Page 19 of Mr. Infuriating (Mister #1)

Gretchen

“Should we go out for breakfast?” Gabe asked as we toweled off in the bathroom.

I blinked at him. “You want to go to breakfast?”

I was surprised he wasn’t ready to part ways with me by now. I wasn’t well-versed on one-night stand etiquette, but I’d kind of envisioned him getting dressed and being in a hurry to leave now that we’d had our morning fun.

“I told you that last night, sweetheart.”

That’s true, he had.

“I guess I just thought…”

His eyebrows shot to his hairline. “That I was handing you a line?”

With a shrug, I admitted, “I mean, kind of?”

He tucked his towel around his waist and reached for me. I willingly leaned against his damp chest when he put his arms around me.

“Not a line. I really want to have pancakes with you.”

That made me burst out laughing, and I pulled back to examine his handsome face.

“You strike me more as a bacon and eggs kind of guy.”

“Who says it can’t be both?”

“No one, I guess. But don’t you have Brayden’s lacrosse tournament?”

“That’s not until this afternoon. I’m all yours this morning.” He paused before sputtering, “I mean, if you’re available. I guess I’m being rather presumptuous that you don’t have plans.”

“No plans. I mean, I need to grade some papers, but that can wait until this afternoon.”

I wasn’t picking Jake up until lunchtime tomorrow, so my day was flexible. I knew our time together had to come to an end, but I liked the idea of it lasting just a little bit longer.

Gabe tapped my butt.

“Good. Go get dressed. I’m starving.”

Pancakes never sounded better.

****

Gabe

What the fuck was I doing?

I’d never gone to breakfast with one of my hookups. Then again, I’d never woken up with one either.

Still, I didn’t regret it. In fact, it’d been nice to wake up and find her lying next to me.

A first time for everything, I guess.

Gretchen ushered me toward the garage when I tried to pause and take in her kitchen in the light of day.

“Your new cabinets are going to look great in here,” I said with a cocky grin because… they really were fucking awesome.

“Hmph,” she said with pursed lips. “I guess we’ll let the courts decide about that.”

“Sweetheart,” I said in a gentle tone as we walked out the door. “You don’t want to go to court. You’re not going to win. ”

She hit a button on the wall next to the doorjamb, and the garage door made a whirring noise as it came up. “I can’t afford them, Gabe.”

Pausing before I opened the truck door for her, I made a show of looking around the two empty garage stalls.

“Let me at least deliver them so I don’t have to tack on storage fees to your total. You’ve got plenty of space in here.”

Her eyes were narrow slits of blue when she stared up at me. “Won’t you expect payment on delivery?”

I pulled on the handle and put my hand on the small of her back as she stepped on the running boards.

“I’m not worried about that right now. But I really need them out of my shop by Tuesday. I have a lumber shipment coming in and your cabinets are taking up too much space.”

She settled into her seat and let out a defeated sigh.

“I guess you could store them here until we get things figured out.”

And by “get things figured out,” I hoped she’d realize that meant having them installed.

****

Gretchen

It really was a shame that I wouldn’t be seeing Gabe again. He seemed like the kind of guy I was looking for. Handsome, funny, down-to-earth, and trustworthy. The kind of man who would be a good role model for Jake.

Of course, my trustworthy meter might be broken because I had once put all my trust into Troy, who turned out to be a cheating asshole who ditched his family for a barely legal woman who fawned all over him.

I had once fawned all over him, back when we were in college, and I was the geeky, shy girl who had caught the eye of the handsome frat guy.

He’d made me feel special. All the girls had wanted to be with him, and he’d chosen me.

But I grew up, started a career, became a mom, had a household to worry about…

. I had other things besides my husband’s ego to attend to.

I guess that was why things deteriorated in my marriage.

Maybe I should have tried harder to put him first, but then again, he should have made his family a priority.

I see now that it was for the best. When I found myself legally alone, I realized that my life hadn’t changed that much, other than I had to more closely watch how much I spent at the grocery store and give up a few luxuries.

I had essentially been a single parent all along.

That had been a sad realization, but it’d made me stronger.

The next man I ended up with would be my partner, in every sense of the word.

I glanced at Gabe’s profile as he maneuvered his black F150 through Lancastle. I could see him being a good partner. The things I’d said last night were true—he seemed to be a caring dad, he hadn’t bad-mouthed his ex, and his brother thought he was great. I wondered what happened with his marriage.

Giving myself an internal shake, I chided myself.

It doesn’t matter. It’s none of my business.

“Did you cheat on your wife?”

What the hell, Gretchen ?

I couldn’t believe I’d just blurted that out.

Gabe took his attention off the road to look over at me with raised eyebrows.

“That’s not my style.”

“Did she cheat on you, then?”

He shook his head with a chuckle. “There was no cheating involved. Why?”

I shrugged even though he was looking at traffic again and couldn’t see me.

“I’m just trying to figure out why someone would divorce you. You seem like a real catch.”

He seemed to be fighting a smile when he replied, “You mean, aside from being the infuriating Jerk of the Year.”

“I’ve managed to compartmentalize that part of your personality. You’ve graduated to just Mr. Infuriating.” I returned his grin. “The orgasms helped.”

He barked out a laugh.

“I told you I’d deliver.”

“Oh, you delivered. In spades.”

We were quiet as he turned the steering wheel. When the truck was headed straight again, he quietly observed, “You were pretty amazing yourself. You are definitely a catch. I don’t know what your ex was thinking.”

I glanced out the window at the stores as we passed and quietly uttered, “I couldn’t compete with someone ten years younger who fed his ego all day, every day.”

“He’s an insecure idiot.”

“I can’t argue there. But what about you? If there was no cheating, why are you divorced? ”

His expression grew grim. “We just grew apart and wanted different things. Resentments festered that eventually grew into what the courts call ‘irreconcilable differences’.”

“I’m sorry,” I offered, unsure what else to say.

“I appreciate that, but don’t be. I don’t miss being married to her, but I do miss being with my kids.”

I wish Troy would at least miss being with Jake.

“Your kids are lucky to have such a good dad.”

His grin returned.

“I am pretty great.”

I once again found myself wishing there could be more between us.

But Gabe was my first venture into being with the opposite sex since Troy. Surely, there had to be more men like Gabe, only who’d want kids.

Somehow, I couldn’t help feeling like that was wishful thinking. I wasn’t going to find a man who’d be interested in raising another man’s child.

That was okay. I was prepared to do this alone.

I just didn’t want to have to move out of my house while doing it.