Page 57 of The Quirky Vet

"We tried to, but you and Ryde kept disappearing. Want to clue me in on that?"

Linus shakes his head. "Nothing to clue you in on. My best mate, Oakey, was in town, so I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him."

I arch a brow. "Your best mate slash Ryde's father. Ryde, a.k.a. your employee who has a massive crush on you. Hmm, what an interesting conundrum you find yourself in."

I'm the one grinning now.

"You finished?"

"For now."

"Good. Let's get back to you and Muir. Anything interesting to report?"

"Well, actually…" I shift forwards in my seat. "Now that you mention it, I do have a question."

"Shoot."

Linus is gay, but I remember him opening up once at karaoke and saying that he'd slept with women when he was younger. I'm curious to know how he went from that to figuring out he was into dudes. Was it something he knew all along, or did something—orsomeone—help him realise?

I clear my throat. "How did you know you were gay?"

His eyes widen, and for a split second, he looks completely thrown, like he didn't see that coming. "Oh. Okay."

"Too personal?" I check.

We're good mates, but again, Linus is a closed book, so maybe I've inadvertently crossed an invisible line.

"Nah, you're fine. It's just… This stays between us. Okay?"

"Sure."

"I mean it," he says in a tone that conveys he isn't messing around.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," I say, crossing my heart with my index finger.

"I developed a crush on my landlord when I moved to Sydneyfor vet studies," he says, tapping his fingers against the desk. "His name was…Oakey."

"Wait. Oakey as in your best mate slash Ryde's dad, Oakey?"

"Yes. Which is why I want you to keep this to yourself. Ryde doesn't know. Nor does he need to."

"Does Oakey?"

"Of course. I made a complete fool out of myself."

"What did you do?"

"Let me remind you that I was young, naive, and this was a long time ago. The internet was still in its dial-up stage."

"Dial up?"

"Never mind. Anyway, I misread a few signs and thought Oakey was into me, too, so I invited him over to the unit I was renting from him. He seemed surprised by the candlelight dinner I'd set up but didn't say anything. Until I tried to make a move. It was…" He drops his head into his hands. "Humiliating."

"Because Oakey wasn't gay?"

"Exactly." He looks up again, shaking his head at the memory. "Luckily, he's a great guy and was super cool about me trying to kiss him. We ended up talking all night, and over the next few months, he was my rock as I explored my sexuality and came to terms with who I was. That's how we became best friends."

"It's nice that he was so cool about it."