Falling Sweetly (Starling Falls #2) (35 page)

Niki blushed at his flirtations. “Okay, Marco.”

Shaking my head at the old flirt, I pulled her hand out of his grasp. “That’s quite enough of that. The rest of my family is inside if you want to join them.” I said, wrapping an arm around Niki’s waist, causing her to frown at me adorably.

“I’m sorry, he seems to have forgotten his manners,” Niki said apologetically to Marco.

“It is understandable. When a man finds someone special, he treasures her,
ma belle
.” Marco winked at her before heading into the restaurant.

“That was rude-” Niki’s attempts at berating me turned into a squeak when I cupped her ass and pulled her firmly against my body.

“I’m sorry, baby. If I’m better behaved for the rest of the day, do I get a reward?” I squeezed her round ass.

Niki purred as I nuzzled her neck. “Maybe. Or we could always make the most of your empty office now.”

My plans for having Niki bent over my desk were interrupted by Tisha poking her head out the door.

“Hey, Romeo,” she called, “You actually planning on cooking today or not?”

I took a deep breath and Niki bounced up and down excitedly in front of me. “I guess it’s show time.”

* * * * *

Annika

It was an hour after Jameson’s had officially opened, and the restaurant was buzzing just as I knew it would be. The atmosphere was fantastic. Families had filled most of the booths, and there were groups of friends and couples at the other tables and sitting at the bar.

People were loving the food that was being served, and everything had been running surprisingly smoothly. Debbie was walking around greeting familiar faces, and the wait staff seemed to be doing a great job making sure diners were comfortable.

The door swung open again, and a familiar face walked into the restaurant alone.

I gasped and barrelled into the kitchen. “Jake! You’ll never guess who’s here.”

He looked up from the plate that had been placed in front of him. “Who?”

“Scottie McKenzie.” I bounced on the balls of my feet

“Shut the fuck up,” Tisha said looking at me in disbelief. “What the hell is he doing here?”

Jake and I exchanged a knowing look. “I might have sort of invited him.”

“Why?” she asked incredulously.

“Um. It’s a long story. The point is, he’s here!” I said excitedly.

“We treat him like any other customer. But keep Aunt Deb away from him,” Jake warned. “She’s still not happy about that review, and those walls were just painted. We don’t want to get blood on them.”

I laughed as I made my way back to the restaurant and found Karina, seating an uncomfortable looking Scottie at the bar. “Hey there.”

“Oh, you were the yelling girl that wrote on me.”

I grimaced. “Yes. Sorry about that by the way.”

He chuckled. “It took three showers, but it finally came off. Since I couldn’t forget the damn address, I thought I should see what the fuss was about, though I’m not here in an official capacity,” he added quickly.

“That’s okay. Make yourself comfortable, and prepare to have your taste buds rocked.”

He nodded and looked around the restaurant again.

“A bit different compared to the places you’re used to eating?” I guessed.

“Yes, but I like it. It feels… homey.” He looked down at the menu. “So what’s good here?” As I pointed out my favourites, a hand tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned and was engulfed in a hug by Mitchell. “Niki-Ray! Your boy’s done good. I love it.” He clapped happily, before his gossipy facial expression appeared. “Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Canatta’s got shut down temporarily, pending further investigations.”

I felt my jaw drop. “Why?”

“Vermin infestation. Apparently the Department of Health got an anonymous tip, and when they went to investigate they found cockroaches and mice all over the place. Some people may call that poor hygiene, I call it Karma.” Mitch grinned widely.

I bet I know who that anonymous tip came from…

“Thanks for letting me know, Mitch.”

“No problem. So is there a table for little old me? Nana had to bail, so I’m here by my lonesome.”

I looked over my shoulder to Scottie and couldn’t miss the look of interest in his eyes as he watched Mitchell continue to ramble.

“You know what, Mitch, most of our tables are full at the moment, but why don’t you have a seat at the bar. Look there’s an empty seat right here.” I pulled out the seat and ushered him into it. “Isn’t it comfy up here?”

