Falcon Falls Security Boxed Set: Books 1-3, page 34
Savanna shook her head. “The problem isn’t you. It’s him.”
“I don’t know.” She took a sip of her red-and-green-colored vodka-something cocktail. “I should really start dating for real.”
“I knew those other dates you were going on back in October were bullshit.” And Ella had stopped going on them once Jesse was out of town.
“Trying to make him jealous so he’d remove his head from his ass didn’t work.”
“You really going to be done, done, done this time?” Savanna followed her gaze, eyes set on Nick, who’d surprised Savanna by accepting the invite to join her and Griffin for Christmas. He was talking to Gray and his sister by one of the food tables.
“Nick asked me on a date,” Ella blurted, and Savanna choked on the sip she’d taken of her own drink.
“Oh.” What was she going to say to that?
“I said no,” Ella told her straight away. “He’s a man of the world. Not someone who wants to stick local, and it’s time I get serious and find someone who loves not just my home but me.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.” Savanna could barely believe that she was no longer a side character in someone else’s love story. She’d been watching couples fall in love for years, assuming it’d be impossible for her to ever do the same, and now she was planning a spring wedding. She pinched herself just about every other day. “But it will happen.” Just maybe not with Jesse. And that broke her romantic heart.
“I don’t know.” Ella sighed.
“I mean, I suppose Jesse isn’t really permanently gone from here. Or he doesn’t have to be. I’m making it work with Griffin even though his job isn’t here.”
She and Griffin were having a house built in Walkins Glen, but she’d commute to Birmingham for the café. And now that she could afford to hire help when Griffin needed to be in Pennsylvania between his jobs, she could stay there with him too.
Before Ella had a chance to reject Savanna’s comment, which she’d assumed was coming, Griffin began waving them over.
They cut through the party to get to where the guys stood, then Ella surprised Savanna by stepping in front of Jack and offering her hand.
How much had Ella drank? Because damn.
Not just a J name, but Jesse’s new co-worker.
Well, this should go well.
“Dance?” Ella asked Jack, and Jack pivoted his attention to Jesse for permission, and the glaring look Jesse sent back had Jack shaking his head.
“Sorry, I have to, uh, take a piss.” Jack shrugged, then hightailed it out of there.
Smart man.
“I’ll dance with you,” Jesse blurted, and his expressive blue eyes became hooded as his brows dipped like someone else had hijacked his voice. “Come on.” He snatched Ella’s drink and handed it off to Griffin without waiting for her response.
“Well, that was—”
“Confusing,” Savanna cut off Griffin after Ella hesitantly took Jesse’s hand and walked toward where her brother and the others were still singing. A new song this time.
Griffin discarded Ella’s drink and his own in the trash can set up nearby, then tossed Savanna’s next. “I’d like to dance with my future wife.”
“Oh, would you?” She smiled as he took her into his arms, looking incredibly handsome in his dark denim jeans, cowboy boots, and button-down black shirt. And he’s all mine.
“I would.” He pulled her into his arms where they stood, not bothering to leave that spot. “And then I’d like to unwrap you later for an early Christmas gift,” he said into her ear, and her body tightened with anticipation for “later.”
She set her head on his shoulder as he held her, and they simply moved side to side. She was so freaking happy, but then her heart leaped from her chest at the sight before her. “Babe,” she said, pulling back to excitedly swat his chest a few times.
“What?” Griffin twisted to the side to see what she was looking at.
“Your dad. He’s . . . totally enamored by Liz.” Savanna watched Griffin’s dad take a small red napkin and pat Liz’s cheek as if helping to remove sauce or something. “I think he’s flirting. Look at him.”
“Is Liz single? And how young is she? She looks young.” Griffin wrapped an arm around Savanna as they watched his dad smile at whatever Liz had said.
“She’s sixty, and she’s the one who owns the bakery in town. The reason I didn’t want to open one here and have us be competitors.” Savanna beamed at the sight. Maybe after all these years, his father just might find his second love too, and Liz, a widow like Savanna, could use that second chance as well.
“I haven’t seen Dad smile like that in a long time,” Griffin said while coughing into a closed fist as if his emotions were choking him up. Such a strong man, but he hated showing his sensitive side. He was getting better at it, though, which she appreciated. Still a total alpha in the bedroom, though, and she preferred that. Damn, did she ever.
“You know what I think?” She repositioned herself in front of him and draped her arms over his shoulders, linking her wrists behind his neck.
“What is that, Sugar?”
“This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”
“And why is that?” he asked. Oh, he knew damn well what she was going to say, but he wanted to hear it.
“Because I have you,” she said while bringing her mouth close to his.
“Part of me thinks next Christmas will be better,” he said before gently kissing her, then drawing her lip between his teeth.
“Why is that?” She repeated his line as he released her lip, and her body ached with the need for him to touch her, but there were way too many people there.
He angled his head and brought his hand to her abdomen. “Because if I have my way, you’ll be pregnant by then. And you being pregnant at Christmas can only be topped by—”
“Having our child with us the following year,” she finished for him.
And God did she love this man and how often they were always on the same page.
