An Exceptional Twist (48 page)

She shook her head as she pouted her vibrant
red lips. “No, I said plus one on my RSVP, but I still haven’t
found anyone worth spending the evening with…until now.” Her eyes
looked like a cat’s, about to attack the only field mouse.

He hated weddings. He only went to as many
as he did because it was that season of his life when everyone
around him was getting married. He also helped Leah at quite a few,
but only went to those to spend time with her.

Groaning silently, he found himself
agreeing. “Sure.”

She smiled widely.
“I
will
make it
worth your while afterward.” Then she leaned forward and whispered
in his ear, “I'm a sure thing, and I want you.”

A chuckle escaped as she
backed up. “Well,
that's
a surprise.”

He waited for his sarcastic reply to turn
her off. It didn’t. Her eyes widened, even lustier than before.

She placed her hand on his thigh and
squeezed. “I go for what I want. No need to sugarcoat things.” Her
puckered lips made his stomach turn yet again.

“I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then. Where
is the wedding?”

She tilted her head. “The Beach Club, right
on the sand.”

Shit.
That was the other wedding Leah's shop had on the schedule
for tomorrow.

Wait, was she going to
work the one at the vineyard while Melissa took care of the beach
wedding?
There was no way he could go
through with this if Leah was going to be near, pulling on his
heart strings.

“I'll be there.”
Will I?

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes
again. “Give me your phone number. I'll call you and tell you where
to meet me.”

Damn
, he didn't want this girl to have his number. After
tomorrow, he never wanted to see or hear from her again. He grabbed
a cocktail napkin and scribbled the number to his Chicago cell
phone. He had a new one, and hadn’t had a chance to close that
account. Sliding it over, he pulled away before she had a chance to
touch his fingers.

She peered at the napkin. Dropping her chin,
she studied him. “You aren't giving me a fake number, are you Mr.
Hunter? What is this area code?”

His voice fell flat. “Not fake. It’s
Chicago. That’s where I’m from.” There was no reason for her to
know that he actually lived here now. He’d never take any woman,
other than Leah, to his house. No other woman belonged there.

She snatched up the napkin. “Very well, I
look forward to spending some time with you tomorrow.” She trailed
her long finger down his jawline. “Don't shave your face. I like a
little scruff.” Then she winked.

He wanted to disinfect the
skin that she just touched.
Un-freaking-believable.
If he
couldn’t stand just one of her fingers on him, how the hell was he
going to let her maul the rest of his body?

Ginny headed back to her friends as if she'd
won a bet.

Did he care if they had a bet?

No, not really.

She slammed the napkin onto the bar that had
his number scribbled on it. Looking into the mirror once more, he
spotted Leah standing by the rustic wooden door frame attached to
the tasting room. Her eyes scanned back and forth between Stefen
and the group of women. He knew her well enough to read her
expressions.

First shock, then pissed off, and finally,
hurt.

He silently
groaned.
What did I do now?

Leah’s stomach twisted into a knot as she
stood by the doorway, watching in disbelief.

Did Stefen give that cheap whore his phone
number?

By the looks of it, he sure as hell did.

She’d met this group when
her bride, Kendra, arranged the flowers months ago. The
puta
, now in possession
of Stefen’s number, was so vulgar and rude. Leah didn’t like her
from the moment they’d met.

Ignoring Stefen entirely, she took a deep
breath as her achy heart raced. Trying to keep her cool, she
strolled up toward the bar to speak to the soon-to-be bride.

As she approached the group, Leah overheard
the slut bragging. “I have my date for your wedding and, before you
ask, yes, I am going to screw him. I mean, look at him. Who the
hell wouldn’t want to crawl all over him in bed? We may have to
even cut out of the reception early.”

Leah couldn’t believe what
she was hearing.
Disgusting
.

Catching Zachary’s eye, he gave her a
knowing look. She had to wonder what he was thinking when he’d
overheard the same comment.

Kendra turned to face her. “Oh, Leah. I’m so
glad to see you. Ladies, you remember my florist.”

Leah gave a courtesy smile to everyone but
the trampy fireball. If she looked at her, Leah might be tempted to
claw her eyes out.

“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Leah
asked, using her professional personal tone, something she’d
perfected over time in this business.

“I’m thrilled and nervous. I still can’t
believe I’m getting married,” Kendra squealed.

Nothing new.

Leah hoped that she was able to fake her
calm, pleasant façade. “I was thinking of switching with my
assistant and working your wedding instead.”

Bad decision. Don’t. Don’t.

Kendra’s beach front wedding was much
smaller than the huge one at the vineyard, and there were still a
few kinks that needed to be worked out for the larger one. Leah had
to be at Kendra’s, though, now that she knew Stefen was going to be
there with a date.

I’m such a glutton for punishment.

Excited, Kendra jumped out of her seat. “Oh
that would be fantastic!” She held onto Leah’s arms. “I really
wanted you there since I’ve only worked with you.”

