Mark cleared his throat. He didn’t know how to respond to such an honest declaration.
Maybe changing the subject would help. “Do you know that I only met Dani a few weeks ago?” Mark explained how he found out about his daughter. “She’s amazing. It’s incredible having her in my life.”
“Yes, she seems like a wonderful girl. And very persistent,” Olivia said with a smile. “Although being a father must make it harder to pull off the sexy bachelor image.”
Aha! Olivia did think he was sexy! Not that he cared, because she was completely not his type.
“So, Mark,” Olivia began, as their main courses arrived, “what is it that you do for fun?”
“I work out quite a bit, as you may have guessed. Swimming, running, lifting at the gym, that sort of thing. I take vacations. Hawaii, usually. And, of course, my career takes up most of my time.”
“But do you spend time with friends? Visit family? Read the newspaper? Books?”
“Well, what is it that you do, Olivia?” Mark snarled. “I don’t know where you get off with this judgmental attitude. Most people would kill to trade places with me.”
“Would you trade places with yourself?”
“I certainly would,” he spat back.
Olivia reached for the wine, but Mark snatched the bottle himself and refilled her glass. “You were probably a gorgeous kid, great at sports, and unbearably popular, right? No wonder you love this town,” said Olivia.
“You couldn’t be more wrong.” Mark stared at her. “I was a scrawny, ugly kid who was teased mercilessly because I couldn’t catch a baseball or lift even half of my body weight. My best friend was a math geek who was a bigger loser than I was. I went stag to the prom and didn’t have my first real date until I was in college. Happy now?” he said angrily.
“No. I’m sorry. I never would have guessed. It seems we have more in common than I thought.” She peered at him curiously. “You’re quite interesting, you know?”
“And you’re quite odd.”
“I’ll give you that.” She grinned.
Mark got through dessert and coffee with Olivia and then promptly drove her home. He slammed the car into park and got out.
“Thank you for dinner, Mark.”
This was normally the part of the date in which he would kiss the girl, ask her out again, or even go upstairs. Obviously he wasn’t going to do any of those things. She couldn’t possibly want to go out with him again, either. “Well, I guess this is good night. Sorry you had to put up with me,” he said. “It must have been torture.”
Olivia tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled at him. “You surprised me.”
“Well, okay, then.”
He still didn’t like Olivia, of course, but a clear thought popped into his head: Renna would love her. In fact, he thought with a cringe, Olivia was not entirely unlike Renna. For the sake of his career, maybe he would ask her for a second date.
Olivia unlocked the front door. “I think we should go out again. Would you like to?”
“Oh.” Mark said, taken aback. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Sure. I guess we could.”
Chapter 30
Dani wrapped her arms around the back of Jason’s neck and pulled him in closer. She liked kissing this boy. She had ten minutes until she had to leave for Kayla’s house, and she was going to make the most it.
Jason curled his fingers, running them down the length of her back, and then tucked his hand underneath the rim of her jeans. He pulled his lips from hers and moved to her neck, doing that delicious thing he did with his mouth. Dani leaned her head back and let Jason’s weight push her down onto the couch.
“Are you sure you have to leave? Kayla can wait,” he murmured in between kisses.
“She wants me to help her pick out her dress for Ava’s party, and she’s got the whole afternoon planned out.” Dani rubbed Jason’s back. “You’re going to the party, right?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah.” He raised himself up onto his elbows and kissed Dani’s cheek.
“So, maybe I’ll see you there?” she asked. Now that she was staying for the summer, Ava had insisted she come to the party.
Jason grinned flirtatiously. “Are you asking me to be your date?”
“Maybe,” she teased.
“Are you asking me to do something besides fool around on your father’s couch?”
“It is a thought.”
“I’m not big on official dates, Dani.” He wrinkled his nose. “But I’ll make an exception for you.”
“Oh, gee, don’t do me any favors,” she said, smacking him lightly on the arm.
