HUGE STEPS: A TWIN MFM MENAGE STEPBROTHER ROMANCE (HUGE Series)

“Ouch,” I hiss. I pull my thumb back and check out yet another fresh puncture from a rogue thorn. It seems that the single roses I’m working with are out to get me today.

“You all right? That’s the third time today, girl!” Shay calls out from behind the front counter, thanking the customer as she hands her the bouquet of peonies she’s just finished wrapping.

“No big deal. Guess I’m just not paying enough attention or something…”

I move on from the roses, having finished taking off the thorns, and look for the nearby ball of twine. The front doorbell chimes as Mrs. Riddle and her shorter, rounder friend Mrs. Johnson come in, cackling like a couple of old hens to each other. As soon as they see me towards the back, their expressions change immediately. It’s like they’ve seen a ghost.

I can’t help but watch them as they wander around the shop, no doubt waiting for Dandie to come out and have a quick bite to eat with them, gossiping about the town like they usually do. Except this time, I have a feeling I know exactly what they’ll be talking about. Each time I catch them out of the corner of my eye, they’re staring at me, whispering too low for me to hear. Even Shay narrows her eyes in their direction.

What started out as me being utterly heartbroken a few days ago has led to this crazy sort of rage building up inside of me. Everywhere I go I see people giving me these sad, pitying looks. I’ve even heard people talking about me and Cody, as if what happened between us as anyone else’s business. And the more I see people whispering, gossiping about me, the angrier I get.

I grip down hard on the back of one of our chairs, trying to hold my tongue. By the time I realize the two older women are walking towards me it’s too late to do anything but just stand here.

“Oh, Abigail. You poor thing, you. I’m so sorry to hear about… Well, what happened,” Mrs. Riddle begins, reaching out to pat my white-knuckled hand. “I can even begin to imagine how you must be feeling right now.”

“I’m quite all right, actually,” I say through gritted teeth. “Just keeping busy at work.”

Mrs. Johnson looks as if she is genuinely about to cry, and places her hand over her heart, slowly shaking her head. “Such a brave girl.”

Are these two for real?

“Elizabeth! Patricia! I didn’t realize you were already here,” a familiar voice says from behind me. Dandie, our boss, twist her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, looking decades younger than her two friends, and forces a smile in my direction before touching my shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind, hun, I have a new order that just got called in. Would you take a look at it while I’m out with the ladies?”

I know this is just Dandie trying to rescue me from her meddling friends, and I nod gratefully. “Of course, Dandie. I’ll get right on it. It was nice seeing you,” I say to both Mrs. Riddle and Mrs. Johnson, lying right through my teeth.

Waiting until the three of them leave the shop, I collapse against the chair, trying to calm down. How dare Cody put me through this…all this humiliation! I can guarantee that no one is busy bothering him with pitying looks. No, they save it all for me. I know they’re thinking of me as just some pathetic girl who got stood up at the altar…and I never even made it that far!

No, what I really want to do is march my butt straight over to the Mayor’s office, climb up on top of his desk and scream at the top of my lungs how much better off I’ll be without his stupid son of my life. I want to tell him what a spineless moron he’s raised.

I snatch the new floral order off the clipboard and take a look at it, sighing. It’s an anniversary bouquet from Mr. Ventura, one of our favorite customers here. The man treats his wife like an absolute queen, so I don’t find it surprising at all when I see the sheer size of the bouquet. Mr. Ventura would never stand up his wife in any way. Is it too much to ask for someone who would treat me the same way?

I’m busy in the back when I hear Shay calling for me up front. I peek my head around the corner to see both Jared and Jamie standing on the opposite side of the street outside the diner. I groan to myself as they look around before crossing over. The doorbell chimes and duck, not feeling ready to face yet more worried expressions and kind words.

“We know you’re back there,” one of them…probably Jamie, says loudly, eliciting a giggle from Shay, my obviously very traitorous best friend. “So you might as well come out.”

I slowly make my way into view, getting hit with the full force of their presence. As hard as I try, I just can’t stop the butterflies always form in my stomach when I see them. I can’t stop the heat I feel in places that should currently be withering given my circumstances. I want to smile because, despite being identical even down to their birthmarks, they still manage to differentiate themselves so naturally. Jared’s hair is messy and his shirt untucked. Jamie’s hair is styled and his clothes are all neatly ironed. I love that I can tell them apart so easily. It makes that fact that I’ve always had a huge crush on both of them at the same time feel less weird. They might be twins, but they are obviously two very different people.

