Page 156 of Mr. Infuriating

I surveyed the scene as I filled the dishwasher, and the wordsfamilial blisspopped in my head.

Where the hell did that come from?

I could say with one hundred percent certainty that I’d never—not once—used those words together in a sentence.

But as I watched Gretchen and Brayden huddled together over his book and Jake sprawled against Brittany while she played with his hair, that was the only way to describe it.

We just needed a damn dog to make the picture complete.

Chapter Sixty-Four

Gabe

“Bad news, buddy,” Henry said when I answered the phone late Thursday afternoon. “The part I need is on back order. They’re telling me middle to late next week at the earliest.”

Oh darn.

He added, “I’m really sorry. I checked with every place I could think of, but no one has it in stock.”

“I get it. We’re dealing with supply chain issues, too. There’s not much you can do.”

“I’ll get a hold of you as soon as I have it in my hands. Like I said, hopefully before the end of next week.”

“Sounds good.”

I hung up, pleased with myself for having bought the toddler bed and stools. It looked like my guests were going to be staying a little longer.

And I was A-okay with that.

However, I wasn’t sure how Gretchen was going to feel about it. Living out of a suitcase for another week probably wasn’t her idea of a good time, no matter how hard I tried to make her and Jake feel at home.

I decided to wait until dinner to break the news to her.

****

Gretchen

After the final bell rang, I pulled my phone from my desk drawer to check my messages and found I had three.

One from Laura, one from my mom, and one from Gabe.

As much as I wanted to read Gabe’s first, I restrained myself and went in the order they’d been received.

Laura: Girrrrl, I miss you! Can we please get together soon?

Me: I miss you, too! Yes! Let’s have dinner next week?

I was hesitant to commit to a specific day because I wasn’t sure when I could get back in my house. Fortunately, Gabe had been working on installing the cabinets, so it wouldn’t be long after I was back in my house that I’d have my kitchen, and some sense of normalcy, back.

Not that cooking in Gabe’s kitchen had been a hardship.

Laura: Let me know when!

Me: I’ll text you Monday?

Laura: Yes! Love you, miss you!

Me: Talk soon! Love you, miss you, too!

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