Relatively Famous (8 page)

The stylist grabbed her by the shoulders and whispered in her ear. “Repeat after me. I am a bronze goddess! I am a bronze goddess!”

Dani suppressed a smile but obediently declared, “I am a bronze goddess!” before making her way down the stairs.

**********

Mark Ocean gave Barry Kinch his best camera angles and proceeded to deliver the
Celebrity City
audience exactly what they wanted. The last time this show had wanted to interview him had been over three years ago, and he was not going to blow this opportunity. The stylist had transformed Dani into a strikingly attractive young woman
,
and he was thrilled that his daughter hadn’t turned out to be some nerdy, scraggly dork. He was impressed at how well she was holding up as Barry asked them questions. Mark affectionately put his arm behind Dani on the back of the couch.

Barry Kinch leaned his face full of pancake makeup forward, squinted his eyes with false sincerity, and asked, “Mark, tell me, what is it like to, overnight, have a teenage daughter in your life?”

Mark pursed his lips together as if deep in thought. “It’s indescribable, Barry. Very emotional, obviously, but I’m absolutely overjoyed to welcome Danielle into my life. She is incredibly bright and charming. And she’s obviously beautiful.” Mark leaned his head into Dani and shrugged slightly, as if incredulous at his good fortune.

“But how did you feel when you found out that your ex-lover had kept this colossal secret from you for all these years? Did you feel betrayed? Dani’s mother, Leila, covered up her daughter’s paternity every single day for the past fifteen years.”

The look on Barry’s face told Mark that he was desperately hoping Mark would criticize Leila. But he wasn’t falling for it. “Dani’s mother made difficult choices in her life
,
and I fully believe she had the best of intentions. I’m just happy to have my daughter now.” Mark paused and held a clenched fist up to his mouth, as if suppressing emotion. “I just want to show Dani my world. Show her who I am. And hopefully see who she is.” Mark looked wistfully at Dani. “I’m embracing the idea of fatherhood. I’m so excited that I want to rush out and take my kid to the zoo and the aquarium, but I suppose she’s a little past that stage now, huh?” Mark laughed. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Barry nodded vigorously. “Mark, when this story first broke, you insisted that you were not Danielle’s father. Tell us why you denied your daughter.”

“I’m quite ashamed of my behavior, Barry.” Mark bit his lip. “I was in shock. I had never pictured myself as a father and couldn’t fathom that this stunning girl was mine. Was a part of me. I’m embarrassed, but it took a little time for me to take it all in.” Mark’s eyes glistened
,
and he knew that the effect was magnificent. “All I can do now is apologize to Dani and do everything I can to make it up to her.”

“And Dani? What on earth was it like to learn that your biological father is this man here?” He gestured enthusiastically at her father, as though he were the Dalai Llama. “The incredible Mark Ocean himself?”

“Well, I don’t know that it was different than it would be for anyone who learns who their real father is. True, he happens to be a movie star, but I just wanted to meet him and find out what kind of man he is.” Dani answered smoothly.

“So, tell me, what kind of man
is
he?” Barry asked.

“I’m just getting to know him.” Dani said. “But he’s really nice.”

Mark resisted the urge to frown.
Nice?
Nice was not going to cut it. For an honor student, she should have come up with something significantly more descriptive than
nice
. “I’ll tell you what kind of man I am, Barry.” Mark struck a thoughtful and somber pose. “I’m just a man like any other man. A man sitting beside a daughter that he wants to know and love.” Okay, it was a little
Notting Hill
, but it did the trick because Barry looked like he was about to cry.

The Celebrity City crew and Barry Kinch finally cleared out. The interview had gone very well. Mark checked his watch. The segment would air at seven.

Mark went into the kitchen and pulled an energy drink from the fridge. He’d done it. That one interview had started the transformation. He and Renna had a phone date to watch Celebrity City tonight
,
and then he was going to celebrate with the blonde reality
-
TV girl for a late dinner. She would love the media frenzy that was about to unleash. Speaking of dinner, it occurred to Mark that Dani would need to eat. He rifled through the kitchen for take-out menus. He set them on the counter and headed outside for a swim.

Chapter 18

Dani stood in front of the refrigerator hoping to find something for breakfast besides the leftover Thai food from the night before. Mark had a year’s supply of Red Bull, but nothing remotely resembling eggs, toast, or cereal. She had only fifteen minutes until Kayla was coming to pick her up for the beach club. Dani was wearing one of her new bikinis and had stuffed one of her new bags with towels and sunscreen. She also had the credit card from her father and her new iPhone
,
which Christopher had given her last night.

Dani shut the fridge and decided that she’d have to get something to eat at the club.

“Oh, I didn’t know anyone else was up. You must be Dani. I’m Bridgett. Is there coffee?”

Dani spun around to see who belonged to the sleepy voice.
No way!
There, right in front of her, stood the
Rock of Love
girl! Her name definitely wasn’t Bridgett on the show. The Brett Michael’s reject had on a sheer spaghetti-strap tank top and a purple thong.

Dani bit her cheek to keep from laughing at the sight of this girl in her father’s kitchen. “Nope, no coffee, although there is plenty of Red Bull in the fridge.”

“Yay! That’s perfect!” The bubbly, busty young woman—who couldn’t have been much older than twenty—skipped over to the fridge and helped herself to a can.

Dani put on her most casual voice. “So, you were on…”

“Yup. Made it to the top five.” Bridgett proudly wiggled five fingers at Dani. “Brett kicked me off when I got wasted on tequila and barfed on his cowboy hat. He said I partied too hard even for him.”

