An Exceptional Twist (52 page)

Moving her head from side to side, Dani
asked, “Are you crazy, girl? We’re in L.A. He could have a
gun.”

“Dani,” Leah giggled. “It’s Santa Barbara.
People don't normally wave guns out here.”

Ten minutes later, they pulled into
Zachary's vineyard.

Stefen was answering texts from all the
family traveling behind. “Go over there and drive all the way to
the back.” He directed them around toward the dirt road on the
left. “That's where his house is.”

Buddy, Zachary's dog, came running up to
them as they parked. Stefen noticed that the Porsche his sister had
been racing was parked close by.

He opened Leah's door, getting her attention
and pointing with his eyes to the other car. “This ought to be
interesting.”

Leah raised her eyebrows, and whispered,
“What was that about anyway?”

He shrugged. “No idea, but I have a feeling
we’re about to find out.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and led
her toward the front door. His sister was still in the car, fussing
over her make-up when everyone else pulled in. It was amazing the
caravan of family members were able to keep up a decent pace behind
Speed Racer.

Zachary stepped out to greet them. “Hey,
how’s it going? I'm so glad you all could make it.” He offered a
friendly smile.

After greeting each other, Stefen asked,
“Hey who does that Porsche belong to?”

“My cousin, Josh. He’s hanging out with us
today. Hope you don't mind.”

“Not at all but, just so you know, he and my
sister, Mario Andretti over there, just did some drag racing down
the one-fifty-four. I don't know that they’ll be on friendly
terms.”

Zachary laughed out loud. “Well, this should
be fun.” He hugged and kissed Leah on the cheek. “How are you
doing?”

A small smile appeared on her lips. “Great.
Looking forward to today.”

It will be even better when we’re alone and
finally get to talk.

Even though they were friends with Zachary,
it bugged him when any other guy touched her. He could hear his
sister huffing behind him, which meant that she also saw the car
parked in front. Everyone else came up at the same time.
Introductions were made, but the only one that caught his eye was
the interaction between Zachary and Dani.

Leah pointed it out with those beautiful
lips of hers, then whispered in his ear, “Look at Dani. She is
totally blushing. I haven't ever seen her blush before.”

Stefen rolled his
eyes.
Here she goes with that matchmaking
again.

But when he turned to see what she was
talking about, he had to agree. “Zachary seems to notice, too. Look
at him watching her.”

Leah and Stefen stood so close that their
chests were touching.

Peeking past Leah's' shoulder, he caught his
mom fuming past them, giving him the stare down. He backed away,
not wanting her to cause a scene. He didn't need her hassling him
about this.

Leah looked at him with a
mix of pity and irritation, and his stomach churned.
I never want to see that look on her face
again.

Narrowing her eyes, she snapped, “Mommy
doesn't like you talking to the help, huh? Old habits die hard,
Stefen.” She attempted to walk inside where everyone else had gone,
but he held her arms and pulled her back.

“Please don't do that. You know what you
mean to me. I just don't want to deal with her today.”

“Careful, Stefen, Mommy Dearest might see
you again.” She swallowed hard, then spun around and walked away
before he could say anything further.

And now his mom was
stalking toward him again.
Fan-fucking-tastic
.

“Stefen, would you please
keep your hands off of
that
girl?” She dusted the lint off of his shoulder.
“I've been with you for less than twenty-four hours now, and you
can't seem to stop touching her. You swore to me yesterday that you
didn't have anything going on with her, but I’m starting to think
you’re lying.” She stood up straight, her arms across her
chest.

“Mom,” he groaned, closing his eyes. “Please
don't start.” He didn’t have the balls to tell his overbearing
mother that he was in love with Leah.

What the hell is wrong with me?

They made their way through the large
Tuscan-style home and into the huge backyard. The large space was
filled with lush greenery and flowers, and a couple of long tables
were set-up inside of a rustic gazebo.

Zachary introduced his cousin, Josh, to
everyone once Leah joined the group.

“I remember you,” Stefen said as he stepped
up to Leah’s side, placing his arm around her waist again. When she
didn’t pull away, he stayed put. Stefen turned to his sister and
motioned back and forth between them. “Bri, didn't you guys hang
out in New York?”

She sneered over her shoulder. “Absolutely
not.”

Josh looked as though he was trying to place
her.

“I remember seeing a picture of you guys
together in one of those magazines.” He turned back. “You're Josh
Tucker, the actor, right?”

Josh didn’t seem thrilled that he was
recognized, but nodded anyway. “It was a long time ago. I don’t act
anymore.”

“We were just in the same crowd,” Bri said
without looking at Josh.

“Really? When?” Josh’s face said that he had
no idea who Bri was.

Stefen glanced at his sister. If looks could
kill, Josh would be face down on the grass.

“Doesn't matter. Like you
said, it was a
very
long time ago.” Bri turned with a huff, and Josh shrugged his
shoulders, evidently not interested in pursuing it.

Stefen would have to ask her about this
later, when they were alone and she wasn’t all pissed off.

Extending his hand, Stefen introduced
himself. “Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Stefen and that stubborn
girl over there is my sister, Bri.”

Josh looked down, shrugged, then shook
Stefen’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Your sister and I already made
eye contact when she gave me the finger.” One side of Josh's mouth
lifted up into a smirk, then he took a swig of his drink.

Bri, who was still within ear shot, flipped
her hair over her shoulder and glared at him.

Leaning in, Josh whispered, “I have a
feeling I wasn't very nice to her in my previous life, but I don't
remember. I wasn’t nice to many people back then.”

