An Exceptional Twist Read Online Free

of clubs before that primarily played hip hop, but he
preferred something more sophisticated.
    “J Lo, of course.”  She shook her
head like it was obvious.
    Annoyed, he rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he
sighed then turned to peer out the passenger window.
      Leah is so different from any other
woman I’ve ever met. .   She’s unpretentious,
all-natural, and sexy as hell. Typically, he surrounded himself
with women whose personalities were as fake as their body parts.
There was never an afterthought about them once he left. He
wondered how easy it would be to leave Leah once he was done with
her.
    He still couldn’t believe he
was sitting in her freaking minivan.  
    Making small talk, he asked, “So where did
you and Abby meet?”   
     ”In college,” she replied, her tone
nostalgic. ”She started mid-freshman year. I was so
thankful when I came back from Christmas break to find her as my
new roommate.  The one before her was literally a witch.
She was so strange, and I just knew she was putting curses on me.”
Leah laughed at Stefen’s wide eyes. “It’s true. Anyway, Abby
and I hit it off right away.  She was a little less
chipper back then, but we had a lot of fun together.”
    “Where are you
from?” Why am I asking personal
questions?  Do I really want to know? 
    She glanced over at him. “I was born and
raised in Alhambra, California.”  
    “Where’s that?” he asked, never having heard
of the city before.
    “It's just south of
Pasadena.”  She switched on her blinker to turn left.
    “Pasadena is where the Rose Parade is,
right?”  Pasadena he’d heard of.  
    He would never admit it,
but one of his favorite lines came from the chick
flick,  Blast from the
Past .  Holding in a laugh, he
recited the line in his mind about girls from Pasadena seeming a
little bit nicer. 
    “Yeah, we used to go every year when my
father was alive.”  She sucked in a sharp breath, giving
him a quick look while they were stopped at a red light.
    Stefen watched as she
worried her bottom lip. Maybe she’s upset
at herself for saying too much? Vulnerability shone in Leah’s now watery eyes and the need to
soothe her sadness chipped away at him.
    Cautiously, he reached out and put his hand
over hers. “I bet he was a great man. He must’ve been to create a
daughter like you.” Although it sounded like a line, he actually
meant it.
    A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she
pulled her hand out from under his to wipe it away. “He was the
best,” she said sadly. “A police officer. He died in the line of
duty when I was twelve.”
     ”That's
tough.” At a loss for words, he just
nodded.  What do you say after
that?
     ”It was pretty awful.” She
sniffled.  “I’m the youngest of three, and we were all
total daddy's girls.  After that, my mom had to work even
harder to support us.  She only works part time now
because my sister and I give her money every month. We would love
for her to take it easier and enjoy life.”
    He had to give her props for helping support
her mother. “That's really considerate of you. What does your
mom do?”  
    A smile came over her face, some of that
sadness washing away. ”She's a nurse.  My sister
Dani, you know,” she jutted her chin at him, irritated, “the one
you danced with last night. She still lives with her. She’s also a
nurse.”
    He couldn't hide his
smile. She was still pissed about that dance. Why?
    Huffing, she continued, “My oldest
sister, Elena, is a stay-at-home mom and lives a couple
blocks from them.  She’s seven years older, and we’re not
as close.” Her cute little nose wrinkled up. “Plus, she just has a
bad attitude in general.”
     Stefen began to feel a little
uncomfortable as she shared her personal information. He
sighed quietly with relief when they pulled into the parking lot
for Whole Foods Market.  “Perfect.  I was
hoping you had one of these here.”
     ”Abby