My eyes widened. “You’re pregnant?”
Tears filled her eyes as she nodded. A happy laugh erupted as I picked Martina up and hugged her gently.
“Congratulations, Martina. You’re going to be an amazing mother.” Putting her down, I kissed her cheek. “I’m so happy for you and Tom. I didn’t know you guys were trying.”
She shook her head. “We weren’t. It just sort of happened. I’m excited but nervous and sad about having to leave.”
“We’ve had an amazing couple of years at Marco’s, Martina. I’ve loved working with you, but you have to do what’s right for you… and your growing family.” I looked down at her where she was still holding her belly.
“Thanks. I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I hate leaving you in the lurch. But, we’re not going to be moving in a couple of months, so I can stay on and train whoever you choose to be your new manager,” she added quickly.
I hugged her again. “I’m going to miss having you around here. You better come back and visit.”
“Thanks, boss,” she said returning the hug. “And of course I will, you guys became like family.”
The sinking feeling in my chest grew a little heavier as I pictured what a Martina-less restaurant looked like. We had formed a nice partnership over the years, each of us knew how the other liked things done, and we’d formed a working dynamic that allowed both of us to do our jobs well.
“It’s going to be impossible to replace you, ball buster.” I used the nickname the waiting staff had jokingly given her a couple of years ago.
She slapped at my arm playfully. “I know, but I’m going to help find you halfway decent substitute. I know things look bad around here now, but I just know you’re going to do amazing things with this place.”
She gestured around the restaurant which looked less like an eating establishment and more like a demolition site.
“I hope so. It’s hard to see how it’s all going to come together.”
She patted my arm reassuringly. “It will. We should go over the contacts for the new staff.”
I nodded and was headed back to the office when the door creaked as it swung open, and an unfamiliar man dressed in a black suit came into the restaurant.
He looked between me and Martina. “Are you Jacob Jameson?”
“Yes.”
What now?
He looked at me pityingly and handed me an envelope. “You’ve been served.”
“What the fuck?” I stared down at the official looking envelope in my hand.
Martina gaped at the retreating man and snatched the envelope out of my hand, and ripped it open.
“Do you know a Douglas Bennett?”
“No.” I sat back on the stool, and racked my brain trying to remember anyone with that name.
“Well it says here you assaulted him outside a bar?!” Martina looked alarmed.
“Shit. Niki’s fucking asshole date. That must be him. And I didn’t assault him… I just sort of pushed him against a wall.”
Martina flipped through the documents. “Well, it says here that you punched him. He’s suing you, Jake.”
I groaned and let my head fall against the bar with a thump. “Of course he is.”
You really need to start thinking first and acting second.
CHAPTER 22
Jacob
“Jake?” I turned to see my gorgeous girlfriend walking through the gates of the park, and stopped so she could catch up with me.
I bent to give her a kiss. “Hey, what are you doing here, baby?”
“Well, I went to The Saloon looking for you and Martina told me where you were. What are you doing here?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.
I showed her the clear bag filled with stale bread in my hand.
“Are you here to feed the ducks? That’s so cute!”
I straightened my shoulders. “It’s not cute. It’s a manly past time. They’re scary animals, have you seen the size of their beaks. Do you want to join me on this perilous quest which you may or may not survive?”
She giggled and looped her arm through mine. “Sure.”
We walked over to the large pond where several ducks were paddling amongst floating algae.
I handed her a half a loaf of bread, and we stood in silence as we fed the eager birds. Niki finally broke the silence when she’d thrown the last of the bread into the water. “So… ducks, huh?”
“It’s an old habit. There were a lot of us in the house growing up. When I was stressed and needed some quiet alone time, I used I come here to feed the ducks. It always used to help.”
“Are you okay?” she asked gently.
“I’ll be fine.”
Niki stepped in front of me and placed her hand on my chest. “Jake, talk to me. What’s going on?”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “You ever feel like what you wanted, may not actually be for the best?”
She frowned at me, and shook her head. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“It’s just everything that it seems like it could be going wrong, is going wrong. It’s a month ‘til I’m supposed to open, and I feel like I’m up a creek without a paddle. I’ve sunk everything I’ve got into The Saloon.
“If it fails, I lose everything. And it’s not only me. I’ve got staff with families to feed depending on me. It’s my fault they lost their jobs in the first place, and if I can’t make this work, how the fuck do I look them in the eyes?”
I watched as two ducks began fighting over a floating slice of bread.
Niki dragged me over to a bench and pulled me down to sit beside her. “All those people who are going to be working for you, are you forcing them to?”
I frowned. “Of course not.”
“Exactly. They’re there because they want to be… because they have faith in you. You’re setting yourself up to fail before you’ve even given this a chance. So there have been a load of challenges, but you’ve dealt with them. As you keep on going with this restaurant, you’ll probably face more challenges, and you’ll deal with those, too. You know why? Because you’re not a quitter.”
