Chapter ThirtyFischerOctober 27
Chapter Thirty
Fischer
This might be heaven.
As the event drew to a close, we offered Bonnie and Derek some rooms for them and their entourage, which they gladly accepted.
Micah’s dad stayed as well, mostly, I think, to keep an eye on his daughter and make sure she was safe and cared for.
Houston made the drive back to Sun City, though he wouldn’t say why, and I suspect it has something to do with his frustrating but apparently attractive neighbor, Darcy.
Once all of the guests left, and the staff finished cleaning up for the most part, Micah finally let herself settle and breathe.
Though we both have rooms to use, I convinced her to come out onto the back patio with me, and we’ve been out here ever since.
I set out blankets, and the fire keeps us warm, but mostly I’m just glad to hold her in my arms and know she loves me.
I don’t have a job or much of a plan, but her love is enough for now.
“Do you think the opening went well?” Micah asks, leaning into my chest as we sit on the deck. She’s got her eyes on the stars, which are so much brighter than I’ve ever seen before.
I nuzzle my face into her neck, kissing her soft skin. “Micah, I don’t think that event could have gone better if we’d tried.” I don’t tell her that the lodge manager told me they’ve booked out through the rest of the year already. I’ll save that for tomorrow, when she isn’t half asleep.
I slept on her couch last night, after I could no longer keep my eyes open around two in the morning, but I’m pretty sure Micah stayed up later and kept working so she could ensure we pulled off this party on our own, without a whole team behind us.
I don’t know how, but she made magic happen tonight.
“You ready to go to bed?” I ask her.
But she shakes her head. “I’m not tired.” It sounds like she means it too. She’s probably still running off of adrenaline and the high of a job well done, so I will stay with her as long as she wants me to.
And I don’t mean just tonight. I’ve fallen so hard for this woman that I’m not sure I’ll ever love anyone else.
Considering my track record, it’s hard to imagine this working out for me, but I want to try.
There’s no one in the world like Micah, and my only goal in life now is to be worthy of her love.
I want to be perfect for her, just like she’s always been perfect for me.
Pulling her tighter against my chest, I picture a world where I don’t have to say goodbye to her at the end of the night. That life looks more incredible than any dreams I’ve had in the past, and I can only hope Micah sees a future with us together as well.
“I love you so much,” I tell her. I’ll tell her a million times a day if that’s what it takes to get her to believe me beyond any doubt.
I can practically feel the way she smiles, like her whole body lights up with it.
It may be the middle of the night, but she is still the brightest part of my life and shines so brightly.
“I love you,” she replies, reaching up and running her fingers through my hair.
“Thank you. For sticking with me with this crazy plan. I wouldn’t have been able to pull tonight off without you. ”
“You would have been fine.”
“No, really, the only reason I didn’t panic was because I knew you were here with me. Thank you. For having faith in me. I like knowing I have someone on my side.”
If only she knew. I tuck my chin over her shoulder and close my eyes. “Everyone loves you, Micah. You could take over the world if it appealed to you, and everyone would thank you for it.”
She snorts a laugh. “You’re so weird.” Then she yawns, sinking more heavily into my hold. “I’m afraid of tomorrow.”
“Me too.” Grant and Lila are going to find out that we hijacked their event, and it is not going to be pretty. I have no idea what might be in store for us when the sun rises. Oddly, I don’t think I care all that much. Grant can take away what little I have, but he can’t take me from Micah.
“Will you stay with me?” She twists into a ball, curling herself up into my chest.
“Always.”
***
October 27
I wake in a tangle of blankets, the sun poking out over the hill to the east. Everything is slightly frosty, and my nose is completely frozen, but the fire still cheerily burns with enough heat that I didn’t notice how cool the night got as we slept.
Still, a shiver runs through me, and I wrap myself more securely around Micah.
She murmurs with contentment and snuggles in. “You fell asleep.”
“Yep. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. My dad doesn’t like camping, so I’ve never slept outside before.”
I haven’t either, and I can’t say that I’m a fan. My back is completely stiff, not to mention ridiculously cold. “I’m glad you got the experience,” I mutter, “but can I recommend we take this inside? Maybe with some coffee. Your dad will kill me if I let you freeze.”
She giggles. “He might kill you if he finds out we slept together on the deck.”
