An Exceptional Twist (8 page)

She heard him sigh. “I don't want to
intrude, but if you really don't mind, I'd like to go.”
Confidently, he added, “Believe it or not, men get mani-pedis,
too.”

Leah pulled the phone away from her and
stared at it, then pushed it back to her ear. “Seriously? You want
a mani-pedi?” Then she remembered how nicely groomed his hands
were, and it mostly made sense.

Huffing, he retorted, “Hey, don't judge me
just because I care about my appearance.”

That he did. But Leah had never met a man
that went to the nail salon. “All right. I’m picking her up in a
few minutes. Where do you want to meet?”

“Why don’t I come get you in fifteen?” he
suggested. “Bring a swimsuit, and we can hit the pool before we
eat.”

“Um…” She stalled. Did he just take over
their girly day?

Taking in a deep breath, she pictured him in
those board shorts and nothing else. She suddenly found herself
practically drooling into her bathroom sink.

Sobering herself, she thought hard about it.
Did she really want to be around a half-naked Stefen today?

But she reminded
herself—Madison would be there.
It’ll be
fine
.

“Fine,” she sighed. “I have one more place
to be this evening so I’ll have to play the swimming part by ear.
See you in a bit.”

After ending their call, she gathered a
towel and a change of clothes, shoving them in a bag for later. She
changed into her bathing suit, just in case they had a chance to
swim before her class, then she slipped a sundress over it and toed
on a pair of flip flops.

With one more check in the
bathroom mirror, she brushed back a few strands of stubborn
flyaways and thought,
I care way too much
about what I look like around him.

There was a knock at the door, and the
flutters were back.

But the feelings he’s pulling from me are
way more concerning than my looks are.

Stefen tapped the steering wheel to the beat
of the music playing on the car radio as they passed all of the
shops on State Street. Suddenly, a car darted out of nowhere,
cutting them off as it sped away.

Hitting his breaks, Stefen threw his arm
out, attempting to keep Leah from flying forward. “You okay?”
Concerned covered his voice.

Quickly nodding, she pressed her hand to her
erratic heart and breathed out through her mouth, “Yeah that just
caught me off guard.”

He nervously chuckled, “No shit. Me too.”
Goosebumps broke out on her skin when he ran his hand down her arm
before returning it to the steering wheel.

“Oh, make a left here.” She pointed to a
shortcut. “You won’t have to deal with the traffic light if you
turn here instead.”

“Good thing I have my tour guide with me.”
He placed his hand on her bare thigh and pulled back quickly as
though he felt the same jolt of electricity she did.

That’s weird.

Casually glancing over at him as they pulled
up to Madison's grandparent's house, Leah wondered how he could
look even more gorgeous every time she saw him. Clean shaven today,
his beautiful lips puckered as he was lost in his own thoughts.
Those stunning hazel eyes turned to catch her, then dropped down to
her legs that were still tingling from his touch.

He gave her an approving smile. “Ready?”

“Yep,” she muttered, blowing out a heavy
breath.

Stefen walked around the car to open her
door. Again, ever the gentleman. Her dad was the only other male
that had ever treated her like a lady, and she couldn't help but
smile whenever Stefen did the same.

They walked up the pathway that led to the
front door. Leah loved all of the beautiful flowers that surrounded
the Victorian-styled house. Before they had a chance to knock,
Madison’s grandmother, Grace, opened the door wide.

She glanced back and forth
between them, grinning widely as though a grand idea had just come
to her.
Her warm,
inviting smile was sprinkled with a dash of mischief. She tucked a
strand of her graying blonde hair behind her ear as if she were
tucking a thought back for later.

“Hey guys, come in.” She motioned them in.
“Let me tell Madison you’re here.” Grace continued to grin as she
turned, leaving them in the open doorway.

Stefen and Leah looked at each other
questioningly, then Stefen shrugged his shoulders.

Madison came running, “Uncle Stefen! Auntie
Leah!” Squatting at the same time, they both hugged her. “I’m so
asited that you boff came. Uncle Stefen, there's my bag, let's go.”
After lisping her cute words, the little girl grabbed Leah's hand
and started pulling her out the front door.

They both laughed, and Leah tried to get her
hand back. “Hold on, sweetie, we need to say goodbye first.”

“Oh sorry.” Madison bounced over to Grace,
then gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Bye, Grammy.”

“Bye, honey.” Grace’s eyes crinkled up as
she smiled at her granddaughter. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Stefen picked up the princess bag that was
packed and waiting by the door, said goodbye to Grace, then
followed the small girl to the car.

Leah hugged Grace as the wise older woman
spoke in her ear, “That Stefen sure is a looker, isn't he?”

Leah put two and two
together.
Ah, that's what Grace was
smiling about.

Pulling away from, Leah sighed. “He is.
Unfortunately he’s totally aware.” She raised her eyebrows.

Grace grinned knowingly. “You know Caleb and
Stefen were cut from the same stone.” She patted Leah’s hand,
taking on a more serious tone. “Caleb didn't realize what was
important in life until he met my Rene. She changed his whole
outlook. Stefen has a good heart but tries to hide it. Just watch
how he is with Madison.”

