Page 21 of Mr. Infuriating (Mister #1)

Gabe

Only two cars were in Flannigan’s parking lot when I pulled in, a far cry from how crowded it’d been the night before.

I drove up next to a late-model silver Accord and put the truck in park before turning to face her, only to find her sporting an amused smile.

“What makes you think the Porsche isn’t mine?”

It was my turn to smirk.

“Because it’s my brother’s.”

“Oh! You don’t think he’s still out with Laura, do you?”

“The only reason his car would be here is if he’s inside. He’d never leave his car unattended overnight. Not to mention, he doesn’t do sleepovers.”

Then again, neither did I. But here we were.

Gretchen nodded slowly, her mouth turned down like she disapproved. That made me tilt my head.

“I was kind of under the impression your friend was on the same page? She didn’t think it’d be more, did she?”

“No, I think they had the same thing in mind. A good time, one night. Nothing more.” Her smile was forced when she glanced over at me. “That’s the unspoken agreement when you leave a bar with someone you just met, right? Or, in our case, we actually said it out loud.”

And yet, I was having dinner with her later.

That was either going to turn out to be a very good idea, or a very, very bad one.

*** *

Gretchen

Gabe reached across the console for my hand and drew my fingertips to his lips.

“I’ll see you tonight. I’ll bring the dessert and wine. When you figure out what we’re having, let me know so I know whether to bring red or white.”

“I thought I’d make lasagna with meat sauce, if that’s okay?”

I’d decided to revisit my lasagna recipe. I hadn’t made it since I’d dropped it on Troy’s office floor while he was balls deep in his assistant. Tonight seemed like a good time to try to pair new emotions with what used to be a favorite dish of mine to make.

“My mother’s maiden name was Pomponio. I love lasagna—it was a Sunday night staple growing up.”

So much for that.

Okay, maybe tonight wasn’t the time to bring the lasagna back.

“An Italian mother’s cooking? That’s a lot of pressure to live up to. Maybe we should grill steaks or something.”

“You can’t dangle lasagna in front of me, then snatch it back. That’s just mean.”

That made me laugh out loud.

“Okay. Lasagna it is. I’ll make garlic bread, too.”

“My mouth is watering just thinking about dinner.” He squeezed my hand before releasing it with a wink. “Among other things. ”

I bit my lower lip to suppress my smile as I reached for the door handle. He’d had his way with me more than a few times last night and this morning, and he still wanted more. How had I allowed myself to spend so much of my marriage feeling like chopped liver?

In Troy’s defense, after Jake was born, I wasn’t exactly the picture of sexy when he walked in the door at night. More often than not, I was exhausted and either in pajamas or yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt that probably had baby food, or worse, on it.

Of course, he didn’t do anything to try and alleviate my exhaustion. I guess it was easier to just find a younger, peppier woman than man up to his responsibilities.

Water under the bridge , I reminded myself. I refused to give my ex any more of my energy, and that included my thoughts. My attention was on the sexy man who’d given me orgasms—plural, just like he’d promised.

“I’ll see you tonight. Let me know if you need to change the time.”

“I won’t need to. I’ll be there at six.”

As I pulled on the handle, he said, “Hang on,” and hopped out the driver’s door to come around to the passenger side.

“Are you always this chivalrous?” I quipped as I took his hand and stepped down.

He pulled me closer and leaned down to utter in my ear, “I think I proved last night I can be far from chivalrous.”

Boy, did he.

I whispered back, “For the record, I’m not complaining, either way. ”

I felt his chest vibrate with a chuckle.

“That’s good to know, sweetheart.”

Gabe’s arms came around me, and I closed my eyes as I melted against him and returned the hug, allowing myself to relish how good it felt being held by him.

He planted a kiss to my temple before murmuring, “I’ll see you tonight,” then he released his hold on me.

Immediately, I missed his warmth, but only nodded my agreement while unzipping my purse to dig for the key fob in the side pocket.

When the door unlocked with a chirp, Gabe opened the driver’s door and waited for me to get inside before gently closing it.

I pushed the start button, fastened my seatbelt, and gave him a small wave as I put the car in drive and pulled away.

Next stop: the grocery store to buy all the ingredients for my non-date dinner tonight.

****

Gabe

I watched her Honda until it disappeared, then fired off a text to Derrick before getting back in my truck.

Me: You at work?

He answered right away.

Derrick: Yeah, what’s up ?

Me: I just dropped Gretchen off in the parking lot so she could get her car, and I saw your Porsche.

