An Exceptional Twist (57 page)

She saw the moment it clicked, and he lifted
his head, acknowledging her fears. “Sweetheart, I’m yours
one-hundred percent. Being with you emotionally is my favorite
part.”

Leah eyed him, looking for
any hint of untruth.
He’s a guy. There’s
no way that was his favorite part.

He flashed his devious smile at her. “Fine.
It’s a close runner up.”

She smirked.
Sounds more like it.

That was not how Stefen had planned on
spending his day or night yesterday, but he was a happier man this
morning. Waking up naked, tangled under the sheets with the love of
his life was definitely on his list of favorite moments.

This time around, it was so different. He’d
never experienced all-consuming ecstasy—emotional and
physical—before. He would always want Leah by his side. Every
moment they spent together solidified this for him.

Leah opened her eyes, stretching as she
smiled up at him. Her head rested on his bare chest. Kissing the
scruff under his chin, she said, “Morning.”

“How did you sleep?” he asked, well aware
that she’d only slept a few hours, just like him.

Sitting up, she held the sheet to her chest,
then leaned over to look at the time on her cell phone. “The little
bit of sleep I got was fantastic, but I have a whole day to make up
thanks to my super-hot boyfriend.” She leaned in and gave him a
quick peck before frowning.

Running his hand down her bare spine, he
furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

She shivered, smiling bashfully. “I don’t
want to get out of bed.” She stretched out like a cat and yawned.
“It’s too comfy.” She nuzzled back into his warm body.

He groaned. “Who says we have to get out? We
could find something to do.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Throwing her head back onto her pillow, she
looked up at the ceiling and whined, “No, I have to get those files
from the shop. I need to catch up on my bookkeeping. I’m really
behind.”

“I’ll help you,” he offered. “Then we can
come back and put my plan into action.”

Leah turned her head and chuckled. “Did I
open Pandora’s Box?”

Flipping her over, Stefen hovered above her.
“Nope, just the door that said ‘I get to sleep naked with you from
now on’.”

She giggled as he began to kiss just under
her ear.

“Which door was that? I was shooting for a
new car.”

Lifting his head, he grinned, “Like I said,
everything in its own time.” When she scrunched her eyes, it was
his turn to laugh.

She’d been fighting him on getting a new car
since he met her. It didn’t matter that she was joking, he was
planning on taking that invitation seriously.

Stefen looked over at Leah, well aware that
he was the luckiest son of a bitch alive. She sat in the passenger
seat while they drove to her flower shop.

Holding her hand while he
parked behind the building, he asked, “Are we going to look at your
numbers here or at home?”
Please say home,
please say home.

“I figured we could stay
for a while and let the girls take a break.” She shook a brown bag.
“And eat breakfast. Plus, I don’t see us working on
numbers
when we get
home.” She brought her shoulder to her chin and fluttered her
eyelashes.

He lifted their intertwined hands and kissed
her knuckles. “I’m all yours, whatever and whenever you need
me.”

Catching her breath, Leah stated the
obvious, “We better go now, or I’m going to make you drive me back
home.”

Fine by
me
.

Getting out of the car, Stefen opened her
door, pulling her toward his chest. He kissed her slow and softly,
sucking on her bottom lip. “Not sure I can wait for us to finish up
here. You do have an apartment upstairs, you know.”

His sinister look caused her to stop
breathing all together. Damn, he loved when she responded to
him.

Lightly pushing on his chest, Leah headed
away from his car. “Stefen, we need to find a balance here, or I
won’t be able to get anything done.”

Pulling her by the hips, he stood behind
her, whispering, “Is that a bad thing?”

She twirled around, tapping him on the
shoulder. “Yes it is. We have other things to do, too, you
know.”

Defeated, Stefen grumbled, “Fine. Let’s get
this shit over and done, so I can distract you some more.”

Narrowing her eyes at him, she turned away
once more, then shook her behind. She grinned, knowing exactly how
she was torturing him. “Let’s go in, but they don’t know we’re
coming. I want to surprise them.”

This woman was beautiful
inside and out.
Damn,
he loved her.

“Oh hold on.” She stopped them midstride.
“Let me run upstairs and get some plates and forks.” Pointing her
index finger at him, she added, “You stay here. I don’t think we
should be behind closed doors together yet.”

She handed him the bag and darted up the
stairs as his phone rang.

He looked at the screen before answering.
“Zachary. What’s up, bud?”

Sounding a bit concerned, Zachary said, “Hey
Stefen, is Leah with you? I can’t get her on her cell.”

Curious, Stefen said, “She’ll be down in a
minute. Everything okay?”

“Maybe it’s better if I tell you first,
anyway.” He paused a moment. “I don’t know what to think here, but
one of my wedding clients contacted me, saying that she was
concerned about working with Melissa. The funny thing is that Leah
isn’t listed as the florist. Some random name is scheduled.
Something sounds fishy to me, and I won’t stand by and watch Leah
get the short end of the stick here.”

