Page 32 of Mr. Infuriating (Mister #1)

Gretchen

I felt a little better about my parenting skills when I finished mopping the kitchen, put Jake’s clothes in the dryer, and after emptying the robot vacuum, let it go through the rest of the house.

At least the floors would be clean when my toddler half-crawled, half-walked around on them this week, and he’d have clean clothes to wear to daycare.

I could work on grading essays after I put him to bed.

Now that my mom guilt was somewhat assuaged, I only had the Gabe guilt.

I don’t have anything to feel guilty about , I reminded myself for the fiftieth time. I don’t owe him anything .

Yet, I couldn’t help but feel after what we shared this weekend, I kind of did. Even though we weren’t going to be dating anymore, I at least owed him honesty.

Not that I’d been dishonest.

I mean, you kind of were , my conscience whispered. Omitting the truth is no better than lying.

“There’s a lot of things I didn’t tell him. It doesn’t mean I was hiding it from him,” I grumbled out loud. “There was no need to tell him about Jake before now.”

Once Derrick left, I’d tell Gabe I had a son, and he’d agree we shouldn’t see each other.

Easy peasy.

Except, why did that sound so unappealing?

****

Gab e

We only had one more cabinet to unload when Gretchen stepped into the garage wearing a pair of leggings she’d tucked into a pair of fuzzy pull-on boots and a sweatshirt with the same logo as the one I’d bought Britt a few weeks ago.

Her hair was still in a ponytail, and she didn’t have a stitch of makeup on.

And when she smiled at me, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

“Oh, you’ve got it bad,” Derrick murmured as we hoisted a cupboard and walked it toward the growing collection of wrapped cabinets in her third stall.

My back was to her, so I mumbled softly so she couldn’t hear as she walked toward us, “It doesn’t matter. Our timing isn’t right.”

My asshole brother chuckled. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that, big guy.”

Her phone rang so I was able to grumble through gritted teeth, “Fuck off,” while she was preoccupied answering the call.

We set the cabinet down as her voice echoed off the cement floors, “ Right now ?”

I glanced at Derrick with furrowed brows. He was obviously as concerned as I was, because he made no move toward his car.

“No, no. I’m here. Um, just the men are here delivering my kitchen cabinets.”

Gretchen nervously looked over at us before continuing. “I’ll explain when you get here. ”

Another pause.

“It’s fine. I’ll see you in a minute.”

She ended the call, put the phone in the front pocket of her hoodie, and took a deep breath before turning to face me directly.

“Um, remember that thing we were talking about earlier that I needed to tell you about?”

I cocked my head. “Yeah?”

“Well, he’s going to be here in about thirty seconds.”

I felt my stomach drop to my feet.

He?!

Before I could question her further, a blue Toyota Highlander pulled into the drive and parked behind her Honda.

I noticed an older gentleman behind the wheel, and my mind raced to make sense of things.

Did she have a sugar daddy or something?

Then I noticed a woman around the man’s age in the passenger seat.

I was so fucking confused.

The woman waved and smiled brightly when she got out and opened the back passenger door. At the same time, the man got out and called, “Hey, Gigi,” before going around and opening the rear hatch.

Seconds later, I heard a tiny voice squeal, “Mama!” and a little boy toddled toward Gretchen with his arms spread wide.

He was wobbly on his feet as he made his way to where she was now squatting with her arms open and a big smile on her face. He appeared to be about two years old, based on how short he was and how unsteady his gait was.

The same way Bodhi’s used to be.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

Part of me wanted to grab the little guy and hug him tight, and part of me just wanted to get as far away as possible.

I opted for the latter.

****

Gretchen

I scooped Jake up and gave him a big hug, then looked over at Gabe’s stunned face with a sheepish smile.

“This is my son, Jake. And, my parents, Warren and Molly.” I nodded in the Mitchell men’s direction. “This is Gabe and Derrick Mitchell. Gabe owns Mitchell Woodworking. He custom-made my kitchen cabinets, and Derrick owns Flannigan’s, the new bar in town.”

My mom smiled warmly, and my dad offered a cordial, “Hello,” as he came around to the front of the car holding Jake’s racecar-themed suitcase.

My mother turned to me. “I didn’t know you were getting your kitchen redone.”

“It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, it was originally Troy’s idea.”

At the mention of my ex’s name, my father scowled.

Gabe still seemed disoriented, and in that moment, I knew I’d been right not to mention Jake sooner. Although I knew Gabe’s stance on little kids up front, his reaction still hurt my feelings.

He glanced at my parents and forced a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you.” He moved toward his F150, barely looking my way when he called, “I, uh, have to get going. I’ll be in touch about when we can deliver the last of the cabinets.”

Without another word, he got in his truck and drove away, leaving me dumbfounded.

I mean, I knew he wouldn’t want to see me again once he found out I had a young child, but this felt a little extreme.

Derrick’s creased brow seemed to indicate he was also confused about his brother’s reaction, but he offered a weak wave before opening his car door.

“It was nice meeting you all.” He then directed his attention to where I still stood holding Jake in the garage. “Gretch, it was a pleasure. I hope you decide to keep the cabinets.”

The jury was still out about that, so I simply replied, “Thank you for the coffee.”

He offered the smile that showcased his dimples. The one that I was sure got him laid a lot.

“Anytime. Don’t be a stranger. Be sure to come see me at Flannigan’s again soon.”

Based on his brother’s reaction, I doubted I’d be going near Flannigan’s anytime in the near future, but I nodded and said, “I will.”

I waved as he backed out the drive, and I noticed Jake did the same, even though he didn’t know the man .

Derrick responded by rolling down the window, sticking his hand out, and calling, “Bye, Jake!” to my son’s delight.

“You’re such a sweetie,” I murmured as I brushed my lips against Jake’s soft hair.

“These are really beautiful, Gigi. They’re going to look great in your kitchen.”

I turned to find my dad had peeled back the protective foam on one of the cabinets.

“If I decide to install them.”

“What do you mean?”

I shrugged.

“Honestly, they’re more than I can afford. Troy and I were still married when we ordered them, and with the divorce and everything, I kind of forgot that we had. I’m still trying to figure out my options.”

I had a sinking feeling a payment plan was no longer an option, and judging by the ashen look on Gabe’s face, I definitely wasn’t going to be paying with sex.

I mean, not that I really ever thought that was a possibility. It’d been a sexy fantasy, though.

But now I doubted I’d ever even hear from him again.

It was just as well. Jake already had a dad who’d rejected him, I’d be damned if I’d ever let another man do the same.