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didn’t want to be a father, but he never even knew about me. She lied about it all.”
    “Yes,” Alan agreed. “She did. And she has had to live with that choice every day. She kept it to herself for all these years. But she was pretty young when she got pregnant and found herself with a very hard decision to make. Mark sounds like he was nowhere close to wanting a family , and from what I’ve seen, not much has changed for him. Maybe she didn’t tell Mark because she didn’t want to face his rejection. She loves you more than anything, Dani. You know that, right?”
    “Yeah, I know.” Dani sighed. “But Mark Ocean of all people? Seriously? Why couldn’t my father be some plumber from Ohio?”
    Alan smiled. “You have every right to be angry, but maybe you could think about easing up on your mom a little. This is hard on her, too.” Alan spoke softly. “You think you’re embarrassed about having Mark Ocean as a father? Just think how your poor mother feels. She dated him!” Alan nudged Dani. “Yuck! All those glistening muscles and hair spray everywhere? Having to watch him pose in front of the mirror? It must have been awful…”
    Dani couldn’t help laughing. “Okay, I guess I feel a little bad for her.” She tossed herself back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “But what do I do now?”
    Leila appeared in the doorway. “I don’t think you have to do anything, Dani. I just got a call from Mark’s assistant in Los Angeles. He says that Mark apologizes for the interruption in our lives and assures us he is trying to deal with the unreliable press.”
    Dani opened her eyes wide and smacked her hands down on the bed. “Let me get this straight. Mark Ocean is denying that he’s my father?”
    Leila bit her lip and crossed her arms. “Yes. He didn’t even have the decency to call and lie directly.” Leila looked at Dani. “The way I did to you.”
    “Mom…I just…” Dani floundered for words. “I understand why you did what you did. I guess. He sounds like a jerk , and so you were right. If you’d told him you were pregnant , he probably would have bolted to Hollywood anyway. So, it’s done. It’s settled. He can pretend he’s not my father , and we can just go on with our lives.”
    “Dani, I’m so sorry—” Leila started.
    “Stop. I get it, Mom. I do. You don’t have anything to apologize for. Mark just proved you right, didn’t he?”
    Leila sat down next to her daughter on the bed and held out her arms, hoping for a hug. Dani leaned in and let her mom hold her.
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 9
     
    Mark Ocean stretched his feet out and tried to get comfortable in the metal chair. Or what was posing as a chair. The silver contraption he was balanced on resembled an ultramodern sculpture more than a seat. It looked good, though, and that was what mattered. He surveyed the room, admiring his agent’s office. Renna Martin had impeccable taste. The furniture was from Italy and the walls were covered in modern realist paintings, but the real power display here was the view. The window provided a spectacular panorama over Santa Monica to the ocean. Now this i s sitting on top of the world, Mark thought.
    He was looking forward to this meeting. Renna was back this morning from Santa Barbara , and Mark suspected she had a new offer for him. Thank God she had been out of town when that horrible story about him having a daughter hit the news—apparently there was an upside to Buddhist retreats. His publicist had done his best to put a stop to the illegitimate daughter story, but it had still shown up in the middle pages of the national tabloids. Fortunately for Mark, a Grammy-winning singer and a Victoria’s Secret model had eloped in Turks and Caicos at the same time that his story broke, and their wedding took front page.
    “Sorry to keep you waiting, Mark.” Renna Martin entered the office and immediately switched on her computer. She planted herself firmly in her chair and