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Micah’s head snapped up at the sound of the familiar voice and her eyes widened when she found Fletcher standing in the doorway to the studio.
“Hey. What are you doi—” Micah started, but was interrupted by Emery’s squeals as she charged past her to grab Fletcher’s hand and pull him into the room.
“I didn’t think you’d actually show up!”
“You told me that I would be an idiot to not show up,” Fletcher explained and then glanced at Micah, one eyebrow arched. “So, what am I doing here?”
“Holy shit, you’re Fletcher Kelley.”
Micah and Fletcher turned to the voice coming from inside the recording booth to find all six women staring at them.
“What is going on?” Fletcher asked, looking slightly startled.
Micah gestured to everyone as she introduced them. “This is Tatum, one of my best friends. Starlight Studios is hers and that’s Pretty Ugly, apparently Emery’s obsessed with them.”
“It’s good to finally meet you, Fletcher,” Tatum said with a wide smile.
“Likewise,” he responded, eyes drifting back to Micah. “Can we…can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Mr. Kelley,” one of the women from Pretty Ugly said, stopping Micah from going anywhere with Fletcher. “We know this is a weird request, but would you be up for a quick jam session?”
Micah nodded, smiling as Fletcher looked between her, Emery and the band. After a long moment, he nodded and joined the band in the recording booth. Micah shot Emery a glare and her daughter blushed, before coming over to stand beside her.
“I was so excited and sent him the picture you took. I thought it would be fun to have him here. He’s like super famous and whatever,” Emery rambled, tripping over her words as she explained herself. “I’m sorry, Mama, I should have asked you first.”
Kissing the side of Emery’s head, Micah sighed. “It’s okay, kiddo. But you’ll definitely have to explain this to Fletcher later.”
Emery nodded, eyes downcast as she leaned into Micah. “Maybe we can take him for ice cream?”
Micah chuckled and squeezed Emery’s shoulder. All of a sudden, the entire room was filled with loud music, drawing Micah’s attention to the booth. She found Fletcher behind one of the drum sets, smiling at the rest of the band as he twirled his sticks as his foot worked the pedal for the bass. Her heart lurched at the sight, eyes watching his every move. When Fletcher glanced over, his smile widening, she knew that without a doubt she was going to allow herself to fall stupidly in love with him.
Tatum recorded the whole jam session while Micah watched in awe as Fletcher seamlessly moved through every song Pretty Ugly threw at him. She’d always known that there was a good reason why he was named Drummer of the Year six years in a row, but watching it in real time again? That was a whole other experience. When they were done, Fletcher posed for some more photographs with the band, signed a bunch of things and walked out to a pouting Emery.
“I’m sorry, Fletch. I didn’t mean to make this awkward.”
“It’s all good, kid. I had fun. Startling at first, but fun,” he told Emery, giving her arm a squeeze. When he looked up at Micah, he smiled. “Are you ladies done for the day?”
“We could be,” Micah told him, hands shoved into the pockets of her cotton shorts.
“Oooh, you up for some ice cream, Fletch?” Emery asked, beaming at both of them.
Fletcher shrugged, adjusting his denim jacket. “I could eat ice cream.”
Micah smiled and shook her head slightly, glancing at Tatum. “Up for some ice cream, Tate?”
“We’ve still got some work to do, so you three have fun,” Tatum said with a wink and not so subtly waved Micah off. They would talk about this Ambrose thing later, maybe with Sadie on her side too. While their third friend could get quite aggressive about relationships and the drama that went with it, Sadie sometimes brought clarity to every situation.
Grabbing her things, Micah followed an excited Emery and Fletcher out to the parking lot. Without even asking either of them questions about it, Emery climbed into Fletcher’s truck and buckled herself in. Fletcher smirked and gave Micah’s hand a gentle squeeze. She poked him in the side and then climbed into her car and led the way to Lickity Split.
At the ice cream shop, Fletcher bought them all ice cream and after a quick thanks, Emery was gone—something about seeing friends and going to spend time with them—leaving her and Fletcher alone.
“Is everyone in your life trying to set us up?” he asked, hand on her lower back as he guided her towards a table set up outside.
She chuckled, slipping into her seat. “Tatum was definitely trying, I don’t think Em was doing anything on purpose. Was she?”
“Would it be so bad if she was?”
“I guess not…” she trailed off, eating some of the ice cream with a slight frown on her face.