I had no idea what to say to her declaration, so I remained silent and let her finish.
She held my gaze steadily as she continued. “Jake, you have to stop putting so much pressure on yourself to be perfect. You started this project because you were unhappy with how things were at Marco’s; having to live up to all these expectations, always worrying about what the next critic who stepped foot in there would have to say.
“That’s the whole reason you were unhappy at Marco’s, right? This restaurant was supposed to different. It was your vision for a place where you would get up and actually want to go to work. So stop stressing or you’re going to drive yourself crazy.”
I reached over and pulled her onto my lap, burying my face in her neck, while breathing in her intoxicating scent. “Okay, baby. I hear you.”
“Good,” she said softly. “I care about you too much to see you so unhappy.”
My heart squeezed at the honesty in her tone. “I care a lot about you too, Niki.”
Pretty sure you more than just ‘care’ about her…
Everything in me wanted to tell her that I loved her but I knew it wasn’t the right time or place. She deserved better than a rickety bench in front of squabbling ducks.
Niki chewed on her bottom lip. “Martina told me about the law suit, Jake.”
I groaned. “Yep… that’s the cherry on top of all the problems.”
“Maybe I should go and talk to him? I’m sure I could reason with him,” she offered.
“Over my dead rotting corpse.”
She snorted. “Well, that’s not overly dramatic at all.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near that asshole again.” I held her gaze, rubbing my thumb over her cheek. “Promise me you won’t go see him.”
“Jake…”
“Promise me,” I urged.
“I promise.” Niki rolled her eyes
but agreed reluctantly. “What are you going to do about it though?”
“I’m going to talk to Nate, and see if he can recommend any lawyers.”
Her brow furrowed. “I can’t believe he’s suing you.”
“I can.” My thumb moved to smooth the worried crease on her forehead. “But I don’t want you worrying about it. It’s my problem. I lost my temper, so I have to deal with the consequences.”
“You can tell me not to worry, doesn’t mean that I won’t.” Niki ran her hands through my hair, gently scrapping her nails against my scalp, and I closed my eyes in pleasure.
“Martina also mentioned that she’s leaving,” she said tentatively.
“Yeah. I’ve got to put out an ad looking for a new manager, though no one is going to be able to replace her.”
“Hmm, maybe you don’t need to put out an ad.” Niki looked thoughtfully into the distance.
“What do you mean? I can’t do both, baby. I definitely need a new manager. Unless you want to come to work with me?” I pressed a kiss to her neck. “Though as much as I would love that, I don’t think I would get much work done with you around. You’re much too distracting.”
I squeezed her curvy hips and she shook her head in response.
“I meant, that you may already have the perfect person to manage the restaurant.” There was a sparkle in her eye that made me smile. “And no, it’s not me…”
I sent her a quizzical look. “Who?”
“Debbie.”
The quizzical look turned into a frown. “Aunt Deb?”
“Sure, why not? She’s warm, welcoming and knows pretty much everyone in town. And didn’t she used to be the office manager at the accountants? Just apply the same skills but to a restaurant. It could work!”
I considered the possibility about working with my aunt, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. She was reliable, organised and one of the most amazing people I knew.
“Though she may not want to work with me. Aunt Deb has been retired for years.”
“You never know until you ask her, right? Maybe just ask her to do four days a week or something, and see how it goes?” Her expression was so optimistic, I leant forward to kiss her.
“You’re brilliant. You know that?”
“I have my moments,” she laughed.
My arms around her tightened, and I pulled her to me for a slower, deeper kiss. When we finally emerged for air, Niki’s cheeks were the usual rosy hue I’d gotten used to seeing every time I kissed her.
“Anything else you’d like to add to that little lecture, ma’am?” I teased.
“Actually, yes. I think you should think about changing the name. The Saloon was the name of someone else’s dream, not yours,” she murmured.
“Hmm… another good point, Miss Abbott. And thanks for adding another task onto my to-do list. Any suggestions?”
“Nope, I came up with the idea,” she said with a happy laugh. “The new name is all on you.”
“Oh, thanks for leaving me the hard work,” I replied sarcastically, slipping my hand under her shirt to tickle her, making her wiggle on my lap.
Niki stiffened. “Oh no tickling, please. I hate the tickling.” She moved my hands away from her body and my arms around her tightened when she attempted to move off my lap.
“Okay. Sorry. No tickling.” Her expression suggested that something else was the problem.
“What’s going on with you, Niki?” I started cautiously.
“Nothing?”
“You asking me, or telling me that nothing’s wrong. Cos I don’t believe you. Every time things start getting intense between us, I feel you pulling back.”
“We’ve done stuff,” she said quietly.
“Baby, I don’t care about the sex. I said I’d wait as long as you need. But every time we get close to being physical, you pull away and shut me out. Tell me what’s going through your head.”
