An Exceptional Twist (41 page)

Wait, he was dreaming about me?

That made her feel even worse as she stepped
toward him. She wanted to be the balm for his fears, not the
cause.

Jumping out of bed, he pulled at her waist,
fell to his knees, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so
tightly, she could barely breathe. He wept violently into her
chest, drenching her tank top.

Seeing him fall apart was devastating. No
matter how she fought it, her own tears began to fall as she ran
her hands through his hair, bending forward to kiss the top of his
head. This was a side of him she never thought she’d see—weeping
and vulnerable. Though she was sure he’d regret it in the
morning.

Releasing her, Stefen rubbed his wet eyes
with his knuckles, filled with desperation as he looked up at her.
“Stay with me? Just for a little bit? Please?”

Pulling him toward her once more, she rubbed
his upper back. “Of course.” Looking up, she attempted to hide her
own tears, but her sniffing gave her away.

Standing up, he pulled her by the hand
toward the bed. He slid to the other end, making room for her to
climb in. As she laid down, he snaked his arm under her body,
pressing her head to his bare chest.

She could hear his heart beating viciously,
and her heart broke into a million pieces once more. She wrapped
her arms around his stomach and felt his muscles constrict before
he relaxed into the light caress of her fingertips against his
chest.

As he dozed off, she heard him whisper,
“This feels right. Thank you. For staying.”

Under different circumstance, feeling his
skin and their minimal thin clothing between them would’ve made her
mind wander and her body pound with desire. Tonight however, she
couldn’t deny what Stefen had said—this did feel right. Like they
were two separate fragments that fit perfectly together.

She was beginning to
wonder,
why can’t this be our
reality?

Stefen woke up the next morning with Leah
wrapped in his arms, underneath him. Sometime in the middle of the
night, he’d laid on top of her, practically smothering her.
Wincing, he began to remember bits and pieces of last night. His
nightmare, Leah waking him…him bawling like a damn baby.

He’d shown her how weak he was, and he
didn’t know how uncomfortable things would be between them once she
woke up. Although he didn’t want to wake her to find them together
like this, he couldn’t help but savor the moment.

This was what he’d given up.

I’m such a selfish jackass.

As always, she was breathtaking, almost
smiling as she dreamed.

When she began to stir under him, he decided
to get out of bed before she did. Slipping out from under the
covers, he put on a T-shirt, pajama pants, then stepped out of the
room.

Downstairs, his cell phone rang. He forgot
he left it in the living room. The caller ID said that it was his
father, along with the last ten missed calls.

“Hey, Pop,” he answered casually. “How’s it
going?”

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all
morning.” He sounded excited. “I have some incredible news. We
finally got all of the proof we need. Now we can finish convicting
Delgado and his two thugs. This nightmare is finally over.”

Stefen was happy about this news, but for
him, the nightmares were not over. After last night, he was sure
they wouldn't be over any time soon. He would never tell his dad,
though. It was bad enough that Leah had witnessed it.

He moved into the kitchen to begin breakfast
and brew some coffee. “That's great. Thanks, Pop. I know how much
work you put into this.”

“Of course, son. Taking care of my family is
my job, and I feel responsible since I forwarded that case to you.
I'm just thankful that we finally got one of his punks to point
fingers. They had the guy on something else. They offered him a
crazy deal, but it was worth it, and now we've got Delgado.” There
was a slight pause. Even with the fantastic news, his dad sounded a
bit sad. “So have you decided what you’re going to do now that your
furnishings and car have been sold? Are you staying in Santa
Barbara, after all?”

He prepared the coffee machine and switched
it on. “Yeah, I'm staying. I really like it here, and I
have…friends. I already met with a real estate agent. I was also
thinking about either opening my own firm, much smaller of course,
or just doing contract work. I don't have concrete plans on that
part yet.”

He wanted to address one of his dad’s
comments, but felt strange. They didn’t have discussions like
this.

Taking a breath, Stefen decided to go for it
as he started breakfast. “And, Pop, you aren’t responsible for
Delgado. For what happened. You gave me a case. That was all. Don’t
hold onto that guilt. And it all worked out. It ended up being
exactly what I needed to refocus, and it gave me this new
opportunity.”

There was dead silence for a few minutes.
“Thank you for that. I’ve been kicking myself for giving you that
freaking case. I should’ve taken it myself.” His dad choked up.

This was uncharted territory. He’d never had
this type of conversation with his father before. “Well, don’t let
it weigh you down. If it were you, I probably would’ve taken the
law into my own hands. So everything is as it should have
been.”

Again, silence. Then his father cleared his
throat. Was he crying? “Let me know what you decide about work, and
I'll support you. We can open a branch out there, or you can open
your own. In the meantime, if you want any contract work now, we've
got plenty I can send you.” The deep inhale gave his father
away.

Stefen would honor his silent request of not
talking about it any further. “That would be great. I've been going
out of my mind. The break has been nice, but you know how much I
thrive on work. Give me another week and send me what you've got.
I’m also going to work on getting my license here in
California.”

