An Exceptional Twist (37 page)

It was hilarious, but Stefen still felt bad
about last night. He’d tried his damndest not to laugh, but failed
miserably.

It took him a while to get down the stairs
by himself this morning, but he was determined to start being as
independent as he could. He’d overdone it the day before and
planned on taking it easy the rest of the day. For now, he could at
least make coffee for everyone.

Leah sauntered down the
stairs with a knowing smile on her face.
Damn.
Even with her messy morning
hair and no make-up, she was beautiful.

He closed his mouth, so she wouldn’t catch
him drooling. Adjusting the strap on his sling, he flicked on the
coffee pot.

“Is your shoulder bothering you?” Leah
pointed to his suspended arm.

He’d worn the sling off and on to keep his
muscles from getting stiff, but he probably should’ve taken it with
him yesterday. “Yeah, I think I slept on it wrong, so I figured I’d
wear this today.” He rubbed his sore shoulder lightly.

She couldn’t hide the concern in her eyes or
her voice. “Have you taken any pain meds for it this morning?”

He smiled to himself, loving when she doted
on him. Then he swallowed as he started to think about everything
that was missing from his life.

“Nah, it’s just a bit tender,” he played it
off. “I’m trying to only take something when I can’t stand it. I
feel like my body is still pumped full of all the medication from
the hospital.”

He knew she understood because she’d once
shared that Abby turned her onto more homeopathic remedies.

“May I?” she asked, and he nodded as she
gently moved the neckline of his shirt to the side.

He would never turn her touch down. The
sensation of her fingertips tenderly gliding on his skin was a balm
to his pain.

“It may not help a whole lot, but it can’t
hurt.” Pulling a vitamin-e bottled from her pajama pants pocket,
she smeared a bit of oil directly on his scar, then looked up at
his eye as she dabbed a little on the small mark on his lid.

Did she plan this ahead of time?

His body hummed as her fingers lovingly
traced his new imperfections. He closed his eyes taking her in and
loving her closeness. Opening his eyes, he wondered what was on her
mind as she closely examined his blemishes. “How bad are they?”

“Healing nicely.” She backed up and rubbed
her hands together to blend the oil into her skin.

“No, I mean do they
look
horrific?” His
chest tightened, all the raw emotions inside of him threatening to
burst out. This was the first time he had shared his insecurities
with her.

Leah’s face softened, tenderly placing her
open hand on his cheek. “Don’t worry about how you look and what
people think.” She cocked her head and smiled. “Personally, I think
scars are sexy.”

“Sexy?” He smirked.
She thinks my scars are sexy?

But her face became serious. “They remind us
of where we’ve been and what we’ve overcome.” Staring at each other
just a little too long, she removed her hand, and they both turned
away from each other.

In search mode, she opened
the fridge and cupboards. “I think I’ll give Abby the morning off
and make breakfast before I go into work. I found everything I need
to make some
chilaquiles
.”

Confused, he inquired, “Chila-wha?”

She laughed at his pronunciation. “It’s a
traditional Mexican dish with fried corn tortillas, onion,
scrambled eggs and cheese. For the brave at heart, you can add
chili or salsa.”

He leaned against the counter, “How can I
help?”

“Have a seat and keep me company.” Pointing
to the bar stool at the breakfast counter, she continued, “I can
tell you’re in pain. Don’t even try to hide it from me. You overdid
it yesterday, didn’t you?”

Damn, she knows me so
well.
He took a seat, changing the
subject. “I didn’t know you were going in today.”

Leah cracked a few eggs in a bowl. “I have a
wedding on Saturday, and I need to prepare for it. It was kind of
last minute. The other florist flaked, and it’s the first one I’ll
be doing at Evanwood Vineyard, so I want to make a good impression.
I’d love to do more weddings there, and Zachary said he’d refer
brides to me.”

He leaned on the counter
with his elbow, resting his jaw on the palm of his hand. “I forgot
you were going to work with him. He seems like a stand up
guy.”
Now that I know he isn’t interested
in you.

She poured oil into a pan on the stove, then
added shredded up corn tortillas. “Madison was at the shop when he
came in, and I think she has a bit of a crush on him.” Leah mumbled
the last part as they noticed the groggy little girl coming down
the stairs, rubbing her eyes.

“Argh, matey,” Madison greeted Stefen with
one eye closed. She went in for a hug, then jumped up on his lap.
“Where’s your patch, pirate?”

“I left it upstairs for now, squirt.” Stefen
kissed her on her forehead just as Madison noticed who was in the
kitchen.

“Auntie Leah!” The little girl leaped down
and bounded toward Leah.

“
Hola, mi chiquita
.”

Madison came to a dead stop and put her
little fists on her hips. “Auntie Leah. I told you. I’m not a
banana.”

Leah mirrored the little
girl’s stance. “And I told you, Miss Sassy Pants, that if Uncle
Stefen can call you squirt because you peed on him, then I can call
you
chiquita
because you’re my little chica.”

Giving in, Madison rewarded her with a huge
hug, grinning up at her. “Okay, but not in front of my
friends.”

“
Huy
, it starts at such an early
age.” Leah shook her head, eyeing Stefen as he filled their mugs.
“Why don’t you go watch some cartoons while I make breakfast, then
we’ll wait for mommy and daddy to come down.”

Stefen handed Leah her coffee and they both
took huge gulps as Madison strutted toward the living room. At the
edge of the kitchen, the little girl twirled around. “Mommy and
Daddy aren’t coming soon. They’re humpin’ in their bedroom.”

Thankful that he’d already swallowed his
mouthful, he watched Leah spit hers out. She started choking,
unable to catch a breath.