The car door was open, and they watched him
buckle Madison into her booster seat with such love and care,
kissing her on the forehead before giving her a quick tickle.

“Uncle Stefen, no fair. I’m trapped.”
Madison squealed as he snuck his head back in and kissed her
nose.

He closed the door, shaking his head. It was
obvious he couldn’t hold his smile back.

Smoothing Leah’s shoulder, Grace wistfully
added, “He just needs a good woman to get to the real man
underneath.”

Leah swallowed, not liking
where this was going. “Then I really hope he finds that woman
someday,” she said pointedly.
It certainly
won’t be me.
But as she watched him hold
the car door open, she took in a sharp breath, shook her head, and
smiled.
Damn.
Maybe he wasn’t for her, but she’d certainly enjoy looking at
him for as long as he was here.

Oh, sweet torture.

“Yeah, me too,” Grace said mischievously,
observing how Leah blatantly ogled him.

“Um, okay I'll see you later, Grace.” Leah
stepped off of the porch and waved, a bit flustered.

At the car, Stefen leaned over, whispering,
“What was that about?” His breath tickled her neck, and goose bumps
broke out over her hypersensitive skin once again.

“Just girl talk.” She shrugged, backing away
a bit, his eyes holding her captive.

A gentle breeze swirled around them,
carrying subtle scents of his cologne. Exhaling through her
nostrils, Leah refused to let his scent further cloud her emotions.
She wondered what was on his mind when he smiled, winking as he
closed her door.

Glancing out the passenger
window, she spotted Grace watching from the front porch, giving
Leah an all-knowing smirk.
Sorry, Grace.
No.
Leah had already seen Grace’s
matchmaking skills in action with Abby and Caleb. Grace would never
let this go without giving it her best shot.

Sighing, she sunk into her seat.

Stefen slipped into the driver’s side,
tapping the steering wheel excitedly. “Okay, where to?”

Leah looked straight ahead. “Go over to
Mission Street, and I'll guide you from there.”

This is such a bad
idea
.
I shouldn’t
have agreed to this.
Now she was
stuck.

Will he get the wrong idea?

Who flipping cares,
she told herself. It didn’t matter what Stefen
thought. As long as she kept the boundaries where they
were.

“Are you enjoying your
‘
man
-icure’,
Stefen?” Leah crinkled up her nose and giggled with Madison. They’d
been teasing him since they walked in.

“Why, yes I am,” he admitted, slightly
sarcastic as he raised his chin. “Thank you for asking.”

He hid a wince. The knobs in this massage
chair were killing him. Possibly causing internal bleeding at this
very moment. They were on their way up his spine, and he sucked in
a grunt, trying to find a new position.

This was by far the most painful backrub
ever.

“You okay over there?” Leah’s features
softened. Her long dark hair flowed over her shoulder, and the
compassion in her eyes made his discomfort fade away.

“Fine.” He grimaced when the rotating knobs
from hell started their downward path.

The male nail technician
began to massage Leah’s feet. Relaxing, she lay her head back,
moaning softly. It was quiet, but Stefen sure as hell heard it. He
fantasized about rubbing her feet, slowly trailing his hands up her
calves then thighs and…
son of a bitch how
the hell do you turn this fucking chair off?

Stefen was relieved when he found the right
button on the remote. Finally, he could sit in peace.

The older gentleman digging his fingers into
Leah’s arches smiled at Stefen, speaking his broken English, “You
are boyfriend?”

That got Leah’s attention. She snapped her
head up and gazed between the two men.

“No, just friends,” Stefen answered.

“Why you not boyfriend?” The smile on his
face said that he was clueless to the fact that his nosey ass
prying was making both Leah and Stefen uncomfortable.

I’d rather suffer through the chair of
torture than these questions.

Stefen glanced over to Madison. She was
completely oblivious, giggling with the girl painting her
fingernails. Leah bit her bottom lip and avoided eye contact with
him.

“Because we’re friends. That’s all,” Stefen
grit out, gripping the chair, thankful the knobs were no longer
moving. Glaring at the guy, Stefen realized that his intentions
were innocent. He wasn’t trying to make them feel awkward, he was
simply making small talk.

Peering down at his feet, he groaned
inwardly at the cotton candy pink color of his toes. Earlier, when
Leah had asked Madison to select a shade so they’d match, those
sweet brown eyes turned to him and he melted.

“Yeah, let’s
all
have the same
colored tootsies!”

He never could tell her
no.
Damn.
At
least he’d be stuffing them in his tennis shoes when they
left.

Once every toe was painted, Stefen strolled
over to the cashier, unfolding a wad of bills.

Leah called over, eyes wide. “You’re not
paying.”

He held back a smile. “I'm
the one who intruded. I’ll pay.”
If you
only knew how I’d love to spoil you.

He handed the young, petite cashier the
bills, and padded toward his chair in the thin foam flip flops he
was still wearing, post-pedi.

Madison snickered into her hand while Leah’s
laughter broke through the scowl she’d been holding. He knew he
looked ridiculous, but he strutted back as confident and manly as
possible.