Falling For You

Ch. 1 Starting Over

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5 Years Later
Juliet's POV
"Order up, Juliet!" My dad yells from the kitchen.
I grab Mr. And Mrs. Whittbee's lunch and walk it over to them.
"You know Miss Juliet, you get prettier every time we see you and that darling daughter of yours just doesn't stop growing!" exclaimed Mrs. Whittbee cheerily. Her husband already chewing on his steak, gives his nod in agreement.
"Well, thank you. That's very sweet of you to say," I smile at the sweet couple before walking back over to the breakfast bar and register.
"Hey mama?" Evie says, still deeply concentrated on her coloring book with her little tongue sticking out a little.
"What is it sweetie?"
"Did you know that that big tree in the front of Papa and Nana's house is a hundred years old?" She says, poking her head up, breaking concentration.
"Hm, no I did not. Did Papa tell you about that Oak?" I ask, putting a hot chocolate on our tab.
"Uh-huh, he told me all about it!" She says excitedly.
"He did? Cherry! I'm taking my break," I yell to my sister in the kitchen, before turning back to my little girl, "Well, tell me all about it, honey."
She goes into her report of the large oak in the front of my parents yard while I make her hot cocoa. I smile, feeling proud of this little genius I've been blessed to be given. As I finish putting the whip cream on top, I hear the front door chime rushing in a wind of cold air into the cozy restaurant, bringing in a couple of snow flurries.
"Hi, welcome to the Williams Cafe! Choose wherever you'd like to sit and I'll help you in a minute." I hear my sister say.
I turn around to put the cocoa on the table.
"Here you go, honey," I say.
Her crystal blue eyes round and her jaw drops.
"Really? Thanks!" She says gleefully, licking the whip cream.
I rustle her curly hair a bit and walk toward the kitchen.
"Excuse me?"
I turn toward the deep voice.
Wow. Just wow.
He was gorgeous. This man could be a god. He had brown slightly curly hair that was pushed back, like he runs his fingers through it constantly. A slight beard beginning to grow in that made him look even more gorgeous. His blue eyes crinkled at the sides and he had a dimple when he smiled. If I had to guess his age, I'd say 30 maybe 29. His skin looked like they had tanned on a Caribbean island. He was in a large sweater covering up the jacket of an expensive looking suit. He had his hands folded in front of him, displaying no wedding ring, at the breakfast bar. He looked refined and completely out of place at this small diner where senior citizens came for the early bird specials and families came to eat out.
I mentally shake my head.
Nope. No men. Nope.
"How can I help you?" I ask politely.
"Umm, how much is your hot chocolate?" He had a slight accent, maybe English.
I turn toward the large sign we have over the breakfast bar that has all the drinks and small meal prices listed and then turn back toward him.
"$1.50" I state, smiling alittle. "Anything else?"
"Oh, no, no that will be all. Thank you." He says pulling out his phone.
I turn back to the kitchen taking off my apron.
"Hey dad, it's almost 2," I say to my dad, who's cutting some steak.
"Oh! Yeah! You ready? Your mother will be right out of the ladies room." He says dropping his knife on the cutting board. I nod walking toward the stage my parents set up in the cafe when I was 7 so I could practice my singing for the folks that stopped by.
My dad brushes past me and goes to the mic next to the stool and guitar stand we set up this morning before we opened. He taps on the mic a couple of times.
"Hello, hello! Well, it's about that time folks for our little girl to sing. I know you all come to hear her sing, but can you pretend to like the food too?" My dad jokes, getting chuckles from the small audience. "Okay, well, don't want to keep you all on the edge of your seats. Please give a nice warm welcome to Juliet!"
The crowd whistles and cheers as I kiss Dad's cheek and sit down on the stool grabbing the guitar with my hands, setting it snugly under my arm and in my lap. Singing has always been an outlet for me. While I was with Josh though, he hardly ever let me sing, unless he was gone.
