Falling Sweetly: Starling Falls II Read online

I smiled approvingly, “That sounds good to me. You ever tried the Chicken Parm at Ristorante D’Angelo?”

  “I’ve never been there.”

  “What? How have you been here for nearly a year but haven’t tried the Starling Falls institution that is Ristorante D’Angelo? This is beyond tragic and must be changed immediately. You poor thing. You’ve been deprived for months and you don’t even know it,” I said outraged.

  Her soft laughter made me smile. “Okay then. Educate me, Jake.”

  I bit back a groan thinking about all the ways I would like to ‘educate her.’

  Pervert.

  * * * * *

  The mouth-watering smells of bread, garlic and tomatoes assaulted our senses as we walked into the cozy restaurant. The small tables were covered with plastic red and white chequered table clothes, and each table had been decorated with a small rose in a tiny glass vase.

  “Jacob!” a warm voice called out, as a small, plump woman with long dark, brown hair and eyes threw her arms around me.

  “Look at you!” she pinched my cheeks as she spoke, “Every time I see you, you seem to have grown taller and even more handsome. How are Debbie and Jeremy?”

  “They’re both fine, and I’m sure I stopped growing at eighteen, Mrs D’Angelo,” I said, trying to get out of her iron grip.

  I heard quiet laughter sound from behind me, and I threw Niki a playful evil stare, to which she just grinned back as she watched the older woman continue to grope me.

  Mrs D’Angelo noticed me looking over my shoulder, and her smile widened knowingly when she saw Niki standing behind me.

  “Jacob! Where are your manners? Your aunt would be so disappointed. Are you not going to introduce me to your lovely friend?”

  I rolled my eyes as I introduced Niki to Mrs D’Angelo and grinned when Niki squeaked as she was engulfed by a big hug.

  After she had cupped Niki’s face and proclaimed how pretty she was, we were finally taken to sit at a small booth near the back of the restaurant. Mrs D’Angelo winked at me over Niki’s head and walked away.

  Niki looked around the booth confused. “There are no menus,” she said quietly.

  “Nope. You don’t get menus here. You eat whatever Mrs D’Angelo’s mother-in-law decides to make for the day and you make sure to look happy about it.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s the way it’s always been here. You want to get thrown out on your ass? Just try to request something. Unless it’s because of an allergy or dietary issues, you’ll be chased out of here by Nonna D’Angelo with a rolling pin.”

  Niki laughed just as a Luciana D’Angelo, the owner’s daughter, came by our table with two glasses of red wine and a jug of water.

  “Oh, we didn’t order the wine,” Niki told her kindly as she has started to walk away.

  Luciana tucked a loose strand of light brown hair behind her ear as she looked at Niki.

  “It must be your first time here. I’m Luciana. My mother is the crazy lady who seated you. When she says to bring you red wine, you get the wine. No arguments.”

  “Oh. Okay,” Niki replied, looking slightly bewildered.

  Luciana smiled, her light brown eyes sparkling and her red lips curving as she looked between me and Niki.

  “You run Trudy’s, right? I love that place. I’ll be back with your food soon.” She sent me a questioning look before she walked away to the kitchen.

  Damn gossipy small towns.

  I shook my head and huffed quietly, knowing that news of our lunch together would have reached Aunt Deb before we’d even started our meal.

  “They seem to know you well. Does your family come here often?” Niki asked while looking around the restaurant.

  I nodded, my eyes fixed on hers. “Small towns. Everyone tends to know everyone else, and Mrs D’Angelo’s son Vinny works with Caleb at the fire station.”

  Niki nodded as another silence fell over our table again, and she began tracing the squares on the plastic table cloth.

  What the hell am I doing wrong here?

  I reached across the table to still her hand. “Are you okay? Do you want to go?”

  She looked up, and a blush appeared on her cheeks again. “No, I’m fine,” she said so softly I barely heard her.

  She muttered something to herself quietly and took a deep breath before speaking. “How do you feel about The Saloon?”

