Lucy giggled as her mother hung up a low-cut dress that had no back. She, in fact, did not have the boobs nor the back for that dress. Lucy did, though.

One day.

Lucy set her with a look. A bored one. "I mean, I don't even know why we're here. You two haven't even picked a date."

That made Autumn smile, which in return made Lucy breathless. It was a sight, seeing her mother smile. She was so happy now, so in love, and it meant the world to Lucy. Her mom was her best friend, and she wanted nothing more than for her to be blissful. River was really good to her mother and loved all her kids like his own. Hell, he stood up to her father many times in the past year they had been together. He was something, and she was glad he was with her mother. So really, she didn't know why she was so bitchy when it came to her mother getting married.

"We have set a date. Christmas."

Lucy's jaw dropped. "Christmas, next year?"

Autumn shook her head, her hands coming to her chest like some kind of Disney princess. "Nope, this one."

"Mom! That's in, like, two months."

"I know!" she squealed, doing a little jig. "All the boys will be home, there is a small break in hockey for Christmas, and it just feels right. It's gonna be so small, just us really, and Pastor Dwayne from our church. Nothing crazy or big, just nice and sweet. Us, our family, you know?"

Lucy's lips curved, tears gathering in her eyes. "Yeah, Mom, that sounds nice."

"Oh, it will be. Angie will be my little flower girl. You and the boys will give me away, and Baylor will stand up with River. It's gonna be a tearjerker, I'm sure."

Lucy was fighting back her own tears at the moment, so no telling what she'd do when they actually had the damn wedding. "I'm sure it will be."

"I'm excited."

"I am too," Lucy said, and she wasn't lying. For the first time since she found out, she was genuinely happy for her mom. Standing up, she went to her mom, leaning her head on hers. She sucked in a long breath as Autumn's hand came up to rest on her cheek.

"I love you, baby," her mother whispered and Lucy's eyes fell shut.

"I love you too, Mom." Clearing her throat free of emotion, she stood up and then clapped her hands together. "Now, let's find you a dress. Excuse me, do y'all have an older bride wedding dress section?" Lucy asked the dress consultant who had just come into the room.

"Oh, yes, ma'am. This way," she said cheerfully, and they followed her into the other room. "My name is Shawna, and I'll be helping you. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. My daughter is home sick, and I'm trying to talk my husband through it."

"Oh, you're fine. We were man-bashing my daughter's ex," Autumn said and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, my mom and I do the same. Thankfully, I only had kids with the second guy," Shawna laughed, bringing them into another room.

"Lucky. She didn't," Autumn added and Lucy gave her a look.

"Really, Mom?"

"What?" she asked innocently as Shawna laughed.

"It's fine. Okay, so what are we looking for?"

"I don't know." She eyed all the dress, and Lucy's throat was thick with emotion at the look on her mother's face. She was giddy, almost like this was her first marriage, her first love, and it was beautiful. "Baby, you think I can pull off a short dress?" she asked then, pointing to a gorgeous, tea length, off-white A-line dress that had a lace bodice and pearls all over it.

"I think you can," she said simply. "It's pretty."

"But what about my legs?"

Lucy shrugged. "What? They'll show?"

Autumn gave her a stern look. "No, I mean, do you think that's okay? It's a Christmas wedding," she said to Shawna and she nodded.

"You might be chilly. Do you want a poofy dress?"

Autumn laughed. "Oh, Jesus, no. I'm fifty-four!"

"What! I wouldn't think you were a day over thirty," Shawna said with a wink, and Autumn's laughter filled the shop. Lucy giggled as she leaned back against the puffy white couch, watching as Shawna went back and forth, showing them options, with Autumn having the final say. When they finally had four dresses picked out, Shawna took a very thrilled Autumn to the dressing room to start trying them on.

Letting out a long breath, Lucy picked up her phone and went into her group message with the boys.

Lucy: Mom is so happy.

Jace: You guys shopping? Avery said something about wedding dresses today.

Lucy: Yeah. It's supersweet.

Jayden: Good, she needs to be happy.

Jude: Yeah, for sure. Send us pictures.

Lucy: I will. They set a date.

Jude: When?

Lucy: Christmas.

Jayden: Cool.

Jude: Awesome.

Jace: Good, all of us will be there.

Jude: But man, that means you only have a couple more months before your wife is your sister, Jay.

Jace: Yeah, that sucks. Can you guys even do it then?

Lucy: I think that's incest.

Jayden: I hate you all. All of you.

Lucy laughed as she laid her phone down and watched as her mother came out in each dress. She didn't like the first three and neither did her mom, but when she came out in an A-line, princess V-neck, floor-length chiffon dress with beading along the bodice and cascading ruffles on the skirt, Lucy sat up straight, holding back the tears. The dress fit her mother perfectly. It fell along her curves and gave her such a sexy shape.

"Oh, Mommy, that's the one," she gasped, covering her mouth. Shawna nodded as Autumn looked in the mirror, holding back her own tears. Getting a birdcage veil that was made of the same chiffon, Shawna pulled Autumn's long, brown hair to the side and pinned it up, transforming Lucy's mother into a bride. Turning, her mom looked back at her and grinned.

"I think it's the one."

"It is," Lucy agreed, and then out of nowhere, Autumn squealed. Loudly. Making practically everyone in the shop jump, Lucy included. That had her laughing so hard, tears started to roll down her cheeks. Man, she was so happy for her mom. Getting up, she ran to her mother and held her tightly, the love for her and this moment overwhelming her.

She wanted this.

She wanted it so badly.

When Autumn pulled back, cupping Lucy's face, she beamed at her as she wiped her tears away. "You're next, my love."

Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Gotta raise Angie first."

But that made Autumn's smile drop and her eyes narrow. "What?"