I already know that they’re going to ask me to hang out with them at the diner for lunch and as much as I love the diner and know they’ll manage to take my mind off my woes without even trying, I don’t feel like leaving this store one little bit.

“It’s lunchtime,” Jamie says wiggling his eyebrows.

“I have this huge order in the back to do, guys. You go on without me.”

“All work and no play makes Abi no fun,” Jared says. He’s got that bang on. Fun is about the last thing on my mind.

“I’m not really feeling all that hungry…”

“It’s your lunchtime, girl,” Shay says lightly, raising a brow at me. “You better get going before I have to tell Dandie that you’re not eating now. You know how she feels about not taking breaks…” Total traitor. The twins grin and my shoulders slump. They’re ganging up on me and it’s so not fair.

“All right fine, fine, but I can’t stay for too long. I really do have a huge order to get to back there.”

Jared nods. “No problem. Shall we?”

As soon as we step into the diner my stomach rumbles, the sweet smell of rolls and coffee hitting me right in the face. I probably shouldn’t mention that I went without breakfast this morning.

Sharon, our waitress, pops over with a none too subtle smile, practically drooling over Jamie and Jared as we settle into our booth. “Well hello there, fellas! Hi, Abigail! Do y’all need a minute to go over the menu or do you already know what you want?”

I push the plastic menu away from me, smiling up at her. “I’ll just take a Caesar salad, Sharon, thanks. Oh, and a water with lemon, please?”

Jamie snorts. “What are you, a damn rabbit? Don’t you usually get the All-Star burger?”

My mind immediately goes to the struggle I had trying to fit into my work pants this morning. I clear my throat. “No, it’s fine. A salad is good.”

“Really, Abi, we won’t tell anyone. How about that burger?” The corner of Jared’s smile quirks up and I can’t help but look away. Food is not my friend.

“I’ll take the chili dog with a side of fries, oh and an extra side of those crispy onion straws, and an order of wings to go with that. Oh… And yeah, I’ll take a salad, too. With a Coke,” Jamie tells Sharon, handing her the menu with an earsplitting grin. She looks as though she’s about to keel over just by staring at them.

“O-okay,” she stutters in response, looking absolutely dazed. “And you, Jamie?”

“Actually… I’m Jared,” Jared replies sweetly. “I’d like to get the sampler platter, with the salad on the side. Both of us want thousand Island dressing, too, please.”

All this talk of food is only making my stomach growl louder, and before Sharon turns away, I finally add, “I guess I will go ahead and have that All-Star burger, Sharon. Thanks.”

As she walks away the twins start laughing at me until I join in, feeling silly.

“You don’t need to worry about what you eat, Abi. You look good just how you are.”

My cheeks start to flame again.

“And you’ve been through a lot of shit this week. You just need to relax, okay.”

Jamie’s words touch my heart and put a lump in my throat that feels like a bolder. I swallow and fuss with the cutlery in front of me, knowing that if I look up and see their gorgeous faces swamped with sympathy that I’ll probably burst into tears.

I remember when our parents first got married, and Natalie and the two of them moved into our house. My mom had already been gone for close to ten years, so it had been a really long time since we had another woman around, and I wasn’t sure of what to expect with Jamie and Jared, either. I had been so nervous, trying to be as polite and quiet as possible. They’d had to remind me that it was my home and that I need to relax then too. It’s funny to think about that now, years later. “I guess,” I mumble, unwrapping silverware from its napkin.

I assume they must be able to tell I’m close to tears because they immediately change the subject, filling the silence with stories from their morning. Jamie swears that he saw some kind of lizard in one of the toilets he cleared today and Jared reminds Jamie that they need to go and quote for a new job later on. It’s the kind of conversation where I only need to listen which is good because I’m feeling too drained to engage much. I glance around the restaurant, hoping that my meal will come quickly and I can get back to work and bury myself in orders.

My stomach drops when I see a familiar face. Daniel, Cody’s friend. We’ve never really gotten along, mainly because Cody told me about all the rotten things he did behind his girlfriend’s back and, also because I got the feeling he resented the way that Cody spent so much time with me instead of his friends. Daniel doesn’t notice me right away, and takes a seat at the counter, talking with one of the cooks.

Everything in me automatically tenses up when Sharon comes around the corner with a tray full of food for us, because Daniel’s eyes casually follow her until they land on me. The hair on my arm stands on end when his expression darkens. I can already tell he plans on saying something before Sharon finishes doling out our plates, my stomach twisting up in knots.

Even Jared senses something’s up, and he nudges me. “Everything okay?”

