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“Wild that I haven’t run into you before.”
“I’m more of a hermit these days.”
She laughed, the sound taking him by surprise. The last time he’d heard her laugh, he had her pinned to the bed, his fingers digging into her sides as he got her to apologize for making fun of his age.
“Fletcher?”
“Sorry…seeing you again is startling. In a good way, obviously.” He’d thought about this woman constantly for two years after their night together, he’d written a song for her, won awards for it and people called him Romeo for years after. Then he’d let all thoughts of Micah fade away when he met and married Alice a few years later.
“I tend to have that effect on people,” she joked and tucked a few curls behind her ear, drawing his attention to the black ink on her arm. “It’s good to see you, too, Fletch.”
“Even if you did sneak out of bed and clean the entire room.”
Another laugh burst out of her. “I had places to go, things to do…”
“I promise to take good care of your kid.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “I’m more concerned about you. That kid is all me, and I’m guessing you remember that I was a lot to handle.”
“Rude,” he mumbled, not needing any help in remembering how good it had been to handle her that night. “I think I handled you fine.”
“You did.” Her expression softened, brown eyes locked on his and he watched as her tongue swiped out to wet her bottom lip.
A phone ringing snapped them into attention. He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed to be caught thinking of her that way. Especially since his fingers tingled to trace every dip and bump of her body.
“I have to go, but I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Absolutely.”
“Bye, Fletch.”
“Mick,” he said softly with a slight tip of his head. She chuckled and walked out of the store, a crisp floral scent lingering in her wake. He stood at the door and watched as she climbed into her car, his heart thudding at the memory of the last thing they said to each other.
“I’m gonna miss you, Mick.”
“The night’s not over, Fletch. Don’t say goodbye yet.”
Micah
Micah’s hot for teacher.
“Wait, start again,” Sadie said as she returned to the couch with a new bottle of wine. “He’s Em’s music teacher?”
“Micah’s hot for teacher,” Tatum offered and then launched into the Van Halen song with gusto.
Micah rolled her eyes as her friends joined forces, their collective volume rising. The song itself was one of her least favorite tracks by the band, hearing her friends butcher it only made the experience worse. Instead, she focused on refilling their wine glasses and waited until they were done performing like lunatics.
“Got that out of your system?”
Tatum nodded, grinning broadly, while Sadie bounced around, still humming. “I’ve got tons more questions, especially now that our munchkin is in bed.”
“Ask away,” Micah grumbled. She should have been far more prepared for this interrogation when she walked through Tatum’s front door and heard Emery announce that she’d met ‘the Fletcher Kelley’.
The original plan had been to fly up to San Francisco for Thanksgiving weekend. But when her parents got tickets on a last minute cruise, Micah decided to spend it with her best friends. Emery was thrilled to not leave Sirena Beach, especially since Nico wasn’t going anywhere for the break. Plus, she loved Micah’s best friends too. They’d each brought two dishes, but it was the most random selection of food to ever grace a Thanksgiving meal. Even though Emery’s announcement had both her friends itching to ask a million questions, Micah was impressed that they kept it simple. In fact, outside of vague questions about work, Sadie and Tatum put their entire focus on Emery.
And Micah was glad for it.
She loved her friends, they’d known each other since they were twelve, and had stuck together through marriages, divorces and then some. But once they got started on something, they would not let it go.
