GIDEON & GAGE
A Twin Stepbrother Romance
Book 1
Olivia Hawthorne
Copyright © Gideon & Gage Book 1 - 2015
by Olivia Hawthorne
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
Chapter One
“Stop being a stick in the mud, Holly. This is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in a long time and I can’t believe you’re questioning it.”
Diana threw the tube of mascara down on her makeup table and turned to look at me, her long blonde hair sliding easily over her dainty shoulders. The black sequins of her dress sparkled beneath the large bulbs of the mirror, and I sat back for a second staring at the woman I’d watched grow up from a little girl.
She was my best friend in the world, which made it my responsibility to tell her when she was being an idiot.
“He’s a jackass, Diana. You know it, I know it…hell, the entire state of New York knows it. I don’t even want to go tonight…”
“Then don’t go,” she snapped. Swiveling in her seat, she returned her attention to the mirror, picked up a tube of ruby pearl lipstick and slathered it over her delicate lips. After wiping away the smudges, she glanced at me through the mirror. “I don’t want to call you out for being jealous, Holly. It’s never been that way between us. But I’m starting to wonder if that’s the reason you’ve been so dead set against my engagement to Oliver. How long has it been since you’ve been with a man anyway?”
She smirked. “Maybe you just need to calm down, meet a nice guy tonight, spread those lovely legs of yours, and get some – “
“Stop right there, Diana. Before you say something we’ll both regret.”
Her smirk turned up into a smile, a sparkle flashing behind the jade green of her eyes. “Both?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, you for saying it and me for popping you in the mouth in response.”
She laughed, the sound tinkling throughout the room as if it were bouncing off the crystal beads of the chandelier above her head.
Crossing my leg over the other at the knee, I locked my eyes to hers. “Of course, I’ll be there tonight. I wouldn’t miss your engagement party. We’ve been best friends since second grade, and there’s no way I’d miss your big night.”
Waving her hand in my direction, she laughed again. “Oh, don’t be so melodramatic, Holly. Tonight’s not my big night. My big night is the actual wedding in two weeks.”
Shaking my head in disbelief, I answered, “You’re already married. I’ll never understand why you two decided to tie the knot two full months before admitting you were engaged. It doesn’t make sense.”
She blinked her eyes at the mirror, opening them wide as she applied a second layer of mascara.
“Of course, you don’t understand. Although, you should. You come from money. You know how it all works. We simply decided to work out the legalities and secure everything in place before going public with our affairs. The prenup alone took forever to settle and then, of course, there are the insurance policies.”
Turning quickly in her seat, she stared at me. “Can you believe that I’ll be a multi-millionaire if Oliver dies? It’s insane.”
A bark of laughter burst from my lips. “The same can be said for Oliver. If you kick the bucket, he’ll be a very wealthy man.”
Waving me off again, she grabbed the powder brush and fluffed it across her skin. “He already is a very wealthy man. What’s another thirty million to a man who has it all?”
I watched as she set her makeup, her eyes glued to the mirror where she examined every small detail. She really was a beautiful woman, curves in all the right places and a face that could lure in any man she wanted. Any man, that is, except for the two she’d been drooling over since we were kids.
“I don’t get it, Diana. Oliver doesn’t even seem like your type. Ever since you started dating you’ve always gone after the bad boys. Hell, I thought you’d have a heart attack every summer and Christmas break when Gideon and Gage were staying at my house.”
Her shoulders rolled back and she laughed. “I still wouldn’t mind being the cheese in that sandwich.”
Turning to me, she said, “Your twin stepbrothers have always been gorgeous. Cocky, arrogant, annoying as all get out, but gorgeous, nonetheless. And yet, you would never admit it.”
“I hated them. Still do…”
“Or so you say,” she countered. Her glossed lips pulled up into a knowing grin. “If you were to ask me, I’d say you’ve been wanting to get those two between your thighs for years.”
Narrowing my eyes at her, I answered, “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing nobody is asking you.”
Sitting back, I rested my arm over the backrest of the chair. “Plus, that’s disgusting. They’re my stepbrothers –“
“Step being the operative part of that word. They’re not blood related to you in any way, shape or form. But I’ll tell you what they are – they’re the epitome of sex walking around on two legs, mirror images that are the stuff very good dreams are made of.”
More laughter bubbled from her lungs in response to the expression on my face. “I would consider cheating on Oliver for a night with those two. It’s probably a damn good thing I didn’t invite them to my wedding. Although, if you can convince them to come to the bachelorette party, I’d be willing to take that final taste of freedom before becoming a married woman…”
“You’re already a married woman,” I quipped. “Besides, they’re probably off chasing whatever new murderer or rapist is out there scrambling to escape. I can’t believe they became celebrity bounty hunters. Who the hell does that?”
Diana laughed. “I’m surprised the rate of female criminals hasn’t suddenly shot up since those two became popular. I wouldn’t mind being cuffed and manhandled myself.”