She was sure she could get Jason to behave like a normal boyfriend. Even Mark was going out on regular dates with Olivia now. Apparently her matchmaking had been successful, since Mark and Olivia were seeing each other regularly. Mark hadn’t brought Olivia to the house yet, but he often asked Dani’s advice about what to wear on his dates. His closet was well stocked for fancy dinners and nights at trendy clubs, but Mark never knew what to wear when dressing for a day of extreme sports or antiquing with Olivia. Dani didn’t care what they did on their dates—she was just happy that her father was with someone his own age, someone who was smarter than his usual conquests. Mark hadn’t said much about how he felt about Olivia, but he kept seeing her.
Dani heard the front door open and close and hurriedly pushed Jason off. “Get up! Get up!” She ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed her clothes.
“Hi.” Olivia stood in the entrance to the living room, one eyebrow raised, and a big grin on her face. “Whatcha’ doing?”
“Hi, Olivia,” Dani blushed. “It’s nice to see you again. Um, this is Jason.”
“It’s nice to see you again, too. Good afternoon, Jason. Nice to meet you. Is your dad upstairs, Dani?”
“Yeah, I think so. I didn’t know you were coming over today.”
“Obviously, or you wouldn’t have been rolling around on the couch with your boyfriend, would you?” She winked. “I’ll go see if I can get Mark moving, because I suspect that I could be here all day waiting for him to finish styling his hair.”
“Where are you guys going this time?” Dani asked.
“Well, I’ve already taken him rock climbing, landboarding, and parasailing, and I’m amazed he survived. His idea of exercise is to strap himself into one of those shiny weight-lifting machines. He’s been a trooper. But we’ve also gone to my favorite bookstore and a museum exhibition. Anyhow, today is Mark’s day to pick what we’re doing, and so we are going—ugh, I can hardly believe I’m saying this—but we’re going to a wine tasting.” She opened her mouth wide and stuck a finger in as if this outing might be the most nauseating idea she’d ever heard of. “I agreed only on the condition that we go hiking in the Mojave National Preserve tomorrow. I thought we could go camping, but your father didn’t want anything to do with that.”
“Oh, I love camping.” Dani looked at Olivia wistfully. “I’ve gone a bunch of times with my mom and her boyfriend.”
“Really? I’ll work on Mark and see what I can do about that.” She turned to leave and then stopped. “Hey, is what I’m wearing okay for a wine tasting? I’m feeling a little nervous about being around that crowd.”
The simple dress was noticeably more fitted than what she’d been wearing at the flower shop, and Dani could actually see her figure. “You look really pretty,” Dani said. “I’m glad you and Mark are having fun.”
“We are. I’m not really sure why we are, though. Do you know that he has Dolce and Gabbana on speed dial? But I like him.” She shrugged and headed up the wide staircase.
Dani flopped back down onto the couch and beckoned Jason closer with one finger. “We’ve got four minutes left.”
**********
Mark tasted his eighth wine. The host of the tasting insisted that this was one of the best wines California had ever produced. They had tasted pretty much the same to Mark. He, Olivia, and thirty other people were an hour
outside of L.A., milling around the cavernous wine cellar that sat beneath the gargantuan house. It was dark in the stone-walled room, and the air was heavy, practically suffocating him. Mark usually loved mingling with crowds like this one, but something was off today. He took another sip of his wine. It was a good thing Olivia had driven, because he had definitely had too much to drink.
He scanned the room and found Olivia standing with three statuesque women. She had managed to find some common ground with this high-powered, expensively dressed, well-traveled crowd. People seemed to really like her.
Mark watched as Olivia touched the arm of the woman next to her. “Come by the shop anytime, and we’ll put together a beautiful arrangement for your party,” she said.
The woman smiled broadly. “It’s wonderful to see you and Mark together. You’re quite a change for him.”
