Page 86 of Love Song, Take Two

“Ugh, Mom, I can’t breathe.”

She tightened her arms around her daughter and looked up at Fletcher briefly only to have him join the hug. Emery whined again, which turned into a laugh and the three of them held each other for a long moment before pulling apart.

“Sorry I’m late. Mrs. Hershey is dangerous,” she announced and then looked around the kitchen, smiling at the little stations Fletcher had set up for each dish. “Honey, this is way more organized than I expected.”

“Figured we could cook together and Em could help too.”

“The only station we didn’t make was one for dessert. Fletch said that you—”

She groaned loudly, interrupting Emery’s words and then touched her elbow in apology. “Sorry, kid. I didn’t make it to the store. Told you, Mrs. Hershey is dangerous.” She gathered her hair into a tiny ponytail and looked around the kitchen with a sigh. “Okay, let’s get started on dinner and then I’ll see what can be done.”

Her plan had been to whip up a Yule Log, because Micah loved it and it was a dessert she’d made many times for Emery. But with how few of those ingredients existed in the house, she was going to have to figure something else out. Grabbing aprons for her family—her family, Micah’s heart exploded at the sight of Fletcher and Emery putting on their aprons and laughing together—she turned to her boyfriend.

“Okay, chef. Put us to work.”

Fletcher’s eyes flashed with something naughty before he started assigning duties. Micah was working on the tarts while Emery handled the salad, and Fletcher was making the roast chicken. At some point, someone had turned on Christmas music and the soft sounds filled the kitchen. Despite her lack of interest in the holidays, she had to admit that Christmas music was sometimes pretty catchy. She found herself humming along as she made the tarts, until she realized the song—“You’re My Christmas” by Double Toned. After talking about Ambrose a few weeks ago, Tatum hadn’t brought him up again. Even when she was talking about the mess her ex-husband was now starting to cause. Micah made a mental note to check in on her best friend later and then got back to cooking.

“Mushroom and feta tarts are in the oven,” Micah announced, closing the oven door with a proud smile. “What’s next, Santa?”

He growled and she grinned at the realization that simple things like this got him all hot and bothered. Emery was singing and dancing along to the music, so Fletcher sidled over to Micah and dipped his head low enough that only she could hear.

“If your kid was in a different room, I’d be spreading you out on this counter and eating you for Christmas dinner,” he whispered, eyes blazing with lust and she swallowed at his words.

“Jesus, Fletch.”

His face softened and he smiled. “Was that good? Picked up a Santa erotica the other day, thought I’d get to the bottom of this kink.”

“I love you so much,” Micah said, laughing as she tugged his mouth to hers. “And I loved that. Make sure you use that voice on me later tonight.”

“Anything for you, love bug.”

The rest of dinner prep went smooth and while Fletcher and Emery plated everything and set the table, Micah worked on putting together dessert. She might have learned very few things from her mother—the right way to fold a fitted sheet, how to not comb curly hair, why coconut oil is better for your skin than anything else—but she had definitely learned the magic of Desperation Pie. Thankfully she had more ingredients than vinegar and water, but it was still a bit of a hodgepodge of things that came together to make dessert. She had some condensed milk and cocoa powder, which she whipped together and used the remaining flour from the tarts to make the base. Then managed to scrounge up some pecans and walnuts in her pantry that were also tossed into the mix. It wasn’t going to be a spectacular dessert, but it would provide enough sweetness to round out their Christmas meal.

With the pie cooling, Micah joined Fletcher and Emery at the dining table and was shocked by how beautiful everything looked. They’d finally finished decorating the house, including hanging a stocking embroidered with an F. The tree was sparkling and Emery had made sure to hang up mistletoe everywhere. Then there was the table itself, that Emery insisted on decorating. They so rarely sat at the dining table, always choosing to sit at the spacious counters in the kitchen, so the fact that her daughter worked her magic was wonderful. Red linen and crockery that was ‘saved for a special occasion’, wine glasses and holly leaves, sparkles and stars—the table was set beautifully. Emery handed her and Fletcher paper crowns, which they slid onto their heads as they sat down.

“I know we usually do this at Thanksgiving, but I’d like to talk about the things I’m grateful for,” Emery said as Micah served everyone. “If that’s okay.”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Emery beamed and looked between her and Fletcher, before dropping her eyes to her lap. “I’m grateful for Mom. For doing this every Christmas even though it’s not her favorite time of year.” Micah’s heart jumped and she glanced at Fletcher who shrugged with a smile. “I’m grateful for Fletcher. For coming into our lives and making it even better than it was before, which I didn’t think was possible.” When Emery looked up at them, her eyes were brimming with tears. “I’m grateful for your relationship, too. For showing me that two people can truly love each other in all of the weird and beautiful ways. Gives me hope that one day I’ll have that too.”

Micah set a hand over her heart and reached across with the other to grab Emery’s. Tears slipped down her daughter’s cheek and Micah smiled. “I am so grateful for you, kid. You are the best thing in my life and watching you grow up? Nothing beats that. I admire you and am inspired by you constantly. You are my heart and my soul.”

“Don’t make me cry more, Mom!”

“You started it with those ridiculously sweet words!”

All three of them laughed and then Fletcher was reaching for both Micah’s and Emery’s hands. “May I?” At Emery’s nod, he cleared his throat and smiled. “I love you both, that’s the first and most important thing. I am so grateful that I was welcomed into your home and your lives, because this is exactly where I was meant to be. I hope that this is the first of many incredible holidays we’ll spend together, because you two are everything to me.”

Sniffles went around the table and then Emery was on her feet, arms wrapped around Fletcher. Micah blew out a shaky breath, using her free hand to wipe away her tears. Once her daughter was seated again, she shook her head and smiled at her family.

“I don’t remember Christmas being a time to cry,” she teased.

“I was making up for the lack of tears at Thanksgiving,” Emery said with a smug grin. “Besides, Fletcher should know that us George women cry very easily.”

Fletcher snorted out a laugh and Micah squeezed his hand. “Okay, after all that hard work of shopping and cooking, we shouldn’t waste this delicious meal.”

Emery cheered and as Fletcher poured out the wine and finished serving the food, they dug in. Micah moved her food around the plate as she watched them, talking and laughing, teasing each other. This is what she wanted for Emery. She wanted her daughter to have someone who loved her so much that they would be honest when they talked to her. Someone who would give her the opportunity to speak her mind and have opinions. Someone who wanted her as much as she wanted them in her life. Micah knew she was a good parent and she’d provided Emery with a lot of good things. But she could see that Emery had been craving a second parental figure to guide her through everything else in life.

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