After Work, Katrina Met Up With Don At The Local Gym. They Spent Hours There Enjoying Each Other's Company.

After work, Katrina met up with Don at the local gym. They spent hours there enjoying each other's company. Katrina couldn't remember the last time that she had laughed this hard, or that she had felt this carefree. She didn't even tell the girls where she was because, for the first time, she didn't feel the need to update her children about her whereabouts.

They were grown. They could take care of themselves.

By the end of the date, while they were both drifting in the pool after a heated make out session, Don looked deeply into her eyes, and said something that she was not expecting.

"I know this is sudden, but I feel as though we have known each other forever.", he started, smiling from ear to ear as he asked Katrina "Would you like to be my girlfriend, mi amor?"

Katrina could feel her heart beating in her ears, but she grinned and began to enthusiastically nod her head.

"Of course I would!", she said as she flung her arms around Don, snuggling into his chest.

It was all perfect, like it was out of one of the romance novels. Maybe this is how love was always supposed to be? She had built it up in her head as this thing that was supposed to be hard, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was as simple as two people discovering that they liked each other and they wanted to continue seeing each other.

"I had hoped you would say yes. I'm so happy.", he said, planting a small kiss on her forehead.

"So am I.", she said, sighing contently as they drifted in the pool. "So am I."

Dina tried not to show how offended she was that Cassandra did not know who she was. It was curious, considering Dina's massive online presence as a fashion icon. Was this girl not online? It must have been that way, considering all the rumors she had heard about Cassandra Goth and her disdain for people.

"Why did you transfer? Did a certain Landgraab have anything to do with it?", Dina asked, smirking as she watched Cassandra grow very red in the face. She wasn't sure if she was blushing or if she was angry, but her reaction made it obvious that was true.

"Papa and Mama thought that I should spend some time with my Uncle before going away to University.", Cassandra explained, trying to avoid eye contact with Dina.

It was obvious something was going on. There had been rumors for years about an arranged marriage between the Landgraab's son and the Goth's daughter. It would have made sense from a business standpoint. Old Money had a tendency to stick together. It would also explain why Malcom had refused her advances for the past three years despite her persistence.

"Are you going next year? Perhaps, we will be going together. That would be fun, don't you think?" Dina chimed, ignoring the look on Evie Copur's face as she rolled her eyes in the background.

Dina knew that she needed to get in good with Cassandra Goth, and while she wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea, it had to be done. Dina had dreams and ambitions of her own; marrying into a rich family was just one of her schemes. If she became Cassandra's bestie, perhaps, if the Landgraab boy was taken she would at least know of someone else that was looking for a wife.

"If you want, Cassie, I can show you around the school after class. I would love to get to know you better and I think we're going to be the best of friends!", Dina said, watching as the girl exhaled slowly, rubbing at her temples. "You know what....That would actually be great. Thank you...Dina."

"Dina," Katrina said with a pleading edge to her voice, her daughter rolling her eyes in response and ignoring her.

"Why are we leaving so early?", Nina asked, an arch in her brow as she went to grab her school bag.

"I have things to do. I have a prom to plan and we have a meeting before school today.", Dina explained, before she leaned over to kiss her mother on the cheek. "See you after school, Mama."

Katrina noticed the glare on her eldest daughter's face. Dina had always been so protective of her. Ever since their father, Vega, had left them, Dina had always been weary of men and their intentions. She had often told her mother that she could not trust them.

Part of that may have been Katrina's fault, since she had not provided her children with a male role model that they could look up to. Regardless, she hoped with time that if Katrina was to have a future with Don that Dina would warm up to him and give her blessing.

"Bye Mama.", Nina said, following after her elder sister, only looking over her shoulder to stare at Don once more.

Katrina noticed something in her daughter's expression but she tried to ignore it. Katrina knew how easily her youngest became infatuated with the opposite sex. She had already had three "boyfriends" in her high school career, and every "relationship" had ended dramatically. She hoped that she was just seeing things, and she didn't want to read too much into it.

"You should probably go, Don." Katrina said as she placed her fork down on her plate, finding that her own appetite had been lost. "I have to get ready myself."