Leah smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Saying her goodbyes, she finally peered over at Stefen who’d been
watching her the entire time. She narrowed her eyes at him and
mouthed irritably, “Let’s go.”

On their way out, Zachary invited both her
and Stefen over toward the end of the bar where his father, Joel
Evanwood, sat.

The elderly gentleman’s face lit up as they
walked up to him. He hooked his cane on the end of the bar. “We
have a tradition around here. On Thanksgiving, we sit around and
watch football, taking the entire day off. The following afternoon
we host a special get-together for invited guests only, and we’d
like you to be those guests, as well as anyone you want to bring
along.” He lifted his arms in the air. “The more the merrier.”

It dawned on Leah that she’d been so busy
lately, she had no idea what her family had planned. It was the
first year that Abby was married and wouldn’t be with her.

Stefen placed his arm around her and
answered before she had a chance to. “My family switches locations
each year. Lucky for us, we’re celebrating at my cousin, Caleb’s
house. His wife is a vegetarian, though, so I was hoping Leah would
save us all from the tofu turkey.”

He’s joking? Right now?

Normally, she would laugh right along, but
she was too hurt to join in and couldn’t hide her feelings.

Leah shrugged his arm off and turned her
back to him. “It would be an honor. I’m not sure what my plans are
yet, but I’ll let you know.”

Stefen’s mouth dropped, but she ignored
it.

Lifting her chin, she said, “I have a lot to
do before tomorrow, so we really have to get going.”

Shit, I wish I had my own car right now.

Zachary eyed her. “I couldn’t help but
overhear you. We won’t be seeing you tomorrow, after all?”

There wasn’t time to explain right now. Not
that she could anyway.

Biting her lip, she gave him her
professional smile. “No, I had a sudden switch in plans, but
Melissa will do a great job. I have confidence in her.”

Zachary didn’t look like he believed her,
but he let it go. Leaning in, she pecked Joel on the cheek before
waving to both of them and heading out with Stefen in tow. At
least, she thought he was. She didn’t look back.

They had already been on the road for
several minutes before Stefen broke the silence. “Everything set
for tomorrow?” Curious about this switch in plans, he waited for
her to answer.

He was surprised by the scowl on Leah's
face. “Yes,” was all she said before turning to look out the window
again.

Frustrated by the tension, Stefen ran his
hand down the steering wheel, then through his thick black hair.
“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She didn't tear her eyes away
from the scenery as they passed.

“Something is obviously up, Leah. Talk to
me.”

“I said I'm fine,” she growled.

Wow
, he'd never heard her growl before. If it weren’t for the
fact that she was fuming, it would be kind of sexy.

He cleared his throat. “If you don't want to
talk about it, that's fine, but don't try to act like everything is
peachy.” Reaching over, he took his eyes off the road for a moment,
pulling at her chin so she would look at him. “I know you better
than that.”

She yanked her face away. “Don't put your
hands on me after you touched that tramp.”

“What are you talking about?” He flinched,
wondering what she was referring to. He hadn’t touched anyone.

“Don't ever lay a finger on me after
fondling one of your whores again.” She lifted her open hands in
front of her. “I feel sick just thinking about where that woman has
been.”

It hit him. Raising his
hand, he smacked the steering wheel. “I gave a girl my number.
What's the big deal, and why do you care? I never gave you any shit
about being with Ben, even though he was an asshole.” That was a
low blow, and he knew it, but
what the
hell?

Leah’s face dropped, and Stefen instantly
felt like a piece of shit.

“Because I care about you,” she said, her
voice thick. “She isn't good enough for you.” Leah turned to glare
out of the window once more.

“Yeah, well back at you.”
Now he was pissed. She'd dated that jackass for months and had the
nerve to get all bent out of shape over a girl he’d just met. “How
do you think I felt, knowing you were with
Ben,
doing God only knows what?” He
shook his head.
I don’t even want to
know.

Her voice was quiet and small. “I didn’t do
anything with him. Not that it’s any of your business.” Looking
down at her folded hands, she whispered just loud enough for him to
hear, “Are you going to sleep with her?”

He growled under his
breath. “So, it's not my business as your
friend
to know what you did
with
him,
but you
want to know if I'm planning on screwing a girl I barely met?” He
sneered, and the words came out before he could stop them. “Yeah
sure, why the fuck not? If she’s willing, I’ll go to bed with her.
Is that what you want to hear, Leah? What an asshole
I
still am?” His chest
was heaving.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leah
begin to shake. Looking over, he saw the tears streaming down her
eyes.

Dammit
. Pulling off the road, Stefen got out and yanked opened her
door. He leaned in, leaving her nowhere to escape. “What’s really
going on?” He lifted her chin with his fingertips, hoping she
didn't pull away this time.

Her lip trembled as she
spoke. “What
is
it about girls like that? Is it because they put out without
any effort?” She stared at him through her thick black mascara
tears. “Why do you like girls like that?”