Her words reminded me of the original point to this conversation. “Which is exactly why I can’t understand why you’re marrying someone like Oliver. He’s not a bad boy, not like Gideon and Gage, at least.”
“Bad boys are in my past, Holly. Money is in my future. Now let’s get out of here before we miss the boat. It would be awkward for Oliver if the yacht set sale for his engagement party and his loving fiancé wasn’t on board.”
* * *
Standing at the front of the boat – or the bow, as I’d been corrected to say a million times already tonight – I watched the dark water break into lighter waves in front of the yacht. Behind me was a lively party attended by everybody who was anybody in New York. Millionaires and billionaires had flown in from all over the world to attend the engagement celebration of Mr. Oliver Hendricks and his bride to be, Diana Goldfarb.
As for me, I’d done well avoiding anything more than polite conversation. I wasn’t exactly the wealthy type, even though I’d been part of a wealthy family for most of my life. However, I wasn’t born into wealth.
My father had been a simple man, a cowboy who’d been raised on a ranch and who looked at life with a simple attitude, and yearned for simple pleasures. Until I was five, my days had spent sipping sweet tea on the wraparound porch of his family home, my tiny body attempting in vain to work the large rocking ch
air so I could keep up with my mother and grandmother while they discussed all the gossip from the week. At night, I chased fireflies and danced around bonfires, cooking hot dogs and s’mores on a stick while mommy and daddy laughed and petted each other with all the love two people could share.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck on a hot summer day when my father was attempting to break a wild horse. Thrown from the steed, he’d broken a vertebra in his neck, the sharp slice of bone severing the spinal cord and killing him instantly. It took a year after my father’s death for my mother to meet a new man and remarry. Within another few months, I’d been packed up and hauled to New York to live in a large, three story mansion. I never had any siblings except for my stepfather’s twin boys, Gideon and Gage, who were only three years older than me. They lived with their mother most of the time and I only saw the twins when they visited for summer vacations and holidays.
I couldn’t stand the twins, and luckily for me, I’d spent most of those summer vacations back home in Texas visiting my father’s family and learning all the skills it took to be a self-sufficient woman. It kept me down to Earth to spend time with them – kept me from getting too wrapped up in the money and prestige of my life back in New York with my mother and her new husband.
Years had passed and I’d never taken to the wealthy life, which was why I was stuck at the front of the boat by myself, wishing like hell that I was back home in Texas.
“Well, aren’t you a beautiful thing? What are you doing up here all alone when the party is behind you?”
Spinning around, I locked eyes with a handsome man I didn’t know. Dressed in a formal tuxedo, he practically glided across the deck with a smooth stride in my direction.
I gave him a polite smile, but wasn’t in the mood to have a lengthy conversation. “I’m just getting some fresh air and a little bit of time to myself,” I answered.
It was too dark to distinguish his eye color, but his hair was light brown, the styled mess framing his strong jaw and high cheekbones. “Mind if I join you?”
“I do, actually.” I turned back to look out over the pitch black water. The shoreline was coming into view and I knew I’d be scrambling back to land as soon as the boat docked.
He didn’t respond, and I had a split second of guilty feelings overtake me. Who knows? He may have been a nice man, but I wasn’t in the mood to be in the presence of any person that might view my agreement to his company as an open invitation to flirt. I listened as his steps faded into the distance, relief settling along my shoulders that I was once again alone.
Training my eyes on the shoreline, happiness overtook me when I could make out the individual buildings of the city. Windows were lit up in tall towers, most likely occupied by wealthy businessman that didn’t know what it meant to take time off.
Just as I was becoming antsy for the boat to hurry along faster so we could pull into the dock, I heard the tinkling laughter of my best friend. We were still too far offshore for the area where I was standing to be well lit, so I wasn’t sure whether Diana and Oliver could see that I was standing twenty feet from where they appeared.
“Tonight has been the night of my dreams, Oliver. Thank you for making me the happiest woman alive.” Stepping up to the railing that stretched the perimeter of the boat’s bow, Diana looked up at her husband and smiled, her arms outstretched behind her body, her hands gripping the railing.
Oliver didn’t immediately respond, and I felt like a voyeur from my position on the deck. Deciding to step away, I turned to leave, but stopped when I heard the odd tone to Oliver’s voice.
“It’s a shame, you’re the only person feeling that way. You embarrassed me in front of one of the congressman, Diana. I think you’ve had too much to drink.”
“Whatever, Oliver. I’m the best thing that’s happened to you in a long ti –“
Her words were cut off when his hand went around her throat, her body bent backwards over the railing as the glass of champagne she held in her hand fell to the ocean below.
“Listen to me, you little bitch. You’re just another way for me to make money. It will be a shame to the entire community when they hear the tragedy of how you slipped and fell to your death.“ Oliver’s voice came out on a low growl.
