An Exceptional Twist (4 page)

“Where are you
from?”
Why am I asking personal
questions?  Do I really want to know? 

She glanced over at him. “I was born and
raised in Alhambra, California.”  

“Where’s that?” he asked, never having heard
of the city before.

“It's just south of
Pasadena.”  She switched on her blinker to turn left.

“Pasadena is where the Rose Parade is,
right?”  Pasadena he’d heard of.  

He would never admit it,
but one of his favorite lines came from the chick
flick, 
Blast from the
Past
.  Holding in a laugh, he
recited the line in his mind about girls from Pasadena seeming a
little bit nicer. 

“Yeah, we used to go every year when my
father was alive.”  She sucked in a sharp breath, giving
him a quick look while they were stopped at a red light.

Stefen watched as she
worried her bottom lip.
Maybe she’s upset
at herself for saying too much?
Vulnerability shone in Leah’s now watery eyes and the need to
soothe her sadness chipped away at him.

Cautiously, he reached out and put his hand
over hers. “I bet he was a great man. He must’ve been to create a
daughter like you.” Although it sounded like a line, he actually
meant it.

A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she
pulled her hand out from under his to wipe it away. “He was the
best,” she said sadly. “A police officer. He died in the line of
duty when I was twelve.”

 ”That's
tough.” At a loss for words, he just
nodded. 
What do you say after
that?

 ”It was pretty awful.” She
sniffled.  “I’m the youngest of three, and we were all
total daddy's girls.  After that, my mom had to work even
harder to support us.  She only works part time now
because my sister and I give her money every month. We would love
for her to take it easier and enjoy life.”

He had to give her props for helping support
her mother. “That's really considerate of you. What does your
mom do?”  

A smile came over her face, some of that
sadness washing away. ”She's a nurse.  My sister
Dani, you know,” she jutted her chin at him, irritated, “the one
you danced with last night. She still lives with her. She’s also a
nurse.”

He couldn't hide his
smile. She was still pissed about that dance.
Why?

Huffing, she continued, “My oldest
sister, Elena, is a stay-at-home mom and lives a couple
blocks from them.  She’s seven years older, and we’re not
as close.” Her cute little nose wrinkled up. “Plus, she just has a
bad attitude in general.”

 Stefen began to feel a little
uncomfortable as she shared her personal information. He
sighed quietly with relief when they pulled into the parking lot
for Whole Foods Market.  “Perfect.  I was
hoping you had one of these here.”

 ”Abby and I shop here, Trader Joe's,
and Sprouts for the most part.  We normally hit the
farmer's market on Sunday afternoons, too.”  Seemingly
hesitant, she added, “You’re welcome to come with me after we’re
done here.”

“Sounds good to me.”  Pulling the
phone out of his pocket, he added, “I kind of picked up how to
get here, but let me put the address in my
navigator.”  He started plugging the info into his
Samsung Smartphone.

 Leah watched Stefen shop, noting that
he didn't look at any prices before putting items directly in his
cart. She could never do that. The sale paper was the first thing
she picked up on her way into the store and, for the most part, she
bought store brand goods.

It was probably because she had learned to
be frugal from her single mom. Grateful that she wasn't doing any
of her bargain shopping today, she picked up the items he mentioned
needing as he rambled on about how much he enjoyed this store
because of its high quality products.  She felt the same
way, but when he said it, the words just sounded
arrogant. 

As they strolled toward the check-out line,
Stefen asked, “Aren't you getting anything?”  

Nice of you to notice after we’ve
already gone through the entire store.

 ”Nah, I was here a few days ago.” As
soon as she leaned down for his items in the cart, he touched her
elbow and motioned for her to step aside.  She shivered
from his light caress.  

Taking a quick peek at
him, she thought,
hijo de puta— I hope he
didn’t notice that
.  

The sly grin on his mouth said that he had.
Then he proceeded to pick up one item at a time before gently
placing each on the check-out belt. 

Seriously?
She tried not to laugh at him. They were just
groceries.  

 ”It’s not too busy today, but I'll
have to remember to come during the week next time.” Stefen swiped
his credit card on the machine after greeting the check-out clerk
with his killer smile.  

Leah caught the girl at
the register melting.  
Oh
brother, am I going to have to put up with other girls gawking at
him today?  How nauseating.

 In the parking lot, Leah pushed the
button on her remote to open the back of her van. She pulled
her cooler bags out from a hidden compartment and unzipped them.
“Put the frozen and refrigerated items in these.  I
already have ice packs keeping the bags cold.”

 Stefen raised an eyebrow, transferring
the things that needed to remain cold into the bags. “You think of
everything don't you?”

 Shaking her head,
she pursed her lips and sighed. “No, if I thought of everything, I
would’ve remembered to bring the bags
into
the store.” Leah shimmied past
him to return the cart, and then hopped into the driver's
side. 

On the way to the farmer’s market, she
thought about how much her life had changed recently.

 “Are you okay?” Stefen
asked. ”You seem down all of a sudden.”