"Of course, mi amor. May I call on you again tonight?", he asked as he reached for her hand. Katrina smiled, and nodded, "I would like that."

Dina smirked as her sister so easily took the bait. It was simple. She would encourage her sister's little crush on their mother's boyfriend. If Dina was right about him, and she knew that she was, he wouldn't be able to ignore her sister's attention for long and he would slip. It could be a week from now, or a month, or a year; but he would eventually show his true colors by pursing Nina. And when he did, Dina would make sure that their mother was there to see all of it.

It wasn't that Dina wanted her mother to be hurt; it was quite the opposite. She was convinced that her mother's fascination with this younger playboy was because she was lonely. She couldn't seriously be interested in trying to pursue things further with him. And, in the case that she was, Dina would prevent it from happening by any means necessary; for her mother's protection.

The girls didn't talk about their father leaving them, but they both remembered how it happened and they remember everything that led up to it. Their father had been in and out of their life for as long as she could remember. He never stayed very long, even though her mother begged him to. He made it clear that he felt responsible for the children, but that it wasn't anything more than that. It wasn't love. It was obligation that he visited. But, eventually, the visits stopped, and their mother was left heartbroken over a man that didn't love her.

The last thing that Dina wanted was to see her mother go through that again. She wanted her to find peace within herself.

"I will leave you two alone to discuss the arrangements." Dina said as she hopped up from the chair and made her way back inside the market.

It was then that she spotted someone that she hadn't expected to see there. She smirked to herself as she followed after him down the stairs and into the bottom level of the market where the gaming hall was. She knew that if she didn't take the chance to speak to this person, she would regret it. "Mr. Goth. Do you have a moment?"

Katrina brought Don back to her place to find that neither one of the girls seemed to be home. She checked her phone to find messages from both saying that they would be spending the night with friends. Katrina was slightly relieved by this, as she wasn't exactly ready to have the conversation that she needed to have with them about Don.

"Look like we have the house to ourselves.", Katrina said softly, as she reached for Don's hand. "Why don't I go change in to something a little more comfortable?"

Katrina's nerves skyrocketed once she got in the bedroom. Her eyes roamed over her figure, scrutinizing every detail about it. She hadn't been with anyone in so long, and she was sure that someone as young as Don was wouldn't be happy with her cellulite and wrinkles.

After a few more agonizing moments, she heard a soft knock at her bedroom door.

"Mi amor, are you alright?", she heard his voice as she took a deep breath and opened it. She saw his eyes scrap over her body hungrily, but then stopped when he looked at her face.

"I'm not ready.", she told him, and found that she didn't need to go into more detail about the conversation than that as he swept her into his arms again.

"I understand.", he said, as he rubbed the small of her back. "I'm pretty exhausted, actually. School is taking a lot out of me. Do you want to just....call it a night?"

Katrina leaned up to kiss him softly on the cheek. "Yes, I would like that."

She held his hand as she lead him back to her bed. The two of them crawled in and cuddled up in each other's arms. It wasn't long before Don was asleep, but Katrina laid awake for a bit, memorizing every detail of her beau's face, before she drifted off to sleep.

Going to the market every Sunday morning was a tradition for Katrina and her girls. Inviting Don to do something this mundane was a bit of a test, but it was also a testament to how she felt about him. She wouldn't have invited him to be a part of her and the girl's routine if she didn't feel as though he was a good fit for her, and while she could understand her eldest daughter's concerns, she also knew that she couldn't let Dina's opinion rule her whole life.

"Thank you for inviting me.", Don said, as he pulled away from their embrace while sitting on the fountain. "But, I thought you wanted the girls and I to spend some time together."

"I do.", Katrina sighed as she gazed back behind her to the building where she knew the girls were sitting with their coffee.

"Let me go and find them. I will be right back."

"Take you time, mi amor. If they need more encouragement, give it to them, but do not force them. They will get to know me with time."

It was things like that that gave Katrina all the encouragement in the world. Don talked about their life together as if he expected to be around for a long time, and tried to make those plans with her. That made all the difference in the world.