Falling Sweetly (Starling Falls #2) (19 page)

The palms of my hands began to sweat profusely. “What if I make an idiot of myself in front of him…. again?”

Liya shrugged unhelpfully. “I don’t know. He’s as weird as you are. It’ll probably make him want you more.”

Help.

CHAPTER 16

Jacob

“What the hell are you watching?” Josh asked as he walked into the living room holding a bag of chips.

“The Notebook.”

“Why in the fuck are you watching that? Once with Aunt Deb wasn’t torture enough for you?”

“Are you telling me you actually paid attention the first time we watched it? Cos I sure as shit didn’t. This is research. It’s part of my plan to woo Niki and make her fall for me. She loves all this romantic stuff. I figure getting some ideas can’t hurt.”

Josh groaned as he looked through the stack of DVDs on the table that I had borrowed from Aunt Deb’s collection. “Ah, man. Seriously?”

“What the hell are you doing home anyway?” I asked as I grabbed the bag of chips from him.

“Day off. And watching this sap fest is not how I planned on spending it.” Josh pulled the bag back from me. “C’mon, man. Let’s go out and do something instead.”

“No.” I geared myself up for a long and educational couple of hours and pressed play on the remote.

Josh groaned again, sank into the couch and put his legs up on the coffee table.

Just as the credits started to roll, the front door opened and Caleb and Alex walked into the living room.

“What the hell was that at Trudy’s?” Alex asked with an amused grin.

“You see little brother, when a man likes a woman, and that woman doesn’t seem to know he exists, the man loses his mind and stakes his claim on her in a primal way,” Josh said with a wise nod.

I rolled my eyes, trying to block out my brothers and focus on the movie.

Caleb smiled at me. “I think you may have broken Niki.”

“What do you mean? She seemed fine when I left,” I said with a frown.

“She was standing in that same spot for fifteen minutes. Liya had to drag her home.”

I sat up on the couch. “Fuck. Should I go over there and check if she’s okay?”

“Give them some time together. She’ll be fine.”

Caleb looked at the TV with an expression of mingled confusion and disgust. “What the hell are you watching?”

“Dickhead here is doing
research
,” Josh said with a sigh. “Apparently, there is a plan that involves learning how not to be an idiot around a woman, and that means I have to sit through hours of movies that are going to make me grow a pair of ovaries.”

“No one is making you stay,” I pointed out to my twin. “And will you idiots shut up? I’m trying to hear what this old guy is saying!” I said, turning up the volume on the TV.

Alex and Caleb exchanged an incredulous look.

“You’re planning on spending the day watching a bunch of chick flicks? Are you serious?” Alex asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, I’m serious. Do none of you assholes have to work today?” I grumbled as I debated internally about whether or not to make popcorn.

“How old are these movies?” Caleb said picking up a copy of Notting Hill.

I shrugged. “Aunt Deb said they were classic must see movies.”

Caleb snorted, “You’re taking movie advice from Aunt Deb? You must be desperate,” he shook his head before continuing, “You don’t need all this. Just be yourself.”

Josh looked horrified at Caleb’s input. “You’re telling him to be himself? That’s the worse advice ever! He has no charm.”

“Fuck you. I’m plenty charming,” I protested as I punched Josh in the arm. “This is just a way of getting some pointers, or it would be if you all would just
go away
and let me concentrate!”

Caleb and Alex exchanged another look before settling themselves into armchairs.

“Nah, watching Jake try to learn how to be romantic seems like something that’s too good to miss.” Caleb stretched out his long legs in front of him. “Someone needs to make some popcorn.”

“Not it,” Josh and I said in unison.

“Not it,” Caleb added quickly.

“Shit. I always suck at that,” Alex groaned as he stood back up and walked into the kitchen.

“Get beer!” Josh called from the couch.

“It’s not even 12 yet!” Alex called back.

“Jake is making us watch romantic movies. If there was ever a reason for drinking in the morning, this is it!”

