An Exceptional Twist (26 page)

Using his good eye, Stefen peered through
the sliding glass door on the other end of the room. His suit-clad
father walked past the oversized pool that hadn't been used at all
since he and Bri left for college.

As soon as his dad walked through the door,
Stefen noticed the concern on his face.

Pushing himself up on the couch, he asked,
“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” He offered his son a half-hearted
smile, scrunching the side of his mouth. “I know it’s for the best,
and I still insist that you go, but…I'll miss having you
around.”

Stefen was
speechless.
That was
unexpected
.

But the emotion was short lived. Handing
some papers over, his mood switched and his father’s mask was back.
“Here's your agenda for tomorrow. I have everything set up. All
your records have been sent to UCLA Medical Center. It’s about two
hours south of Santa Barbara, but your doctor here has assured me
that their specialists can take care of you better than any other
hospital in the area. They’re expecting a call after you get there
so they can evaluate your care.”

“Thanks, Pop. I really appreciate everything
you’ve done for me.” He’d been dreading bringing this up but really
needed this for himself. “I also want to keep working. I can still
do research for you remotely. Just send me my cases.”

“When the time is right.
Until then, you need to recover completely.” Pointing his finger,
he narrowed his eyes. “And no calling anyone else for work.
Everyone in the office knows that if they send you anything before
I say it’s okay, they’re
out
.”

Stefen didn’t doubt the gravity of this
statement. Alec Hunter had fired employees on the spot for lesser
offenses.

“Fine,” Stefen huffed.

In the worst mood ever, Leah was ready to
call it quits for the day. The bride from hell that she worked for
today, complained about every little detail of the flowers.

The initial meeting should have clued her in
that this woman was out of her ever-loving mind. Her ideas were
absolutely ridiculous, and Leah had tried but failed to talk her
out of them. Now that the bride's vision had come to life, it
looked like a nightmare and she’d hated it all.

There were freaking flamingos roaming around
during the wedding and reception, crapping all over the place for
goodness sakes. The wedding dress was a hideous bright pink
monstrosity that dipped so low in the back, it almost showed her
ass crack, and her boobs were only barely contained.

How she could have her father give her away
at a family event dressed like that was beyond Leah. Then again,
her father seemed all too eager to give his daughter to the groom.
This was one wedding she wished she'd never agreed to and couldn't
wait to forget about.

Completely exhausted, Leah did something she
loved to do at the end of a long day. She threw on her most comfy
jammies, crawled into bed, and flicked on the channel that played
non-stop romance movies. One of her favorite eighties movies,
featuring ‘The Brat Pack’, flashed on the screen just as her phone
rang.

“Hello?” She muted the catchy song blaring
from her TV and moved further down on the bed until she was laying
down.

“Hey, Leah,” she was greeted by a not so
enthusiastic Abby.

Alarmed, she sat back up. “Everything okay?
Isn’t Caleb happy about the baby?”

“Of course. He’s beside himself and can’t
believe I’m pregnant already.” There was a slight pause before Abby
quietly continued. “I’m actually calling about something else,
though. As you know, Caleb’s been trying to convince Stefen to come
back to Santa Barbara for a while now and…”

Stefen? Back here? In my town? In my
life?

Leah’s heart began to beat profusely. She
had a hard time focusing on anything else Abby said.

“…well, he’s coming back tomorrow. I’m sorry
I waited to tell you, but I wasn’t sure how. He really needs family
right now, and we’re it, I guess. Caleb’s going to lay some ground
rules as soon as he’s settled.” There was a long awkward silence.
“I’m so sorry, Leah. This is out of my hands.”

Shocked, Leah sat quietly for a whole
minute. “I don’t know what to say. It’s not your fault, but the
circumstances just suck.” Tightly squeezing her eyes together in an
attempt to keep tears from falling, Leah had to get off of the
phone. “I’m not angry with you Abby, and I know it’s not you, but I
already feel like I’m being shoved out of your life and now the
asshole that broke my heart is weaseling in.”

Abby gasped, “Leah…”

“Don’t. Like I said, I know it’s not your
fault, and he didn’t ask for any of this either, but I need some
time to digest it all. Can we talk later?”

Abby sniffed, her broken voice sounded like
she was holding back her own tears. “Of course. Take the time you
need, but please call me back. If you don’t, then I’m going to call
you because I have no intention of letting you walk away from me.
Just so you know, Caleb would never let that happen either.”

The tears continued to fall. “I have to go.
Talk to you later.” Leah ended the call, then looked up at the
television to find a young couple from different walks of life,
kissing and embracing each other.

A few minutes ago, she wanted to get lost in
a romantic movie, and now couldn’t stomach it. It was all
bullshit—romance, happily ever afters.

Turning off the TV, she threw the remote
across the room, screaming out in frustration.

Why did he ever come here?
And
why
does he
have to come back?

She knew the answer to those questions, but
her heart felt like it was going to burst. Now he would be parked
at her best friend's house indefinitely. How would she avoid him?
What the hell was she going to do?

