Page 88 of Break Me, Daddy

Taking the phone, Frankie closed the door again and held the device out to Lottie. “There’s someone who wants to talk to you.”

Brows knitting together with confusion, Lottie accepted the phone and held it up to her ear. “Hello?”

And just like that, everything about her changed. Relief flashed over her face, her shoulders instantly relaxed, and though she was still crying she didn’t seem quite so… sad.

“I’m okay. I just had a meltdown on Frankie about missing my mom and I already feel better.” Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks, leaving tracks in her foundation. “Really? You think so?” She paused, listening to whatever Braden had to say before letting out a watery laugh. “Oh yeah. She definitely would have kicked your ass. My dad let you off easy. I know. I love you, too. I’ll see you at the club later. Bye, Daddy.”

Hitting a button to end the call, Lottie dragged in a deep breath. “Okay. I feel better now. Time to pick out a dress.”

Frankie watched as Lottie turned and reached for a lace-covered gown, internally arguing with herself. She didn’t want to make Lottie’s day about herself but she just had so manyquestions.

“Can I ask you something?”

Lottie grinned at her over her shoulder. “If you help me get into this dress you can ask me whatever you want.”

Stepping forward, Frankie took the dress from the hanger, crouching at her friend’s feet to help her step inside. “Do you ever feel like you need Braden too much?”

Lottie frowned slightly as together they wiggled her into the dress. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it, actually. He likes it when I need him, so it’s never really occurred to me that it might be too much. Is this about you and Holden?”

“Yeah. Like, I’m supposed to be figuring out if I actually want to be with him or not. And right now it just feels like Ineedhim, all the time, and I can’t seem to tell the difference between that and loving him.”

“I don’t think they have to be separate. I’m not sure anyone can really love someone without needing them, at least some of the time.”

Well that was frustratingly unhelpful. “So how do I tell the difference? How do I know if I just need him or if I love him?”

Head tilted to the side, Lottie studied her with a thoughtful frown. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Close your eyes.”

With an annoyed huff, Frankie did as she was told. “This is silly.”

“No, it’s not. It’s important. I want you to imagine it’s however many years from now. You’re up on stage, getting that pretty white coat you’ve been dreaming of forever. You can have one person up there with you to share that moment, that joy with you. Who’s that person?”

She didn’t even have to think about it. The image formed in her mind, clear as day. And it wasn’t her parents or even Lottie she imagined up on that stage.

It was Holden, beaming with pride, standing right beside her.

Her eyes flew open to find Lottie grinning at her. “It was him, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Now it was her turn to be choking back tears. “It was him. It’s always been him. Even when I was trying to shake him off… it was always him.”

“Now, if you do that same thing, say for your wedding day. Having kids. All those other big moments in your life, who is it there with you?”

Images flashed in her brain, one after another, always with the same giant of a man by her side. “Holden. Every single one, it’s Holden.”

“There you go. You, Francesca Legare, are in love.”

“God.” Letting out a shaky laugh, she pressed a hand to her racing heart. “I thought it would feel… different. Bigger, I guess? Like in the movies where there’s that huge moment of revelation and they go running toward each other in slow motion.”

“Babe.” Placing her hands on Frankie’s shoulders, Lottie cocked an eyebrow. “That man’s been running toward you for almost a year. All you have to do is stop running away.”

The truth of it hit her square in the chest. “I don’t know if I know how.”

“We’ll figure it out. Now, help me zip this thing up.”

Laughing, Frankie tugged the zipper of the dress into place and together they turned to Lottie’s reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

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