Olivia was the one who had resisted the whole idea of coming to a wine tasting, and there she was having fun while Mark was having a crummy time. He caught Olivia’s eye, and she excused herself from the group. She walked over to him and slid her hand into his. They’d been dating for two weeks, and they hadn’t even so much as kissed. Not that he had gone out of his way to kiss her yet, but she hadn’t given him much opportunity. Was he supposed to make out with her while clinging to a rock wall or balancing on water skis? And every time that he drove her home, she practically flew into the house. Olivia kept going out with him, though, so he must be doing something right. Nonetheless, behaving like platonic friends was not going to help his image.
“Do you want to go outside for a minute?” he asked her. “I could use some air.”
“Sure.” She followed him up the stairs and out of the house to a long garden path. “This is stunning! It must have cost a fortune, but look at the gardens here!” Olivia whirled around, admiring the many flowers and exotic plants.
“Yeah. Beautiful,” Mark grumbled.
Olivia touched a flowering shrub. “Mark, what do you know about Jason?”
“Who the hell is Jason?” he asked.
“Jason is the young man at your house who was draped across your daughter.”
“Oh, him. He’s okay.”
“You might want to pay some attention to them,” she said. “You know what? This party is much less awful than I expected. Are you having a good time, too?”
“Whatever.”
“Why are you so grouchy today?”
Mark let go of her hand and glared at her. “You want to know why I’m grouchy? I want to know why you won’t kiss me.”
Olivia froze. “What?”
“I want to know why you won’t kiss me,” he repeated. “We’ve been going out for two weeks, and nothing. I’ve gone on all your exhausting day-long excursions and I’m tired and I would like to know why you won’t kiss me.”
“Oh. I just thought we were taking things slowly.” Olivia looked at him shyly. “I didn’t realize that you wanted to kiss me.”
“Maybe I don’t.” Mark turned and walked farther down the path. Suddenly he stopped and spun back around. “Or maybe I do.”
Mark surprised himself by rushing forward. He was going to get this kiss over with. He hesitated and then pressed his mouth to hers. Without realizing it, his hands were cradling her face as he moved his lips against hers, and Olivia was pressing her body into him and running her fingers through his hair.
Mark abruptly pulled away. “There. Now I’ve kissed you.”
“Yes.” Olivia’s voice shook. “Yes, you did.”
Mark took her hand. “Let’s go back inside.”
Chapter 31
Dani was forty-five minutes late to Kayla’s, and she blamed Jason. It wasn’t her fault that he was so yummy, and with her father gone at the wine tasting, she hadn’t been in a rush to kick him out. Although Dani had been spending a lot of time with Kayla and her friends over the past few weeks, this was the first time she had been to Kayla’s house. Dani walked past a reflecting pool, through lush plantings, and past some abstract sculptures. She rang the bell. She’d thought Mark’s house was huge, but his place didn’t begin to compare to the Dodds’. The housekeeper answered the door and pointed her up the stairs, but she should have handed Dani a map. The modern house was dominated by sculptural lines and disappearing glass walls that accented the city-to-ocean views. Dani headed tentatively up the wide staircase and stood at the top of the stairs. She had no idea if she should turn left or right, both long hallways offering many doors that could be her friend’s. “Kayla?” Dani called. “Kayla!” Dani walked past what must be a screening room with plush reclining chairs, past a fully stocked library, and then into a bathroom that could have passed for a private salon.
“Kayla?” Dani hollered. “Where are you?’
“Thank God you’re here!” Kayla stuck her head out a door from the opposite end of the hallway, and Dani made the long walk to her bedroom. Not surprisingly, the room was beautiful. “I need your help. Where have you been?” Kayla threw a pile of dresses onto the gargantuan bed. “By the state of your neck I’d say you were with Jason. You’ve been thoroughly taken in by the city’s most eligible vampire, I see.”
“What?” Dani clapped her hand to her neck.
Kayla disappeared into her walk-in closet. “Yes, he’s sort of known for his neck fetish.”
“How very Twilight of him,” Dani said, embarrassed.
“Yeah, he’s a regular Edward Cullen without the eternal loyalty and devotion.” Kayla emerged from the depths of her closet with a second pile of dresses. “Don’t get too attached, Michigan girl. Jason may be fun and all, but he’s not boyfriend material.”