PLAYLIST
Stay - The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber
Die A Happy Man - Thomas Rhett
Arise - The Siege
Hips Don’t Lie - Shakira, Wyclef Jean
If I Die Young - The Band Perry
What I Like About You - Jonas Blue, Theresa Rex
Leave Before You Love Me - Marshmello, Jonas Brothers
Good Life - G-Eazy, Kehlani
Love Me Now feat. Zoe Wees - Kygo
Unforgettable - French Montana
Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift
Stay With Me - Sam Smith
Mr Red White and Blue - Coffey Anderson
Spotify Playlist
*Note: Spotify adds “suggested” songs to the end of my list, so you may see other songs there.
THE BROKEN ONE
A FALCON FALLS SECURITY NOVEL
For those who have ever felt a little broken . . .
Don’t give up.
PROLOGUE
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK – THREE YEARS AGO
“Would you stop acting like you’ve got a burr in your saddle?” Ella tipped her head, pointing her big blue eyes at Jesse. “We flipped a coin. Not my fault you called heads and lost. Better luck tomorrow.” She slapped him on the back and sent him a playful wink.
Ella. Ella. Ella. What was he going to do with her? Sure as hell not put her over his knee and swat her ass the way she’d just whacked his back.
“Did you really have to pick a Broadway show earlier and now this place?” Jesse released a heavy breath, trying to wrap his head around the fact he’d sat through the Cher Show tonight, and now they were in a nightclub.
“You had a nice nap during that show, if I recall. You should be awake enough to dance with me tonight.” Ella’s bright red lips parted to show her white teeth, one front tooth a tiny bit bigger than the other. An “imperfection,” as she liked to call it, but to him, she was perfection, currently wrapped in a tight dress.
Sharing a room with his best friend’s little sister would not be perfect or ideal though. The swanky hotel that was a few blocks from Rockefeller Center had been completely booked when he tried to get his own room at the last minute, and since this was supposed to be his sister and Ella’s girls’ trip, there’d been no need for two rooms in their original reservation.
But his sister, Rory, developed a stomach bug at the last minute, and she insisted Ella still go on the trip. And in Rory’s place, Jesse had been selected (more like coerced) to fill her shoes. And well, he didn’t wear heels or Prada. And he also had a dick, which meant sleeping in the same room with Ella was going to be a problem. Thankfully, when they’d checked into the hotel to get dressed for the show earlier, there’d been a room available with two beds. Otherwise, he’d be sleeping on the floor.
He thought back to when she’d walked out of the bathroom in her outfit for the evening and did a little twirl. She’d called the one-shoulder dress she’d designed “New York candy apple red.”
More like “siren” red, drawing the eyes of everyone with a pulse that night. And damn, did her dress have to have a bow at the waist? With Christmas next week, he’d thought a dozen times how much he’d like to unwrap her.
But he wasn’t just any man. At least, he wasn’t the man she thought he was.
And she wasn’t just any woman. She was a Hawkins. His best friend’s sister. Plus, she had three other brothers.
“Did you say dance?” Jesse finally reacted once he’d let her words sink in.
“I reckon I did.” Ella shrugged and flicked her light blonde hair to her back as she set both hands on the bar-top counter, looking left and right for anyone available to serve them.
Her bare shoulder brushed against him as she leaned his way a bit, and he half wondered if she might place two fingers in her mouth and whistle for a bartender the way she’d done for a taxi earlier.
“Whiskey neat. Two. Not too expensive. But none of that cheap shit either,” Ella ordered once she’d garnered the attention of one of the bartenders who had a Jim Morrison look going for him along with a handlebar mustache.
The man eyed Jesse with raised eyebrows, but Jesse lifted his chin in a silent request to “do what the lady says.”
The bartender grabbed a bottle of Woodford Reserve and poured two fingers of the whiskey, then slid the drinks across the dark wood counter.
“Cheers.” Ella clinked her glass with his and threw back the amber liquid as if she were taking a shot.
“Well, I guess I’m adding, ‘Keep Ella from drinking too much’ to my list of responsibilities tonight.” Jesse shook his head and took a small sip, deciding he ought to stay as sober as possible to keep an eye on the firecracker.
Hell, it was the real reason he’d booked the last-minute flight to accompany her to New York for the weekend. Rory knew damn well he wouldn’t want Ella going to the big city alone.
According to Rory, no one else was available to go with Ella. Yeah, he’d called bullshit from a mile away, and he was pretty sure he and Ella were being set up. Everyone in town, aside perhaps from the Hawkins brothers, had been rooting for them to get together for as long as he could remember.
Ella positioned her back to the bar, her gaze cutting to the dance floor, which wasn’t all that crowded since, by Manhattan standards, it was early at only twenty-three hundred hours. Or, eleven o’clock in civilian-speak. He doubted anyone there had to rise before the sun came up to tend to a farm or horses on a ranch like back home.
“Was New York City your idea, or Rory’s?” he found himself asking.