* * * * *

“What the fuck was that?” Josh was hunched forward on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees as he switched off the TV angrily.

“I know!” I complained. “For a movie with word ‘Love’ in the title that was fucking depressing. Love Actually, my ass.”

“What kind of jerkoff tells his best friend’s girl he’s into her, and while he’s in the house?” Caleb added incredulously.

“And the man who nearly cheats on his wife with the secretary? And the older man who hooks up with his younger maid and then just proposes without them ever actually talking? What the fuck was that movie?” I asked, my brain still trying to make sense of what I had just watched.

“The chick in the cowboy hat was hot,” Alex said, and Josh agreed with an approving nod.

“Lesson learnt from the movie?” Josh asked looking over at me.

“Nothing about love makes sense, it’s a depressing emotion, and that’s a couple of hours of my life I’m never getting back.”

Josh looked thoughtful. “Sounds about right.” He looked at the remaining stack of movies on the table. “Next one?”

I took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

* * * * *

“What the fuck?” Nate asked as he walked into the living room several hours later, and took in the sight of all of us watching a couple kissing over soppy music.

As we all turned and made eye contact with him, Nate just shook his head. “I don’t even want to know,” he grunted as he turned, walked out of the room and walked back thirty seconds later with a beer.

The credits for the movie kept rolling as none of us could be bothered to get up and switch off the TV. Nate looked around at all of us confused before finally breaking the silence.

“You idiots trying to get in touch with your feminine sides?”

Alex was slumped in his armchair looking beat. “Jake. Stupid plan.”

He nodded in understanding. “You been watching romantic shit to learn how to impress Niki?”

“It seemed like a good idea seven hours ago,” I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face.

“How’d that work out for you?” he asked in a flat voice.

“I’ve learnt that kissing in the rain is a must; if we’re mean to each other we’ll probably end up having sex; acting like a lunatic and hanging off a Ferris wheel means she’ll fall in love with me for sure, and Hugh Grant is apparently the ideal man.”

Nate snorted. “So you got nothing?”

“Yup.”

He looked mildly amused as he raised an eyebrow. “You’re screwed.”

* * * * *

Annika

“What the hell are you watching?”

I let out a small scream and hastily shut my laptop as Liya walked into my room with a curious smile.

“I thought you went home!”

“I did. And then I came back because I realised I’d left my phone.” She reached over me to my bedside table and retrieved her phone, before sliding it into the back pocket of her jeans.

Liya bounced onto the bed. “Don’t change the subject, Annika Ray Abbott. Let me see what you were watching!”

I shook my head furiously, “No!”

“Were you watching porn?” she asked, grinning at me slyly.

My cheeks turned hot enough to fry an egg on. “No?”

Personal goal for the year: Learn to lie better.

“Aww, you were!” Liya said in a tone that seemed to suggest this was the most adorable thing she’s ever come across in her life. Groaning in humiliation, I buried my face into a pillow.

“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s perfectly normal and healthy for you to have urges.”

“Oh, God. Why? Why is this happening?” I muttered looking up at the ceiling.

Liya reached over me, pulled my laptop towards her and opened the device. “If you won’t show me, I’ll just find out myself.”

“Ha! Well you can’t, because my laptop is password protected,” I said smugly, then watched in disbelief as Liya typed the correct password and managed to logon to my account.

“You should really learn to use something other than the cat’s name and your birthday for your passwords,” she said nonchalantly, as she scrolled through the videos on the website.

“What were you looking for?” Liya asked curiously, as she clicked on a particular link of what looked to be a ménage video and tilted her head to the side. “There are far too many penises and not enough holes for this scene to work.”

I was about to respond when I heard the front door open.

For goodness sake. Who else has keys to my house?

“Liya? Niki? Where are you guys?” Addie’s voice echoed through the house.

“Upstairs, Niki’s room,” Liya called out, as she clicked on a different link. “We’re watching porn.”

I fell back onto the bed with a loud groan as Addie walked into the room eating mini chocolate-chip cookies from a clear bag that I recognised as being from the bakery.