Derrick: Come in, I’ll make you lunch.

Me: We just finished with breakfast, but I’ll come in for a minute.

Before I even reached the edge of the parking lot, he opened the front door and waited while I covered the distance to the entrance.

When I was a foot away, his face lit up with a shit-eating grin.

“I take it since you took her to breakfast, things went well last night between the two of you?”

“Very well.”

“And I’m guessing she still doesn’t know who you really are?”

I shot him a look as I walked past him into the bar. The place looked different with all the lights on.

“Come on, D. I know I can be an asshole, but you can’t possibly think I’d be that shitty.”

“Wait,” he pulled the door shut and turned the lock. “So, she knows? Was this before or after you were naked?”

Walking toward the bar, I snarled, “ Before , dickhead.”

“And she still slept with you?”

“We reached an understanding.”

“Which was?”

“Probably the same one you had with Laura.”

He snickered. “Laura and I didn’t do much talking.”

I let out an exasperated breath as I sat down on a barstool .

“That neither of us are looking for a relationship. No expectations.”

“But… what about your lawyer sending her an intent to sue?”

“We kind of set that aside for the night.”

He looked at me incredulously. “You must be smoother than I give you credit for. I thought for sure she’d deck you if she found out.”

“You and me both.”

“So, you stayed the night? The whole night? And went to breakfast?”

“And I’m having dinner with her tonight after I deliver her cabinets.”

A knowing grin spread across his face.

“Ahh, I get it. You decided to hypnotize her with your dick, so she’d agree to install her cabinets.” He pointed to his temple as he went around the other side of the bar. “Smart.”

“It’s not like that.”

Derrick pulled a frosty mug from a metal cabinet and placed it under the tap of my favorite beer.

“You sure about that? Because just last night you told me you were going to sue her since she refused to take delivery.” He set the beer down in front of me, then continued, “And now after dicking her down, she suddenly agreed to have her cabinets delivered.”

“Fuck off,” I grumbled before taking a swig. “That’s not why I slept with her.”

He threw up his hands in front of his chest .

“No judgment, man. It sounds like a win-win. But be careful if you’re going back for Round Two. You might give her the wrong idea. And whatever you do, do not spend the night again.”

That’s exactly what I was planning on doing. It had been nice waking up next to her. I hadn’t had that in a really long time.

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

“Trust me on this, Gabe. I know what I’m talking about.” He paused and cocked his head as he studied me. “Unless you don’t really want an understanding .”

He used finger quotes when he said, “an understanding.”

“It’s complicated. She’s a client, and I slept with her.

I can’t just not call her or see her again.

That doesn’t scream “good business,” ya know?

” I took another drink before setting my mug down aggressively, causing some of the contents to spill onto the wooden surface.

“Maverick would lose his shit if he found out.”

“No, he wouldn’t. He knows I sleep with customers all the time, and he never says a word.”

“It’s not the same, and you know it. A forty thousand cabinet installation is a lot different than losing a bar customer, who probably doesn’t even pay for her drinks anyway, just because you ghosted her.”

My little brother lifted my glass and wiped the bar before putting it back down.

“Well, for what it’s worth. I thought Gretchen was your soulmate the first time I met her. And seeing you two together last night only solidified it. The fact you went home with her tells me you felt something, too.”

“Yeah, horny.”

“You sure that’s all it was?”

No, I’m not sure.

“I like her, but neither of us are interested in anything more than a good time.”

He shrugged. “If you say so.”

“I do. Hell, her divorce was just finalized what, a month ago?”

“Yeah, but they separated way before that. The divorce being finalized was just a formality to the marriage ending.”

“She wants kids.”

“Once upon a time, you wanted more, too.”

“And then I made peace with that not happening. Britt’s eleven now. Starting over would be stupid.”

“Why? You agreed that Mav’s never been happier.”

“Maverick doesn’t have to go to work every day, either.”

“What’s that got to do with it?”

I don’t know. It sounded like a good reason in my head.

“Just drop it, okay?” I needed to change the subject. “You still coming to Brayden’s lacrosse game this afternoon?”

Thankfully Derrick let it go and responded with, “Hell yeah!”

I slid off my barstool. “Make sure you bring a camping chair or you’re going to be sitting on the ground.”

“They don’t have bleachers?”

“No. ”

My brother’s mouth turned down, prompting me to ask, “You don’t have a camping chair?”

“I mean, I’m sure I do. Somewhere.”

I rolled my eyes. Derrick was the quintessential baby of the family. Everyone always took care of him.