"Good afternoon everybody," I greet into the mic, smiling as I sit down on the bench. I glance over to where Evie had been seated to find her sitting next to the stranger who had walked in earlier. They were both staring at me, the stranger with his face slightly shocked and Evie with a wide smile on her face showing off her baby teeth. I wink at Evie and see her giggle a little. "Hope you all are having a pleasant time here. It's getting a bit chilly out though, so get some hot cocoa for $1.50." I look over at the man, who now has a little smile on his lips. I look away at the other patrons at the tables and booths. "I've decided to sing a little song dedicated to my sweet, tornado Evangeline. This is called 'The Mother' by Brandi Carlile."
I play a few notes before I begin singing.
Landen's POV
"You might have to be here a few days, Mister." The auto mechanic tells me, looking sorry.
I sigh and look down at my phone.
"And there's no way that you can get the parts sooner?" I ask, practically pleading.
I should've listened to my best mate, Connor, and just gone the shorter way, but I wanted to see this town. I had heard it was quaint and quiet and right now, I needed quaint and quiet. However, I did not think I would slide on a patch of ice and get my car stuck in a ditch, which in turn is now the reason I need to replace two of my tires and get a new transmission. The mechanic shakes his head.
"No, sir. This blizzard is worse than last year and because of that, getting car parts is more difficult."
I sigh again, feeling frustrated.
"You know," the mechanic interjects before I can pull out my phone from my pocket to call a cab or uber, "there's a motel across the way from here and a little restaurant cafe right next to it, if you're hungry."
I look out through the frosted window and see the glowing sign of "Williams Cafe" right across the street. I turn back toward the mechanic, thanking him and began heading out towards the cafe.
"We'll call you when the parts come in," he says as I'm opening the door.
"Thanks," I say, giving a slight wave over my shoulder. I push open the door and get assaulted by the freezing wind, feeling snow flakes brush across my face. I pull my large jumper tighter on my body over my suit and begin to jog a bit to the front door.
I pull it open and hear the the chime of the door as warmth envelopes my face.
"Hi, welcome to the Williams Cafe! Choose wherever you'd like to sit and I'll help you in a minute." A pretty blonde says. I give her a small smile before walking past her to the breakfast bar.
I feel my heart stutter as I look at the dark haired, clear blue eyed beauty leaning over and smiling at a curly red haired little girl with the same brilliant eyes as the little girl licks some whip cream.
I make my way over to the end of the breakfast bar and just stare at the woman, who can't be older than 23. Her dark hair goes alittle bit past her shoulders and is lightly curled. She's absolutely marvelous.
Stop staring, I demand of myself.
I stare down at the counter, but then glance back up to see the woman, who I now realize must work here since she has an apron on and is behind the counter, walking into the double swinging doors that must lead into the kitchen.
"Excuse me?" I ask meekly.
What am I doing?
She turns toward me, smiling.
Oh goodness. Jeez.
I feel my heart stop as I stare at her.
"Umm, how much is your hot cocoa?" I ask, dumbly, giving her a little smile.
She looks at the board over her head then back at me.
"$1.50. Anything else?"
I say no and duck my head down to look at my phone.
She walks in through the double doors. I hear the chair next to me squeak as it's pulled out. I jump alittle in my seat and look down. The red haired little girl is giving me a toothy grin. I can't help but smile back at her. She jumps up into the seat and putting a crayon and a coloring book in front her. She lets her little legs dangle as she stares up at me.
"Do you know about trees?" She asks, squinting her eyes at me.
"What about them?" I respond, squinting my eyes right back.
"Do you know about Oaks?" She asks.
"Just what they look like and that they can live to be super old," I respond.
She gives me another toothy smile, making me smile back at her.
"I've never seen you before." She inquired, "what's your name?"
"Landen," I respond back extending my hand toward her. She gives it a pretty firm shake for someone her size.
"I'm Evangeline, but everyone calls me Evie, especially my mama. I'm five and a half years old." She states, raising her chin a bit proudly.
"I was five once," I say smiling, "it's a good age to be."
"Yep," she says popping the "p", "my mom says I'll be 6 soon and then I can go into the first grade."
"Where is your mum?" I ask, looking around the cafe for an older red haired version of the firecracker sitting next to me. Evie giggles.
"You say things funny. She's–" Evie starts but is cut of by a tapping on a mic on a stage I hadn't taken notice before this moment.