Madison stared with wide eyes, mouth gaping
open

Once Leah was no longer wheezing, Stefen
couldn’t resist. “Sweetie, do you know what that means?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “My friend Casey said
it’s when your parents are in the room with the door closed. You’re
supposed to leave them alone because they’re makin’ brothers and
sisters for you by humpin’.” Madison scrunched up her eyebrows
questioningly. “I don’t understand why they still do that, though.
Mommy already has a baby in her belly.” She shrugged. “Oh well, I’m
going to go watch TV.”

She skipped over to the television, leaving
the two adults behind as they attempted to pull themselves
together. Unable to control her hysteria, Leah doubled over,
meeting Stefen eye to tear-filled eye.

He was also bent over.

Gasping for air, Leah wiped under her eyes.
“I can’t believe she just said that! Stop laughing. I can’t take
anymore.”

It took a few minutes, but they had just
regained control of themselves when the newlyweds appeared at the
top of the stairs, making googly eyes at each other, holding hands
as they walked down.

Abby ducked her head bashfully, while
Caleb’s face lit up when he spotted the twosome in the kitchen
gaping at them. “Good morning, guys. What a beautiful day.”

Oh yeah, Madison was right. These two were
just going at it. Caleb’s way too happy for seven a.m.

Abby smiled when they reached the bottom
step. “We could hear you laughing all the way upstairs. What’s so
funny?”

Leah and Stefen looked at each other, then
fell into an even louder fit of laughter.

The food they’d gobbled up for breakfast was
delicious. Stefen was impressed by Leah’s cooking, yet again. The
men agreed to take care of clean up while the ladies sat, within
view, in the living room and talked.

Caleb smacked Stefen’s bicep with his
knuckles. “Hey, what’s up with you two?”

Apparently, he’d caught Stefen watching
Leah. “What do you mean?”

Damn, am I that obvious?

“I see the way you guys
look at each other, and it’s…
different
from before.” Caleb
grabbed for the pan off of the stove and put it in the sink before
running hot water on it.

Shrugging his good
shoulder, Stefen continued to load the dishwasher. “I don’t know.
It is different. I’ve never had this before.” He felt a smile
creeping up his face. “We’re friends. It’s nice. I’m not used to
having a girl…
friend
.”

Caleb gave Stefen his ‘don’t bullshit me’
face. “I know you better than that. There’s more to it. But I
commend you. I’m proud of you for giving her the real you.” He gave
him a shot in the shoulder. “You know, the one I’ve been telling
you was there the whole time.”

Stefen stood dumbfounded as he stared at
Caleb. “I don’t know about all that, but it is nice not having to
keep up a façade with her. I still don’t get how she can be so
forgiving, when I treated her the way I did.”

Stiffening, Caleb stared him down. “Yeah,
what’s the whole story with that anyway?”

“Let’s just say,” Stefen
paused, choosing his words carefully, “I did exactly what you told
me not to do. But that woman is a fighter. She doesn’t put up with
my shit. I think that’s what I’m so attracted to, I mean was.
That’s what I
was
so attracted to.” Turning his back, he reached out for a set
of glasses.

Crap, I hope he didn’t catch that.

Caleb snickered. “Yeah,
she won’t put up with any in the future, either.” Caleb tapped his
forehead. “Keep that in mind. You don’t want to screw it up.
Again
.”

Stefen took a quick glance at Leah, who sat
by Abby, laughing at something they were talking about. “I get
it.”

Leah placed her hands on Abby’s tiny baby
bump, then made eye contact with him. He saw joy and pain in her
eyes. Her best friend was living the life she wished she had, and
he found himself wanting to be able to fulfill that for her.

But no matter how much he wanted to be her
‘one’, Stefen knew he wasn’t. He may have shed his arrogant shell,
but he still wasn’t good enough for her.

Never will be.

She smirked at him, and he mentally shook
his head, realizing she was about to tell Abby what Madison had
said earlier. He watched as Leah whispered to Abby, then Abby’s
face turned as red as a tomato.

Turning his head to share the same story
with Caleb, he found his cousin staring at him with raised
eyebrows. “You two speak telepathically?”

“Something like that.” Stefen snickered. “So
apparently, Madison knew you guys were upstairs having sex when she
first came down this morning.”

A look of shock covered Caleb’s face. “What?
How does she even know what that is?”

“Evidently, she has a very knowledgeable
friend.” Stefen smirked as he continued to load the dishwasher.

“Shit,” Caleb muttered under his breath.
“What did she say?”

“Well, she didn’t understand why you guys
were ‘humping’,” he put quotes around the word, “because that’s how
you make babies and Abby’s already pregnant. Thank god, she didn’t
talk about the mechanics of it, just the whole baby-making
part.”

Caleb ran his thumb and index finger through
the scruff on his jaw. “I guess she’s going to learn a bit at a
time anyway. But she’s just going into first grade. I can’t believe
how much kids know nowadays.” He handed a slippery plate over to
Stefen who nearly dropped it.

“You didn’t just say nowadays, old man. Next
thing I know, you’ll be throwing some ‘back in my days’.” Stefen
chuckled, hoping that didn’t happen anytime soon—he was only a year
younger than Caleb.

Stefen glanced back at
Abby, wondering. “I have to say, though, I don’t get it either.
She’s pregnant. How can you be attracted to her when she has your
kid growing inside of her?” He couldn’t fathom having sex while an
actual developing human was
right
there with them in the mix.

Turning, Caleb leaned back against the
counter, sighing as he took in his wife. “Stefen, there’s nothing
sexier than a pregnant woman carrying your child. You have no idea
what a turn on it is knowing she’s walking around, carrying a piece
of me with her wherever she goes.”