A Twist of Fate (12 page)

Wesley wasn’t Cameron.

Wesley lifted his hands, accepting that it wasn’t going to
happen, and then backed away.  I smiled, surprised by how easily I had gotten
rid of him, until he promptly reappeared in my doorway.

"How about now?" he asked.

What a tease
.  "Get out of here!"

He smirked and trotted off toward his desk, though he hadn't
removed his eyes from my face until he caught a glimpse of my smile.  I was
hardly in the right frame of mind to consider dating again and Wes’ carefree, bad
boy act wasn't even moderately appealing to me at this point in my life.  Even
if he would make beautiful babies.

***

AFTER MY TRIP TO the hair salon, and
a visit with the most talented hairdresser ever, I was feeling totally
fabulous.  When I got home, Edwin was standing in the living room staring at
the TV.

"Hello!" I called, as I kicked off my shoes.

Edwin, being totally into the game, didn’t respond.

"I said, hello!" I repeated, louder.

Edwin spun around to face me and smiled.  “Look at you.”

After I waggled my eyebrows at him, he chased me into the
kitchen.  I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and cracked it open.  As I
closed the door, it wafted my fragrant hair, zinging my senses.  I pulled a
chunk of my long, silky hair across my nose and took a big sniff.

"Mmm.  Smell my hair!" I said, motioning for
Edwin's immediate attention.

Edwin casually strolled up next to me and stared with
reserve, as I took a deep whiff, then flipped my hair over my shoulder.

"You're sure you want me to do that?"  His tone
was low and growly, as though he wouldn't be faulted for what might happen if
he did.

"Um, yeah?  It smells so good.  You have got to smell
it."  I held out a lock of hair expectantly.

He watched me with intense, brooding eyes, and it was as
though he were trying to mesmerize me with his stare.  He approached slowly,
and leaned in close, but he didn't stop at my lock of hair.  The dark lock slipped
from my fingers, as I tilted my head to grant him access to my neck.  When he nuzzled
his nose there, I closed my eyes.

It was incredibly sensual, on the brink of electric, as his
touch whispered across my skin.  He took a deep, exaggerated breath, then
brushed his parted lips over my throat, setting fire to my blood.  It coursed
through my veins, flooding my body with endorphins, my body tingling with
desire.

"Abby?" Edwin said.

My long, dark lashes flew open.  Edwin was no longer
touching me but his manly scent was still hanging over me, clouding my thoughts
and feeding my arousal.  "Hmm?" I said, trapped beneath his heated stare
and his confident, angled smile.

"You're right.  You do smell good,” he said, raising
one dark brow.  “Edible."

I nearly creamed in my panties.  What the hell was wrong
with me?  This is Edwin.  You know, Edwin?  And I thought we were talking about
my hair here.

The harsh storm cloud that had been following me around for
the past few months since my breakup with Cameron seemed to have lifted ever so
slightly and my heart was finally feeling like it belonged to its lonely self
again.

“Keep dreaming.”

Edwin grinned.  “Are you ready to head to Haledon
tomorrow?"

"Don't jinx it,” I answered, relieved that he dropped
the hair thing.  “Tomorrow isn't here yet."

"Hunter was saying we’ll have the guest house all to
ourselves.  That’s pretty cool of Cally.”

"Yeah, it should be a good time, as long as you leave
the drama at home.  Do you think you can be a good boy for one week?"

Edwin’s grin had returned full force.  "That depends. 
If I'm a bad boy, are you going to punish me?"

I began to scowl at him, but it wasn’t entirely believable. 
I couldn’t even fight the allure of Edwin’s mockery.  "This is my vacation. 
I want to be able to relax.  You'll be good, or else," I warned.

"Oh, I love when you threaten me."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.  There was no winning
with him.  "Anyways," I exaggerated.  “Cally said she's only going to
be there for a few days, then she’s leaving with Gabe."  I pulled out my
cell phone and showed Edwin a photo.  “See, that’s him.”  Gabe was a
professional athlete, but from the photo she had messaged me on Facebook you
would have thought he was a professional model.

"She sends you photos of her boyfriend?"

"Yeah.  What's the big deal?"

"Have you ever sent her photos of me?" he asked, waggling
his eyebrows.

