Falling Sweetly (Starling Falls #2)

by Aidan Willows

  “Thanks, it’s kind of big though,” I said as I gently placed the largest cake tier in a box.

  “I’m going to have to assemble it when we get there. Could you carry the other boxes out to the car?” I nodded over to the boxes filled with various cookies and cupcakes I’d made.

  “Any of those cupcakes red velvet?” he asked, eyeing one of the boxes hungrily.

  “Maybe, but you’ll have to find out later with everyone else,” I told him firmly.

  “Cruel, cruel woman. You’ve become mean since you’ve started hanging around with Addie.” Josh sighed sadly as he stacked the boxes on top of each other and carried them out to the car.

  I laughed lightly, feeling more at ease.

  Okay, maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

  * * * * *

  This is awful. How can silence be so loud?

  “So… what’s up with you?” Josh asked halfway through the drive, after ten painfully awkward minutes.

  “Not much,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

  “Am I doing something to make you uncomfortable? I don’t think you’ve taken a proper breath since you got into the car,” Josh asked confused.

  “Sorry, it’s not you, it’s me.” I cringed at the words that came out of my mouth.

  Josh barked out a laugh, “Never had that said to me before from a girl I wasn’t dating. Are we breaking up now?” he said with a teasing smile.

  I forced a laugh, trying to ease the tension, and failed.

  “Usually when a chick is nervous around me, I flirt with her until she relaxes… it’s worked well in the past.” Josh grinned at whatever memories were going through his head, and from his expression, I was grateful that he wasn’t sharing those particular stories.

  “Honestly, if you were to start flirting with me now, I’d probably throw up all over the inside of your car. Sorry,” I blurted and then cringed again.

  “Okay. No flirting then, we wouldn’t want anything like that to happen to the interior of my beautiful baby.” He glanced at me briefly. “I’d also have to deal with one very pissed off twin,” he added quietly.

  “Huh?” I really am much too eloquent at times.

  Jake gave a long-suffering sigh, “Never mind.”

  He then began muttering under his breath about ‘people having no fucking game.’

  Game? Were we supposed to be playing games today? I looked down at the loose dress I was wearing. I don’t think I’m appropriately dressed for games.

  “I’m confused,” I muttered in return.

  “Seriously, though. What’s your deal? You’re completely cool with me when you’re around other people, and now that we’re alone, you’re acting like I’ve got two heads,” Josh chuckled as he made a right turn.

  “I get… nervous?” I said lamely. “I don’t know. I can be kind of awkward. Sorry.”

  “No shit,” Josh snorted, “We’ve been in this car ten minutes and you’ve already apologised about five times for no reason.”

  I sighed and rested my head against the window. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  Josh smirked cheekily. “You got the hots for me or something?” he asked suggestively, waggling his eyebrows.

  His question made me burst out laughing, and I felt some of the tension start to ease.

  “Hey! It’s not that farfetched you know? Look at this smile,” he paused to grin widely, “How could you say no to a smile like this? I can be pretty irresistible at times.”

  “Not to me, sor-” I stopped myself before I could apologise again.

  “And she actually smiles. Nice work, Joshua, nice work.” He took one hand of the steering wheel to pat himself on the back.

  I rolled my eyes and relaxed back in my seat, “You’re a goofball, you know that?”

  Josh smiled warmly. “So I’ve been told once or twice. So, you’re kind of weird, huh?”

  “I’m not weird!” I protested, “Why do people keep calling me weird?” I muttered quietly as we pulled up to the Jameson’s house.

  “You are totally weird. But it’s cool, it works for you.” He parked the car, and threw me another wink which made me roll my eyes. He spoke quietly to himself, “And your brand of weird obviously seems to work for others too.”

  Before I could ask him what his annoyingly vague words meant, Addie walked around the side of the house.

  “Hey, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “We’re not late are we?” I asked, checking my watch.