“Why? Do you think I’m trying to pull a Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama? Leave Bama to pursue fashion design?” She twisted her neck to steal a look at him, and his stomach squeezed at the idea of Ella moving to New York and leaving her students behind. She was a damn good designer, but so far, it’d only been a hobby. “I just wanted to see New York at Christmas. Christmas movies are my absolute favorite. And nothing feels more Christmas-y than this city.” She smiled. “Well, that’s what I thought before coming here.”
“And now?” He cocked a brow, curious.
“Our home is definitely more Christmas-y. I haven’t seen a single caroler since we arrived. Have you?” She grinned, her smile meeting her eyes.
“Not a one,” he returned with a smile of his own.
“Well.” She slapped her hands together like she was about to rally in her big family for supper. “I’m going out there.” She pointed as if “there” could have been somewhere other than the dance floor by the DJ booth. “Sure I can’t entice you to join me?”
She could entice him to do a lot of things, but dancing wasn’t one of them. Sure, they’d slow danced a few times here and there over the years. And two-stepped back home. But throw his arms up and act like a raver? Nah, he didn’t think so.
“I’ll be over there.” He pointed to the random Romanesque column off to the side of the dance area. “I don’t even know why that’s there. Not attached to the ceiling.” He shook his head. “Only in New York.”
“Aesthetic over function.” Ella patted his chest twice. “Loosen up. And if you change your mind, well, you know where to find me.” She turned to walk away, and he found himself circling her wrist, pulling her back to him.
Her eyes fell to where he held on to her. “You know I don’t tolerate assholes bothering you, no matter where we are.” And that was code for, if a man touched her on the dance floor, he’d join her for only one reason, and it wouldn’t be to dance.
Ella worked her gaze up his chest, over the pressed black button-down she’d insisted he wore with black slacks tonight, then her attention settled on the hard line of his mouth for a brief moment. “Well, you know I love to watch that ice hockey nonsense just for the brawls. Don’t tempt me.” She wet her lips, rolling her tongue along the bottom one in dramatic fashion to clearly fuck with him.
Not a great idea when he’d love nothing more than to do just that. And it can’t happen.
The strap on Ella’s shoulder started to slip, and he let go of her wrist and righted it in place.
He knew if he looked into her clear-as-an-Alabama-blue-sky-day eyes even for a split second, that it didn’t matter how shitty the lighting was in that club, she’d be able to read him. He’d done his best to be as unreadable as possible over the years when it came to how he felt about her, how he really felt about her—and for some reason, at that moment, his mask had slipped free.
“I’ll just be . . . over there,” she whispered, seeming to sense something was off with him, and she didn’t quite know what to make of it.
“Okay.” He mentally ticked off a few seconds, waiting enough time for her to have turned and walked away before looking up.
He spotted her at the center of the dance floor as she began moving side to side, about as unsure how to dance to the electronic music as he’d be if he were out there. She was country through and through, but in that red dress, gold heels, with her wavy blonde hair framing her face and her makeup dark and sparkly . . . he’d never guess she was from a small town or that this was her first trip to New York.
He was tempted to go rescue her. Take her to a bar a little more like one they’d find back home or in Birmingham near their small town. But wasn’t the point of her trip to get away, experience somewhere else?
Jesse crossed the room to lean against the useless column and dug into his pocket for his work phone. No new messages. That was good. He swapped it for his personal one and sent out a quick message to his sister.
Jesse: How’s that “stomach ache” . . . feeling better yet?
Rory: You might have the wrong number. Who is this?
Jesse: Your brother.
Rory: Which brother? The annoying one?
Jesse: The only one, smartass.
Jesse: You suck, you know. You faked being sick. Now that I’m here, you ready to fess up?
He watched the three little bubbles appear, then vanish. Then appear again. He rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the tension pulsing through his veins at hyper-speed, and checked on Ella.
She was moving her hips a bit more sensually now. And he was fairly certain she’d be drawing attention from the single guys any second. He clocked at least three men who had her in their sights. They were watching. Waiting to strike.
Unfortunately for them, he’d be there to strike back.
Rory: Ella texted me, you know. Said she took you to a show and you’re now at a club. I bet you’re skulking in the shadows like some creeper. All grumpy and growly about being in some swanky club.
Jesse: You don’t sound sick.
Rory: You don’t know how I sound. (cough, cough). Very sick.
Jesse: Thought it was your stomach?
He added an eye-rolling emoji.
Rory: So, you are in the shadows, aren’t you? And what happens when some jerk hits on her? You going to ride on in and save the day? Steal a horse from a city officer?
Jesse: Why are you such a pain in my ass?
Rory: Little sister job description. Didn’t you read the fine print? I could have sworn I gave you a manual decades ago.
Jesse pulled his focus from his phone to set his eyes on Ella, ensuring she was still at a safe distance from the opposite gender.
Jesse: You gotta stop setting us up. I know that’s what you think this weekend is . . . but it’s not happening. This isn’t a Christmas romance movie. There will never be an Ella and I. Or . . . Ella and me. Aw shit, I suck at grammar, but you know what I mean.
Rory sent him a few laughing emojis with tears coming from their eyes.
Rory: I know she’s a Hawkins. And she’s got 4 big brothers. And yes, you’re best friends with one of them, but, Jesse—when has anyone or anything ever stopped you from going after what you want?
