Susan Mallery - Tempting

"Are you really running for president?" she asked. That someone she'd just met could be doing so now was beyond astonishing. It was just plain weird.

"We're exploring the possibility," he told her as he settled in a chair opposite the sofa. "This isn't a permanent arrangement. If my campaign looks like a go, we'll move to a more accessible location, but why spend the money now if we don't have to?"

"Good point."

He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. "I can't believe you're Marsha's daughter. It's been what? Thirty years?"

"Twenty-eight," Dani said, then felt herself blush. "Although I suppose for you it's been closer to twenty-nine."

He nodded slowly. "I still remember the last time I saw her. We were having lunch downtown. I remember everything about how she looked. So beautiful."

There was a darkness in his eyes, as if he were 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, she smiled. "Oh, I can imagine."

"I don't think so."

He didn't frighten her, which annoyed him. He was used to intimidating people.

"So when's the DNA test?" she asked. "I assume you'll be hiring a lab?"

"Someone will be at the house tonight."

"Will they be using a cheek swab or would you prefer dismemberment?"

"I don't want you hurt," he told her.

"No. You just want me gone." She sighed. "I wish I could make you believe that I'm just looking for my father. I need that connection. I don't want anything from him other than to get to know him. I'm not the enemy."

"That's only one person's opinion." He moved closer to her, hoping to crowd her into stepping back again. She didn't. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, Dani Buchanan," he said coldly. "This isn't a game. My father is a United States Senator who is considering a run for the presidency. There is more on the line than you can imagine. You will not be allowed to compromise him in any way. I'm not the only dragon at that particular gate, but I'm the one you're going to have to worry about most."

She leaned toward him. "You don't scare me."

"I will."

"No, you won't. You assume there's something I want, which means you have leverage over me. But you're wrong." She shifted her handbag onto her shoulder. "It's okay. I respect what you're doing. In your position, I'd do the same thing. Protecting family is a big deal. But be careful about how far you take things. You don't seem like the kind of man who enjoys apologizing. I'd hate to see you have to come crawling back to me when you discover how wrong you are about me."

She had guts. He had to respect that. "You'd love me to come crawling with an apology."

She smiled. "I know, but I was trying to be polite."

Dani walked through the main dining room of Bella Roma. The tables were set for lunch with the white linens in place and fresh flowers on the tables. She paused to randomly pick up a couple of glasses and held them to the light. They sparkled the way they were supposed to.

She'd only been working at the restaurant a couple of weeks, which meant she was still on the steep side of the learning curve. The good news was Bella Roma was a well-run restaurant with an excellent staff and a great menu. The better news was that her boss, Bernie, was a terrific guy to work for.

After setting down the glasses, she walked into the kitchen where low-key chaos reined. The real activity wouldn't begin before they opened for lunch in twenty minutes. For now there was the prep work. Penny-her sister-in-law and possibly the best chef in Seattle, not that she would ever mention that to Nick, the head chef here-always said that a kitchen lived or died by its prep work.