Page 78 of Love Song, Take Two

To be sitting at breakfast with his family.

Afterwards, Micah and Emery left to do last minute Christmas shopping before Micah went into work. Fletcher and Erin grabbed coffee from his favorite shop and walked along the promenade silently. He’d known her long enough to know that Erin had thoughts and sitting quietly with her for a few minutes was part of the process. Finding a bench—not too far from where he and Micah had discussed nicknames not too long ago—they sat down and Erin leaned back with a sigh.

“Hank would be proud of you.” Erin nudged him gently and Fletcher smiled. “She’s great. Both of them are.”

Knowing that Erin approved and that she knew Hank would too made this all the better. “Apparently Hank knew them.”

“For real?”

Nodding, he sipped on his coffee. “When Micah came home the first time, she mentioned visiting him there. Surprised the old man didn’t try to set me up with her.”

“Maybe he was protective of her and the kid. I mean, I get why he would be.”

“Yeah. They’re pretty fucking special. Best thing to ever happen to me.”

She shifted on the bench, straddling it so she was facing him. “I’m happy for you.”

“But…?” he said, dragging the word out as he glanced at her.

“Have you been planning a future with her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like…you always talked about how you never wanted to get married again or have a kid. But she’s different, right?”

He sighed, pondering the question with his head tilted back. If he hadn’t met Alice and married her, his answer might be different. But he knew that if he got to spend his life with Micah, he would be the happiest man alive. And that didn’t mean marriage. Though, as he closed his eyes, he could see Micah in a wedding dress clearly and suddenly it was all he wanted.

“Yeah,” he whispered, opening his eyes to stare at the sky for a long moment. “I don’t think either of us wants to raise a baby, but everything else? I want that.”

“Emery adores you, I hope you know that.”

He smiled, remembering how quickly he took to her. Maybe it was because she reminded him of Micah or because she was that great a person.

“I love her too. From the minute she walked into my store and sassed me about teaching her the drums, I knew that she was someone special.”

She was funny, smart and despite being tone deaf, she was determined. The passion that flowed through Emery when it came to music was something Fletcher connected with. He’d been like that too, falling in love with music and then wanting to be a part of it. Emery would eventually have to either give up learning drums or keep going batshit with her sticks, and he would be there every step of the way.

“And Micah…” Erin trailed off, making Fletcher smile. He waited for his friend to continue, because he knew she saw what he did. “Those pictures didn’t do her justice. But she also seems like someone with her head screwed on straight.”

A laugh burst out of him and he raised his coffee in a silent toast. “She’s the best, E. I don’t think there are enough ways in which I can express how fucking perfect she is.”

“I can also see why you’ve held onto your love for her.”

“She sees me, always has,” he admitted softly. “Sixteen years ago, she looked at me and didn’t expect anything other than what I had to offer. She still does that and it’s amazing.”

Erin nudged him again and he grinned. “I never thought of you as a sap, but I guess the man who wrote a love song for a Mermaid would wear his heart on his sleeve.”

He groaned loudly, aware that Erin would never let it go. Laughing as he straightened up, he gently tapped his coffee against hers and then let himself relax into the bench.

“She’s always been the one.”

“Well, I’m happy for you. You, of all the people I know, deserve this.”

He gave his friend a nod and took a long sip of his coffee. Then turned to face her, one eyebrow arched. “Speaking of which…we need to talk about you and Benson.”

“What? No. Who’s Benson?”

“Decker.”

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