An Exceptional Twist (10 page)

Madison frowned. “That’s not funny.”

He wiped the water off of his face and hoped
it didn’t include any of the pee she may have leaked. Feeling eyes
on him, Stefen glanced over at Leah whose mouth was wide open.

“What?” He paddled over to her and held on
to the edge of the pool.

She placed her hand on her chest, seemingly
impressed. “Where did you learn how to swim like that?”

He beamed. “Water polo and swim team, all
through high school and college. Caleb and I were both state
champions.” Hanging on to the side of the pool, he shamelessly
gawked at her long muscular legs.

She bit her lip, tucking her legs under her.
“Wow, I had no idea. We didn't have a water polo team at my high
school, but we did have a swim team. I went to a couple of meets.
That takes serious skill.”

“We loved competing, especially against each
other. We were pretty even with winning, though. Did you do any
sports?”

Shaking her head, she answered, “No. I'm not
really into sports.”

“You have incredible muscle tone in your
legs. What do you do to stay in shape?”

She turned crimson. “I’m a dancer, and I do
yoga. I also run on the beach whenever I can.”

Damn, I love watching her
squirm.
The sun was setting behind her,
and he had to close one eye, squinting to see her.

He motioned her toward the pool. “Join us.
Madison’s warmed up the water.”

They both laughed, but he turned to make
sure Madison hadn’t heard him. Thankfully, she was off in the
corner, trying to do handstands.

But when her head popped up, she called out,
“Come in, Auntie Leah.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely, Madison,
I'll be right in.” Leah strolled over to the stairs and slowly
entered, dipping her feet in while she watched Madison swim. His
pulse spiked, watching her body slowly disappear in the water. She
really was amazing to watch.

“Uncle Stefen,” Madison yelled, “why don't
you marry Auntie Leah and make a baby for me to play with?”

Leah's head darted up, locking eyes with
him, then they both looked at Madison.

Clearing his throat, he said, “Auntie Leah
and I are just friends.” He hated saying that. Friendship was the
last thing he wanted from her.

Madison looked at him again with those sweet
brown eyes. “Daddy says husbands and wives are best friends. You
can get married, then she can be your bestest friend forever.”

Shit, what am I supposed to say now?

Thank goodness Leah chimed in. “Madison,
sometimes men and women are just friends. Remember that Uncle
Stefen lives far away. He’s going home soon. How can we get married
and live so far from each other?” Her voice was soft as she
explained the facts to their young matchmaker.

“Uncle Stefen, can't you live here with us?”
Madison knitted her eyebrows together, pleading.

“No, squirt, remember I have to go back to
work with your grandpa?” As if he could ever marry Leah anyway. His
family would disown him.

Well, my mother would, at least.

“Okay.” Madison moved on, carefree and
swimming away like it hadn’t happened.

He couldn’t believe she’d dropped a bomb
like that. “That wasn’t awkward or anything,” he said before
shrugging his shoulders.

Leah watched her hands as she moved her arms
back and forth under the water. “Yeah, awkward for sure.”

Panicked that she’d lost track of time, Leah
swam to the edge of the pool, then pushed herself up and out. “What
time is it?” She tiptoed to the lounge chair, in search of her
towel. She dried herself off before picking up her cell. “Oh man,
we have to go, Madison.”

Madison groaned. “Five more minutes.”

She motioned Madison over. “Come on,
sweetie. Jump out and go get dressed really quick. I’m sorry,
Stefen, but can you give us a ride back to my apartment? I need to
get my van.”

Hastily, he jumped out of the pool. “What?
Why?”

Madison pranced up to his side. “We’re going
to go dance with Auntie Leah’s super hero friends.” The little girl
trotted to her towel, wrapped it around her tiny body, and headed
toward the house. “Can he come with us?” She asked Leah as she
passed.

Stefen stood in front of Leah, dripping, and
she had to look away. Wet, half-dressed Stefen was even more
delectable than dry fully clothed Stefen. His body was flawless.
Not because he had an unrealistic eight pack and perfect abdominal
‘V’, but because he was fit. His stomach was flat, but definitely
had definition. His chest was firm and arms were perfectly
toned.

I wouldn’t mind having them wrapped around
me.

“Super hero friends, huh?” Stefen grinned.
“I may have to come with you to see what that’s all about.”

Fairly dry, Leah offered him her towel.

He smirked, noticing her staring at his
abs.

Ignoring it, she turned away and explained,
“I teach a dance class to a group of amazing kids who happen to
have special needs. Madison loves to come and help.”

“Wow that’s extraordinary, Leah. How often?”
He toweled his face dry, holding it under his nose for a
moment.

Leah wondered,
did he just sniff my towel?