Mitch frowned at me. “Why are you being weird?”

I laughed loudly. “Weird? I’m not being weird! Oh by the way, Mitch this is Scottie. Scottie, this is Mitch. You’re both here by yourselves and love food, and I assume accents, so I’m sure you’ll find something to talk about.”

Mitch sent me a death glare as he caught on to what I was doing. Before he could say anything, I turned on my heel and made my way over to the booth most of the Jamesons were sitting at.

Liya looked at my guilty expression and then back at the bar. “What did you do, Annika?”

My eyes widened innocently. “Nothing but a little match making.”

Josh groaned. “Oh God. Not you, too. Is there no escape? All the women in this family are devious.”

I cleared my throat. “Speaking of devious… Canatta’s mysteriously seems to have developed a vermin infestation. Any idea how that happened?”

Jake and Addie suddenly became very interested in studying their menus. “Nope, not a clue. Sounds like they should be paying better attention to how clean their place is,” Josh said and changed the subject by waving suddenly.

“Nate!” he called, and the oldest Jameson walked over to the table.

His beard seemed longer than when I’d seen him last, and he looked exhausted. “Hey.”

“Are you okay?” I asked worried from looking at the bags under his eyes. “Thought you were only going to be gone a couple of days.”

“Took longer than I thought,” he rumbled eyeing the kitchen. “Need to see Jake.”

“Okay. I’ll take you through.”

We got into the kitchen, and Jake stopped what he was doing to greet his brother. “You made it! Are you okay, man?”

“Got news for you. Can you take a break?” Nate asked.

Jake looked over at Tisha who nodded. “We got this.”

We walked into the office, and Jake closed the door. Nate pulled out a letter and handed it to him. Jake scanned the letter and breathed a sigh of relief.

“What is it?”

Jake handed me the letter to read. “Douglas-The-Dick is dropping the lawsuit.” He looked at Nate warily. “Do I even want to know what you did?”

“Probably not,” Nate said gruffly. “I’m starving. Can I get a plate of something?”

Jake’s face softened and he hugged his brother. “Yeah, man. I’ll have something sent out for you.” He patted him on the back. “Thank you, Nate,” he said quietly. “Seriously. Thank you for this. I owe you.”

“No problem.” Nate walked out of the office leaving just the two of us together.

Jake opened his arms and I jumped into them. It finally felt like a weight from the unspoken issue of the lawsuit had been lifted.

“Things are looking up, baby.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and brushed away a tear. “What are the tears for?”

“Just happy.” I beamed at him not caring about my waterworks.

Jake snorted. “So how are things going out there?”

“Amazing. You’re a hit, Mr Jameson,” I said proudly.

“That’s great news. I meant it when I said I couldn’t have done this without your support. I love you, Niki.” He paused. “I have a proposition for you.”

I tilted my head to the side, wondering what it could be. “Go on.”

“What do you say to the idea of having a permanent roommate?”

I stared at him blankly. “Why would I need to a roommate?”

“Well, it could be nice to have someone to come home to, and spend time with.”

I blinked still staring at him confused. “Huh?”

Jake huffed, sounding amused. “I’m talking about us moving in together, baby.”

“Oh!”
You are such an idiot
. “Yes!”

“Yeah?” He looked relieved at my answer.

“Of course I want to live with you.” I threw my arms around his neck. “I love you, too.”

“Never get tired of hearing those words.” He picked me and put me on his desk.

“Jake,” I warned. “You haven’t got time for this.”

“I’m not being sued, people are loving the food we’re putting out, and you’ve just made my day by agreeing to move in with me.”

He pushed my thighs apart and stepped between them. “Trust me, I’ve got all the time in the world for this.”

EPILOGUE

Two months later

Jacob

“Jake… does Shadow feel heavier to you?” Niki asked as she placed the cat on the floor.

I exchanged a glance with the cat, who seemed to be sending me a look which suggested; ‘We have a good thing going, don’t be an idiot and blow it.’

Why can’t he be as easy to deal with as the fish?

