eyes before continuing, “and I know you'll love her just as much as I do.”

Carolyn placed a hand on her chest. “Honey, we didn't know you were seeing anyone.”

“
We kept it quiet.” He pulled Kat tightly against his side. “Until now.”

“
Well, boy, you've sure picked a pretty one,” Charles praised. “Now, let's eat.”

Really? That was all? She'd practically wet herself, and that was all. Mason's family was much more accepting than she'd expected. But they didn't know about her yet. Didn't know about her mother, didn't know about her debt. She prayed they would still be as accepting when they found out. She knew it was just a matter of time before they did.

~*~

Dinner was less formal than she'd expected, with Camryn regaling them with tales from Broadway, Caleb talking animatedly about the ER, and Cassidy telling them what she could about her latest case. Charles had spent much of the week on the golf course, and Carolyn was planning the Thanksgiving parade. They were all integral parts of the community. Wealthy, yet unpretentious. Kat found herself liking Mason's family and hoping that wouldn't change when her past came out.

“
You own a dance studio?” Carolyn asked, drawing Kat into the conversation.

“
Yes,
 
Dance With Me
. We've been open about three years now.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and decided she should lay everything out there. “I have to admit, I've run into some financial troubles in the last year or so.”

That perked Cassidy up. “What kind of troubles?”

“
Nothing we can't handle,” Mason answered.

Kat shot him a look before she answered Cassidy herself. “Enrollments are down from previous years. I have to admit I'm behind on the mortgage.” She saw three mouths open to say something, but she forged on, “I love Mason. I'd love him if he had nothing, I–”

She was cut off by Charles' laughter. “Girl, no one here thinks you're after the boy's money.”

The widening of Cassidy's eyes showed that maybe she had, but she didn't say anything. Mason pinned his sister with a glare as he told them all, “Kat broke up with me a little while ago because I offered to pay her debts for her.”

This time it was Carolyn's laughter that bubbled up. She grabbed her husband's arm. “Charlie, tell her the story.”

Charles shook his head. “You tell it much better, buttercup.”

The collective groan of their four children made Kat giggle. “The story?” she asked, leaning toward her soon to be mother-in-law.

“
Forty years ago, Charlie and I were high school sweethearts. His father hated me because I was from, well, we Masons weren't from the same “class” as the Everetts,” she began, complete with air-quotes. “Charlie told his father he could either accept that I was going to be his wife or he could stick it in his ear.” She stopped to shoot a smile at her husband, and Kat knew Charles had used much harsher language. “Curtis Everett kicked Charlie out and cut him off.”

The four Everett children, who had grown up with this story and the, 'You are no better than anyone else, and don't you forget it,' lectures looked slightly bored, but Kat gasped. “He kicked him out? What did you do?”

Carolyn flashed an indulgent smile before continuing. “We made do. His father didn't kick Charlie out completely. No, he made him work as a teller, a janitor, and absolutely every other job at the bank. I supported us for a long while, first as a receptionist at Kendrick & Gleason, eventually working my way up to Mr. Kendrick's executive assistant.”

“
How many years until you were,” she stopped, searched for a word with no luck, “un-cut off?”

“
When Charlie finished his degree in finance, the gift from his parents was to reinstate him in the will. It had taken six years of Charlie taking classes whenever he could to finish, and it turns out that made Curtis Everett proud.” She paused, her gaze resting on each of her children before finishing, “It wasn't long before Charlie was running the bank, and we had children running around the house.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “So, so... You really don't care?”

“
Do you love my brother?” Caleb asked.

“
With everything I am,” she answered earnestly.

“
Then, that's good enough for us,” Camryn declared.

The whole table nodded in agreement, but Kat noticed Cassidy wasn't quite as accepting as the rest of the family. She wondered briefly if that had something to do with her mother, but decided not to dump everything into the Everett's laps at once. Small doses. Her mother wasn't due out for ages and she was all the way in Richmond.