Groaning at her choice of words, I force myself to move, though getting up isn’t easy.
This might be the first time I truly feel old, especially when Micah hops right up as soon as she’s free.
As long as she doesn’t tell her dad we slept together, I’ll be fine.
We didn’t sleep together. I mean, we did, but not like…
When we get inside, Derek Riley is already up, sitting on one of the couches in the lobby with a steaming mug as he scrolls what looks like a script on his phone. He greets us with a nod.
“Oh, is that a new movie?” Micah asks, bouncing forward before I can hold her back. I’m pretty sure Derek can’t show—
“What do you think?” he asks, handing over his phone.
I head to the kitchen, relieved to find a couple of staff prepping food.
They probably came back because they realized they would get a chance to serve Bonnie Aiken and Derek Riley breakfast, and I don’t blame them.
Thanking them for the coffee they hand me, I return to the lobby to find Micah sitting side by side with Derek and in deep discussion of the script he was looking at.
He’s smiling gently, probably a little bit in love with Micah already as she explains why the love story in the movie is one worth telling and he should take the role.
“Will Bonnie star in it with you?” she asks.
Derek shrugs. “Depends on the casting director, but I hope so.”
“You guys make such a cute couple. I hope it wasn’t weird with Houston here.”
Chuckling, he pockets his phone as he rises to his feet.
“Nah. Briggs is a good guy.” In sweats and a t-shirt like he is now, he looks more human, but there’s a reason he’s on the big screen.
I’m sure he has most of the country in love with him with that dark scruff and perfect smile.
Plus, you know, the kind of body that makes a guy like me think about ramping up his basic workout routine.
“Thank you,” I tell him when he approaches me. “You have no idea what it means to us that you came last night.”
He shrugs. “Bonnie loves helping people out. It’s the only time she’s okay with the spotlight. You’ve made a good place here, and I’m thinking of recommending it for a movie location. Any objections?”
I have to actively keep my jaw shut as I shake my head.
Using the lodge as a filming location would solidify its existence and bring in more business than I can fathom.
“That…” I choke on the word and clear my throat.
“That sounds like a great idea. You would have to take it up with the owner, but he’d be an idiot to say no. ”
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Derek frowns at the screen and then says, “We’ll be in touch,” before lifting the phone to his ear and disappearing down the hall.
As soon as I sit next to Micah, handing her a cup of coffee, she loops her arm through mine and cuddles up close. “I think I might be in love with Derek Riley,” she whispers.
“You and me both.”
We sit in silence for a while, enjoying the peace of the morning and letting the success of the night sink in.
I genuinely don’t know if I’ve ever been this content, and I owe that all to the woman next to me.
Maybe someday I’ll figure out how I got so lucky to fall for her, but more than likely it will remain a mystery for the rest of my life.
That’s okay. I don’t have to know why I found her, as long as I get to keep her.
Someone clears their throat behind us, pulling me out of the hazy peace, and I glance behind me, expecting to see Micah’s dad.
“Grant?” I scramble to my feet, nearly knocking Micah’s coffee out of her hands. “What are you—”
“I thought we were canceling the event.” He looks awful.
A bit green, he looks like he hasn’t eaten or slept in days, and I can’t imagine what the food poisoning did to him over the last couple of days.
His weary eyes linger on Micah, though I can’t quite read his expression.
“Lila said her team would reschedule once she hired a new assistant.”
I swallow. I was hoping to delay this moment and spare Micah if I could, but she stands next to me and takes my hand. “I can ex—”
“It’s all over the internet.” Glancing at our clasped hands, Grant pulls out his phone and unlocks it before handing it to me.
It’s open to a Buzzfeed article that starts with a picture of Derek and Bonnie laughing in the middle of a crowd of people. I recognize the stonework on the fireplace in the background, which means it’s a picture from last night.
“Buzzfeed?” Micah gasps, grabbing both my hand and the phone and scrolling down.
I only catch bits and pieces from the article, but it’s all about the lodge and what a great place to stay it is.
Grant clears his throat, and it seems to take a lot of effort to say what he says next. “We’re booked out, Fischer. Through April.”
I raise my eyebrows. “That’s—”
“A year and a half from now.”
