Page 50 of Mr. Infuriating (Mister #1)

Gretchen

When the doorbell rang, I picked Jake up, took a deep breath, and forced myself to smile when I opened the door.

Gabe stood behind Brayden and Brittany and offered a sheepish, “Hi.”

I, however, channeled my first-day school teacher energy and focused on the kids, saying brightly, “Hello! You must be Brayden and Brittany! I’ve heard so much about you! Please come in!”

I offered Gabe a polite smile but otherwise ignored him.

I hadn’t had to worry about his kids having an attitude toward me. They were friendly and polite, and Brayden worked on his essays without grumbling. As we went through the strengths and weaknesses of his writing, he was fully vested in how he could improve.

And Brittany was too adorable as she played Jake’s mother hen. Jake, of course, loved it and refused to let her attention stray for even a second from anywhere but what he was doing.

The moment he’d notice she looked away from the tablet, he’d reach for her face and steer her back to the game, while chastising, “No, Bit-nee . Mouse!”

After forty-five minutes, I felt bad for her so while Brayden worked on another essay, I decided to put my big girl panties on and approach Gabe. He and Beau were prying the sink loose from the cabinet in the kitchen.

I was glad Beau was there to act as a buffer and mitigate how uncomfortable things were between Gabe and me .

“I think fifteen more minutes then we’ll call it a day. You can only stuff so much information into a kid’s brain and expect him to retain it.”

Gabe nodded.

“We should be done with this by then, and we can get out of your hair.”

I chuckled. “Brittany will probably appreciate that. I think she’s going to reconsider any ideas she had of babysitting in the future. Jake has been quite demanding of her time.”

“I’m sure she’s having a blast,” Beau piped in.

“She definitely loved being a big sister,” Gabe added with a sad smile. “I bet she misses it.”

Death is a topic that can be difficult to navigate. You never know if the person grieving wants to talk about their deceased loved one or if it’s too painful.

I looked to Beau for guidance about how to continue, since he knew his brother better than I did.

Beau chuckled. “Remember that Thanksgiving when she tried changing Bodhi’s diaper?”

That made Gabe burst out laughing, which I took as a good sign. “Yes, what a disaster!”

“What happened?”

They proceeded to tell me about how four-year-old Brittany had tried to change her little brother’s poopy diaper after dinner without telling anyone. And how Gabe had to pay to have his mom’s couch professionally cleaned.

“Well, she hasn’t offered to change Jake’s pullup, so I think she learned her lesson.”

I met Gabe’s eyes, and both our smiles fell at the same time .

Awkward.

Just then, Brayden poked his head through the makeshift plastic door.

“Mrs. Wainwri—er, Ms. Kelly? I’m finished.”

Thank fuck I had an excuse to get the hell out of there.

“Fantastic! I’ll be right there.”

I smiled warmly at Beau.

“Thanks again for your help this weekend.”

His adorable dimple was on display when he replied, “Of course, my pleasure.”

“I, uh,” I clumsily gestured with my thumb toward where Brayden sat at the kitchen table now located in the family room. “Better go over his essay with him.”

Without waiting for a reply, I spun on my heel and fled.

****

Gabe

“What the hell was that all about?” Beau said softly so only I could hear.

With my voice equally muted, I replied, “Nothing.”

“Bullshit. What did you do?”

I shook my head.

“Not here.”

We hoisted the sink from the cabinet and walked it out to the truck. The second we set it down, Beau barked, “Start talking.”

I let out a big sigh as I leaned against the wall of the box truck, then started talking, like he’d demanded .

“Before you got here Friday, we were flirting. Nothing over-the-top, but we probably would have kissed had you not rang the doorbell when you did.”

“I knew it! It was obvious there was something going on between you two. Sorry I cockblocked you.”

“It was probably a good thing you did. When I came back inside after walking you out, she basically asked me to join her in the shower—”

My brother interjected, “Nice!”

I ignored his outburst and continued. “I politely turned her down, then left.”

Beau blinked at me like I’d just told him I ate boogers for breakfast.

Finally, he burst out, “You’re kidding me! Why? Why would you turn her down? Are you stupid?”

“Maybe. But it was the right thing to do.”

“ The right thing to do ? How in God’s name was that the right thing to do? She’s your fucking soulmate, you idiot!”

“Okay, you and Derrick need to stop with that bullshit. We’re not soulmates. We’re not even compatible. She wants more kids, I don’t. No good would come from us sleeping together again.”

My brother snorted. “I’m not sure you’re doing things right if you think no good comes from sleeping with someone.”

“Eat a dick. I don’t want to lead her on and hurt her.”

“Did she say she wanted to have a baby with you , specifically?”

“Well, no.”

“It’s pretty arrogant of you to assume she wanted anything more than a good time from you, especially since you’ve been upfront with your feelings. Maybe you’re worried about you getting hurt.”

“Does it matter? Someone is going to get hurt.”

“Why? You act like you don’t have any say in this, like it’s out of your control.”

“I can’t make her change her mind.”

“Maybe not, but you can change yours.”

I shook my head.

“You don’t get it.”

“Explain it to me, then. Because here’s how I see it: you found someone you could be happy—really happy—with but you’re scared to pursue it because she wants to have kids, and you don’t because you haven’t gotten over Becky’s betrayal or losing Bodhi, or both.”

“We spent a weekend together, Beau. I’m not sure how you can make a proclamation that I found someone I could be happy with. Even you could be happy with someone for a weekend.”

“So, you’re telling me she’s not special?”

I opened my mouth to say just that, but the words got caught in my throat.

“I, uh… she’s…”

My little brother nodded with a knowing smirk.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Fuck off.”

He threw his head back and let out a loud cackle.

“When ‘fuck off’ is the only response you can come up with, that’s how I know I’ve won the argument.”

I snarled, “Let’s go finish up,” then stomped back inside .

Beau chased after me and stood on the other side of the sink cabinet as we surveyed how we were going to remove it with the water valves sticking out of the wall.

“Do Britt and Brayden stay overnight with you on Sundays?”

“Not usually. Just Fridays and Saturdays during the school year. Why?”

“Just making conversation.”

I eyed Beau with suspicion. Out of the four brothers, he was the last one who would “just make conversation”. But he kept a straight face as he studied the remaining cabinet and said, “I think once we unscrew it from the wall, you pull, and I’ll make sure the valves clear the cutouts.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

It didn’t take long before we were ready to take out the cabinet. I stood at the front and waited for Beau to give me the signal.

After he tinkered with the hoses, he announced, “Okay, you’re good.”

I felt more resistance than usual when I tugged and asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m looking right at it! Pull!”

I still felt resistance and paused, but Beau moved next to me and yanked on the wood, and it came free from the wall.

At the same time a geyser shot into the air.

Beau turned to me with a wicked grin as water cascaded down around us and said, “You’ll thank me someday.”