“I'll get some things sent out to you, and
you can start working on them whenever you can.” The serious
business-like demeanor was back.

“Thanks again, Pops.” He smiled before
hanging up.

Leah opened her eyes when she heard the
bedroom door close. She looked around, suddenly remembering
everything about last night. Relieved, she let out a sigh when she
saw that he was no longer next to her…or on top of her, radiating
his body heat.

He was so hot. Literally, it was like having
a polar bear laying on top of you on the hottest day of summer.

She didn’t believe he’d take advantage, but
it would’ve been so awkward to face him if they’d woken up together
wearing nothing more than their underwear. She got up, made his
bed, then headed into her room. After throwing on some casual
clothes and putting her long hair in a ponytail, she traipsed down
to the kitchen to make breakfast.

She was surprised to find Stefen already in
the kitchen, making eggs. He’d just said goodbye to someone on his
cell and put it down on the counter.

“Good morning.” She stood by the entryway,
her fingers laced in front of her, unsure of how he would be
feeling this morning.

Turning to face her, he appeared to be in a
great mood. “Good morning. How do you like your eggs?” There was
something different in his eyes this morning, and she literally
felt her heart skip a beat.

His eyes danced along with his full-mouthed
grin. He looked genuinely happy. She was worried for nothing.

“Uh, not burnt,” she teased, nervously
pointing to the pan of crackling eggs and bacon.

He quickly flipped the eggs before they had
a chance to burn. “I've gotten better at the whole cooking thing. I
try not to completely depend on Abby. Poor thing is so sick all the
time.”

She pulled up a chair. “By the way, how did
your physical therapy go yesterday?” If he was going to avoid the
subject of last night, then surely she could. For now, at
least.

“It went well. I like the new doctor out
here.” A grand smile broke out when he shared the next thing. “I
can pick up heavier things now, but as you saw yesterday, I still
have a long road ahead of me.” He rotated his shoulder forward and
back. The tight undershirt he was wearing gave her a full view of
the muscles in his arm, his shoulders flexing. “I only have one
more operation on my eye, and I should be back to normal soon. Out
of everyone's hair.”

“That's great, Stefen. I'm so happy for you.
But you know you’re not a bother.” She shifted on the seat as she
watched him cook in his PJs.

Something else hit her.
Now that he was almost fully healed, he wouldn’t need her
anymore.
Will he want me around at
all?
Since his back was to her as he
plated their food, Stefen didn’t catch her in deep
thought.

“I keep hearing that, but I still don't get
it. I've never had anyone take care of me unless they were paid to.
Abby, Caleb, and you have sacrificed so much to make sure I'm
fine.” Turning to face her, he asked, “Why? Why do you do it?”

“It's what people are supposed to do. Help
your fellow man and all.” She waved her arms in the air. “We
weren't put on this earth to live and survive on our own. We take
care of each other. Wouldn't you do the same for any of us?”

He’d changed a lot in the last couple
months, but maybe he wouldn’t make that sacrifice.

“Honestly, before all of this happened I
would have said 'no way'. I might pay someone, but I wouldn't do it
myself. Now? Absolutely.” He placed a plate with eggs and bacon in
front of her at the breakfast bar, then joined her with his
own.

“I've never known any other way. It's the
way things are supposed to be.”

“I'm starting to get that.” Taking a small
bite of his food, he glanced over at her while she enjoyed her
breakfast. He took a deep breath, then puffed it out before taking
another bite.

“Everything all right?” She leaned over her
plate and took another bite.

His leg began to bounce, and she knew that
as a telltale sign that he was nervous about something. Leaving his
fork on his plate, he turned his chair to face her. “I'm just going
to say it. I'll probably screw this up because I've never done this
before, but…Leah, I'm sorry. Will you forgive me? I was such a
prick. I can't believe it myself. You’ve become…important to me,
and I just can’t have this between us anymore.” He moved his hands
back and forth between them.

Leah was stunned. This was not at all the
awkward conversation she was expecting.

He shook his head, looking remorseful, then
he chuckled to himself. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but
Leah, you are the best ‘girl’ friend I’ve ever had.” He separated
the words to make sure there was no confusion. “You’re amazing, and
I just can't imagine my life without you. There’s no excuse, but
honestly, you scared the shit out of me before. As destructive as
it was, I acted out the only way I knew how. Can you please forgive
me?” He pleaded with his eyes as he reached out for her hands.

She stared at him, not knowing how to react.
She was thrilled that he was answering questions that had plagued
her for weeks. He did want her around. Now and after he was back to
his normal, cocky self.

But the apology? She had no idea how much
she’d needed that. How had they gotten this far with no resolution?
They’d only swept it under the rug, ignoring the real issue.

“I've already forgiven you, Stefen.” She
squeezed his hands. “I don’t need to rehash it all, but you have to
hear my side.”

She paused a moment and took a deep breath.
“I willingly gave you something that I can never take back, and you
broke my heart. I’ve never felt like such trash or so inferior in
my life. You knocked my self-confidence down and shattered my
spirit.”