Micah and I both drop the phone. “What?” I gasp.
Grant nods, and genuine tears fill his eyes as he stands there in the growing sunlight and looks around at the remnants of the party. “Why?” he croaks.
I don’t know what he’s asking.
Shaking his head, he can barely get his question out. “Why would you still make the event happen after the way I’ve treated you?”
Oh. A part of me wants to tell him that it’s because I’m such a great brother and a better person than him, but I stick with the truth.
“Because of Micah.” She squeezes my hand, tears filling her eyes, and I smile at her.
“Because even though she’s spent the last few years being mistreated and belittled, she believed in the Greenwood and what it could bring to people’s lives.
And even when no one else did, she believed in me.
” My voice breaks on that last word, and I don’t even care.
Grant sniffs, and he seems to be seeing me for the first time.
I can’t fully read the expression on his face, but he looks miserable.
“I’m sorry, Fischer. For a lot of things.
I’m sorry for getting caught up in trying to change a memory when it came to Lila, and I’m sorry for not recognizing what you’ve been doing for me the last few months. ”
Grant and I have never been close, and this apology reminds me of that with painful awkwardness filling the space between us. But I love that he’s finally trying to be a brother. Maybe he’s not as hopeless as I thought.
“Thank you,” I say. Not sure what else I can add to that.
“Come back.” He clenches his jaw, and this is clearly difficult for him to say. “Come back to Bradley Properties. I need a CEO while I deal with some things, and I don’t trust anyone else.”
A month ago, I would have taken him up on that offer in a heartbeat. “I can’t,” I tell him, fighting a smile. “I’ve already got a new boss.”
Micah tugs on my arm. “What are you doing? You absolutely need to take that offer, Fischer.”
“But I’m working for you.”
“I don’t even have a company!”
“Yet.”
“ Fischer .”
“Micah.” I turn to face her, cradling her cheeks in my hands.
“I believe in you and what you can build, and it’s time you start living out your dreams. If I can help you get there, I want to do it.
You did this all on your own, without a fancy company behind you.
Imagine what you could do if you did this for real. ”
“But…” She swallows, tears running down her cheeks. “But what if I fail?”
“Then we’ll fail together.”
“You’ve already been through—”
“That just means I know I can survive it,” I argue, shaking my head. “I know you’re scared, but you can do this.”
She grimaces, but I know I’m wearing her down. There’s a bit of hope glimmering in her eyes. “I don’t have enough money to start a business, Fischer, and I know you don’t either.”
“Ahem.”
We both turn to find her dad at the edge of the lobby, watching us with an inscrutable expression. How much of this conversation has he heard? I’m terrified of the man, but at least he doesn’t look angry.
“I would like to invest,” he says, folding his arms to brook no argument. “And I guarantee Houston would as well.”
“Bradley Properties will contract with your company for any and all future events,” Grant throws in.
“And if it’s worth anything, Miss Taylor, as far as Lila is concerned, I hired you yesterday to help Bradley Properties complete this event, so she can have no grounds to take legal action against you.
I will send you some paperwork to make it official. ”
My heart leaps in my chest. I’d been trying to find a way to ensure Lila doesn’t try to sue Micah for taking over the event as a non-employee of Ember, but I’d come up blank. Before I can tell Grant how grateful I am for his unusual thoughtfulness, someone else chimes in.
“Ever thought about doing a movie premiere, Micah?” Bonnie, who apparently has been listening as well, winces when we all look at her by the doors to the kitchen. “Sorry,” she squeaks. “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I can’t resist drama.”
“So you were trying to eavesdrop,” I clarify with a chuckle.
She shrugs. “Guilty. But seriously, Micah, if anyone knows how to throw a party, you do. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun.”
Micah looks ready to pass out, so I slide my arm around her waist and pull her close. “I know you don’t like to ask for help,” I tell her gently, “but you’ve got it. Besides, you’re Micah Taylor. You can do anything.”
She looks up at me, and I had no idea a person could speak so much love without saying a word. I can’t help myself; despite our audience, I lean down and kiss her, doing my best to show her just how much she means to me.
“So,” I say against her mouth. “Are you ready to change the world, one party at a time?”
She pulls me back for another kiss. “If you’re with me, absolutely.”
And I am. I’m with her until the end of the world.