He smiled, knowing he’d been caught. “Sorry,
couldn’t help myself. Smells like you.” He sniffed again. “Like
flowers.”

Taken aback, she gawked for a moment, then
pulled her sundress back on. “When I’m allowed to use the space.
It’s hard because my kids are used to schedules and routines, so
when we get cancelled, or we’re not on the calendar for weeks at a
time, it’s unsettling for them. My friend works at the studio,
though, and she’s always fighting for us.”

It had been so challenging getting the
owner’s approval before Jenna had gone to bat for them. Shaking her
head, she explained, “Insurance liability issues are apparently the
main issue, even though we sign the same waiver as everyone
else.”

With hope in his eyes, he offered, “I would
love to help…that is, if you don't mind.” Stefen blinked as a
droplet of water fell off of his eyelash.

Leah’s gaze fell to his pretty pink
toenails. She wanted to laugh again, but something stopped her.
Seeing this compassionate side of him forced her to realize
something frightening. No matter how carefully she guarded her
emotions, he was getting to her, and she feared that the heartbreak
she was trying so hard to avoid was just around the corner.

“Sure, but we have to get going. We only
have an hour before class starts.”

“
Son of a bitch
,” Stefen murmured
under his breath. Remembering Madison was in the backseat, he
cringed.

They were at Leah’s flower shop, and he
watched her step out of the apartment above, dressed in her dance
apparel. Peering behind him, Stefen noticed Madison was still
wearing headphones and watching the movie she’d started
earlier.

Thank god.

Turning to watch Leah once again, his body
was suddenly on fire. She was striking in her white see-through
camisole dress. Thankfully, with a black leotard underneath.
Shamelessly, he visualized the camisole without it, then wondered
what would’ve happened if she’d come out in only that. He might
have had a heart attack. Licking his lips, he thought about how
delicious her skin would taste.

No worries. I’ll be tasting it
soon…hopefully.

The dress fluttered in the wind when she ran
down the stairs to her van. What was she doing?

He watched her grab a
couple of yoga balls from the back, and he jumped out to help her.
“Hey let me—
oof!
”
A yoga ball hit him in the stomach.

Leah’s eyes went wide. “Oh no. I’m so sorry.
I didn’t see you there.”

Rubbing his gut, his smile was a little
pained, but he was grateful it hadn’t hit further south.

He reached for the huge ball. “Let me help
you before you take me out with one of these.”

“Ha, ha.” She crossed her arms over her
chest. “Very funny, Dr. Jones.”

“Ah, another Indiana Jones fan, I see.” His
grin widened, excited that she knew lines from one of his favorite
flicks.

“One of the best movie series out there,
aside from the Bourne movies, of course.” She pursed her sassy
lips, speaking matter-of-fact.

If she didn’t stop naming off his favorite
movies, he just might drop to one knee and ask for her hand in
marriage.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

They tossed the balls, as well as a bag full
of yoga mats, into the back of Caleb’s SUV. Opening her door, he
watched her hips sway as she took her seat.

Once they were all seated and on the road,
Leah spoke anxiously, “I really hope most of the kids can make it
on such short notice.”

“Why was it last
minute?”
And why is she worried about
it?

“One of the classes at the studio was
cancelled because the instructor couldn’t make it this week, and I
get the space whenever that happens.”

“Don’t you have any set classes?”

“Nope. Sometimes we get several spots in a
row, but most of the time, I just take what I can get.” She
shrugged her shoulders, as if she’d given up her fight a long time
ago.

“What about another studio?” Leaning his
elbow on the window frame, he put his head in the palm of his hand
and took a quick look at her.

“Are you kidding? This is the only one
that’ll even let us put our feet in the door.” She looked hopeful
still, but there was some underlying defeat as well.

“Why don’t you just rent a space somewhere?”
he suggested.

With a smartass expression, she pointed out,
“We’re not all made of money, Stefen. I do okay financially, but
there’s no way I could pay for my own space. I don’t charge the
kids. Their families deal with enough.”

“That’s very
admirable.”
Damn, this woman is
amazing.

“We all need to do what we can to give back,
and this is what I have to offer. Plus, seeing them smile is an
awesome reward.” Her gigantic smile was priceless.

And he was starting to realize she had a
heart to match.

Leah was still nervous about how Stefen
would react once the kids ran in and started hugging him. It was
her favorite part of the class, but it could be overwhelming for
anyone not used to being around kids that faced intellectual and
physical disabilities.

Will he judge them?

Running a little behind schedule, she walked
through the front door with Madison and Stefen in tow, carrying all
of her extra equipment. Stefen’s arms were full.

“Which one are we in tonight?” Leah asked
the receptionist, then looked at Stefen as his eyes took in the
older brick building.