An Exceptional Twist (3 page)

Bri was the female carbon copy of Stefen.
They both shared the same hazel eyes, slender nose and full,
defined lips. Although she was two years younger than him, people
always mistook them for twins. “We’ll head out about a half-hour
after the bride and groom drive off into the moonlight.” She sighed
dreamily. “Dani’s car is already packed and ready to go.” Bri
grinned up at him, her excitement obvious. She loved to travel.

“I really wish you’d wait until the
morning.” He worried about her, far more than any brother should
have to. It had been this way their entire lives since their
parents decided to treat them like they didn’t exist. He nodded
toward Abby and Leah hugging. “Looks like the time has come.”

Bri kissed him on the cheek, then darted
toward the women. Joining the mob in the driveway, Stefen watched
Caleb kiss his wife and lead her into the limo. He’d sensed the
nervous excitement the pair gave off all evening and still couldn’t
believe Caleb and Abby hadn’t screwed yet. That was just
insane.

Who waits until they get married to have sex
nowadays?

The jealousy that shot through his body
surprised him. Caleb was one lucky bastard to find and marry such a
beautiful girl. Not that Stefen was envious of the whole ‘till
death do you part’ element, but he did find himself craving the
contentment his cousin had found.

Caleb glanced at him,
waved, then shot a pleading look that spoke volumes. Irritation
weaved through Stefen once again. He clenched and unclenched his
hands to relieve the ache, digging his short nails into his palms
to keep from using his fists on Caleb instead.
Does he really think I’m not good enough for Abby's prized
friend?

Fuming, he headed back to the reception as
the limo pulled away. A few minutes later, he looked at his watch
and realized that there was still another hour to go. He
contemplated heading inside the house when he noticed Leah and her
sister staring at him.

Leah made eye contact, shaking her head ‘no’
in response to something her sister said.

Thinking on the fly, he had an idea he hoped
would earn him some brownie points with Leah. With a forced humble
smirk, he walked up to Leah’s sister and held out his hand. “May I
have this dance?”

He was pretty sure this girl wasn’t used to
good-looking guys asking her to dance. Like Leah, she had brown
eyes, a beautiful face and full hips, but she could stand to lose a
couple of pounds.

The voluptuous woman looked up, surprised.
She threw a glance at Leah, whose mouth was wide open. Not quite
the reaction he expected, but he'd work with it.

“Um...sure?” she replied, uncertain. “Bri
and I are leaving in a bit, but I have time for one quick dance.”
She was still looking at Leah as Stefen led her to the dance
floor.

For permission?

Did that mean Leah felt she had some claim
to him? The thought intrigued him. And surely Leah would think he
was a nice guy now. But when he glanced back, she was glaring at
him.

What the…? There’s no way Leah thinks I’m
actually attracted to her sister. I can’t even remember her damn
name.

Now that he had her on the dance floor, he
was regretting this shitty decision. Holding Dani wasn’t nearly as
fun as holding Leah.

His scheme had backfired, and he sighed
inwardly. As soon as the song ended, he respectfully thanked her
and went on his way. Calling it a night, he walked over to Leah and
announced, “I'm turning in now. I'll see you tomorrow morning?”

She wouldn’t look him in the eye. Was she
avoiding him? “Yeah, see you then.” The sour expression never left
her face.

Pleased, he
thought,
well, at least I have some kind
of effect on her.

Leah pulled up to Abby’s new home just
before nine-thirty the next morning with a bag full of pancake
ingredients.  Using the key Abby had given her, she let
herself in and headed toward the kitchen, calling out, “Stefen,
it’s Leah. I'm here.”  She set the bag on the counter,
removing its contents.

She was still a little bugged by Stefen’s
behavior the night before, but came to the conclusion that he was
just a flirt and would act the same with just about any
girl.  Though, Dani said that he hadn’t taken his eyes
off of Leah when they were dancing.  

It didn't matter anyway.  He was
only going to be in Santa Barbara for a while longer, and it wasn't
worth the grief that would surely come if she started anything with
him.  Leah would show him around town today, then he was
on his own.

 Footsteps sounded
from the wooden stairs. She peered in that direction to find Stefen
rubbing his wet hair with a towel. 
Oh
my
… He was barefoot, shirtless, and the
way he wore a pair of low hanging jeans would bring any girl
to her knees.

It almost has for me.

“Hey, Leah.” Her head snapped up at the
mention of her name, and he greeted her with a smile. “What do you
have there?” Hanging the towel around the back of his neck, he
leaned over her to see what she’d brought. Her body tingled as he
brushed against her.  

Oh, he smells so good, clean and
masculine.

Turning, she spoke directly to his sculpted
chest that was dusted with just the right amount of
hair.  “Uh...stuff to make pa—pancakes.” Her breathy
voice tapered off as she inhaled deeply, her eyes rolling
back.  She was embarrassing herself but just couldn't
stop breathing him in.  At least she was able to hold
back the moan that threatened to escape.

A laugh rumbled deep within his chest, and
Leah broke from her trance, meeting a pair of stunning hazel
eyes.  They were just as breathtaking as the rest of
him.  

Stefen reached around and picked up her
phone off of the counter, shifting her attention.

Curious, Leah gave him a questioning look.
“What’re you doing?”

He smirked while passing it back to her. “I
thought you might like to take a photo, so you can enjoy it
later.”