 “Yeah.  It just hit me how
different my weekends will be now that Abby’s
married.  We've done everything together since
college.  It’s just going to be…really weird.”

I can’t believe I’m having
this revelation right now. You’re opening yourself up too much to
him.
She tried to hide just how much this
troubled her as they pulled into a parking space.

 “She isn't dead, Leah,” he reminded
her. “Only married. Oh, wait a minute. I guess that's kind of the
same thing.” He smirked.

 She gasped, pulling her key out of the
ignition.  “What? You don't believe in marriage?”

Wait, this isn’t news.

 “It’s not for me at all.” He shook his
head vigorously. ”I can’t imagine being stuck with the same
person for the rest of my life.  Way too monotonous.” He
smiled widely as though this statement was charming.

Really?
Is that what he thought women wanted to
hear?

“Well I'm planning on getting married
someday,” she told him defiantly.  “I'm just waiting for
the right guy.  Besides, marriage isn’t being stuck with
the same person. It's about constantly wowing the one you’ve chosen
so it doesn't get stale.  It’s about being with someone
who wows you back.  It truly is a beautiful thing.” She
couldn’t wait for her turn to come and imagined there was a little
twinkle in her eye as she spoke.

 ”You do know that Prince Charming is
a fairy tale character, don't you?” He
snickered.  

What a jerk!  Extremely hot,
but still a jerk.

 Leah shook her head.
“I'm not looking for the perfect guy,
Stefen.  I know there's no such thing.  I just
want 
my
 perfect guy.  He's just as flawed as I am,
but we'll love each other in spite of our
faults.”  

He rolled his eyes
again.
Asshole.

She got out and grabbed her market baskets,
not caring at this point if he followed.  Once he finally
joined her, she handed him one of the woven baskets and allowed him
to close the hatch back.  A smile involuntarily broke out
on her face as they walked up to all the fresh fruits and veggie
stands. This was one of her happy places. 

She felt Stefen's eyes on her when she
picked up a tomato and smelled it at the cut stem. ”What?”
Their eyes met as she sniffed the piece of aromatic fruit.

 ”You’ve smelled everything before
putting it in your basket.”  

She lifted a brow, as if
to say,
and?
Then
she smiled. ”There’s something magical about the smell of
fresh produce.  I can imagine what dishes I’ll make just by
smelling them.” She bounced a little on the balls of her flip
flop-covered feet, not concerned what his opinion
was.

 His well-groomed eyebrows raised.
“That's weird.”

 ”No, it's not. Here, sniff
these.”  Handing him a tomato, fresh basil, and a bulb of
garlic, she asked, “What do you smell?”

He shrugged. ”Tomato, basil, and
garlic.”

Yanking them away, she lifted them up to her
nose again. Then she closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, similar to
the way she’d smelled him just hours before. “I smell
bruschetta.  I can almost taste it.”  Her mouth
watered, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the thought of eating
bruschetta or from her memory of his scent.

 His loud laugh almost startled her.
“Are you for real?  I've never met someone who does
that.”

She frowned defensively.  “Abby
does it, too.  We smell everything here, then talk about
which dishes we'll make.  We've even thought about
creating our own garden.”  Leah pursed her lips in a
pout, regretting it instantly when his eyes landed on her lips.

Swallowing hard, he spoke directly to her
mouth.  “How about you come over for dinner
tonight?  I’ll grill those steaks I just bought, and you
can make that bruschetta, so I can taste what you’re talking
about?” His eyes met hers once more.

 It was probably a bad idea to spend
any more time with him today, but she was determined to prove that
her bruschetta would taste killer. As a bonus, she would get to
stare at him a little longer. “Okay, but no more calling me
odd while I smell my way through this place.” She held her head
high. “Deal?”

 ”Deal,” he chuckled.

 Stefen turned the grill on as he
waited for Leah.  She’d dropped him off hours before,
saying that she had to take care of a few things before coming over
for dinner.  

There was something about
this girl. She was a bit quirky at times, but actually
had
a personality. He
was going to have a hard time moving on to his normal ditzy blondes
when he got home.
I’ll worry about that
when the time comes.
 

Their afternoon together was
enjoyable. Not the driving around in her van part, but their
conversation was easy and comfortable.

She didn't seem to be expecting anything
from him, and he definitely wasn't used to
that.  Everyone wanted something from him.  It
seemed like she just honestly enjoyed his company. The flirting
didn’t hurt.  It was kind of sweet and
innocent.  He could tell she was no saint, but he didn't
mind her playing the role.

Taking a minute to
appreciate his surroundings, Stefen leaned on the chest-high
backyard fence.
Damn, Caleb lucked out
when he bought this house.
The ocean view
alone was worth the hefty price. Stefen’s apartment overlooked Lake
Michigan, but nothing beat a view like this.

 The steaks had been marinating in the
fridge for an hour. He headed inside to get them when he heard a
knock.  Answering the door, Leah gawked unabashedly at
his bare chest, and he realized that he’d forgot to put a shirt on
after his swim earlier.