"Ooh, it's starting!" She exclaims, wiggling around in her chair.
"What is–"
"Shh! You don't want to miss it," she whispers smiling, looking toward the stage excitedly.
I look over too and notice a grey haired man with a stained apron on, talking into the mic.
"Hello, hello..." he begins.
I look to the left of the stage and see her.
She's looking to the man on the stage with a smile on her red lips. Her eyes seem to be catching the diner's light. She has delicate features and is wearing a pair of stained jeans, no doubt from the food, with a loose t-shirt that advertises the restaurant. I'm completely enthralled with this woman.
She begins walking up to the mic, kissing the man on the cheek.
The young woman sits on the stool placed by the mic and grabs the guitar next to it and begins speaking.
I feel a little elbow in side and look down at Evie.
"That's my mama." She states proudly, before we both turn our heads to look back at the wonderful woman on the stage.
She's looking at us, curiously, and then sends a wink to the little girl next to me, sending little Evie into a fit of giggles.
I smile at the two of them. I can now see the resemblance, especially their eyes. Frankly, I don't know how I couldn't see it before.
(Start the music 😁)
The woman begins to play a few notes on the guitar, closing her eyes, seeming to get lost in the rhythm as she opens her mouth to sing.
"Wow," I whisper.
"Yep," Evie says looking between her mother and me.
I notice a name tag on the front of her shirt and squint to read what's written.
"Juliet." I say, out loud, trying to figure out what the tag says.
Evie nods, eyes glued to the stage.
A beautiful name for a beautiful woman, I think to myself.
Oh goodness, get a hold of yourself, Landen, I scold myself.
I can't take my eyes off Juliet as her angelic voice floats through the air catching the attention of everyone in the diner.
Juliet winks and nods at Evie.
Evie scrabbles out of her seat and onto the stage. She sits down right in front of her mum, and leans her head on Juliet's legs. Juliet smiles down at her daughter.
Landen heart soars looking at the pair.
Evie's already taken my heart and Juliet's had it since I've walked into this building it seems and I haven't even met her properly yet.
Juliet seems to sing louder as she gets to the next chorus.
Her dark brown hair I realize now has little streaks of blonde that is being captured by the lights. Her fingers are long and delicate as they plucked the strings never shaking or looking unsure, almost like a dance. I also notice that she doesn't have a ring on.
I breathe out a sigh of relief. Wait, what am I doing? I have to leave in a few days. I can't hope to date anyone right now, least of all, this woman. This is just a little case of infatuation, short lived and not capable of leading to anything.
I look away from her and notice that the young lady who welcomed me, another older looking woman with strawberry blonde hair, and the man who Juliet had kissed on the cheek are all seated at a table right in front of the stage.
The older woman was leaning her head on the man's shoulder and clasping his hands. They both had tears in their eyes and a napkin being gripped in their free hands. The other woman is smiling at Juliet, proudly.
Those must be her parents and maybe her best friend or sister.
I turn my attention back to Juliet and smile.
She looks over in my direction, gracing me with a grin, before turning her head away.
Evie looks like she might be asleep as she still leans on her mum's legs.
I stare at Juliet as the rest of the song plays out.
As she finishes the final notes, everyone stands and applauds her. She nods her head shyly and smiles at everyone.
Evie lifts her head up looking a little confused and then seems to remember her mum had performed. She gives a big hug to Juliet and then scrambles off the floor racing back to sit next to me.
"So?" She says excitedly, brushing a stray curl off of her face, "what'd you think?"
I smile at Evie before looking back up at Juliet who's staring at me as she makes her way over to us.
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I'm sooo sorry that went on so long! I hope you all enjoyed it though! Wasn't Evangeline just so adorable though?! Sooo many of you are probably wondering what Landen Windsor looks like and yes, he is the other special character who gets a picture.
Drumroll please!.....
TOM HIDDLESTON

I LOVE THIS ACTOR! I don't know if any of you caught in there during Juliet's POV that he could be a god hehe 😁 Anyways, tell me your favorite actors and actresses and I will try my hardest to design a little role for them! You guys are spectacular! Have an AMAZING day/night! ❤️