"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."