"Yeah.  Naked ones.  Dumb ass.  No.  I’ve never sent
her photos of you.  She had to look at your annoying face her entire childhood,
I think she'd thank me for saving her the misfortune."

He shoved me playfully, then walked away.  "You both
love me."

At least I do.
  I had to cover my mouth when I
realized I had even thought it.

When I walked out of the kitchen, Edwin was already making
his way back down the stairs, with a single, black bag clutched in his hand.  "I'm
going to go throw my stuff in the back of the truck.  Can I take this
too?" he asked, pointing at the pile of bags I had stacked at the door.

"They'll get all cold out there.  Can't you wait until
morning?"

"I guess so."  He dropped his bag down next to
mine, then wandered over to the loveseat across from me.  "Have you heard
from Aliah yet?"

"Nope.  And I didn't get a chance to talk to her today
at work.  I was so busy trying to get all my work done for the week, and by the
time I went to see her she was already gone."

Edwin nodded.  “Hunter was saying that he wanted to drive up
separately anyways, in case Maddie had any baby issues.”

I smiled, softly.  “Did you see Maddie today?  Those twins
want out of there.  It looked like they were trying to kick and punch their way
out of her belly."

“Twins?” Edwin said, his eyes bugging from his head.

“Didn’t Hunter tell you?  Maddie found out at her last
ultrasound, and I’m told the babies will come any day now.”

"Now I get why Hunter was so nervous about leaving the
City.”

I picked up my phone and dialed Aliah's number.  It rang
three times before Hunter picked it up.

"Hey, Hunter.  Is Aliah there?"

"Oh, Abigail.  Sorry, but Aliah’s not feeling that
well."

"You're still going to Haledon with us though,
right?"  I flashed a look of concern at Edwin.

"I don't think we're going to be able to make it. 
Between her and Maddie, I think it’s best if we stay back." He paused,
sensing my disappointment.  "I hope we aren't ruining your plans."

I was disappointed, but I couldn’t be mad at him for it.  I
sighed.  "Do you guys need anything?"

"No, no.  I've got it.  I have been waiting on Aliah
hand and foot all night.  I think she may be taking advantage of me."

I smiled and let out a hollow laugh.  "Okay, well I
guess I'll let you go then.  If you need anything just call."

"No way," he chided.  "You guys go ahead and
have a good time.  Don't worry about us.  We'll still be here when you get
back."

I looked at the phone, sorting my tangled thoughts, and Edwin
watched me intently.  I put the phone back to my ear.  "Okay, take care
then."  With another sigh, I ended the call and just stared at Edwin for a
long while.

"Aliah’s not feeling well and Hunter wants to stick
around so he can keep his eye on Maddie.  Should we stay back?" I finally
asked.

"You're joking, right?"

"I mean, I guess we can still go.  But it'll be just
the two of us."  I battled with the concept, but my desperate need to get
away was winning the inner struggle.

Edwin showed no resistance.  "Good then, we're still
on.  You ready to go?"

I flipped my freshly styled hair over my shoulder.  "I
thought we were going tomorrow."

"Why bother waiting if we're all packed now?  You
really think Cally will care if we show up a few hours early?  I say let's get
out of here and get this vacation started."

"You're sure you're okay with this?"  I certainly
wasn’t.

Edwin brought his fist to his chin, thoughtfully.  "Let's
see.  I have the week off and a vacant guest house waiting for me, at no
charge.  If you ask me, it doesn't get any better than that."

"I mean the fact that it will be just the two of us.  Smart
ass."

Edwin dropped his hand.  "Cally will be there. 
Besides, how's that any different from right now?  Or are you afraid that you
won't be able to resist my fetching good looks for that long?"

"Ha, ha.  You're so funny," I said.  "Fine. 
Let's go."

Edwin jumped to his feet and urgently filled his truck with
our bags.  He wasn't going to give me a spare minute to rethink the
consequences of my decision.  Lucky for him I wasn't in the thinking mood
anyway.  If my holiday had officially begun, then I was done thinking for the
rest of the week.

I had stared at the lights of the City as they passed in a
stream of colour and slowly faded into the distance.  The dark of night had seemed
much darker in the country, especially in the hillside, and I had no trouble
finding sleep.  When I awoke from my nap, Edwin had already found our
destination.

