Page 6 of Break Me, Daddy

“Food is not the enemy,” she murmured, reaching for the fork still lying on her tray.

“What’s that, little siren?” From his spot in the chair beside the bed, Holden looked up from his phone, a slight frown tugging at his lips.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.” Shit. Now that he was watching her, she’dhaveto eat the damn eggs. If she didn’t take a bite soon, he’d realize something was up and then she’d never hear the end of it.

Taking a deep breath, she scooped a small bite of egg up onto the fork and brought it to her mouth.

Food is not the enemy. Food is not the enemy. Food is not the enemy.

The eggs were a bit bland, but they slid down easily, a fact she was thankful for. She waited a moment, and when her stomach didn’t immediately rebel, she scooped up another small forkful.

A knock drew her attention to the large wooden door to her room, and a moment later it eased open. The woman who stepped inside wore her dark hair up in a sleek twist, and a surprisingly bright smile that actually reached her bright blue eyes. In Frankie’s experience, hospital doctors tended to look either bored or frazzled or some strange combination of the two.

Even more surprising was the fact that Holden rose to his feet the moment she stepped inside. “Dr. Winters. Thank you for coming.”

Thank you for coming? What the hell was going on?

“Of course. It was lucky for you I have admitting privileges at this particular hospital and I was able to pull a few strings to get Francesca here placed under my care.” Shifting her attention away from Holden, her gaze raked over Frankie, leaving her with the distinct impression she was being examined without the woman ever laying a finger on her. “So, Miss Francesca. I’ve gone over your file, but I’d like to hear the story from you, personally.”

“Frankie. Everyone calls me Frankie. And, um.” Frankie’s gaze slid over to Holden, then back to Dr. Winters. “There’s not much to tell, really. I guess I just had too much to drink.”

Frowning, Dr. Winters looked down at her tablet, tapping the screen a few times before looking up again. “Frankie, do I have your consent to continue with Mr. Prescott in the room or would you prefer to have him wait outside?”

Part of her wanted Holden to leave. If he ever found out how weak she really was, he’d never want to have anything to do with her.

But if she asked him to go, that would tip him off that she wasn’t being entirely honest with him. And if he got even a whiff of her keeping secrets, he’d really go full Daddy on her.

Besides all that, there was the small, weak part of her that simplywantedhim nearby.

“No. He can stay. I don't have anything to hide.”

Dr. Winters raised a brow but didn’t argue. “All right. Well, then I suppose my next question is, why are you lying to me?”

“Excuse me?” Doing her best to mask her sudden panic with righteous anger, Frankie pinned her with a glare that would have done Delphine Legare proud. “Who the hell do you think you are, accusing me of lying?”

“Francesca.”

Uh-oh. Holden was using his Daddy voice again, and when she snuck a look in his direction, he was frowning at her.

“Dr. Winters is here to help. I expect you to treat her with respect and give her your full cooperation.”

“But who is she, anyway? How do you two know each other?”

“I can answer that.” Dr. Winters’ smile returned, at least a bit. “I run a private practice that caters to a certain level of clientele. Mr. Prescott here happens to be one of my regulars, and he called me to ask if I would come examine you. He said he’d feel better knowing you were being cared for by someone he trusts.”

Despite her worry over her secrets being outed in front of him, her heart swelled in her chest at the knowledge that Holden had gone out of his way to get her the best care possible. “Oh. Um, thanks Holden.”

“No thanks necessary. I take care of what’s mine.”

Heat flooded her body, not just at his words but the fierce expression on his face when he said them. Across the room, Dr. Winters coughed slightly, and Frankie got the distinct impression she was trying not to grin.

“Now that we’ve gotten that sorted out,” Dr. Winters said dryly, cocking an eyebrow in an almost perfect imitation of the look Holden had given her so many times. “Care to tell me the real truth about what happened last night, Frankie?”

Looking down, Frankie picked at her blanket for a long minute. “There’s a lot I don’t really want to go into right now, but basically I just fell back into some bad habits I had before. I guess it was worse than I realized.” Tears blurred her vision as she looked up at Holden. “I’ll be better. I have a handle on it now, I promise.”

“Oh, baby.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I really thought I had control over it this time. I’m sorry.”

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