Free Silicon Valley Sweetheart by Alyssa St. Claire Page A

appear emotional and can sometimes seem harsh, but deep down, he does care about people,” he said, turning away.
    We continued to walk through the conservatory. “How long after your mother passed did you father remarry?”
    “He married stepmother #1 about a year and a half later.” I could see opening up about this was painful for Mark.
    “Seeing your father date must have been upsetting to you.”
    Mark’s shoulders slumped. “He kept that part of his life from me and it happened incredibly fast. For my sake, he decided that he wouldn’t allow anyone into my life unless he was sure that person was going to be in our lives permanently. As I understand it, they met and were married five months later.”
    “Did you like her?”
    “I liked them all at first. But not long after marrying my father, they would change. They always changed...” he said, rubbing his hands on his thighs.
    “That must have been hard for you,” I said, trying to be as reassuring to him as I could.
    “I walked in on stepmother #1 having sex with the pool man when I was 12. She tried to bribe me not to tell my dad, but I told him anyway. They separated shortly after that. If someone asked for a recommendation for a good divorce attorney, I would recommend hers.
    “I think my dad was so disappointed that he didn’t even fight her that hard in court. I don’t know for sure. It was almost as though he was in so much shock he completely lost his ability to think clearly and make good judgments, which is so unlike him. Usually, he is decisive and nearly always makes the right choice. Except with women, that is... I wouldn’t be surprised if she was still getting an alimony check from him every month.
    “From that day forward, I was skeptical of any woman my father brought home. And, sadly, each and every one of them has shown me that women can’t be trusted. Every single one of them—all they ever wanted was my father’s money.”
    I could hear the sadness in his voice when he spoke about growing up without his mother. I grabbed his hand and gave him a warm smile.
    “I’m sorry to hear you have had so many bad women in your life. I don’t think they’re all like that, though.”
    Suddenly, he looked very boyish. “But how do you tell? How do you know love is real? None of my stepmothers seemed like they were only after my father’s money until they were married. That’s why I can’t see myself ever tying the knot with someone. I’ve watched woman after woman change after they said ‘I do’ to my dad. I don’t want to go through that.”
    I wondered if hewould ever be able to see past what the women in his father’s life had done. Would he be capable of having a solid, loving relationship with a woman? One built on trust, respect, and understanding, not just lust, and sex.
    I wanted to reassure him that not all women are like his stepmothers. There are a lot of good women out there.
    “Some day, you’ll find someone who loves you for you—not your money, not your business, not who your family is—but for you.”
    He put his arm around my neck and softly kissed my cheek.
    “I hope so.”
    We continued walking through the park until we were both tired. Afterward, we went to a restaurant at the west end of the park that overlooked the ocean. We were seated at a table near the window. We got there a few minutes before sunset. The lights were lowered just as the sun went down. The view of the sun setting over the water was majestic. Just as Mark had promised, it had been a lovely day.

Chapter 12
    I was sitting at my desk studying when the phone rang. I picked up it up to see it was Mark calling.
    “My father wants to talk to you about an internship,” he said with excitement in his voice.
    “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” I still hadn’t found a job, and I could definitely use some of my own money. Mark had been paying my way since I got here. But, I still didn’t think it would be very smart to start