Page 146 of Mr. Infuriating

I could get used to it.

My morning classes breezed by, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the way my day had started out had anything to do with it.

So, at lunchtime, when I looked at my phone and saw the message from Gabe, I wasn’t too upset.

Gabe: Don’t be mad at me, but Henry can’t get to your place until Thursday.

I think he might have been worried when I didn’t respond right away, because he sent a follow up text an hour later.

Gabe: I tried calling around. No one is available until the end of the week unless I’m willing to pay their emergency rate. Which I’ll do if it’s that important that you get back to your place. I just thought things went well last night and this morning, so you might be okay waiting.

Gabe: If that’s not okay, I’ll understand.

Me: No, I don’t want you to have to pay an emergency fee. I just don’t want to overstay our welcome. I know having a two-year-old underfoot can be a lot.

Especially since your two-year-old died.

He must have read between the lines because he promptly replied.

Gabe: Jake is absolutely not a problem. I promise. I enjoy having him around.

Me: Okay, I’ll swing by my house after I pick up Jake from daycare and get a few days’ worth of clothes.

Gabe: Don’t forget the baby monitor. You’re sleeping in my bed tonight.

That bossy, sexy bastard.

The idea made my toes curl. I should find his cockiness infuriating, instead, I thought it was hot.

Still, I responded,

Me: We’ll see.

But when I pulled the note from my lunch—which consisted of grapes, pudding, and chips, in addition to my requested sandwich—that read, “You’re beautiful,” there was no doubt where I’d be sleeping tonight.

****

Gabe

I might have fibbed a little.

I’d asked Henry what his schedule looked like on Thursday and made the appointment then.

But since I never actually asked if he could make it today, I figured I had plausible deniability.

Sort of.

And no, I hadn’t tried anyone else.

I would have called Henry back if she’d been mad or insisted on going to her parents.

But she didn’t, and I thought that was a good sign.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Gretchen

I noticed a few things when I pulled up to my house after work.

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