Page 15 of Hogging the Hunk

Huh. Nothing extraordinary about that response.

“I see. You’re one of those people.”

Milo’s eyes shifted when he didn’t catch my meaning. “Those people?”

“One of those, ‘early to rise, early to bed’ believers. I guess I assumed you morning people were mythical, keeping company with unicorns and whatnot.”

“Granny and Maren are morning people.” Milo’s smirk was triumphant.

Adorable even, the way his mouth went all crooked and boyish.

It struck me that it wasn’t the same as when Greg and I disagreed and Greg came out on top. When he grinned superiorly at me, it was usually accompanied by an unsettling feeling of condescension. There wasn’t much more that Greg loved than winning. Milo probably willingly lost to avoid any hard feelings, no matter what he was playing. His ego wasn’t the one gripping the steering wheel.

The comparison of Greg and Milo held me up.

Why are you putting the two of them side by side? They exist in two completely different spheres.

One was my ex, even though it hurt me to put that label on him. The other… How would I quantify Milo? He was more than our family’s veterinarian. Friend? Even that seemed like I was stretching it.

Milo nudged my elbow and handed me a warm bucket of udder wash he’d filled while I was busy perplexing over two unrelated men. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

My eyes snagged on his. Even in the artificial light of the barn, there was a golden hue to his brown eyes. I stared too long before forcing my gaze back to Becky. “I don’t want to keep you. I’m sure your to-do list is as long as mine.”

Spying on Milo over Becky’s back, he neither confirmed nor denied that he was a busy man. Instead, he went to the stall next to Becky and brought out Nikki, who hopped onto the stanchion next to Becky.

“The way you raced in here, I’m guessing you’re going to be late for work unless you let me help you.”

His astute correlation of my erratic behavior lifted my lips into a small grin. There was no pushiness in his offer of help, though I didn’t think I’d be able to stop him once he set his mind on something. “Why aren’t there more men like you in the world?”

Milo smiled again, though it was tinged with an undefined pain. Sadness? Loss? My heart squeezed at the thought of someone as kind as Milo ever knowing grief. “I think the pedestal you’re putting me on is a tad too high.”

Milo had secrets alright, and darn it if I didn’t want to find them out.

Chapter Five

Milo

“Are we almost there?” Ellie tugged her knit cap down over her ears, either due to the chill of the early morning forest air, or out of sheet exasperation. Perhaps both. “We’ve been walking for hours.”

The whine in her question was amusing. It wasn’t that I was a sadistic parent, but her exaggerations overflowed profusely when she decided she’d had enough. “We’ve been hiking for forty-five minutes. My watch began auto recording once we left the car.”

“Well, it feels like hours.”

“Time is relative, I suppose.”

“Where are we even going? Does this trail have an observation tower like the last one? Because if it does, I refuse to climb that many stairs after walking up a steep hill just to get to a higher lookout. That’s cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me.”

I cocked an eyebrow at her while keeping a straight face. “Not even if there was a slide to get down?”

“There’s an observation tower with a slide up there?” Ellie’s pace quickened, spurred on by the idea of a humongous slide. She might be on her way to womanhood faster than I’d like, but I loved that there were still parts of her rooted in childhood. I hoped she’d never lose that excitement for the small thrills of life.

A prick of guilt knocked enough of a hole in the brick wall I’d constructed around my heart to keep emotions compartmentalized. The momentary contentment was overtaken by a gush of sorrow spewing out, threatening to bust the entire dam.

At least you didn’t miss her entire childhood.

“Wait!” I grabbed the sleeve of her jacket before she broke into a full-on run. “I’m teasing. There’s no observation tower and there’s no slide. Though I will take you to a playground afterward if you want. Fox Central Park is named after our family, you know.”

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