  “No, but I think I made a mistake in asking Alex to keep them busy. They’re not really buying that after all these years he suddenly wants their opinions on what kind of shirts and pants he should be buying. They’re driving back from Smithsville Mall now, which is twenty minutes earlier than they should be.”

  “He said he needed them to go shopping with him?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Yes,” Addie said with an exasperated sigh and shake of her head. “He can be so dumb at times. I can’t believe we share the same genes. He may be creative with his work, but when it comes to matters of espionage, he’s a moron.”

  “Espionage? He only had to keep them out of the house for a couple of hours, not hack into a federal database. I told you I should have kept them occupied,” Josh replied, taking out the box of cupcakes from the trunk of his car.

  “What would you have done to keep them busy? Make them watch you work on your bike?” Addie rolled her eyes.

  “Of course not. It would have been the Mustang,” Josh countered in a tone that seemed to suggest that his sister should have known this already.

  “Why are you so annoying?”

  “Annoying? No, no, Princess. I think you meant to ask; why am I so charming?”

  Addie rolled her eyes at the use of the nickname her brothers had for her. Adelaide Jameson was the furthest thing from a princess I could imagine.

  Confused, I had once asked Caleb why the Jameson boys called Addie a princess. He’d simply said; “Because she doesn’t like it.” Apparently annoying the only girl in the family was something of a fun past time for the brothers.

  I tuned out the rest of their bickering as we unloaded the car and carried the various boxes around the house to the garden where people had started to gather for the party.

  Jeremy and Debbie’s 30th wedding anniversary had been in early July, but they had gone on a two week cruise around the Caribbean, hence the reason for the belated surprise anniversary party thrown by their niece and nephews.

  The mid July weather was perfect for having a barbeque, and the tables that had been set out were practically groaning under the amount of food on them.

  I saw several people I knew and smiled at them, unable to wave because my hands were full.

  Addie directed me to the smaller table that had been set aside for the cake. Spotting the framed picture of the happy couple on the table that Addie had set out made me smile.

  Debbie and Jeremy had met in Vegas when they were in their twenties, and were married at a chapel there a week after meeting.

  Their whirlwind courtship was such a romantic story, and after thirty years, they were still as passionately in love as they were on the day they had married.

  However, Addie had mentioned the one thing Debbie wanted that had been missing during their impromptu ceremony was a wedding cake. I’d hoped that the one I’d made would be the wedding cake she had dreamed about but never had.

  I was busy arranging more sugar flowers on the cake when I felt someone walk up behind me and stand silently beside the table.

  I looked over to see Nate Jameson, holding several packages of hotdogs and hamburgers, watching me work mutely.

  The stoic eldest Jameson brother had always made me especially nervous. He never spoke much, and his piercing green eyes always seemed so intense. His dark brown hair was cut short in a no-nonsense style and the heavy stubble on his jaw only added to his gruffness.

  “Hi?” I said, looking at him.

 
“Hey,” Nate said with a curt nod.

  I stared at him not quite sure what to say.

  “How are you?” Nate asked, the question sounding forced.

  “Fine, thanks.”

  There was a silence between us as Nate looked around the yard. “Nice day.”

  My brow furrowed, as I realised the conversation was probably the longest, and strangest, interaction I’d ever had with Nate Jameson. “Yes, it’s a lovely day.”

  Nate nodded at the cake. “Looks good.”

  “Thanks.”

  There was another brief pause before he asked abruptly, “You talked to Jake yet?”

  “No. Why?” I muttered.

  He sighed heavily and threw a reproachful stare my way, before rolling his eyes and muttering something under his breath.

  “Go talk to Jake, Niki,” his deep, gruff voice said gently, before he walked away to man the barbeque.

  I blinked in surprise at the unexpected interaction and command from the eldest Jameson, who looked as if he was having his teeth pulled, rather than at a party.

  No, thank you. Speaking to Jake sounds about as appealing as eating a live worm.

