Page 83 of Mr. Infuriating

“Not a damn thing.”

“Bullshit. In the four years since we’ve been in business, there’s never been one complaint about your work. Not one. But in the last ten days, we’ve had two pieces sent back for repairs because they weren’t up to the quality we promise—and charge for.”

One of those returned pieces was the entertainment center I was currently working on.

I didn’t say anything, so Maverick continued, “And your staff is so worried you’re going to bite their heads off, they’re calling me for direction on how to handle bringing the furniture back to get fixed.” He paused a beat then said quietly, “This is about that woman, Gretchen, isn’t it? The one with the kid.”

I stood up straight and threw the sandpaper to the ground in disgust.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re not on your A-game, Gabe, and that’s not like you. Considering the timing, the only thing that makes sense is you’re still upset about how you fucked things up with her.”

“What is that supposed to mean? You assholes were the ones who said to stay clear of her.”

“Because you fucked things up.”

I scoffed, “Whatever.”

My older brother didn’t let me off the hook.

“I’m sorry, how would you describe getting in your truck and driving away with hardly a word once her kid showed up? And never calling her again?”

I let out a long breath as I ran my fingers through my hair.

“You’re right, I didn’t handle it well, and I regret that. But that has nothing to do with my work.”

That was such a lie, I half-expected my nose to start growing or my pants to catch on fire.

The whole way I’d left things with Gretchen had been eating at me, to the point I was hardly sleeping and was ready to bite anyone’s head off who spoke to me.

“Gabe, you need to fix things with her.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Then you need to find someone else and get over her already.”

“Yeah, you know, ’cuz it’s that easy. I’m sure if Olivia left you, you’d just need to find someone new to get over her.”

Mav cocked his head.

“Are you comparing how you feel about Gretchen to how I feel about my wife?”

“No! Don’t be silly. I was just trying to make a point.”

“I think the point you made was you care about her.”

“I’ll admit, I owe her an apology. But I think I’ve let too much time go by.”

My brother shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

“You make it sound so easy. Sure, I could apologize, and then what? It’s not like we have any possibility of a future together.”

“It might make you feel better anyway.”

Yeah, there was that. Or I could just try taking sleeping pills at night and not being an asshole at the shop during the day.

It was worth a shot.

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