"This is it," Edwin said.  His headlights shone on
the driveway, but it looked more like a walking path than a road for a vehicle
to travel on.  Edwin slowly weaved through the wilderness, and headed up the steep,
winding driveway.

We passed a cute, wood cabin on the way and then disappeared
back into the heavily-wooded, forest that was covered in snow.  A spectacular
glow hovered above the trees and a spectacular house of glass was suddenly exposed. 
The gravel turned to stamped concrete and led the rest of the way to the
massive house.  It must have been heated, too, since it was spotless.

A snow-covered patio wrapped around the second level of the
house, with floor to ceiling windows.  It was a good thing the house was
nestled deep in the woods, because you could see straight through it to the
backyard.  It looked like every light in the house was on, making the fresh snow
sparkle.

Edwin parked the truck and pulled on the parking brake. 
"Wow, you weren’t kidding.  This place is something else."

A moment of silence passed between us.  I had texted Cally
to tell her we were on our way, but a quick check of my phone revealed that she
hadn't gotten back to me.

"Shall we?" Edwin asked.

"Right."  I pulled myself out of my strange mood,
and stumbled out of his oversized truck.

The path was cleared, but it was slippery.  Edwin reached
out his hand to help me up the hill.  It beat tumbling on my ass, so I couldn't
refuse his thoughtful offer.

As soon as I stood flat on the doorstep, in need of my
independence back, I slipped my hand out of his to press the doorbell.  A
beautiful melody chimed through the house and, after a few seconds, I saw Cally
prancing to the door.  A man, who had to be Gabe, followed behind her.

She tugged the heavy door open and flung herself into my
arms.  "Abby!" she squealed.

After pulling herself off of me, she checked out Edwin. 
"Edwin.  Handsome as always," she said, winking at him.

"You must be Gabe.  I'm Abby."

"Yes, of course.  I've heard so much about you." 
He ran his hand through his longish, brown hair and extended his other hand for
a friendly shake.  He smiled at me, his supermodel smile, before I took his
hand.  His face was elegantly
masculine, with a sharpened
narrow nose and soft stubble trimming his thin lips and square chin.

Edwin cut my handshake short, extending his hand out to Gabe. 
"Edwin.  Nice to meet you.  This is a beautiful house you have
here."  His shake was firm and short, and despite Edwin's nice words, his
squared shoulders showed that he felt threatened by him.

Cally stood there impatiently, waiting for the formalities
to be over with.  "I'm glad we got that out of the way.  What are you
doing here so soon, and where's Aliah?"

"I tried to text you.  Ally and Hunter couldn't make
it.  They send their regrets."

"Right, the whole baby thing," Cally said, waving
an inconsiderate hand.  She hooked her arm in mine and pulled me deeper into
the house, away from Edwin and Gabe.

"So, you and Edwin, eh?" she suggested, quietly in
my ear.

"It's not like that."

"I'm sure."  Her giggle was effortless and
carefree.

“I realize it's pretty late."

Cally patted my arm and gave me a devious wink.  "You
two should get settled in the guesthouse for tonight.  I bet you had a long
day.  We have all the time in the world for a tour."

"Didn't you say we could stay here?  In the main
house.  With you,"  I stuttered, stunned by the change of plans.

"Yeah," she said.  “But that was only because
there's only one bed in the guest house and I thought you were expecting
company.  It'll fit the two of you just fine."

Edwin yawned loudly, making it known that he was still in
the room.  "That sounds like a good idea to me.  I'm exhausted."

Like hell.
  Edwin rarely went to bed before midnight,
especially on a Friday night.  Gabe dangled out a set of keys and dropped them
into Edwin's hand.

"It's down the drive on the right.  Make yourself at
home, and help yourself to anything that's there.  I had it restocked for
you."

"There are fresh linens in the bathroom closet,"
Cally added, as she gave me another squeeze around my neck.  "See you in
the morning.  We'll have breakfast together.  Well… let's make it brunch."

Cunning, beotch.
  I knew exactly what she was doing. 
She was acting like she was doing me a favour, when she knew damn well that I
didn’t need more time alone with Edwin.

"We'll be here," Edwin answered, as he stole my
hand and pulled me back toward the door.  "It's been fun, but I’m ready to
hit the hay.  We can get better acquainted in the morning," he told me.