  “Holy crap, Niki! You’ve outdone yourself. That cake is amazing,” a familiar voice called, and I turned to see a mussed looking Liya and a smug looking Caleb walking out of the house into the garden holding hands.

  “Thanks,” I told my sister, before turning to Caleb. “Won’t Debbie and Jeremy be suspicious when they come home and see their friend’s and family’s cars parked near the house?”

  “Addie made everyone park down the street or on the next street over. No one would argue with her when she’s in organiser beast mode,” Caleb said, placing an arm around Liya’s shoulders.

  “Where the hell did you guys disappear to?” an annoyed Addie asked, as she and Josh walked across the grass carrying plastic cups and plates. “How does ‘we’re going to get more balloons and ice’ wind up taking you over an hour?”

  “There were a lot of balloons to blow?” Caleb replied with a shrug.

  “So where are they?” Addie asked, tapping a foot.

  “The ice… melted? And the balloons, they… popped?” Liya said unconvincingly.

  Josh snorted, “Oh, I think something was blown and it probably popped, but it wasn’t a balloon.”

  “Shut up, Josh!” Addie, Liya and Caleb all said at the same time.

  “Genius is never appreciated in its time,” Josh sniffed, before strolling away towards Nate.

  “Don’t you dare start eating yet, Joshua!” Addie called after him, and then gasped when she looked down at her phone. “They’re here! Everyone hide,” she said loudly to the large group of people.

  “Hide where, Princess? It’s a flat open space,” Caleb questioned, gesturing towards the garden.

  Addie grimaced when she realised he was right. “Oh shit. I didn’t think about that. Okay, everyone just gather around the steps and yell surprise at the same time when the back door opens. Where the hell is Jake?” she yelled as she looked around.

  “I’m here. Calm down, Addie,” an unusually sullen looking Jake said as he came out of the house with a big bowl of potato salad that he added to the table.

  His huge frame and broad shoulders combined with his dirty blond hair, stubble and bright, light blue eyes made my mouth dry.

  Unlike Josh, who had a leaner, athletic body, Jake was huskier, but strong. A fact made very obvious by the outline of his biceps in his navy-blue shirt.

  Despite his downtrodden expression, when his eyes met mine he gave me a small smile and I felt my heartbeat quicken, my breathing become uneven, and the palms of my hands start to sweat at the sight of him.

  Pathetic. Completely pathetic, Annika.

  You are not a thirteen year old girl, and he is not a skinny jeans wearing, floppy haired member of a boyband. Stop acting like a deranged fangirl.

  CHAPTER 6

  Jacob

  How the hell does she look more gorgeous each time I see her?

  The long sleeved pink dress she was wearing was loose on her, but the colour complimented her caramel skin perfectly. I dragged my eyes away from Niki’s flushed face when there was a commotion at the door.

  “Why would we want to see the garden, Alex? We know what it looks like, we live here. First the mall and now this. Are you feeling alright, darling? Come here and let me feel if you have a temperature,” Aunt Deb said, and Alex’s heavily tattooed arm appeared as he opened the door.

  He quickly moved out of the way when Aunt Deb and Uncle Jeremy came into view.

  “SURPRISE! Happy Anniversary!” Addie shouted first, followed by most other people a couple of seconds later, and some even later than that, so all that met Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Deb was a general shout of indistinguishable noise.

  “Really, people? That was painful,” Addie said, and turned to glare at everyone before walking up the steps towards our aunt and uncle, as a few people started laughing at what a failure the greeting had been.

  Aunt Deb gasped, and tears immediately filled her eyes as she took in the decorated yard and all her family and friends.

  “Oh my, this is amazing.” She opened her arms and squished Addie and Alex together in a big hug. “Thank you, my babies.”

  She released them and wrapped her arms around Uncle Jeremy’s waist, burying her face in his chest as happy tears fell down her cheeks.

  “We raised some mighty good kids,” Uncle Jeremy said, squeezing her lovingly as he looked at all of us with pride.