  Good to know she talks to herself too. Our future babies will definitely have some beautiful but crazy genes.

  “Good. I’m going to have to get a contractor to make sure that the structure is actually safe and to check out the wiring and plumbing. But, I’m feeling really good about it.”

  “I’m happy for you, Jake. It’s so exciting!” her beautiful smiling face beamed at me from across the table, and it took everything in me not to grab her and devour her mouth like I wanted to.

  “Thanks.”

  Luciana brought over a large tray of food and began to place several dishes in front of us. Niki’s eyes widened as she took in all the dishes covering our table.

  “We can’t possibly finish all of this.”

  Luciana scoffed. “You’ve seen the Jamesons eat, right? Trust me. It’ll finish.”

  I made sure Mrs. D’Angelo wasn’t looking before I flipped Luciana off, making her laugh.

  “Someone’s not getting a tip!” I called out to her as she walked away from the table.

  Niki slid smoothly out of the booth. “I’m just going to the restroom. I’ll be back soon.” She let out an odd laugh, “Well, that was a stupid thing to say. I mean, obviously I’ll be back. It’s not like I’m going to climb out the toilet window and disappear or anything. That would be a weird thing to do.”

  She walked away shaking her head, and muttering to herself.

  Adorable. Even her ramblings are fucking adorable.

  I was watching the sway of her hips as she walked away, when the message alert on my phone sounded. I groaned as I read the message I’d just received.

  Aunt Deb: YOU AND NIKI ARE ON A DATE?

  Wow, that news took a whole ten minutes longer to reach Aunt Deb than I thought it would.

  Me: No, Aunt Deb. We’re just having lunch.

  Aunt Deb: WHY ISN’T IT A DATE?!

  Me: Because it isn’t, Aunt Deb. We’re just hanging out. Stop yelling at me in capitals!

  Aunt Deb: NO! YOU’RE BEING STUPID. I WANT THAT GIRL AS A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW. MAKE IT HAPPEN, JACOB. OR ELSE.

  Or else? Or else what? That’s fucking terrifying.

  Me: What do you want me to do, Aunt Deb? She’s still nervous around me. I’m giving her time to adjust to the idea of there maybe being an us.

  Aunt Deb: SCREW THAT! IF YOU LIKE HER, JUST TELL HER! THINK ABOUT MY FUTURE GRANDBABIES, JACOB.

  I was about to put my phone away when it buzzed four more times consecutively.

  Princess: You and Niki are together now? Why didn’t you tell me, you ass? Way to punch above your weight!

  Josh: Damn bro, I’m shocked. You work fast. You managed to charm the little Abbott already? Nice!

  Caleb: Niki? You? Explain immediately. And don’t fuck it up with her or Liya will kill you.

  Alex: Did you want the last piece of apple pie? Cos I ate it. Also, Aunt Deb is losing her shit. You and Niki? Really?

  With family like this, who needs enemies?

  I shook my head and put my phone away when I saw Niki making her way back from the rear of the restaurant where the restrooms were.

  “Thanks for not sneaking out of the window and ditching me. Me sitting here by myself eating all this food alone would have been a very sad sight.”

  “Well, I tried but the window was too small,” she said with a smile as she sat down and pulled a plate of spinach and ricotta filled ravioli towards her.

  Ha, look at that. She made a little joke. That’s progress, right?

  God, I hope that was a joke.

  I pulled the lasagne towards me, and took a breadsti
ck from the middle of the table.

  I watched as Niki speared a ravioli, put it her mouth and groaned. “This is amazing!”

  For fuck’s sake, Little Jake, behave yourself.

  “I know.” I reached over the table and stole one from the plate in front of her. “There’s something in that filling that makes it addictive, but I can’t figure out what it is.”

  “Hm.” Niki pondered my question as she ate another bite of ravioli. “I think it might be a mixture of goat’s cheese and parmesan, chopped, toasted pine nuts and a hint of nutmeg and chilli flakes.”

  I cut a ravioli in half and ate the filling.

