Dani nodded.

"You're not afraid to touch her? You had her on your lap while you were reading."

Dani had the sense of being tested. "No. I'm not concerned."

"People have a lot of misconceptions about HIV."

"Among other things," Dani said quietly. "You must deal with it all the time."

"I do. A lot of people think I chose these children I because they have problems. That's not true. I chose these children because they touched my heart."

Dani understood how that could happen. They were already making inroads into her heart.

She'd put off thinking about children when she and Hugh were first married. Taking care of him had been all she could handle. Eventually, he'd become more autonomous, so she'd explored different options, including in vitro fertilization. Then Hugh had said he wanted a divorce and it had all hit the fan. Now, for the first time in her life, Dani understood what people were talking about when they mentioned a biological clock. There was some serious ticking going on with hers.

"Alex mentioned the charity event to me," she said. "I'm sorry you have to deal with me in public."

"Don't be," Katherine told her. "We'll be fine."

"I've never done anything like that. Spoken in public, been to a fancy charity."

"It sounds worse than it is," Katherine said with a smile. "I'm thinking we'll go to a luncheon. It's more low-key. As for speaking, one of Mark's people will prepare a few remarks and go over them with you. We're talking ten minutes, tops."

Ten minutes sounded like a lifetime to Dani. "Great," she murmured, wondering what the headline would be when she projectile vomited halfway through her speech.

"You'll be fine. I'll help. When it gets closer we can talk about what you should wear and how to make sure you don't have anything in your teeth when you smile for pictures."

Dani felt both pleased and awkward. "You didn't have to do any of this. You could have thrown me out of your home. Instead you've made me feel welcome."

"You're Mark's daughter, Dani. That means something to me."

"You're an amazing woman."

Katherine laughed. "How I wish that were true. I'm just like everyone else, trying to get through the day."

Dani doubted that. Katherine was class. Dani didn't think she could have been as kind if the situations were reversed.

"Who knows," Katherine said as she scooped the broccoli into a steamer. "You may find you enjoy the charity work. Some women find it very satisfying. I do, as does Fiona. You met her, didn't you? Alex's wife."

Dani's insides went cold. "His wife? I thought…"

"They're divorced," Katherine admitted as she poured water into a pot. "I don't know what's going on. Honestly, Alex won't talk to me about specifics. Fiona is devastated. I've asked him to rethink his decision. I'm getting through to him, at least that's what I tell myself."

Dani didn't know what to say. When Fiona had gone on about being a member of the Canfield family, Dani had thought it was just cheap talk. Now she wasn't so sure.

But Alex had kissed her, Dani reminded herself. He wasn't the kind of man to play around, was he?

She swore silently. Not again, she told herself. She would not be played again. So how to be sure?

"Marriage is difficult," she murmured, because a reply seemed expected.

"I agree. I've told Alex it's important to take the time they both need to be sure. As it is, we're hopeful."

Hopeful. Fiona had used the same word. Did that mean anything? Was Dani looking for trouble where there wasn't any or was the truth staring her in the face? Was Alex too good to be true?


***

Gloria put her feet up on the coffee table and pointed the remote control at the television. "It's unrated. But as it is a political interview, I doubt we have to worry about graphic violence and sexual situations," she said as she pushed Play.

The video started.

Dani took a handful of popcorn from the large bowl between them. "If there is graphic sex involving my biological father, I'm so out of here. That's not an image I want planted in my brain."

"I doubt the junior senator from Washington interviewed naked. Although if he looked good in a thong, that could help his campaign."

Dani didn't know if she should laugh or be shocked. "Gloria Buchanan, I can't believe you said that."

"Why shouldn't I appreciate a handsome man in a thong? I'm not dead. At least not yet."

"Still, it's borderline icky."

"So I'm supposed to go blind as well as break my hip?"

"No, but let's not talk about thongs."

Gloria winked. "I'll only sin in my heart."

"A good place for it."

Dani ate the popcorn. Six months ago she never would have believed that she could have enjoyed living with Gloria. Six weeks ago it would have been a stretch. But here she was, in her house and feeling perfectly comfortable. It was a miracle.

