poor kid who grew up on the wrong side of the country.'
He leaned back in his chair, as if staring at memories only he could see. 'She was beautiful. Still is. A strong woman, much stronger than me.'
Dani was intrigued by his assessment of himself. She agreed with the statement, but was surprised he would admit it.
'But you're not here to talk about Katherine,' he said as he glanced at her. 'You want to hear about your mother.'
'That would be nice,' Dani said, even as she felt a flicker of disloyalty. As if by discussing Marsha, she was somehow disrespecting Katherine. What was up with that?
'Marsha didn't want anything to do with me,' he admitted. 'She was married and didn't want to cheat. I convinced her.' He shrugged. 'I'm not proud of what I did, but I don't regret it. Not knowing her or having you. I do wish I'd known about you sooner.'
'Me, too,' Dani said, but even as she spoke, she wondered if it was really true. Mark would have complicated her life. Looking back, she couldn't find a good time for him to have shown up.
'She was terrified we would be caught,' he continued. 'When she ended things, I thought the stress of the affair had finally gotten to her. I never thought she might be pregnant.'
'It makes sense. My grandmother would have made her life a living hell.' Gloria might be different now, but twenty-eight years ago, Dani was willing to bet she'd been the queen bitch.
Except Gloria had known. Or guessed. She'd known Dani wasn't a Buchanan for years. How had she found out? Had she just figured it out? As Mark could have?
She had the foolish sense that her father should have known about her. That somehow he should have sensed that she was alive, living only a few miles away.
Foolish little girl dreams, she told herself. She knew better. But knowing didn't seem to make them go away.
'So much has changed,' she said. 'For all of us. You're running for president. That still shocks me every time I think of it.'
'Me, too,' he said with a grin, then his humor faded. 'Dani, I'm an influential man. You're my daughter. I want to help you in any way I can. Money, introductions, whatever. I' m here for you.'
She blinked several times, not sure what to say. 'Ah, thank you. I'm good.'
'The offer stays open. I'm always here for you.'
Is that what he'd told Alex about getting the charges dropped? While she was sure Alex appreciated not having his future ruined, she knew he wouldn't have wanted Mark to get involved.
She didn't want that, either. Rather than having her father do things for her, she wanted an emotional connection. Ironically she had a feeling it was the one thing he couldn't provide.
Katherine was the heart of the Canfield family. For a second, Dani knew everything would have been different if Katherine had been her missing parent.
Crazy, she told herself. And impossible. Katherine never would have walked away from a child. Not that Mark had-he hadn't known. Still, Katherine was the one she'd connected with and being around the other woman made her miss her own mother.
Dani didn't remember Marsha Buchanan. She'd been a baby when her mother had died. Gloria had raised her and her brothers. How different life would have been if Marsha had lived. Or maybe it wouldn't have been different at all. Gloria still would have run their lives.
Families were a complication, Dani thought. Now she had two. What on earth was she going to do with them?
Cal walked into Walker's office a little after three in the afternoon. Reid was already there, lounging on the dark leather sofas his brother had brought in. The room was now done in earth tones-a positive change after Gloria’s white-on-white space.
'What's so important that it couldn't be handled by a phone call?' Cal asked as he settled across from Reid.
'The manager of Buchanan's is leaving,' Walker said. 'We need a replacement.'
'Dani's the best choice,' Cal told him. 'She's always wanted to run this place.'
'Agreed, but she's not going to take the job. She would think I was offering it because she's my sister and I don't know that she'd leave Bella Roma so soon after hiring on.'
He had a point, but there had to be a way to convince Dani this was where she belonged.
'Have Gloria ask her,' Reid said. 'Dani will believe her.'
Walker smiled slowly. 'That just might work.'
Dani sipped the champagne. The taste was subtle but refreshing, with a hint of something… 'What did you do to it?' she asked Penny, who sat in an oversize chair with Allison in her arms.
Penny looked up innocently. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'
'You infused the champagne with something. A hint of… Damn, I can't place it.' Dani stared at the slender glass. 'You can't infuse champagne. You'd lose the bubbles. But you didn't.'
'I'm intensely gifted.'
'What did you do?'
“I’m not going to tell you. You'll use it for Bella Roma and this is my private secret.'
'You're evil, do you know that?'
Penny grinned.
Elissa held up her glass. 'I don't care how you did it, I just want more of it. This is fabulous.'
'I agree,' Lori said. 'Plus I've never had champagne at two in the afternoon. I like your style.'
'Thank you,' Penny said graciously. 'Style is important.'
'She's tempting you so you'll want to have this at the rehearsal dinner,' Gloria said. 'Plus, she wants you to regret not having her cater the wedding.'
Dani eyed her grandmother. She would bet Gloria was right on both counts.
'I am interested in having this at the rehearsal dinner,' Penny admitted. 'But for the rest of it, I have no idea what you're talking about.'
Elissa sighed. 'You're never going to forgive me, are you? Even though I'm trying to let you enjoy the wedding.'
'I'll get over it,' Penny said with a sniff. 'Eventually.'
'Don't let her bully you,' Gloria said. 'She's a total bitch when she doesn't get her way.'
The room went silent. Lori and Elissa exchanged glances, as if not sure how to handle the comment. Penny stared at Gloria, probably plotting her response.
Dani wasn't sure if her grandmother was trying to be funny or if this was one of her infrequent sarcastic bursts. After all, no transformation was complete.
Determined to keep the mood light for Elissa, she looked at Gloria and said, “Takes one to know one.'
Gloria sipped her champagne. 'Indeed it does.'
Penny laughed and raised her glass to the older woman. 'I learned from a master.'
'You learned totally on your own, but I'm willing to take any credit being handed out.' She turned her attention to Elissa. 'I have some ideas about the wedding. I don't want to push them on you, so please tell me to take a hike if you don't like them.' She frowned. 'Young people don't say 'take a hike' anymore, do they?'
'Not really,' Lori said cheerfully. 'But that's okay. I'm quickly falling behind on what 'young people' are saying.'
'Me, too,' Elissa added. 'Unless you want to count the things Zoe tells me. Of course she's only five. So what ideas do you have for the wedding?'
She sounded a little nervous as she asked the question.