I shrugged at her. “He looks okay to me, gorgeous.”

“Maybe I need to ease up on his snacks,” she pondered out loud, looking at Shadow, who wound his way around her ankles, before making his way over to me, and rubbing himself against the leg of my jeans.

I had to admit, I was getting used to the little tyrant. I’d wasted no time in getting moved into Niki’s house. We’d decided that it was easier to move in and eventually redecorate when we found the time.

It had been a month and a half of waking up next to the woman I loved, though we were still trying to figure out exactly how to balance a chef’s late schedule and baker’s early schedule, so we could actually spend time with each other.

I looked over at Niki as she emptied popcorn into a bowl. “What time is your O S F B- whatever meeting, baby?”

She giggled. “OSFBBC. Josh really needs to come up with a new name for the club. Everyone’s coming over at seven.”

“Still don’t understand why they have to come here,” I grumbled under my breath.  I looked over at the clock, and saw I would have her to myself for a couple more hours, and if I was lucky, she would hopefully be naked during those hours.

I unpacked the last of the groceries into the cupboard. “Oh, before I forget, Aunt Deb asked if you would make dessert for Thanksgiving again.”

“Sure. How many people this year?” Niki asked as she flipped through the mail.

“Well, Nate’s in Nevada doing… something, and Caleb and Mik have to work, so there’ll be just eight of us.” I paused when it felt like I was forgetting something. “Oh, wait. There’ll be nine of us, baby.”

Niki tore open a package, and a note fell out. “Who’s the extra person?”

“Derek. He told me his sister and Tisha are going to Vegas to celebrate her birthday that weekend, so I invited him to join us instead.”

“That’ll be nice. I invited Mitchell and Miss Martha, but apparently they’re having Scottie over for Thanksgiving at their house.” A naughty grin, that never failed to make my cock hard, graced her otherwise angelic face.

“You look happy with yourself.”

“I am. I think I may have a career in matchmaking. I may even make Josh my next victim.”

Niki looked down distracted and read the note before flicking through a magazine I recognised well.

“Where did that come from?” I asked with a sigh, never wanting to see another copy of Wine and Dine again.

“From Scottie,” she said reading an article. I looked over at the note which read;
Turn to page 24.

I walked over to Niki and read over her shoulder.

*Special Mention*

Jameson’s – Starling Falls

Review by Scottie McKenzie

I have been told by the editors that the word count for this article will have to be severely limited as the restaurant in question is not a Fine Dining establishment, and this is very much a magazine specialising in Fine Dining reviews.

However, I would argue that it would be hard to find a finer place to dine than Jameson’s in Starling Falls.

The food was hearty, rustic and to quote another customer; it will make your soul smile. The service was amazing, and the atmosphere made me feel at home.

Jacob Jameson has done an amazing job creating a menu that speaks to the child in all of us, and I congratulate this very talented chef and his team on this successful venture.

If you happen to be in the area, take a chance on this eatery. You will not regret it! I especially recommend getting the chicken pot pie and the fudge cake with a decadent duo of chocolate and caramel sauces.

Your waistline may hate you after, but your taste buds will be dancing for joy.

Wine and Dine Approval Rating:

What are you waiting for? Go there now!

My jaw dropped as I finished reading the article. “Wow. The things that can happen when you get someone laid.”

Niki hit my shoulder. “You deserve that review. Everything he said in there was true! Congratulations, Chef,” she said saucily.

“Have to say, I like you calling me that.” I peppered kisses along her neck.

“Oh really?” The naughty grin returned. “You up for some role-play?”

I had Niki over my shoulder and was headed to the stairs, as soon as the words ‘role-play’ had left her mouth.

Walking into our bedroom, I placed her gently on the bed. I crawled over her, but noticed she was distracted by something.

I looked to the side and saw that she had been staring at a newly framed picture of her, Liya and their Grandaunt, Trudy. “What you thinking about?”

“Just about how much can change it a year.” She gently caressed my face. “And I hope that I made Aunt Trudy proud.”