Page 31 of Mr. Infuriating (Mister #1)

Gretchen

I’d just gotten dressed and was in the middle of brushing my wet hair when my phone rang.

My face broke into a big smile, because I knew exactly who it was: Jake.

Well, it’d be my mom first, then she’d hand the phone to my little man.

I glanced at the caller ID to confirm my suspicions were correct, then answered with a cheerful, “Hey, Mom!”

“Hi, sweetie. How was your night? I hope you were able to relax a little.”

Looking at my bed that still needed to be made and thinking about how tangled Gabe and I made the sheets last night, I suppressed a giggle.

“I did, thanks. How was Jake?”

I’d talked to him yesterday. Well, as much as one could talk to a two-year-old over the phone, and he seemed happy. He loved going to my parents’ house because he usually had at least three or four people doting on him, depending on which of my siblings were visiting.

“He slept well but he was a little fussy this morning. I think he misses his mama.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better. We both know he won’t want to leave when I pick him up later.”

“No, he really was grumpy when he got up this morning. Your dad and I are going to run some errands, so we can just bring him by later. Save you a trip.”

Maybe he really had been grumpy.

“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate that.”

“Of course, honey. Do you want to talk to Jake?”

“Sure.”

“Let me see if I can wrangle him. He’s helping his daideó in the garage.”

“Oh, don’t bother him. I’m sure he’s having fun. I’ll see him soon enough.”

“Okay, we’ll see you later.”

“Bye!”

As soon as I disconnected the call, the mom guilt took over.

I’d been so wrapped up in Gabe—a man I wasn’t even dating—I hadn’t done any housework this weekend, not even laundry, and I hadn’t graded my students’ essays that I’d brought home. That meant I’d be doing all that tonight when I should be spending time with my son.

Throwing my still-damp hair into a ponytail, I dashed into Jake’s room, grabbed the laundry hamper in his closet to start a load of his clothes, then made quick work of cleaning the kitchen before starting the robot vacuum.

If I restricted the area it stayed in, I could mop before my kiddo arrived home.

I paused before pulling his high chair from the pantry.

Should I have told Gabe about Jake?

As seemed to be the norm lately, I found myself second-guessing my decision.

Since we aren’t seeing each other again after today, it doesn’t matter .

My stomach still twinged, like my gut wasn’t on board with my decision.

I knew Gabe was coming back with more cabinets, and I wasn’t sure if he’d come back inside, so I decided to leave the chair where it was. I reasoned it’d be easier to mop if it was out of the way.

Yep. That’s why I was leaving it in the pantry. Easier mopping.

****

Gabe

Gretchen left the third stall garage door open, but she wasn’t outside when I pulled up with another load of her cabinets. It was chillier today than it had been yesterday, so I understood why she’d still be inside.

I paused at the door leading to her house. Should I knock or walk in and announce myself?

The woman sat on my face less than twelve hours ago, we’re way past knocking on her door.

At least, when she’s expecting me.

Besides, if she were still upstairs, she probably wouldn’t hear me knocking anyway.

I rapped on the wood as I opened the door and loudly called out, “Knock knock!”

She poked her head around the corner, and I noticed a bucket on the floor.

“Hey! You’re back! I’ll be out in a sec, I’m just finishing mopping the kitchen. ”

“Take your time. I just wanted to let you know I was here. Derrick should be here any minute; he was going to stop and get a cup of coffee first.”

When Derrick had told me he was swinging by Starbucks on his way to Gretchen’s, I’d groaned, “God, I’m an asshole. You’re doing me a favor; I should have thought to bring you one.”

“Eh, how could you know I hadn’t already stopped?”

“I’ll buy you lunch.”

He shook his head as he sat in the driver’s seat of his Cayman. “I gotta get to work after this. We’ve got a delivery coming.”

“Raincheck?”

“You know it.”

But that meant we wouldn’t get all the cabinets delivered today. Which I wasn’t exactly mad about.

Seeing Gretchen doing something as mundane as mopping the floor made me smile. I hoped to catch more of those moments.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob leading to her garage.

“So, I’m going to have to bring the final delivery over tomorrow, if that’s okay? Derrick has to get to work after we get these unloaded.”

“Oh, um, sure? I can give you the garage code.”

No, that’s not going to work.

“Or I could just come by after work. Maybe we could grab dinner?”

She offered me a sad smile .

“Gabe… we talked about this.”

“It’s just dinner. You gotta eat, right?”

She stared at me for a beat then her shoulders dropped as she let out a sigh.

“There’s something I haven’t told you…”

That sounded ominous, and I held my breath as I waited for her to continue.

I was startled by a loud knock at the door behind me.

When I opened the door, Derrick was wearing a big grin, with a tray of coffees in his hand, and he gleefully proclaimed, “Caffeine delivery!”

He offered a cup to Gretchen, spurring her to come into the mud room.

“Oh my god, thank you!” She closed her eyes as she took a long sip. “So good.”

Her eyes flew open, and she continued, “I probably should be the one buying you coffee.”

Derrick grinned at me. “I’m racking up coffee IOUs today.”

“And don’t worry,” I told her. “He will collect.”

“I will gladly pay up.”

My little brother’s dimple was on full display when he replied, “It’s a date.”

Before I could correct him that, no, it wasn’t a date; there would be no date between him and Gretchen—ever, the little shit brought the lid to his mouth, and walked out the door, still wearing a grin.

I made a point of looking at the garage where Derrick had disappeared to, before murmuring, “Can we talk more once he leaves? ”

“Yeah, of course.”

But as I joined my brother outside, I couldn’t help but wonder, what hadn’t Gretchen told me?

“Everything okay?” Derrick asked when I met him at the back of the truck and put the tailgate down.

“Yeah, she just said something cryptic, and I’m trying to figure out what it meant.”

“What’d she say?”

“That there was something she hadn’t told me.”

“Uh oh. You don’t think she’s still married, do you?”

“No,” I blurted out, then paused. “I mean, I don’t think so. That’s been the whole premise behind why she didn’t want the cupboards—she got divorced and can’t afford them. Plus, her ex wanted them, not her.”

“Yeah, and even Laura said she was divorced.”

We lifted the first cabinet, and my little brother asked, “What do you think it is?”

“For the life of me, I don’t have any idea.”