“You never know,” Dani said. “I think he’s kind of into me.”
“That’s what I thought.” Kayla replied.
Dani frowned.
“I’m sorry!” Kayla gasped. “I thought you knew! It was nothing. It’s serious ancient history, though, so don’t worry.”
“Are you sure?”
“God, yes! He’s all yours. Enjoy yourself. For now. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about him. And I do mean enjoy, because he is totally hot, isn’t he?” Kayla pulled Dani out of the chair. “Help me choose a dress. My sister practically had an aneurysm when I said I wanted to get something new for her party, because she is afraid I might find a dress that will compete with hers. So, I’m stuck recycling one of these. What about this one?” She held up a glittery red dress.
“It’s beautiful.” Dani reached out to touch the fabric. “Or what about that black one?”
“Hm. That’s not a bad idea,” Kayla thought aloud, taking the dress from Dani and holding it up against her.
Nathan popped his head into the room. “I’m going out, Kay. Can you tell Mom or Dad? I can’t find them.”
“Hi, Nathan.” Dani waved hello. She hoped the red splotches on her neck had disappeared.
“Hi, Dani. What are you two doing?” he asked, eyeing the mess of dresses that covered the room.
“Helping Kayla decide what to wear to Ava’s party.”
“Don’t remind me. I can’t wait until that night is over and she stops torturing everyone around here. Do you know she nearly ripped Dad’s head off because he couldn’t get some singer she wanted to perform at the party? But you don’t have to worry about choosing a dress anymore.”
“Why? The party is now clothing optional?” asked Dani.
Nathan laughed. “Close. She decided that she wants the theme to be ‘Beach Paradise.’ Dad already canceled the sunken ships and cannons. That was for the pirate theme.”
Kayla moaned. “So what’re we supposed to wear? Bathing suits?”
“Pretty much.” Nathan slid a hand into his shorts pocket. “Dani, did you ever get an invitation?”
“No, Kayla just gave me the date and time.” Dani brushed her hair back.
“I’ll bring one by next week. You are coming, right?” he asked hopefully.
“I wouldn’t miss it. Where are you off to now?” Dani a
sked.
“Just meeting up with the guys. We’ll probably go surfing or something. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you later.” He caught Dani’s eye for a second before leaving the room.
“Now I need helping choosing a bathing suit!” Kayla slammed the dresser drawer shut. “Better yet, a new bathing suit and a sexy wrap to go with it. And shoes!”
“I gather we’re going shopping?” Dani asked.
“Let me see if our driver is still here.” Kayla looked out her window. “He’s here. I guess Nathan isn’t using the car. He’s so strange.” She shook her head as she watched her brother.
“He’s not strange, Kayla. I think he’s cool.” Dani hadn’t failed to notice that surfing had left Nathan’s arms deeply tanned. And the sun had started to lighten his brown locks just a hint....
“You are truly bizarre, and I think he’s up to something. Abigail Jamison’s housekeeper told our housekeeper that she saw Nathan waiting for the bus by her apartment.”
“Unless you’re planning on hiring a private investigator, I guess you’ll just have to let it go.”
“But I want to know,” she said.
“Well, you could always get your paparazzi friends to do it for you,” Dani suggested jokingly.
“Dani, you’re brilliant!” Kayla grabbed her phone and punched in a message. “They owe me a few favors. Besides, it was your idea so don’t look at me like that.”
“I was kidding!” Dani said, horrified.
“We’ll just wait and see,” Kayla said, undeniably pleased with herself.
“You are bad!” Dani scolded.
Chapter 32
“Kayla?” A male voice rang out from down the hallway.
“In here, Daddy!”
“There you are!” Evan Dodd leaned against the door frame. “Oh, hello. You must be the famous Dani McKinley I’ve heard so much about. Nathan and Kayla talk about you all the time. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, too, Mr. Dodd.” Dani held out her hand.
“You have to call me Evan, and if you don’t I’ll have to call you Miss McKinley.” He shook her hand warmly.