My skin crawled with sudden anger at how he was treating my friend. Searching the deck, I attempted to find a way to quickly cross over to where they were standing, but my path was blocked by numerous mechanical devices and the large ropes with which they used to anchor the ship.
I opened my mouth to call out, but my voice was cut off when I heard the delicate bones in Olivia’s neck snap, the sound echoing out across the water like a broken twig. Her body went limp and a faint, strangled sound squeaked out from my lungs, my eyes opened wide as Oliver shoved her lifeless body backwards over the railing until it splashed down into the cold, murky water below.
I was frozen in shock, terrified and in physical pain over what I’d just witnessed.
Oliver turned at that moment, his senses catching my rapid rate of breath and the billows of white air that expelled from my lungs into the night air that was growing colder by the second.
His eyes locked to mine, his lips twisting into a smirk. Before I could regain my bearings enough to run from him, he opened his mouth and screamed, “You killed her! She was your best friend! How could you?”
People came tearing away from the party; attorneys, congressman, businessman and judges – all of them now staring in my direction with the assumption that I’d done something horribly wrong.
“Someone help me! Help Diana! She went overboard!” Oliver continued to scream.
As he screamed, he ran to the side where Diana’s body had gone over the railing, his face peering down into the dark, murky depths as if he didn’t know that she was dead before ever hitting the water. “We need a search light! We have to find her! Someone, please! Her best friend pushed her over!”
He pointed at me and men came rushing forward, some rushed to peer over the edge, beams of light shining down from large spotlights set throughout the ship.
“I didn’t do it,” I stammered, my hands held out in surrender. “Oliver killed Diana. He snapped her neck and shoved her over.”
Despite my plea of innocence, men closed in around me. There was nowhere to go, nobody who would believe me over their friend.
I backed up until my body was pressed against the railing, my head turning left and right as I watched a crowd of angry men draw close. “You have to believe me!” I screamed.
“Don’t let her go!” Oliver yelled. “We have to hand her over to the police! I saw what she did!”
“I didn’t – “ Shaking my head, I attempted to deny what he was accusing me of doing, but by the expressions on the faces of the men who were now practically surrounding me, they didn’t believe me.
I had no other choice. There was no way I was going to jail for something I didn’t do.
Kicking off my heels, I chose to take my chances with nature as I quickly climbed the railing of the yacht and jumped down into the dark, frigid waters below.
* * *
The water was freezing cold, the impact with the surface like hitting cement with frozen knives set in to slice across my skin. I went under almost instantly, but regained myself fast enough to swim away from the wake of the large boat from which I’d jumped.
I could hear screaming and loud voices, people scrambling to look down into the depths to see where I’d gone. Thankfully for me, years of being on the swim team in high school helped me recover from the cold shock of the impact to take a deep breath and dive beneath the surface to swim to shore.
I had no idea how long it took me to make the swim, but I collapsed once I reached the shore. Barely able to crawl and hide behind shrubs, I passed out for who knows how long, but woke up again to see the full moon above me. In the dead of night, I was able to find my way back into the city, soaking wet and barefoot, scaring even the homeless as I passed by.
&nb
sp; I knew Oliver would have already contacted the authorities, especially since the captain of the police force had been on that ship. I couldn’t go home, couldn’t go to any place where people would know to look for me.
I didn’t have many friends who could hide me, so I wandered for an hour or so before finally deciding to head in the direction of the only place I thought I could hide for a few hours.
After banging on the door, I stood back against the interior wall of a shoddy, rent-controlled apartment in the inner city. It was a few miles from my place, but I knew the person inside wouldn’t be considered a friend to whom I would run.
Anthony opened the door, his hair sticking up in all directions and a loose pair of boxers hanging from his hips. He’d been my dog walker a year prior, and still watched my dog, Bella, on the off times that I had to be out of town for work.
“Holly? What the hell happened to you?” His eyes widened as soon as he’d woken up enough to see who was standing outside of his door in the early morning hours.
“Can I come inside?” I asked through chattering teeth.
He stood in silent shock for another second before finally registering that I was standing outside his apartment in wet, freezing cold clothing and looking like the poster child for a hot mess.
“Yeah,” he said, angling his body to give me room to enter his dark apartment. “Come in.”
Closing the door behind us, he flipped a switch that lit a few bulbs in the house. The light wasn’t near enough to see clearly, but it was better than the oppressive dark it had been only a second earlier.
“I need help,” I said, deciding to jump right into why I was visiting his home uninvited in the middle of the night.
Running his hand through his hair, he blew out an astonished breath and said, “That’s obvious. I think the first thing you need is some dry clothes and something warm to drink. You’re going to get sick.”
Without giving me time to respond, he darted into another room, reemerging with a long sleeved t-shirt, some underwear, and a pair of sweat pants in his hands. “The bathroom is through my room. Go ahead and get changed and I’ll brew up some coffee.”
Gideon & Gage, Book One Page 1