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“Okay. Do you have your stuffie nearby?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good. I want you to hug it to your chest and pretend it’s me you’re hugging. Can you do that?”
“Uh-huh.” She grabbed her ladybug and held on tight.
And even though her body was aching with the need to come, there was something about everything that had happened that made her feel more cared for than she ever had in her life.
“Tell me what else you need to comfort you, Frankie.”
“Maybe some chocolate?”
“Do you have any?”
“Yep. I always keep some in my drawer in my room.”
“Go ahead and have some. But only a little.”
“’Kay, Daddy.”
She slid her nightstand drawer open and took a piece of her favorite Lindor milk chocolate out, unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth.
“Better?” he asked.
“Uh-huh. Better. Thanks, Daddy.”
“That’s Daddy’s good girl. Tell me when you think we can talk again.”
“Is tomorrow okay?”
“Yes, tomorrow is absolutely okay.”
“Daddy? What do I do if I wanna talk to you but you’re taking the day off?”
There was a long moment of silence on the other end. Then he said, “I will always do my best to be available for you, Frankie. And if I can’t be at the very moment you call in, I’ll call you back as soon as I’m free. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like…that isn’t ‘xactly how Annie explained this works? I mean, she told me you were only available certain days and hours.”
There was another long silence, long enough that she wondered if the call had dropped.
“Daddy?”
“I’m here. You’re right, honey. That’s not how Dial-A-Daddy always works. But I want to be here for you, so I will be. Okay?”
“Okay.”
It was more than okay. And she was still too far in Little space to think more about why he was changing the rules for her. All she knew right now was that she liked it. She liked him. She’d worry about the rest later.
4
Alittle over a week had passed since Luca had started talking to Frankie, and they’d spoken every day. On weekdays they talked in the evening—he’d wanted her to take the time to eat after work, but also, he wanted her to be his last call of the day. He liked going to bed at night with her voice fresh in in his mind. And while he wasn’t giving up his Dial-A-Daddy job, he knew his heart wasn’t as much in it with the other Littles he spoke to, which weighed on his conscience. But he still hadn’t made enough to get the dog rescue going—and it was also the only way he could talk to Frankie. Giving up talking to other Littles would mean she’d be gone, too, and that was something he didn’t like to think about.
But today was Saturday, which meant they could have more time together, since she didn’t have to work. He didn’t like to admit how much he was looking forward to having her on the phone for most of the afternoon.
He’d worked out that morning, done some repairs on a fence at the edge of his property, and he’d even done a little work on his motorcycle in the big barn he was in the process of turninginto kennels. But he still had a hard time thinking of anything but her.
He’d learned a bit about her, which happened with any regular Dial-A-Daddy client, but with Frankie, he’d dug a little deeper. He knew she was a junior partner at the law firm established by her father and two uncles. That she owned a home not far from downtown Dallas so she’d be close to work. That she didn’t really like her job, and had felt pressured by her family to become a lawyer in the first place. And he hated that for her. He wanted for her to be happy. Her Big self was intelligent, capable, and sweet. Her Little self was utterly adorable and even sweeter when she wasn’t sassing him—although he enjoyed her bratty moments, too. And the more he talked to her, the more he wanted toseeher. To be with her.