She huffed an exasperated sigh. “I just… I’m not perfect.” Her hands moved up and down, gesturing to herself.
I stared at her, waiting for her to continue, and when she didn’t I prompted her to continue. “Are you insane? You’re gorgeous. You have to know how attractive I find you.”
She stared at her folded hands in her lap. “I guess so, but I’ve felt this way for so long it’s impossible to just shut it off.”
In my head I replayed the times we’d been together; I’d brought her to orgasm using my hands. She’d always insisted on keeping her clothes on and had been never wanted me to go down on her.
I looked over her and couldn’t understand what she saw when she looked in the mirror, because all I saw was a woman who had my dick so hard I could barely think straight around her most of the time.
“You just told me to stop putting so much pressure on myself to be perfect. Shouldn’t you apply that to yourself too? I’m not going to sit here and pretend to understand what goes on in your head, baby, because it’s obviously not what I see.
“You know what I see when I look at you? Beautiful eyes the colour of chocolate, skin that looks and tastes like caramel, and soft curves I want to bury myself in.”
She snorted quietly. “Should I be concerned that you keep comparing me to food?”
“Probably,” I said truthfully as I nibbled on her neck, before sucking hard on the exposed skin. Some of the tension in her body left her as she sighed happily.
I looked back up at her, hoping that I wouldn’t fuck up this conversation. “So you don’t want to talk about how you’re the most gorgeous thing on earth to me?”
“Not really.” Niki looked back down at her hands.
“Well, you are.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I just want to help.”
“Please understand, Jake. This isn’t anything to do with you. It’s my thing to get over.”
I grumbled unintelligibly before relenting. “Fine, we can put a pin in this discussion for now.”
There was a pause, as Niki took a deep breath in and breathed out slowly.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I’m ready.”
I cleared my throat before asking, “Ready?”
“To take the next step with you.”
My cock twitched. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m rushing you into anything. It’s only been a month, Niki.”
She looked me earnestly. “You aren’t. I want this… with you.”
“You sure?”
She blinked a few times before her face broke into a smile so brilliant it warmed me to my core. “More sure than I have been about anything else in a long time.”
Well fuck me.
CHAPTER 23
Jacob
The strong coffee I was sipping on didn’t prevent a big yawn from escaping as I walked into the kitchen of The Saloon.
Switching on the lights, I walked over to a counter and pulled out the notes I’d made with Niki about what dishes to tinker with on the menu.
The conversation we’d had the day before played heavily on my mind, and I was distracted by the thought of our date tonight. I checked my messages and grinned at the one I had received from Josh.
Josh: All set for tonight, bro. I owe my guy big time for the favour, which means you owe me big time. My favourite meals for the next month ought to cover it. And if Niki happens to have any single friends, mentioning to them that you have a better looking twin wouldn’t hurt either.
I snorted and sent him a quick message thanking him, and mentioned that it would be a cold day in hell before I asked Niki to set him up as I was pretty sure she wanted to keep all her friends.
I turned back to my notes but the sound of the kitchen door opening distracted me, and Derek walked into the kitchen.
I looked up at the clock in the kitchen and saw that it was 7.30 am. I was often the only person in the kitchen for hours before anyone else actually showed up. I stared at him confused.
“Morni
ng. What do you need me to do, Chef?” he asked, tying an apron around his waist.
“It’s 7.30.” I said with a raised eyebrow.
“This is the time you always get here. If you’re here I figured I should be too,” he said with a shrug. There was a moment of silence as I looked back down at my notes.
His eagerness made me smile. Over the past month, Derek had really proved himself, and I’d been impressed by his dedication to the job.
I was ashamed to admit I didn’t actually know much about the kid at all, apart from the fact he must have some skills in the kitchen as Tisha had recommended him for the position, and she was not an easy person to impress.
I’d gotten so caught up with running Marco’s that I’d not been the mentor to him that I should have been.
“I’m still not entirely happy with the how the chicken pot pie is tasting. You up for some experimenting with the recipe?”
“Sure, how do you want me to change it?” He pulled the diced chicken from the fridge.
“Up to you, kid. I’m giving you free reign with the recipe.”
His eyes widened, and I assumed it was from being asked to actually cook as opposed to just prepping ingredients for other chefs to use. “Seriously?”
“Yup. Show me what you got.”
Derek rubbed his hands together, and I leaned against the counter to watch him work. He was tall, with dark skin, closely cropped black hair and built with lean muscles. His dark brown eyes held a determined glint as he began pulling various spices from the rack and began seasoning the raw meat enthusiastically.
“You have great instincts, Derek,” I told him, appreciating the respect he showed the ingredients in front of him.
He shrugged humbly, but I could see the pride on his face.
I watched him sear the chicken in a frying pan, turning over each piece carefully. “Who taught you how to cook?”
Falling Sweetly (Starling Falls #2) Page 19