Page 89 of Love Song, Take Two

Getting to his feet, he rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a messily wrapped gift. Handing it to her, he dropped to sit beside her on the couch and smiled as she attempted to be gentle with the wrapping paper before giving up and ripping it apart. Her fingers brushed over the frayed Moleskin notebook, tracing his name that was carved into the center. When Micah’s eyes met his, Fletcher nodded, and she carefully opened the notebook, landing on a random page.

“This is a notebook filled with you,” he said softly. “Memories, dreams, thoughts and lyrics. I wrote “Mermaid” on hotel stationery, but I put everything else into this. Songs I thought we could record, but never talked about. It became my Mick Journal.”

“Fletch…” she whispered, shaking her head as she turned the pages slowly, stopping every so often to touch a doodle or a word.

“I want you to have it. It’s as much a part of you as it is a part of me. Besides, I get to have you now, so I don’t need to write about pining for you from a distance.”

She laughed softly, a tear sliding out of her eye. Fletcher caught it before it followed the curve of her cheek. “A part of me is still in shock that you thought about me all this time. That I made such an impact on you that night.”

“Before or after you, I’d never eaten every morsel of room service in a hotel bed while wrapped in bathrobes while a beautiful woman called me out on my taste in music.”

“For a musician, you really do have questionable taste.”

“I stand by the fact that Grace Slick was a legend of her time.”

She rolled her eyes and closed the notebook, setting it in her lap as she turned to him. “Thank you, Fletch. This is the most precious gift I’ve ever received.”

“Better not let your daughter hear you say that.”

“I heard that!” Emery yelled as she charged down the stairs. Fletcher hurriedly put the mermaid pictures away and looked up as Emery slid into the living room. “If you’re done being romantic, can we watch a movie now?”

“Yup. Fletcher’s on popcorn duty, you’re picking the movie and I’m going to put everything away.”

He shook his head and shot Emery a pointed look. “You pick the movie, babe. Em and I are going to clean up and work on the popcorn.”

“What he said,” Emery responded, pouting playfully at him.

With the teenager by his side, Fletcher gathered all the discarded wrapping paper. Then they worked together to put away all the leftovers, wiping down the kitchen while the popcorn did its job in the microwave. With two large bowls filled to the brim, they returned to the couch and sat on either side of Micah as she cued up The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This life, he could totally get used to it.

Micah

Now come here and tie me up.

Every morning since Christmas, Micah would open Fletcher’s notebook and read a page of what he’d written. She never went in order, picked a random section and read. The first few times she stumbled across little notes he’d written addressed to her—We drove past a field of dandelions this morning and I thought of you. Thought of that tattoo I loved to trace on your hip. Then she read a few lyrics, all of which were far more innuendo filled that she expected. There was even a sloppy sketch he’d done of her in the margins of one page.

It blew her mind that all those years ago, while they fooled around in his hotel room, Fletcher had fallen in love with her. Not an infatuation or a crush. No, that’s not how he’d do it. He fell, without a parachute or any hope of being caught when he landed. For sixteen years, he held onto those thoughts and feelings, loving her from a distance. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

If he knew about her new routine, he didn’t say anything. Falling asleep and waking up in his arms, the scent of him wrapped around her was exactly what she wanted every day. They’d drink coffee and make breakfast, then while Fletcher was at the store, Micah would spend the day with Emery and they’d do all kinds of random things that ranged from watching a movie or shopping to attempting a new recipe. The holidays were always a time for mother and daughter to be together, because with school and her clinic closed for the break, they had loads of hours in the day to do nothing.

Today, however, was going to be different. After their last session together, Mrs. Hershey had insisted that Micah stop by their book club that evening. While she wouldn’t do this with her clients, her entire relationship with Mrs. Hershey was different. Besides, she knew the book like the back of her hand and she figured it might be fun. When she’d told Fletcher about it, he’d been so excited. Ever since they uncovered her Santa kink, he’d been doing research on books to read. His nightstand had a few paperbacks with shirtless men in Santa garb and she knew that he had some ebooks on his phone as well. The man was committed to finding ways to drive Micah wild. She showed her appreciation just as enthusiastically.

The book club pick, however, she’d forbidden him from reading, because she wanted it to be a surprise.

“Think they’ll read out all the filthy bits?”

She chuckled at Fletcher’s question, swiping mascara on. “I’m sure if you ask Mrs. Hershey, she’d be happy to provide. But knowing her, she’ll improv most of it.”

“I’m really looking forward to meeting this woman, especially with all the stories you’ve told me.” Fletcher stood beside her in front of the bathroom mirror as he rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt.

“She’s going to flirt up a storm, so please let me down gently if she works her magic.”

Chuckling, Fletcher nodded. “That’s why we’re doing dinner after, so I can break up with you and find my joy with the infamous Mrs. Hershey.”

Smiling, she straightened up and put her mascara away, blinking at her reflection. “It’s such a shame that our second proper date out of the house would be the end of it all.”

“The heart and body wants what it wants, love bug.”

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