Page 59 of The Quirky Vet

"Thanks, mate."

"And who knows?" That grin is back on his face. "Maybe a nice romantic weekend away in Brissie might help you with that."

"What's up?" Muir asks, lowering the music volume. "You've been quiet all morning."

We hit the road early to get to Brisbane for the dentistry workshop tomorrow. It's a seven-hour drive, eight depending on traffic once we hit the outskirts of the city.

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel. "I've been practising dissociating myself to try to not listen to that god-awful music."

"I stopped playing Taylor Swift over an hour ago. What is it? Come on, out with it."

"It's annoying how well you know me." He smiles smugly and waits for me to talk. "I've been running through the pros and cons of this weekend away in my mind," I tell him. "And I'm a little torn."

"Okay. Wanna think out loud?"

"Sure. Let's see. Pro. Spending time with you."

His smug smile intensifies. "Naturally."

"Pro. Filming some new content in Brissie."

"It is a beautiful city. Especially at night. We need to go down to that place by the river."

"Yeah. For sure." I drum my fingers against the wheel. "Pro. Eating some good food."

"We can go to that Vietnamese restaurant we went to last time we were down."

"There's a pho and bánh mì with my name on it," I say, licking my lips.

"I mean, nothing can compare to Mrs. Mangle's meat pies…"

We both laugh.

"Con." We stop laughing. "I'm seeing Erin tonight."

"Oh."

"Yeah. She saw me posting about the trip on Insta. Said some of my stuff got mixed up with hers, and since she's not keen on trekking all the way to Scuttlebutt, she suggested we meet up so she can return them."

"Oh."

"We're not having dinner or anything. I'll just drop by her place, grab my stuff, and then we can go out."

"Oh."

"That's the third time you've saidoh."

"Is it?"

"It is."

"Shit, sorry. I'm being weird." He shakes his head, like he's snapping himself out of wherever he went to. But now I'm curious—what's going on in his head? "She's your ex," he continues. "You guys might have stuff to talk about. Don't rush on my account. We've got two more nights here. Plenty of time to go out for dinner."

"I doubt she's in the mood to hang out with me," I confess. "This is the first time she's reached out since…that night."

Our eyes meet briefly. "Right."

I called and texted and messaged Erin on all her socials in theimmediate aftermath, but once it was clear she wasn't going to get back to me, I dropped it. Her DM late last night took me by surprise. It wasn't a friendly reach out. She's being frosty.