“Did you say you were watching porn? I know I don’t have any sisters, but is this something you do together often? Cos that would be freaking weird,” she asked, her eyes wide behind her thick rimmed glasses.

“Ooh you brought snacks,” Liya said happily. “Gimme.”

Addie frowned but reluctantly handed over a cookie.

I covered my face with a pillow and tried to pretend that I was anywhere else than in my room at that moment.

“Addie, why are you here? How did you get in?”

“Picked the lock,” Addie said nonchalantly, as if the ability of breaking and entering into someone’s home was a normal skill to possess.

I removed my pillow shield briefly to stare at her in disbelief.

“You know how to pick a lock?” Liya sounded fascinated as she nibbled on the cookie.

“Of course.” Addie shrugged. “Nate taught me when I turned eight. He said it’s a skill everyone should have in their arsenal.”

“What kind of family am I marrying into?” Liya muttered, holding out her hand for another cookie, and Addie tossed one to her as she rolled her eyes.

“Did you pay for those cookies?” I asked, my voice sounding muffled from behind the massive pillow.

She scoffed. “We’re going to be family soon, and everyone knows family doesn’t pay for food. It’s a fact that you may want to remind that bitchy, little pretty boy behind the counter of. He made
such
a fuss. But back to the more important subject at hand. What’s up with collective porn watching?”

“I came back to get my phone and found my darling little sister surfing on a naughty site, and she was about to tell me why,” Liya explained, sounding far too happy about this mortifying situation.

I could feel their expectant gazes on me, but I refused to emerge from behind my padded shield.

“I think I’d like to just pass out from embarrassment now. You guys should go be on your way,” I said.

The pillow was pulled away, and I was met by two very amused faces grinning down at me.

“Well? I need to know. The suspense is killing me,” Addie said as she flopped onto my bed.

“You’re going to get crumbs everywhere,” I complained over the exaggerated moaning coming from the laptop. “Will you switch that off already?”

“Not until you tell me why you’re looking up ‘female friendly’ porn.” Liya exchanged a look with Addie. “I didn’t even know that was a category.”

“Whoa. Nice! Look at the beard on that guy,” Addie’s jaw dropped as she stared at the man on the screen, who was performing some very interesting and acrobatic acts with his female co-star.

“He’s looks like a hot Viking. He could totally pillage my village any day,” Addie said with a scandalous grin that made Liya burst out laughing so hard, the laptop fell off her lap and onto the bed.

Oh good grief.

I quickly shut the screen of my laptop so the awful moaning would stop, and buried my head under another pillow.

Maybe if I close my eyes and wish hard enough, they’ll just disappear and none of this would ever have happened.

“I know what you’re doing! Stop wishing for us to disappear,” Liya managed to say through hysterical laughter.

“Niki, drop the pillow. You’re going to suffocate under there,” she said, then seemed to remember my main weakness, as she began to tickle me mercilessly.

“No! No tickling! Okay, okay.” I threw the pillow to the end of the bed. “I was doing… research,” I said in small voice.

“Research for what?” Liya looked confused, before realisation dawned and her tone softened. “Oh, for your date tonight? Oh, Niki. You don’t need to worry about that, Bug.”

“Easy for you to say.” I refused to make eye contact with either of them. “I’m awkward at the best of times, add to that the pressure of being on a date with someone I actually really like, and it’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“And researching sex is somehow going to make you less awkward?” Addie chuckled, before her expression turned to one of disgust, “I’ve just realised you’re talking about potential sex with my brother. Gross.”

“This is just like a nightmare that never ends,” I said, while hiding my face in my hands.

“I still don’t get why you were on porn sites for inspiration. Even if it’s been a while since your last sexual encounter, I’m pretty sure the basics of the act are still the same... How long has it been?” Addie asked curiously as she leant back on the pillows.

I felt my face flush as I avoided eye contact, “24 years?”

Addie’s brow drew together. “What do you…? Oh.”

A thick silence filled the room, and I sighed heavily.