Stefen frowned. That didn’t sound right.
Leah hadn’t said anything about sharing weddings with Melissa.
She’d wanted to prepare the single mom to run her own business, but
according to Leah, Melissa wasn’t completely ready to do the whole
thing on her own yet.

Zachary continued. “I don’t trust her, and
I’m not sure she isn’t trying to screw Leah over here. You might
want to check it out because I know how much Leah trusts her.”

That bitch better not be
trying to fuck her over.
“We’re at the
shop now. Let me see what I can find out. Thanks for looking out
for her. I owe you.”

Leah opened the front door, then looked over
the balcony at him with a curious glance. Turning around, she
locked the door before trotting downstairs again.

Zachary’s tone was serious. “You don’t owe
me anything. Just make sure our girl is taken care of.”

“Will do, gotta go. Thanks again.”

“Talk to you later, bye.”

Stefen met her at the back door with the bag
of food. Walking quietly, they crept into the back. The heavy
velvet drapery that separated the front of the store from the back
was closed. Leah’s employees had no idea they were there.

Leah was smiling, ready to surprise them
when they heard Melissa’s voice.

“She’s so damn blind. I can’t believe she
hasn’t caught on yet.” Melissa clicked her tongue and she sounded
like she was smiling. “She’s so caught up in that man candy of hers
that she has no idea I’m stealing clients from her.”

Leah froze, her eyes widening, and her face
already contorting with hurt. Stefen could see she was about to
burst through there, ready to confront this, but he wanted to hear
more. He put his index finger to his mouth, asking her to be
quiet.

She still looked upset but complied.

Always the lawyer, he pulled his cell phone
out, turned on the recorder, and placed it on a shelf close to the
doorway. He moved Leah to the side, pressing them against the work
table behind them.

Her other employee, Khloe, said, “Speak for
yourself, Melissa. Just because I know what you’re doing doesn’t
mean I’m involved.”

They could hear stems
being trimmed and the sliding of the refrigerator door.
Well, at least these bitches are working while
they’re talking shit.

“Oh please, Khloe, you’re involved. You’re
my best friend, and I recommended you. If I go down, you go down.
Not that that dimwit will notice, as long as that arrogant ass is
in her life. He’s sure to dump her when he gets tired of her. I
should have enough money to just disappear by then.”

Khloe sighed, “How can you be so heartless?
She’s really nice, and all I’ve seen her do is try to help you
out.”

“Yeah, me and my fake son.” She cackled.
“She actually believed my snot-nosed nephew was my son.”

“Well, I still think it’s really shitty of
you, and I don’t want to have anything to do with it.”

“Hey, you better keep your mouth shut. I’ll
make sure she knows you’ve been screwing Miguel on that back table
and in her office every time I step out to make a delivery.”

Leah and Stefen looked at each other, both
quickly pushing off the table. It slipped and made a scraping
noise, announcing their presence.

Leah inhaled a deep breath, with her palm on
her chest and her mouth wide open.

Stefen wrapped his hand
behind her neck and pulled her into him. “It’s okay, I’ve got this.
Stay here,
amor
.”

The curtain swung open as he kissed the top
of her head.

“Oh hey, Leah, I didn’t know you were here.”
Melissa rubbed her wrists, averting her eyes. She was caught, and
she knew it.

Stefen was ready to take this bitch
down.

He put a calming hand on Leah’s back,
reached for his phone, then pressed play. As if she was clueless to
what was going on, Khloe joined them just as Stefen played the
recoding back.

Everything incriminating that was spoken
moments before was picked up by the recorder.

Rolling her eyes, Melissa had the nerve to
cross her arms in front of her. “You can’t record my private
conversation.”

Using his professional
stance, Stefen reminded her, “You’re in a place of business,
admitting to stealing customers from the owner. I’m merely pointing
out that you were caught, and you can get the fuck out right now. A
restraining order will be filed today, so I wouldn’t plan on coming
back. You’ll be hearing from me again because not only am I
her
arrogant man candy,
but I’m also her lawyer.”

He wasn’t practicing in California, but she
didn’t know that. This new situation would give him the motivation
he needed to get his license. Remembering that Leah had said
several times that her numbers weren’t adding up, he had to figure
out how far Melissa’s deception went.

That conniving bitch had the nerve to look
at Leah and say, “Are you going to let him talk to me like
that?”

He saw that Leah’s hurt
had already turned into fury.
Her nostrils flared, fists
balling to her sides as tears formed in her eyes.

It was time for him to step aside and let
her speak. Leah jerked her arm up, then she pointed to the ground,
teeth clenching. “You little bitch. After everything I’ve done for
you. I was helping you open your own business.”

Did she just roll her fucking eyes
again?

“Everything you’ve done
for me? You’ve had me working here like a damn slave while you
prance around town with
him
.” Melissa pointed her
sap-covered finger at Stefen. “You try to prosecute me, and I’ll
counter with all the labor laws you’ve broken. Good luck figuring
out your records. I quit. Come on Khloe, let’s go.” She pulled her
apron off and tossed it on the floor.

Khloe stood in the midst of the argument,
unsure what to do before she took her apron off and placed it on
the table, then timidly followed her friend out the back door.