lost in a past Dani couldn’t begin to imagine. She had so many questions and wasn’t comfortable asking any of them.
Mark hadn’t been married then, but her mother had been. Dani barely remembered either of her parents. The man she’d always thought of as her father, at least until she’d found out otherwise a few months ago, was little more than a blur.
Still, she found herself thinking about him, wondering when her mother had stopped loving him and whether Mark Canfield had been a part of that decision.
“I never knew why she ended things,” Mark said quietly. “A couple of days after that lunch, she called me and said she couldn’t see me anymore. She wouldn’t say why. I tried to get in touch with her, but she’d taken the boys and gone away. She wrote me and told me she was serious about us being over. That she wanted me to get on with my life, to find someone I could have a real relationship with.”
“She left because she was pregnant with me,” Dani said.
The moment was too surreal, she thought. She’d wondered what her first conversation with Mark would be like, but now that she was having it, she felt almost disconnected.
“That would be my guess,” he said.
“So that means you really are my biological father.”
Before Mark could answer, the door to his office opened and a woman entered. She gave Dani a quick glance, then looked at Mark.
“Senator, you have a call from Mr. Wilson. He says you know what it’s about and that it’s urgent.”
Mark shook his head. “His definition of urgent and mine differ, Heidi. Tell him I’ll call him back later.”
Heidi, an attractive woman in her early forties, nodded and left the office.
Mark turned back to Dani. “I think it’s very possible I’m your biological father.”
The interruption had thrown Dani. It took her a second to mentally recreate the emotional storm that had been swirling inside of her. But the senator seemed very calm about the whole thing.
“You didn’t know about me before?” she asked.
“Your mother never said anything and I never considered she could be pregnant.”
And if you had? But before she could ask that, the door opened again and Alex entered.
“I’ve run a preliminary background check on her,” he said as he crossed the room. He stopped in front of Dani and looked down at her. “No felonies.”
“You mean that bank robbery conviction from last week hasn’t posted yet? The federal government is just so busy these days.”
“This isn’t a situation I find amusing,” Alex told her.
Dani stood. Despite the dangerous heels, she was still a good six inches shorter than him. “You think I do? I spent my whole life thinking I was one person and suddenly I may be someone else. Do you have any idea what it’s like to question your very existence? I’m sorry if my search for my father gets in the way of your daily schedule.”
She was mad. Alex could see the fire in her eyes. She was also scared. She tried to hide the latter, but it was visible, at least to him. When he’d been very young, he’d learned what it was like to live in constant terror and the ability to recognize it in others had never left him.
But was she who she claimed? Her timing made him more suspicious than normal and he was, by nature and training, a cautious man. With him, trust had to be earned and once broken, was never given again. He doubted there was anything Dani Buchanan could do to make him trust her.
Alex studied her, searching for similarities to the senator. It was there, in her smile, the shape of her chin. But how many random strangers had a passing resemblance to each other? She could have stumbled across some information about the senator’s affair with Marsha Buchanan and decided to use that to her advantage.
“We’ll need to do a DNA test,” he said flatly.
“I agree,” Dani said, meeting his gaze with a steady look of her own. “I want to be sure.”
“I’m sure,” Mark said as he stood. “But testing will confirm everything. In the meantime, Dani, I’d like us to get to know each other.”
Dani’s smile was both hopeful and apprehensive. “Me, too. We could go to lunch or something.”
“No public meetings,” Alex said.
Mark nodded. “He’s right. I’m a public figure. Having lunch with a pretty young woman would get people talking. We don’t want that.” He thought for a second. “Why don’t you come over to the house for dinner tonight? You can meet the family.”
Dani physically took a step back. “I don’t think so,” she murmured. “I’m not ready for that. Your wife doesn’t know about me and—”
“Nonsense. Katherine is an amazing woman. She’ll understand and want to welcome you into the family. Alex and Julie don’t live at home but there are still six Canfield children for you to meet.” He frowned. “Not blood relations, of course. Katherine and I adopted all our children, but then you probably know that.”
“I did some research on the family,” Dani admitted.
And found out there was plenty of money, Alex thought cynically.
“You could have a few meetings here,” he said. “Before you take Dani home.”
But the senator had made up his mind and he was rarely convinced to change it. “No, dinner will work. Dani, you might as well find out the chaos you’re getting yourself into right away. Besides, Katherine will adore you.” He glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting I can’t be late for. Alex, give Dani the address. Say six tonight?”
Alex nodded. “Are you going to tell Mom or should I?”
Mark considered the question. “I’ll do it. I’ll leave a little early.” He smiled at Dani. “See you tonight, then.”
“I, ah, all right,” Dani said, sounding a little shaken.
Mark left the office.
Dani clutched her handbag so tightly her knuckles turned white. “The family. I didn’t expect that.”
No, she’d probably thought she could weasel her way into Mark’s good graces without having to face his children.
She turned to him. “What about your mother? Is this going to bother her?” She briefly closed her eyes, then opened them. “Stupid question. Of course it will. I know they weren’t together when he had his relationship with my mother, but still. A kid from his past can’t be easy to accept. I don’t want to make trouble.”
“Too late for that.”
She tilted her head. “You don’t approve of me.”
“You don’t want to know what I think of you.”
Surprisingly,