Both anger and sorrow filled her as she
started to cry into her pillow, just like she'd done before.
Pushing herself up, she grabbed for her phone again. She needed
some time to think things through, and there was no way she’d be
able to do that in the same town that Stefen was in.

I need to get away for a little while.

Fighting her exasperation, she text her
sister, Dani.

Leah:
Coming for a visit tomorrow morning…may stay a few
days.

Dani:
Everything ok?

Leah:
Yep, just need some time away.

Dani:
Will tell Mami. See you soon!

There were only so many tears a
girl could shed for one man, and she’d hit her
quota when it came to Stefen Hunter. She had to do everything in
her power to get over him.

All I have to do now
is convince my heart that it’s possible.

The more Leah thought about it, the more she
looked forward to this little trip away. Not only was she having a
difficult time with the whole Stefen situation, but she was
beginning to realize that her life revolved around Abby’s.

Her best friend was now married, had a new
daughter, and pregnant, while also taking care of an injured house
guest. As much as Abby tried to keep Leah involved, the bottom line
was that she needed to make her own path. She was a grown woman,
and it was about time she looked toward her future.

Her staff was scheduled to run the store for
a week, and she pushed herself not to feel guilty about taking time
away. Paying the extra hours to her employees wasn’t something
she’d budgeted for the month, but for her sanity's sake, she had to
make the sacrifice.

She planned to be back by next weekend,
though, since one of her brides insisted that she attend her
wedding. For the trip, she would need a rental car. Her mini-van
needed to stay behind at the shop for deliveries. The car was
another unwelcome expense, but a necessary one.

She was driving into the San Gabriel Valley,
and the song on the radio got her thinking. The lyrics were about
desires turning to flames and, in the end, someone getting
destroyed by that fire.

After her time with Stefen, she couldn’t
agree more. She still couldn’t understand how she’d fallen for him,
ultimately ending up in bed with him so quickly. As if they were
two wildfires that couldn’t help but combine, flames burning so
powerfully that they had no other option but to consume each other
until they were incinerated.

Genuine, lifelong relationships started out
slowly and built over time. That was what she needed—a guy who
would take his time wooing her, and falling in love with her. Then,
in due time, sweep her off her feet. Any idiot that pushed her for
something she wasn’t ready for would be kicked to the curb.

Parked in front of her mother’s house, she
breathed in the smog-filled, warm summer. She stepped out of the
car and glanced around the neighborhood she grew up in. Everything
looked the same, smelled the same. Even the sounds hadn’t changed.
She'd lived here her entire life and knew every Spanish-style home
and landmark up and down the oak tree-lined street.

She took another deep breath. It felt good
to be back.

Her mom came running out
of the house with open arms. “
Huy!
Mija
, you're here. I’ve missed you since
Abby’s wedding.”

Pulling her into a tight hug, Leah breathed
in the familiar scent of her mother. Herbs and spices. When her mom
worked in the garden, she always came in smelling like whichever
plant she’d been tending.

Releasing Leah, she gave her daughter a
traditional kiss on her cheek.

Leah looked up with somber eyes. “I missed
you, too. Sorry I didn’t come sooner. Work’s been hectic.” She
wasn’t about to mention the gorgeous Italian guy that had taken up
a lot of that time several weeks ago.

“
Estas buen
?” Leah’s mom eyed her
suspiciously. In her infinite wisdom, she’d caught that something
was off.

“Yeah,
Mami
. I’m fine. Just tired.”
Leah offered her best faux smile.

Up on the covered front porch, she wasn’t
surprised to find her oldest sister, Elena, arms crossed, wearing
her standard sour expression. Her niece and nephew were dressed in
bathing suits, running around the front yard.

The stairs on the porch were drenched,
forcing Leah to walk carefully so she didn’t slip in her heeled
sandals.
The kids must’ve been playing with the hose in the
front yard.

Leah glanced at Elena, waiting for her
standard retort. Ever since Leah had moved north to her beach town,
Elena acted like Leah thought she was too good for everyone.

Sure enough, Elena lifted
her eyebrow. “What brings you down to the
barrio
?”

It was ridiculous. Alhambra was far from
being a ghetto, and Leah didn’t look down at her childhood town.
Elena’s snide comments made no sense, but there was nothing she
could do to stop her.

Leah threw it back. “What’s it to you, Mrs.
San Marino?” Leah referred to the very affluent town that Elena
lived in with her children and absentee husband. “I'm taking some
time off of work to hang out with the
familia
, that’s all.”
She ruffled her nephew’s hair who’d run up and given her a very wet
hug. “Where’s Dani?”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Of course you’re
going to ask for her right away. None of us are good enough for
you.”

“Are you really going to start already? I
haven’t even stepped foot in
Mami’s
door and you’re on me.”
Take a breath, Leah. You’ve got enough to be
pissed about.

Leah stormed into the house, not wanting to
fight in front of the kids. They’d seen this too many times. Enough
was enough. She was here to relax.