Dani couldn’t help herself. She had to ask. “So, is Brett Michaels a good kisser? He looks a little tonguey, if you ask me.”

“He’s very good. I mean, compared to your father—”

“No, no!” Dani stopped her, immediately regretting her question. “I don’t want to hear about anything about Mark and his romantic talents or lack thereof.”

A cell phone rang and Dani wondered where Bridgett could have stashed it on her body.

“Hon, your purse is calling.” The blonde shook her high ponytail in the direction of Dani’s bag.

“Oh! My first call.” Dani rushed to her purse and answered. “Hello?”

“Dani, why haven’t you called me?” It was Leila.

“Hi, Mom,” Dani said happily. “Well, I did
email
you three times. How did you get this number? And don’t blame me for the cell phone. Mark gave it to me. Did you see the interview last night? Can you believe I was on television?”

“Mark’s assistant
,
Christopher
,
emailed me your cell phone number
,
and, yes, I did see the interview. I think you handled yourself nicely. It was much less awful than I imagined.”

Dani had watched the show alone in her room. Well,
watched
might be a generous term. She had buried her head under a pillow and peeked out occasionally. The show’s staff had procured her high school yearbook picture, the paparazzi photos of her and Sam, and the footage from her shopping trip with Mark. There had even been a clip shot outside the airport, although she hadn’t noticed any cameras then.

“Did you see what I was wearing? Wasn’t it cute? And Mark had someone do my hair and makeup, so you can’t throw a fit because they said that I needed all that in order not to look freakishly pasty on camera, so—”

“You looked wonderful,” Leila said.

“Yeah, you looked totally hot,” Bridgett piped in.

Dani held a finger to her lips to quiet her father’s date. She didn’t want to explain to Leila why a semi-nude woman of questionable legal age was in Mark’s kitchen.

“So you and your father are getting along well?” Leila prompted.

“Yeah, it’s going fine. This house is fantastic, Mom. He took me shopping yesterday, and I’m leaving in a minute to go to a beach club with the daughter of a friend of his. Oh, there’s the horn outside, Mom. I’ll call you later.”

Chapter 19

Leaving the house, Dani walked smack into a gorgeous redhead, who smiled at her. “Sorry, I told Pete not to beep the horn. It’s totally rude.”

“No problem. You must be Kayla?”

“Kayla Dodd at your service. Ready and willing to corrupt a Michigan transplant and introduce you to
W
est
C
oast life.” She winked at Dani.

Kayla’s thick, shiny hair fell over her shoulders and Dani was filled with envy. She did still have some curl left over from yesterday’s professional styling, but it was impossible not to be overwhelmed with insecurity while in front of this modelesque beauty. Kayla’s skin glowed
,
and Dani had no idea redheads could tan so nicely. She silently thanked Mark for having hooked her up with such fashionable beachwear
,
since Kayla’s low-cut sundress and high-heeled sandals were stylish enough for a cocktail party.

Kayla took Dani’s hand and pulled her down the stairs to the curved driveway
,
where a white Range Rover sat idling. “Come on. Come meet everyone.”

Dani followed Kayla into the back seat and hadn’t even put on her seatbelt when Kayla began the introductions. “Everyone, this is Dani, the infamous long-lost love child of the one and only Mark Ocean. My sister Ava is the prima donna in the front seat
,
and our driver today is her boyfriend Pete.”

Pete and Ava turned and gave a little wave. Ava was on her cell phone, berating someone. “I said one-of-a-kind gown! Not some off
-
the
-
rack freak show creation. You better not screw this up or I’ll make you wish you’d never been born,” Ava threatened, before tossing her cell into a Coach bag. “Idiot. Total frickin’ idiot.” Ava pulled a pair of red sunglasses down onto her eyes and turned back to Dani. “Sorry. I’m having my seventeenth birthday party at the beach club in a few weeks and it’s impossible to get anything done properly.”

“Oh, do you have a party planner?” Dani asked.

“An
event
planner,” she corrected. “But that was my father on the phone. He actually suggested that I buy my dress from a
store
. Like that’s going to happen. Can you imagine me showing up at my own party wearing a dress that anybody could go out and buy? I’ve told that man ten times that I’m wearing an
original
design. I mean, how hard can it be to make a few phone calls?” Ava flipped her brown highlights to one side and shook her head in disgust.

“Babe, you know you’ll end up with the perfect dress and the perfect party. You know how to get what you want, right?” Pete put a hand on his girlfriend’s leg as he accelerated.

Dani leaned forward to look across Kayla at the guy sitting in the back seat. Kayla waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, that’s just my older brother
,
Nathan. Apparently he’s my biological brother, although without DNA proof, I refuse to accept that. I apologize in advance for any dorkiness you are forced to endure.”

“Good to meet you,” Nathan said. “And I apologize in advance for any bitchiness you have to put up with from Kayla.” He wrapped an arm around his sister, forcibly pulled her in for a hug, and rubbed the top of her head, messing up her hair. “She just pretends to hate me, but deep down she is proud as peaches of her doting brother.”

“Let me go, you infantile jackass!” Kayla wrestled herself out of Nathan’s grip and ran her hands through her hair. “I swear to God you better start behaving
,
or Dani will run screaming back to Michigan.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Nathan,” Dani said, laughing.

Nathan’s soft brown curls fell over his ears
,
and Dani immediately liked his ruddy appearance. If it weren’t for him, Dani would have considered the possibility that all California teens were of a distinctly different breed
from
Michigan teens. The group’s flawless appearance was moderately unnerving, so Nathan’s casual surf attire and friendly smile helped put Dani at ease.