I wave him off, but when Sharon walks back behind the counter, I barely touch my food, anticipating it. I don’t want to look his way again so I fix my eyes on the burger and take a deep breath, telling myself that I’m overreacting. He has no reason to say anything. Cody was the one in the wrong and I’ve kept my mouth shut since because causing a scene or spreading gossip just isn’t my style.

“That Cody’s friend,” Jared asks. I look up at my stepbrother and nod. His face is stoical and his eyes watchful. “He’s heading this way.”

I can’t help turning my head to look just as Daniel starts to slowly approach our table.

“Enjoying yourself?” His words are practically dripping with acid.

Both the twins turn to look at him, the tension between us all thick enough to cut. “Is there a problem, man?” Jared asks.

“Why don’t you ask Abi?” Daniel says. “Going around town, making everyone feel sorry for you just so everyone turns against Cody. That’s some amazing pity party you’re throwing for yourself.”

My cheeks are on fire as I meet his gaze and I’m about to say something in my defense when Jamie holds his hand up. “What the fuck are you talking about,” he says, his voice menacingly quiet. “It’s Cody who screwed Abi over.”

I glance around the diner, feeling self-conscious as the heads of some of the other diners turn in our direction.

“You know he never wanted to marry you,” Daniel says. My heart seems to stop from the humiliation. “You just kept going on and on about it and in the end he caved.”

“You piece of shit,” Jamie spits. I can feel his body getting ready to rise and I put my hand on his knee. Even as I’m trying to stop the situation escalating my mind is whirring. Is that really how it was? Did I hound Cody into proposing? My eyes well with humiliation. Is that what Cody is saying?

“Cody was lucky that Abi even considered saying yes and she’s damn lucky that he proved himself unworthy,” Jared says. “She’s had a lucky escape.”

Daniel laughs loudly and it’s this that sets off the twins.

Both Jamie and Jared stand up, looking like a massive wall between me and Daniel. Without time to blink, Jared and Jamie haul Daniel up under his shoulders and easily take him outside, Jamie’s mouth getting the better of him as he shouts loud enough for the whole town to hear. “You asshole! Get the fuck outta here. You ever come near Abi again talking this shit and you won’t fucking be able to open your mouth again for a month.”

I watch in horror, not because I’m not grateful that my stepbrothers are defending me, but because I know that this will only add to the gossip that I’ve been finding unbearable. I try to catch the sob that’s threatening to rush out, shakily take a sip of my water, watching as my step-brothers push Daniel out of the door and wait for him to take off, their arms crossed like two bodyguards. They wait another minute, talking to each other, before coming back inside, their expressions somber.

“Sorry about that, Abi,” Jared says, shaking his head. “He had no right to say any of that. It’s not like it was your fault.”

“We should’ve just laid him out. Just one hit, that’s all it would take, man,” Jamie mumbles into his bite of food, still looking a little unhinged. “I dare the motherfucker to try that again.”

Jared levels a look with his brother. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t. Abi doesn’t need that kind of garbage in her life.”

Jamie practically stabs at his food with his fork, his anger still very clearly on his mind, while Jared takes more careful bites, sizing everything up before looking over at me with a small smile on his face.

This is how they’ve always been…you could never miss how Jamie feels about any one given thing, while Jared keeps his cards closer to his chest. They may be identical, but they’re like night and day in some ways.

“Thanks for lunch, guys,” I say weakly as we head back into Dandies, the breeze sweeping my coppery hair all over the place.

Jared slings his arm around my shoulders. “You don’t need to thank us, honey. You just concentrate on forgetting Cody and his idiot friends and getting that pretty smile back on your face.”

Jamie tugs open the door to the shop.

Shay’s standing behind the counter eyeing us all. “What the hell happened over there,” she says. “I saw you guys hefting Daniel out the door.”

“One of Cody’s dickhead friends started mouthing off,” Jamie admits, leaning against the front window. “And we handled it.”

Shay studies Jamie and Jared for a minute, giving them a nod before turning back to me. “You don’t look so good. Tell you what…I’ve already started on Mr. Ventura’s bouquet, so why don’t you take off for the rest of the day?”

The confrontation still has me shaken, and it takes me a moment to finally respond with, “I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay, sweetie.”

The twins look at me and nod. I guess I’m not that good at hiding how I’m feeling right now. As much as I hate skipping out like this on my best friend, I have to admit that getting out of here sounds better than staying. “Thanks, Shay.”

“We can take you home. I’ll take your car and you can ride with Jared back to your apartment,” Jamie says, standing back up.

Instead of arguing with them over treating me as an adult and not some fragile doll, I sigh and thank them too. “I’m fine though,” I add for good measure. “I’ll…be okay.”