Page 33 of Love Song, Take Two

He shrugged and looked up from the sandwich he’d ripped apart. “I wasn’t as upset as I probably should have been. Last I heard, she got married to someone else, so I guess she moved on well enough too.”

“Divorce, when you love your partner or not, is hard,” she started and he used the break to eat his food. “I was glad to get away from Geoffrey, but it did hurt when everything fell apart. You’re allowed to miss her.”

“I don’t,” he said without hesitation. “I missed you, though.”

“Really?” She smirked, eating another crinkle fry.

He chuckled, pushing his plate aside to rest his elbows on the table. “I wrote a fucking song about you, Mick. I think it’s pretty clear that I missed you. A lot.”

She leaned forward, still grinning as she stretched a hand out to him. “Is it wrong to feel powerful knowing all this information?”

“You’re ridiculous,” he told her with a shake of his head and slipped a hand into hers. “But everyone knows that you’re the powerful one here.”

“Damn right I am.”

Once their drinks and food were gone, they shared a large slice of chocolate cake and then Fletcher drove her home. If Mrs. Cannon, her neighbor and Emery’s babysitter, hadn’t walked out of the house at the same time they reached the front door he would have kissed her stupid right there. But they’d made a deal and he was going to honor it. A quick wave, wink and blow of a kiss was all he got, but it was enough given how the rest of the day had been everything he’d hoped for and more.

Micah

How slutty, Mick?

“How does this look?”

Micah looked up from where she was sorting through a pile of bracelets to find Emery wearing a large rainbow fur coat and snorted. “Rainbow Brite called, she wants her monster back.”

“Who?”

“Oh, my dear flower child. How have I not introduced you to the magic of my childhood?”

“Is that a no?”

“We live in California, Em, when exactly do you plan on wearing that?”

Emery shrugged, turning to look at herself in the mirror. “My first date?”

“Hell no.”

“To the date or the coat?”

Micah released a heavy sigh. “Both.”

“Mom.”

“Okay, fine. You can date, one day. But put that coat away.”

Emery shot her a grin and then slid off the coat, hanging it off a hook near the large mirror. Micah shook her head, smiling as she spun slowly in place and took in the store. Ever since Emery was old enough to have opinions about her own clothes, the two of them would go thrifting. It was a monthly mother-daughter activity they took very seriously and it was one of her favorite days. They would start with a delicious breakfast at Emery’s restaurant of choice, then Micah would pick the thrift store from a long list they’d compiled years ago and after shopping, they would go get ice cream. Sometimes it was planned in advance, other times it would happen when Emery didn’t have school and Micah didn’t have work. There was even one time, soon after Emery started her period, that Micah let her skip school and they went thrifting together.

That day, breakfast had been at Sugar Mama’s where Emery ate her weight in cinnamon French toast which still had her very hyper. They were at (Hit Me, Baby) One More Time, one of Micah’s favorite thrift stores in the area. Fondly known as One More Time, the store had clothes and all the fashion accessories one would need, as well as a second hand bookstore and an extensive vinyl collection. She’d found it by accident one day and knew that it was exactly the kind of place Emery would like. And when they finished shopping, Micah was dropping Emery off at the music store for drum lessons with Fletcher before meeting her girlfriends for drinks.

Thinking about Fletcher made her giddy.

They hadn’t taken a single picture the day before, but she didn’t need them. Her mind was already full of memories of their visit to the tasting room, the dancing, the singing, the kiss. She was still reeling from the knowledge that he had written a song about her. Now when she listened to it—she’d played it on loop while getting ready that morning—she could see how it was inspired by her. Everything from the dark hair to her curves and the way their bodies fit so perfectly together. He had taken one of her most intimate and cherished nights and turned it into a love song. She’d wondered if other women imagined that he was singing about them too and felt evil knowing that she was the only one that inspired him that way.

Pressing her lips together to hide her smile, she let one hand brush over the dresses in front of her. It had been a long time since someone had gotten her this excited about dating. After Geoffrey, there were a few hits and misses, some good nights and some terrible ones. She hadn’t put a lot of stock into hook-ups and never expected more than what she was willing to give them too.

With Fletcher, she knew it would always be so much more. For a while, she’d jokingly refer to him as ‘the one that got away’, but she’d never tried to hold onto him after their night together. It just so happened that in one night, he’d wormed his way under her skin with his adorable charm and callused hands. To think she had a second chance with him—as her favorite rockstar and the man she dreamed about—made Micah giddy. Add to that the fact that he’d kissed the hell out of her the day before and she was still vibrating with excitement.

This feeling? Better than almost anything else she’d ever experienced.

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