Page 62 of Hogging the Hunk

“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” he scoffed cockily. “It’s not like—”

The wailing sound of sirens were fast approaching. Greg adjusted his rearview mirror, and I turned around in my seat to see who it was. I recognized Clint in his aviator sunglasses. Without even trying, he was catching up fast.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Greg groaned. “He’s probably just flexing his authority because he has nothing else to do.”

Greg pulled over and slumped in his seat, pouting about being caught. When Clint got out of his car and secured his hat, he walked cautiously to Greg’s side. Cracking open the door, Clint stopped.

“Don’t run,” Clint warned.

“I don’t want to roll down my window. It’ll streak the glass,” Greg answered. “Besides, if I was going to run, you’d never catch me.”

I sucked my lips into my teeth to suppress my smile. I could only imagine what Clint was thinking, and almost wanted to stay to see how this all played out.

“Feel free to try,” Clint said levelly. “You’re not going to get far.”

Grumbling about his wasted car wash, Greg shut the door and rolled down his window. When Clint ducked down, he looked hard at Greg before turning to me.

“Hi, Clint.” I waved.

“Beckett? What are you doing with this guy?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” It was a relief to admit I’d made a mistake. “All I wanted to do was tell him I don’t love him anymore and to stop calling me because I’m in love with someone else.”

“What?” Greg cried. He smoothed a hand over his hair and tried to charm me with a smile. It did nothing for me. His perfect teeth and perfect hair and perfect tan didn’t infuse me with a rush of wonder and excitement like it used to. “Who?”

“Milo.”

“Finally,” Clint muttered.

“Milo? The animal doctor?” His expression one of disgust, Greg shook his head. “That’s who you’re choosing over me?”

“I’d choose him a million times over you.” Feigning a wince, I added, “Sorry if that’s harsh, but it’s true.”

His eyebrows dipped low. My rushed explanation of why I was aborting what he assumed was going to be our amazing comeback confused him. “Why do you think we can’t get through this? Sure, we hit a rough patch, but every couple does now and then.”

“You told me we needed a break. You’ve been putting me on the back burner repeatedly when I didn’t conform to what you wanted from me. If you had it your way, I would live in your shadow for the rest of my life.”

Greg’s face darkened. He was about to be mean on purpose, so I steeled myself for his wrath. “This is so dumb. This Podunk town changed you. Where’s the old Beckett gone?” He shook his head, disgusted with me. “I should have known you weren’t good enough for me.”

That did me in. Why I had thought Greg would listen to my explanation, allowing us to part on amicable terms I didn’t know.

“Watch it, mister,” Clint growled.

“This is the new and improved Beckett.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door, not one bit concerned if I smudged anything. “I thought for the longest time that the problem with us was that I wasn’t good enough for you. Turns out, I’m actually much, much too good for you. We both should have figured that out a while ago.”

The vein popped out of his forehead and his face turned the color of a boiled beet. “Go ahead. Run back to that tiny speck of nothing you call a town. I won’t be waiting for you when you change your mind.”

“Don’t worry.” I swung my feet out. I was finally closing the door on my caustic past so I could face my future without the burden of unresolved brokenness. A future I hoped would include Milo and Ellie, if she would have me. “I’ve never been more certain of anything than I have been of breaking up with you. Clint? Mind if I go?”

“Be my guest. My business is with this man.” Clint smiled like a fox who’d found a rabbit hole. “License and registration, please?”

I slammed the door, effectively silencing Greg. Turning my face toward the unsteady sky, still in commotion from distant thunder, I could feel the storm coming. As a child, storms had always been a source of thrilling excitement. How appropriate that there was one brewing the day I would finally to confess my feelings to Milo.

“You need a lift back to town?” Clint asked, tapping Greg’s paperwork against his palm. “I can give you a lift, though it might be awhile.”

“No, you take care of him. It’s not that far back there.”

“It’s a mile and a half from here to the park.”