  “Holy crap. I think you’re right. I’ve been trying to figure that out for a year, and you manage to get it in two bites. What, have you got super taste buds?”

  She giggled lightly, her eyes darting around the room again. “Yes. It’s my secret superpower. Tell no one. Did you have any specific ideas about your menu yet?”

  “I’ve thought about a couple of ideas. I was going to try them out on Josh and Nate tonight. If you’re free, do you want to come round and taste them?”

  Could you sound any more pathetically hopeful?

  “I would have loved to, but I can’t. I’ve um… I’ve got a date.”

  I stilled completely, the breadstick in my hand was destroyed when my fist clenched around it.

  What. The. Fuck?

  I felt my teeth grind together. “Date?” I managed to spit out through a gritted teeth.

  Niki seemed surprise by the sudden change in mood. “Yeah. Are you okay?”

  Best not to answer that question honestly. Actually, let’s ignore that question altogether.

  “With who?” I barely managed to spit out through gritted teeth.

  “Just some guy I was matched with on an online dating site. Seriously, Jake. Are you having an allergic reaction to something in the food? Your face has turned red.” Niki looked at me concerned.

  An allergic reaction, no. A general reaction, yes. A brain imploding counts as a reaction, right?

  “Online? How long have you known him? What the hell do you even know about this guy? What does he do? Where are you meeting him?”

  “Well, all the other dates I’ve met have been safe. It’s not like I gave him my address! We’re just meeting at The Whiskey Jar. What’s with the twenty-one questions?” Niki asked looking puzzled.

  Son of a bitch. All the other dates? What the fuck is happening? How did I not know about this?

  “You’ve been dating?” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice, or the awful images my wild imagination was creating of Niki in some random douchebag’s arms.

  “Well, yes. Though I don’t see how it’s any of your business, Jake. We’re friends, but I don’t need to tell you my every move.” A small crease appeared between her eyebrows.

  Calm down, asshole. You’re going to freak her out. Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths until you stop seeing red.

  “I’m just… worried about you. I don’t want you to get hurt,” I managed to grunt again.

  “I appreciate the concern, but it’s not needed,” she said, her chin lifting up stubbornly. “I’m always careful when I go on dates.”

  I didn’t trust myself to speak, so just nodded and kept eating.

  Well this day turned to shit pretty fucking quickly.

  * * * * *

  I opened the door to the house forcefully and let it slam behind me. After what had felt like the longest and most tense lunch, followed by the longest and most tense drive back to the bakery, I had decided to go straight home and have a long session with the punching bag Nate kept in the basement.

  “Woah, dude. Chill. What did the door ever do to you?”

  I turned towards the voice coming from the living room. Josh and Alex were sitting in front of the TV with gaming controllers in their hands.

  “Not in the mood, Josh,” I spat out as I stormed into the kitchen where Nate sat in front of his laptop, working.

  I heard Josh and Alex pause their game and follow me into the kitchen. “Jake, what the hell happened?” Alex asked, watching me with a concerned expression as I stalked over to the fridge. I eyed the beer that was in there.

  Is 4 o’clock too early to start drinking?

  I decided to not go down the ‘Let’s get shit-faced before 5 o’clock route’ and pulled out a bottle of water instead.

  I turned back to face my brothers. “She’s dating!” I burst out angrily.

  Josh frowned. “Who is?”

  “Niki! She’s fucking dating.”

  “Yeah, we know that. She was on a date with you. That’s what Aunt Deb said that Mrs. D’Angelo said,” Josh said, sounding confused.

  “Josh, do you think he’d be this pissed if she were dating him?” Alex said bluntly. “That sucks, man. Who’s the guy?”

  “Not guy. Guys. As in more than one. She’s been dating for months. Months.”

  Nate looked up briefly from his laptop. “She’s single. She’s allowed to date whoever she wants.”

  Really? He barely ever talks and when he does, that is his contribution?

  “Thanks for that, Captain Obvious,” I told him while dropping myself onto a chair opposite him.

