Page 3 of Veronica’s Little Valentine's Day

What wasn’t wrong was more like it. “I’m not really sure, but I feel really empty, and I miss you so much.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but one thing I knew about my bestie is when the attention turned to her, she ran with it. Which was better than me trying to fumble through an explanation of how I was doing.

She knew I suffered from agoraphobia and that I’d been seeking treatment, but she didn’t know there had been no improvement in my condition. When last we spoke, I’d been optimistic about meeting my parents for lunch while they were in town for a rare visit. They could have come to see me, but they wanted to test if the money they’d been outpouring for my online treatments had paid off. Of course it hadn’t, and another shrink bit the proverbial dust.

But it wasn’t my fault, they just weren’t good at their jobs. I’d tried reasoning with my parents, but I could tell my response disappointed them. I wanted friendships and a boyfriend, but no one wanting a healthy relationship would hang out at my place exclusively, regardless of how nice it was.

“I have great news!” Harmony squealed through the phone.

I instantly pulled it away from my ear so I wouldn’t go deaf. Now I understood what she meant when I was always the one squealing in her ear.

“Gray and I are getting married!”

Harmony had run away to Rawhide after a fiasco at a finishing school in New York. The teacher she had an altercation with ended up at Rawhide as her teacher once again and, after he laid down the law, they started dating. She was so lucky. I hadn’t met Gray, but she talked about him all the time and I had respect for him in helping Harmony bloom. She was like the best version of herself now and was getting ready to put out her first novel. She’d come a long way since our childhood, and now she was getting married. I couldn’t bury the little spark of jealousy. I didn’t even have a boyfriend, and she was getting a husband.

I wished I was married and had a husband who would keep my demons at bay and make me a better version of myself. Living in constant fear of leaving home was a problem, one my parents had given up on trying to fix. After the last fire, I’d nevergone to another society event again and slowly, over the last several years, I stopped going out altogether.

“That’s amazing news. Congratulations!” I did my best to sound ecstatic for her, and I was, but I was also losing my one and only friend and it cut like a knife.

“You’re my best friend, V. I need you to be here, to be my maid of honor.”

It was my turn to have a few seconds of silence. Was she crazy? There was no way in hell I could go to Montana, especially with my parents in Europe. There was no one here to guard our home. Not that I’d ever really felt this was my home, but still, this is where I lived and where my things were. Who would take care of them if I was in Montana?

Everything I needed was in this penthouse.Not everything. There are no people, friends or men. You are all alone, Veronica, so how can you have everything?

I hated that niggling voice that had invaded my thoughts a lot of late.

“Harmony, you know I love you, and want nothing more than to share in your happy blissful day.”Yeah right! “But I have agoraphobia. I couldn’t possibly come there. I wouldn’t even know the first thing about how to do that.”

The very idea of leaving the safety of my confines set off my anxiety. I hustled to my ensuite and grabbed a bottle of medication. “One sec.” I quickly swallowed the pill and took some deep breaths.

“Okay, I’m back.”

“Were you having a panic attack?”

“Uh. Yes.” A few awkward beats of silence followed.

“I have a solution.”

“Seriously? Hallelujah.” I thought she meant a solution to my condition, but I was way off. “How are you going to fix me?”

A peal of giggles came through the receiver. “It’s easy. You just need to meet your Daddy.”

Heat spread up my neck and encompassed my entire face in record time. Thankfully, this was not a video chat, so she couldn’t see the effect her words had on me. I tried to speak and had to clear my throat several times.

“What do you mean?” I barely got out before a fit of coughing, a reaction to the meds, overtook me.

“Hang on,” I croaked and ran to the kitchen for a glass of water. When I could speak, I repeated my question.

“Come on, V, it’s obvious you’re a Little and in need of a Daddy. I believe if you came to my wedding, I could help you find the Daddy of your dreams. Wouldn’t it be worth it to come here and be my maid of honor and meet the perfect Daddy for you?”

Well, that would be perfect, but I still didn’t know how I could accomplish it and said so.

“Remember Jacob?”

Of course, I remembered Jacob; he was the star of every fantasy I’d ever had and featured in all my pleasure sessions with B.O.B.–my battery-operated-boyfriend. When Harmony shared her experiences with me, I pictured it being me and Jacob.

He was the closest I’d been to a man who wasn’t my father. And the closest I’d gotten to first base. He was the one who’d driven me back to the city to see the multiple firefighters putting out the flames that had once been home. He’d been the one to hold me in his arms and tell me everything was going to be okay.

“Your cousin?” I played dumb.

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