Page 193 of Mr. Infuriating

“Really?”

“Yeah, he texted a few minutes ago and said he was on his way.”

I peeked through the window and saw Gabe’s black Ford, then opened the door.

He had a lot of nerve showing up to my house looking as good as he did in those jeans and black polo.

“Hi,” I said with a welcoming smile and stepped aside. “Come in. We’re almost done. Maybe fifteen more minutes.”

I could feel the annoyance vibrating off him when he stepped inside without so much as a word to me ashe looked around.

Jake noticed Gabe, and exclaimed, “Bandit!” before running to greet him.

A genuine smile spread across Gabe’s face, and he knelt down to embrace my son. My breath caught in my throat at how much the two obviously cared about each other.

“Hey, kiddo. Whatcha doing?”

“Watching Bluey.” Jake reached for Gabe’s hand. “Come on.” Gabe followed him into the family room without argument and without another glance my way.

Chapter Eighty-One

Gabe

I hugged Jake, thanked Gretchen for helping Brayden—I still needed to be polite in front of the kids, then went out to the truck and waited for Brittany and Brayden to come out.

I watched Britt give Jake a hug on the porch, then Gretchen. Then Brayden and Jake did some weird handshake, and finally my son wrapped Gretchen in an embrace that lasted a while.

I could see her lips moving as she hugged him back, and finally he pulled away with a smile and a nod and turned to follow Britt toward my truck.

Gretchen tried to discreetly wipe her cheeks as she watched the two go.

Our eyes locked and after a beat, she gave me a sad smile and wave.

I knew she was saying goodbye.

And I hated it with every cell in my body, so I refused to wave back. I just offered a fake smile in return that morphed into a real one when Britt opened the rear passenger door.

“Hey!”

My daughter barely looked at me when she got in and grumbled, “Hey.”

Brayden mirrored his sister’s long face when he got in the front passenger seat and shut the door.

“You guys ready?”

Brayden responded with a clipped, “Yep,” as he looked out the windshield at Gretchen and Jake going inside the house before putting on his seatbelt.

I backed out of the drive and didn’t say anything until we exited her community.

“How’d tutoring go?”

“Fine.”

I wasn’t keen on his one-word answer, so I tried engaging him again.

“Do you think it’s helped? Are you ready for finals?”

He shrugged, still not looking my way.

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