"Our interview tonight is with Senator Mark Canfield. The senator is considering a run for president, although a recent revelation about an illegitimate child might present a challenge to the campaign."

Dani grabbed another handful of popcorn. "I never thought of myself as illegitimate. How Victorian."

"You have a father listed on your birth certificate." Gloria told her. "You're fine."

"So reality doesn't matter? It's all about perception?"

"Naturally. You should already know that."

Dani had a good sense of it. She turned her attention back to the interview.

Mark let the other man talk himself down, then began to calmly explain how a member of the media used a puppy to get a child with Down's syndrome to betray a family secret.

He was good, speaking slowly, conversationally, painting a vivid picture of a pretty little girl who could never really understand the harsh cruelty of the world. Mark made Alex's intervention sound like a knight riding to the rescue, and the discovery that Dani was his long-lost daughter a miracle.

"He's good," she said when she'd chewed and swallowed. "Better than good."

"He's a professional. What did you expect?"

Dani wasn't sure. "The smoothness is off-putting," she admitted. "Sometimes he doesn't seem fully human."

"Don't judge him because he's good at his job," Gloria told her.

"Why couldn't he be a plumber or a math teacher?"

"Life isn't that convenient."

"Whose decision was that?" Dani reached for more popcorn. "I can't figure Mark out. I can't figure any of them out. They're living in a world I don't understand.”

"Don't be sorry you met him," Gloria told her. "He's your father. It hasn't been very long. Give both of you a little more time. It will get easier."

"I hope you're right," Dani said. "Sometimes I think I should just disappear. That if I stay around, we're all headed for a massive disaster. What if I'm the reason he's not elected president?"

"Don't be a quitter. You have nothing to do with the election."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you. I like a good worry as much as the next person, but give this one a little time off. You can always come back to it later if you need to."

"How rational," Dani murmured, not feeling very rational at the moment. Still, her grandmother was right. Dani couldn't be sure her presence had done any harm. After all, she was tracking well. She would just wait and see how it all played out. What's the worst that could happen?


***

Katherine finished putting night cream on her face, then pulled off the scrunchie that held her hair back. She looked up and saw Mark getting undressed in their walk-in closet.

As always, the sight of him thrilled her and watching him take off his clothes made her want to make love to him. Instantly her mind filled with images of them naked, touching, kissing. Her body tightened.

So many of her friends talked about sex being a chore, something to get through so they could get to sleep, but it wasn't that way for her. She wanted Mark as much today as she had when they'd first been together. She had a feeling they could be eighty and toothless and he would still turn her on.

She walked to the doorway of the closet. "I talked to Dani about both of us appearing at the charity event. She's a little nervous, but I think she'll do well."

"Good," he said, not even looking at her. "Is my black pinstripe suit at the cleaners?"

An innocent question that brought tears to her eyes. "That's it?" she asked. "All you can say is good? Don't you have any idea of how this is hurting me? Don't you know that I'm devastated by her presence and what it means?"

He frowned. "What do you want me to say?"

That he would love her forever. That she was the most important part of his life. That he'd never loved anyone but her. Words he would never speak.

She turned away. "It doesn't matter," she whispered, knowing this was a battle she could never win. Mark would never love her as much as she loved him. He would never want her the same way. She'd tried to make peace with that truth for years. Tried and failed.

"It does matter." He moved close behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You matter. I don't know what to say. Katherine, you're the one who broke off our engagement all those years ago. You're the one who dumped me. You sent me away."

She nodded, because it was true. Still tears burned in her eyes. "You weren't supposed to fall in love with someone else. You were supposed to miss me."

"I did miss you."

"Not enough to keep from having an affair with that woman. I was devastated, Mark." She turned to face him. "I couldn't stand the thought of telling you I couldn't have children. Rather than see your pity or watch you walk away, I let you go. But I never stopped loving you. That's why I came back. That's why I flew out here and begged for a second chance. Do you know how hard it was to tell you I couldn't have children?"