She was confused as she held her mother's hazel gaze. "I need to raise Angie, and then I can worry about me."

"What in the world makes you think that?"

"I don't think it. I know it. I don't have time for a relationship," she said, but Autumn shook her head.

"The hell you don't. You make time. You can't just nurture that baby, Lucy Lane, you have to nurture you too."

"No, Angie is all that matters, Mom. One day, I'll worry about my needs."

But again, her mother was shaking her head. "Lucy Lane, no. I know you worry about that baby, I know you want to do right by her, but how can you when you aren't satisfied with where you are in life?"

Lucy's face scrunched up. Why did everyone think she was unhappy? "Mom, I'm good."

"Don't lie to me, girl," her mother snapped and Lucy's eyes widened.

"I'm not."

"You are so. You're moving through life, only worrying about Angie and her wishes, and forgetting all about you," she said. Her words had truth to them, but Lucy was fine. She really was. "When was the last time you went on a date?"

Lucy thought for a moment. She didn't remember. Fuck, she really didn't remember. Clearing her throat, she looked away and shrugged. "I don't know, a couple months ago."

"Liar."

"Okay, Mom, what's your point?" she asked, frustrated.

"Oh, I'm getting to it," she said then, her hands coming to lace with Lucy's. "Can you even tell me the last time you had sex?"

Lucy's face twisted in horror. "Jesus! I'm not telling you that."

"Lucy..."

"Mom!" she gasped, a laugh escaping her lips. "That's personal."

"Or is it because you can't remember?" she said, squeezing her hands. Yeah, Lucy was about to cry. Damn it. Her mother was right, she didn't remember. Somewhere in the last seven years, all that ever mattered-all that still mattered-was Angie. She was the first thing Lucy woke up thinking about, worrying about, and she was the last thing Lucy thought of at night. Nothing else mattered because Angie was it. Angie was her life, and there was nothing wrong with that. That's the way a mother was supposed to be.

"Angie is my only priority, Mom," she said, but it was more for herself than her mom. She believed her words, she did, but was she hiding behind them? She didn't know, but she suspected she was.

"See, and I think the same about you, Jude, Jayden, and Jace. You four are my life, but I've always made time for me. I had to, or you all would drive me insane," she said with a laugh and Lucy smiled. She had that right; the Sinclair kids were crazy. "But, baby, do you not see that in the last few years, you've become bitter?"

Lucy's brows rose. "No..."

"Yes, it started with Jude getting married, and then Jayden, and now Jace."

Had she? It wasn't a shock when Jude got married. She knew it was coming, but she always saw him as such a baby. When Jayden got married, he did it behind everyone's back, as did Jace, so both were shocks. But she was happy for them. Wasn't she? Yeah, she loved her sisters-in-law. No, she was happy for them.

"I see the way you act when I talk about marrying River. You hate it. You're jealous and, baby, green may be your color but not envy green. You don't have to feel like this. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

Crap. Why was everyone pointing out her faults lately?

"Don't you dare cry," she demanded and Lucy looked away.

"I just..." She paused, sucking in a breath. "I just don't know anymore. It scares me."

"Well, yeah, I'm sure it does. But, baby, don't you think a happy mommy would be better for Angie than a bitter mommy just trying to get by?"

"I don't need a man to make me happy," she shot back and Autumn nodded.

"Never said you did, but something needs to happen. Even if it's just a vacation of your own, you need to do some things that make you happy."

Lucy looked away and nodded. Her mom was right; she needed to do something, but what scared her was that her mind went right to Benji.

And she had no clue what the hell that meant.

Ugh, she was running late.

Of course, lunch, shopping, and talking about feelings with her mother always took a lot of time, but she hadn't realized it would only leave her with twenty minutes to get to her new client. She was hungry, and something smelled in her apartment. When she couldn't find the source of the smell, she started to panic because it smelled chemical. Like her fridge was about to explode or something. So she called the landlord, who promised someone would come over immediately.

After hanging up with him, she called Rayne. "Hey, send me the address for my five o'clock. It didn't populate in my calendar."

"Crap. Sorry, I forgot to transfer it for you," she said, and Lucy could hear the clicking in the background.

"No big deal, thanks."

"Have fun."

"Yeah," Lucy said with an empty laugh as she hung up and waited for the address to come through. God, she was exhausted. Her mother just drained her, physically and emotionally, and she had no desire to do this consult. Not even kind of, but she needed the money. Especially when she had three people coming in for interviews starting Friday for the second design position.

Finally, the address came through and Lucy hit it, the GPS coming up for her. Oh, good, it was only ten minutes from her apartment. Following the GPS while she sang along to some Sam Hunt, Lucy recapped her whole day thus far. It wasn't a day she'd like to remember, but then, it was. Seeing Angie on that stage, dancing with the grace of an elephant, was one of the sweetest things she had ever seen. She dreaded talking to Rick about pulling her from dance tomorrow, but she would. For Angie.

She thought about how happy her mom looked and how she wanted what her mom felt. She wasn't sure when she would feel like that, but a part of her considered doing what she said, maybe trying. She didn't need a man-she didn't. She was very independent, but maybe she could ask Benji if the offer of dinner was still on the table. She could get her mom to babysit, or maybe it could be on the weekend Rick had Angie.

She smiled at the possibility.

Yeah, she was going to do it.

When she pulled into the stately neighborhood where she knew houses were around a million a pop, her brows rose. The houses on this side of town were high-end and usually were brand-new. Why would someone want her to design here? Wait, was the GPS right? Pulling into the driveway it told her to pull into, she checked the address again and it was right. Looking up at the grayish-white stone home that looked like it belonged in the 1900s and not the 2010s, Lucy shrugged her shoulders.