 Playfully, she smacked him on the
chest. “Funny. I’m fine though, thanks.”

She didn’t need a picture to have that
beautiful image burned into her mind. Her hand still hovered over
his bare skin, and she forced herself to move it away as she spun
around to continue unpacking. “I hope you like pancakes.” Keeping
her voice light, she squeezed her eyes shut and discreetly smelled
him once more.  

Food.  Talk about
food.  That will keep my mind off of the half-dressed,
mouthwatering guy behind me.

 ”I love pancakes. Thanks,
Leah.”  Heat radiated off of his body as he stepped
closer. “Are you okay?  You look a little
flustered.” 

 She scowled over her
shoulder and met his cocky grin.  
He’s deliberately trying to get a rise out of
me
.  

Leah diverted her attention back to the
breakfast.  “I'm fine.”  With her back still
facing him, she wiggled her fingers, motioning for him to go
upstairs.  “Go finish getting dressed while I throw
breakfast together.” It wasn’t an order, but she hoped he’d
listen.

He didn’t. He leaned in even closer, his
hands resting on either side of her against the counter, his voice
full of amusement. “Why? Do I make you uncomfortable?”

Leah held her breath, her senses on high
alert. Her pulse raced as he lightly grazed her arms, but he
instantly took a step back. She could hear the pads of his
fingertips trailing across his chest. Anticipation for something
more burned through her entire body. 

Man, I wish that was my
hand.  Wait, what the hell am I thinking? That can never
happen.
Mentally slapping herself, Leah
wished he would give her some space. 

Shifting toward her again, his warm breath
tickled her neck. She gulped, anxiously stepping away from him as
she started banging cupboards open and closed in search of a pan.
“No, I just figured you would want to be fully dressed when the
cleaning crew got here.” Her stomach filled with butterflies, which
irritated the hell out of her. 

He stared at her for a moment, frowning. He
seemed hesitant to speak, before finally exhaling and gazing at the
stairs. “Fine. I'll be right back.”  

Once he finally walked away, she grabbed the
counter for support. She would need to keep her
distance.  They could be friends.  There was no
shame in enjoying the fact that he was nice to look at, but that
was as far as it could go. He was an expert player, and she
would not put herself through inevitable
heartache.  

“What kind of car is this?” Stefen asked,
unable to hide the look of disgust on his face.

The cleanup crew had already finished, and
now Leah and Stefen were headed out to the market. The click
of the doors unlocking sounded as she answered defensively,
“It’s a minivan.  I use it to make deliveries.”

“I have the keys to Caleb’s Range. We can
take that instead.” He waited, expecting her to jump at the chance
to be driven around in the luxury SUV.

The passenger window rolled down as she sat
in the driver’s seat and raised an eyebrow in defiance. “Nope,” she
answered cheekily. “I’ll drive so you can look around.”

She smiled playfully at him, triggering a
desire to jump in and kiss it right off of her. After all, he
needed to make sure she knew who was running the show here.

Damn,
he groaned inwardly as he got in. This was a bad
idea.

Sliding into the uncomfortable cloth covered
sponge-like seat, he snuck a peek behind him. There weren’t any
seats back there. Taking a closer look, he noticed that panels
covered the area, and he imagined the seats were most likely folded
and stored in a compartment beneath them.

“What do you deliver?”

 ”I own a flower shop.  I
designed Abby and Caleb’s floral arrangements.” She beamed with
pride.

So this piece of shit is
for work
. He sat back, relieved. “Oh, what
else do you drive?”

 ”This is it.  There’s only
one of me. I don't need anything else.”

 He frowned. Why would anyone
voluntarily drive this thing around town?  It was a damn
minivan.  He thought only soccer moms drove these. “All
right then.” He faced forward, and she started it
up.  Hip hop music blared through the speakers.

 ”Sorry,” she said self-consciously,
turning the music down, then grinned to herself as if she’d just
been caught moving her body to the beat while holding onto a
stripper pole.

Now that I’d like to see.

He wasn’t a hip hop fan, but it was kind of
adorable that she listened to it. Her guilty smile was even cuter.
Small and shy, it lit up her face. Her delight was palpable and
made him want to probe further. The lust he felt was familiar, but
actually being intrigued by a woman for more than sex, that was
something new.

 ”Who is that?”  He’d been to
plenty of clubs before that primarily played hip hop, but he
preferred something more sophisticated.

“J Lo, of course.”  She shook her
head like it was obvious.

Annoyed, he rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he
sighed then turned to peer out the passenger window.

 
Leah is so different from any other
woman I’ve ever met.
.  
She’s unpretentious,
all-natural, and sexy as hell.
Typically, he surrounded himself
with women whose personalities were as fake as their body parts.
There was never an afterthought about them once he left. He
wondered how easy it would be to leave Leah once he was done with
her.

He still couldn’t believe he
was sitting in her freaking minivan.  

Making small talk, he asked, “So where did
you and Abby meet?”   

 ”In college,” she replied, her tone
nostalgic. ”She started mid-freshman year. I was so
thankful when I came back from Christmas break to find her as my
new roommate.  The one before her was literally a witch.
She was so strange, and I just knew she was putting curses on me.”
Leah laughed at Stefen’s wide eyes. “It’s true. Anyway, Abby
and I hit it off right away.  She was a little less
chipper back then, but we had a lot of fun together.”