Abby held her belly fondly as she and Caleb
approached. “I thought you looked familiar,” Abby said, smiling ear
to ear.

Stefen took another look at Josh to gauge
his reaction. This guy didn’t look as though he wanted to be
recognized as the teenage actor he once was.

“It was a lifetime ago. I
live out here on my horse ranch now, far from Hollywood and that
lifestyle,” he raised his eyebrows, “
on
purpose
.”

“Oh, well I enjoyed your movies when they
were out.” Abby smiled at Josh as Caleb wrapped his arms around
her.

Zachary raised his hands, then rubbed them
together, addressing the large group. “I have to warn everyone. I
love to cook for a crowd. I prepared a traditional Spanish Paella
here with shrimp, sausage, and chicken.” He pointed to the table
filled with platters of food. “There’s also a vegetarian version
with artichokes, mushrooms, peas, and green olives, as well as a
salad, lots of bread with olive tapenade and plenty of drinks. Help
yourself and please enjoy. Let me know if you need anything
else.”

The food smelled exquisite, and Stefen was
starving. Coffee was the only substance burning a hole through his
stomach.

Filling his plate with food, he purposely
sat next to Leah to prove a point. He really didn't care what his
mother thought. He wanted Leah to know he was choosing her. The
only reason he’d backed down earlier was because he didn't want to
deal with the shitstorm his mom tended to throw when she didn’t get
her way.

“Don't sit too close,” Leah teased, but he
could tell her feelings were hurt.

“Leah, seriously.” He sighed. “I'm sorry.
C’mere.” Draping his arm across her shoulders, he leaned in and
kissed her forehead.

She was looking up, presumably at his
mother.

“Don't worry about her,” he assured, rubbing
her arm. “She doesn't need to figure out our relationship. That's
only for you and me to understand. Just ignore her. I think we make
a pretty great team, but we still need to talk.” He smiled,
squeezed her shoulder, then he dug into his food.

She shook her head before they both looked
at Abby and Caleb across the table from them.

Stefen heard his cousin
whisper to Abby, “
Je t'aime de tout mon cœur
,” before kissing her on the tip of her nose. Abby
closed her eyes, enjoying the affection.

After taking a bite
of Zachary’s incredible cuisine, Stefen casually glanced at Leah,
wondering if she’d heard what Caleb said. And if she did, would she
remember Stefen speaking those same words to her, the night they
went to the French restaurant? He was even more curious if she’d
know what those words meant.

Leah looked up at him, her eyes widening as she opened her
mouth to say something. Anticipation filled him as he rubbed his
fingers on the palms of his hands.
Ask me.
His eyes widened. He was ready for this.
I want everyone to
know—I’m in love with you.

As fate would have it, though, Zachary bent
forward between them. “Hey Leah, my dad wanted to make sure you saw
him before you left. I think he has a crush on you.” He winked.

She turned and looked around. “Sure, where
is he?”

Lifting his eyes, Zachary pointed toward the
house. “In the living room. He isn’t feeling very good. I was just
about to bring him his food.”

Slapping her hands down on her thighs, Leah
stood up. “Perfect. My sister and I can take it to him. She works
with geriatric patients and loves spending time with older
gentleman.” Probably just to razzle her sister, Leah said it loud
enough for Dani to hear from across the table.

Zachary looked up, knowing exactly which
woman was her sister and a carefree smile crossed his mouth. “He
would really enjoy having two beautiful women check in with
him.”

Dani smiled
bashfully.
Interesting
.

Groggily rubbing his eyes, Stefen made his
way down the stairs and into his kitchen to brew some coffee. He
stopped at the entry when he saw Leah reaching for something on the
top shelf. Getting a little closer to help her out, he noticed that
she had long metal cooking tongs in her hand and was trying to grab
something with them.

“What are you doing?” he asked, still half
asleep.

“I'm trying to get the coffee filters down.”
She stretched up on her bare tiptoes, grasping for her prize.

Enjoying the view, he
stepped back and leaned against the doorframe, staring. She was
wearing a tank top and tiny cotton shorts that barely covered her
butt cheeks
.

I love her curves,
he thought, blinking away the fantasies of what
he wanted to do right that second.
I love
everything about her body.

“Why are you using tongs?” he asked, more to
get his mind off of her seductive body in his kitchen.

She peeked over her shoulder. “Some of us
are more vertically challenged than others.” Catching the tumbling
filters, she spun around and grinned victoriously as she held them
up.

With a slight shake of his head, he
snickered. “Incredible. You are too much. Why don't you use a step
stool?”

Exaggerating her eye roll, she dropped her
shoulders and playfully huffed, “Because the tongs work
quicker.”

Once the coffee was prepared, she flipped it
on, and they stared at the machine brewing the magic formula that
was sure to jolt their brains to life. He was glad she’d stayed
last night after they’d dropped Bri off at the airport. Waking up
with Leah in his home was something he would never grow tired of.
Although he’d prefer to wake up and find her next to him in his
bed. For now, he would take what he could get.

It was early afternoon, but they’d both
slept in and were still in their pajamas.

Tired of watching the coffee pot, Leah began
to prepare breakfast. “I’ll make us some omelets.” She gave him an
alluring look.

Keeping a watchful eye on
her, he thought,
this, I could get used
to.

We’re talking about this shit today, and
hopefully she’ll be in my bed from this point on.

Taking him out of his thoughts, Leah asked,
“So did you hear Bri and Dani talking about moving here?” She
cracked a few eggs into a bowl and began to whisk some milk in.