She started to say 'No one' when Alex entered the room. She rose to her feet, almost as if she needed to get away from him… or what she remembered about him.
She hadn't seen him in a couple of days. Not since he'd shown up at Bella Roma, wined her, dined her and kissed her.
The meal she could justify, but there was no way that kiss made sense. Of course her romantic life had been a disaster of epic proportions for nearly a year, so why would she think it would get any better now?
She braced herself for the sexual impact, then bravely met his gaze. Despite his casual, 'Hello,' she felt heat spiral through her. It paused in the most interesting places before moving on.
'Alex,' she said calmly, ignoring the sudden visual of him taking her right there on the big table. He nodded, apparently far more able to dismiss the past than she was.
Mark introduced the other three people. There were two men and a woman, all in their rnidthirties, all in suits, looking professional and energized as they took seats at the table. It was only when Alex pulled out a chair and stared at her pointedly that she realized this wasn't a private lunch with her father. She was one of a crowd.
Disappointment tightened her chest. Had she misunderstood the invitation? She replayed it in her mind and realized he'd said lunch, but hadn't said they would be alone. She'd assumed.
Okay, this wasn't what she'd expected, but it was still fine. A political working lunch could be interesting.
She sat next to Alex, across from her father. Sandwiches and bags of chips were distributed, then one of the two guys whose name she didn't catch leaned forward.
'We can run numbers,' he said. 'A simple poll about the governor of Kansas. Midwestern sensibilities are dead on for us.'
'Numbers would help,' the woman added.
'We don't need numbers,' Mark said. 'Not yet. Alex, what are your thoughts on the poll?'
'It's going to come out eventually.'
Dani felt as if she'd been dropped in the middle of a secret meeting. When Mark turned his attention to the other two men, she leaned toward Alex.
'What are they talking about?'
'You.'
She blinked at him. You, as in her? 'What do I have to do with anything?'
His dark gaze was as impersonal as if they'd never met. As if he'd never pulled her into his arms and claimed her with a kiss that had left her breathless.
How did he do that? Should she be insulted or impressed by his ability to compartmentalize?
'When word gets out that you're the senator's daughter, we're going to have a situation to deal with.'
A situation? She was a situation? 'I'm not going to tell anyone,' she said, glaring at him. 'Stop assuming the worst about me.'
'No one's doing that,' Mark told her. 'Information gets leaked. It's a reality of the political climate today. No one wants it to happen, but it will. We need to be prepared.'
'Who knows?' the woman asked.
Mark looked at Alex, who glanced around the room. 'We do. Katherine, Dani's family.'
'No one in my family is going to say anything,' Dani said, making a mental note to tell them all not to. 'We don't have a whole lot of press contact.'
'Katherine will be telling the children,' Mark told them.
'That's not a good idea,' one of the suits said. 'Kids blab.'
'It's what Katherine wants,' Mark said calmly. 'Family is important to her.'
And Katherine was obviously important to him. Dani liked that. She liked that Mark had made it so clear he'd fallen for her mother and that now he was standing up for his wife. That meant he was a good guy, right?
She wished they could have spent more time together, just the two of them. But with him running for president, his time was limited. So they would get to know each other slowly.
She glanced around the room. Nothing about the space spoke of a national campaign for the highest office in the country. But it was happening. Her biological father was running for president.
Just thinking the statement made her want to giggle. She was so normal she was practically boring. She didn't belong in a world like this. Yet here she was-an unexpected member of the Canfield clan.
The lunch meeting wrapped up in less than an hour. Before Dani could circle around the table to speak to her father again, Mark was ushered out of the room by the suit guys.
She stared after him, trying not to feel snubbed.
Alex picked up the pad of paper he'd brought in with him. 'He has a couple of conference calls,' he said. 'It's not about you.'
She was torn, appreciating the kind words and wondering if she looked like a lost and abandoned waif. 'Thanks. This is different for me. It's going to take me a while to figure everything out.'
'It'll get easier.'
He motioned for her to lead the way out of the room. As she stepped past him, he put his hand on the small of her back.
The touch was polite at best, but her body wanted to read a whole lot more into it. She could feel each individual finger pressing against her. The need to
'You've, ah, got a head start on me,' she said, hoping she didn't sound flustered or stupid. 'And can we talk about how weird it is that we're not related but we can technically both call him Dad?'
Alex smiled at her. 'I call him the senator.'
'I probably should, too, huh?'
'You're not on his staff.'
'Not unless he plans on getting into the restaurant business.' She sighed. 'Is there a book or something-
Alex grinned.
Her mouth smiled in return. It was an involuntary response to a sexy grin by a handsome man she liked. Their eyes locked, and suddenly she was, reliving that kiss in real time.
It had been good. Better than good. It had been hot and exciting and really, really tempting.
Oh, God. Talk about a mistake. There were fifteen reasons why they could never get together. It was…
They rounded a corner and she saw Katherine walking toward them. Dani instantly stepped away from Alex, fighting a surge of guilt, which was so weird. She hadn't been doing anything wrong.
She was so caught up in acting normal and blameless that it took her a second to notice the tall, incredibly beautiful woman at Katherine's side.
The four of them came to a stop.
'Dani!' Katherine said, sounding delighted to see her. 'How wonderful to run into you.' She leaned close and kissed Dani's cheek. 'I want to be the first to welcome you to the family.'
Katherine's graciousness awed Dani. Was the woman real? 'Thank you. You're more than kind.'
'I am many things, but they're not all good,' Katherine said with a laugh. 'Dani, this is Fiona, my former daughter-in-law. Fiona, Dani Buchanan, Mark's daughter.'
'Hi,' Dani said, as she processed the information.
'Nice to meet you,' the slender redhead said absently. Her attention was totally focused on Alex.
Former daughter-in-law? Dani turned to Alex. His ex?
Fiona pushed past her and slipped her arm through Alex's. 'I need to talk to you, darling. Do you have a minute?'
She pulled him away before he could answer.
Katherine stared after them. 'We were all so sorry things didn't work out between them. But maybe with time…'
Dani glanced between Katherine and the retreating couple. Alex had been married to the redheaded goddess? Of course. He couldn't have been with someone average. Who was next on his to-date list? Halle Berry? Scarlett Johansson?