  I cleared the lump that had formed in my throat as Aunt Deb and Uncle Jeremy walked through the crowd greeting people and thanking them for coming.

  Not feeling in the mood to socialise, I was about to make my quiet escape when Aunt Deb blocked my path, peering into my eyes discerningly.

  “What’s wrong, pumpkin?”

  Oh, balls. Is she psychic or something? Damn witch woman.

  It wasn’t entirely surprising that she could read me like a book. I had practically grown up as her shadow. Whenever Aunt Deb was in the kitchen, I’d been at her side, more than happy to be her assistant or her guinea pig when she wanted to try new recipes.

  She’d been the reason I’d found what I loved to do, a shared love of cooking was the way we had bonded. Cooking was more than just a way to provide meals; Aunt Deb had taught me that putting food on a table for your family was a way of showing that you cared about them.

  The bond that we shared ran deep, and it was obvious to me that I was her favourite child, no matter how much my siblings argued otherwise.

  I hadn’t seen her since she’d come back from her cruise, so they’d thankfully missed all the drama that had been happening at the restaurant. It hadn’t been a topic I was looking forward to talking to them about.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” I said quickly and kissed her on the cheek. “Happy Anniversary, Aunt Deb. You’re as beautiful as you were on your wedding day.”

  “Flattery will get you nowhere. You tell me what’s wrong, right now,” she said firmly in a tone which warned she would not let the subject go, until she got the answers she wanted.

  “Not now, okay Aunt Deb? Later, I promise. Go enjoy your party,” I said turning her toward the crowd of people.

  “Later, Jacob. As soon as this party is over, you come find me and tell me. Don’t you try to hide and make me have to hunt you down,” she said threateningly, but then gasped happily when she saw the cake.

  “Oh my God. Would you look at that cake? It. Is. Perfect.”

  Aunt Deb immediately scoured the crowd for Niki, and caught her trying to edge away from the mass of people as well. Niki squeaked as Aunt Deb squeezed the air out of her, and dragged her forcefully over to where the cake was.

  I walked closer to overhear their conversation.

  This is just sad, man. How much more stalkerish can you get?

  “Niki, it is beautiful! This must have taken you forever.”

  “Well, Addie said that
you never had a wedding cake when you got married. I just wanted to make something that you would like.”

  “I love it! Thank you, Cutie. I’ll finally have a picture of us cutting a cake to frame.” She pressed a gentle kiss to Niki’s forehead. “You really are something special. We’re so lucky to have you as part of our family,” she said to her quietly.

  I concur.

  Niki’s eyes became noticeably brighter, as she smiled sweetly at Aunt Deb. “Thank you, Debbie.”

  Aunt Deb tutted and chastised her playfully, “What did I tell you to call me?”

  Niki laughed softly, “Thank you, Aunt Deb.”

  “See, now doesn’t that sound better?” she said, hugging her tightly again.

  Walk away, stalker. Before you do something stupid like go up to her, wipe away those tears, declare you’re obsessed with her and ask her to bear your future children.

  I turned and started walking up toward the house to find a quiet place to sit until the party was over, grabbing a beer from the cooler on the way there.

  Yes, soon-to-be unemployed failures definitely do not deserve girls like Niki. Go sit in your self-pity corner and drink your beer.

  * * * * *

  Annika

  It had been over four hours since I saw Jake walk away from the crowd gathered in the garden, looking troubled (Yes, I was a loser who had been keeping track of how long her crush had been gone).

  Biting my lip, I made the decision to fix him a plate of food and take it to him. Something was obviously bothering him, but I felt that he shouldn’t go without eating something, especially as he looked as if all he wanted to be doing was pounding back a couple dozen beers.

  In the time that Caleb and Liya had been together, I had grown close to all the Jamesons, and I knew this behaviour was unusual for Jake. He and Josh were usually the most approachable of all the Jameson siblings. At times they could be downright over-the-top friendly.

  I was a little curious but mainly concerned at his sudden change in behaviour from the Jake I had known months ago.