  “Well, you know what you have to do?” Josh said in an obvious tone.

  “Find the guy, poison him and make it look like an accident?” I said, while going through a list in my head of known plants found in the surrounding woods which were toxic.

  Josh chuckled and I glared at him as I failed to see what was funny in what I’d said. “No. Not murder. You need to get to know your enemy.”

  “Enemy? He’s not going into battle,” Alex said, sounding amused.

  “Learn your enemy’s weaknesses, and then when he’s least suspecting it, make your move. It’s the art of war, brother.”

  “You been watching the History channel again, Josh?” Alex asked as he walked around the table and returned with box of cold pizza from the fridge.

  Josh reached into the box and took out a slice. “Mock all you want, but it’s a solid plan.”

  “There’s nothing solid about that plan,” Nate said, sounding very unimpressed as he went back to typing on his laptop.

  “I still think my idea involving homicide sounds better,” I told them, wondering how long my brothers could get in prison for aiding and abetting in a manslaughter charge.

  “Did she tell you where they were meeting?” Josh asked, looking oddly thoughtful.

  Puzzled by his expression, I nodded tersely. “Yeah, at The Whiskey Jar, tonight.”

  Josh grinned slyly. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty thirsty…”

  CHAPTER 13

  Jacob

  “You going to play a game of pool? Or are you just going to sit here and stew while watching Niki and her date like some sort of creeper?” Josh asked as he returned to the table we occupied and slid another beer across the table.

  “Sit and stew,” I told him as I pushed the beer back to him, gesturing towards my half-full bottle.

  Josh sighed heavily and shook his head in disapproval. We had arrived at the bar about an hour ago, and I’d been nursing the same beer since Niki had walked in looking beautiful with that fuckwit in a suit next to her.

  She hadn’t seen either me or Josh who were sitting a table at the back of the bar, and the asshole part of me wanted nothing more than to go over and interrupt their date, but I managed to control myself.

  “This is stupid. You’re not following the plan at all,” he said taking a long pull from his own bottle, his eyes tracking a redhead who walked past our table and threw him a flirtatious look, which he automatically returned.

  “Your plan was to turn up and do nothing. I turned up, and am doing nothing.”

  “I didn’t mean that you should just sit here staring at them like some creepy stalker. I meant that you should actually try and have a good time tonight, and when their date goes south, invite her to
join us, idiot.”

  “That’s just technicalities. This way works too,” I cracked open a peanut, and threw the shells on the table.

  Josh was about to respond when he was interrupted by our friend Jim walking over to our table.

  Jim Miller ran The Whiskey Jar with his younger brother Johnnie. Their older brother J.D. Miller co-owned Nate’s private investigation agency. We had all attended the same school and Jim, J. D. and Johnnie had been a frequent presence in our house over the years.

  Their parents ran a different bar in town, where Uncle Jeremy and his friends often spent their time. The Millers occupation and odd sense of humour had somehow led to them naming their sons after their favourites whiskeys; Jim Beam, Johnnie Walker and Jack Daniels.

  Jim’s stared at me with unusual blue-grey eyes, which all the Miller brothers had. His brown hair had grown longer since the last time I’d seen him, the ends were curling into his eyes and around his stubbled jaw.

  “Johnnie’s started a pool on how long it’s going to take for us to have to call Sherriff Turner to arrest you, because you’ve finally gone over to that table you’ve been staring at for the last thirty minutes and punched that guy in the face.”

  He turned and grinned at Josh. “You want in?”

  “Sure. I’ll put ten down on Mr Preppy getting decked in the next ten minutes.”

  Traitorous asshole.

  I looked over at the bar, and saw Johnnie lift his chin in our direction, before he turned to serve two women, with a playful smile. Johnnie’s shoulder length hair was tied in a bun at the nape of his neck.

  His body was covered in tattoos and piercings. It wasn’t hard to see why he and Alex had become good friends over the years. They seemed to be involved in a competition to see who could get the most ink on their skin.